A surprise hit for the History channel the last four years has been the historical drama, Vikings. The series, which stars Travis Fimmel (Warcraft) as the legendary Viking King Ragnar Lothbrok, has aired three and a half seasons thus far, and has been widely praised by fans and critics alike for its epic action sequences and solid ensemble cast. Based on Norse legend, Vikings follows Ragnar as he leads a group of Norsemen -including shieldmaiden Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), boat builder Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård), and his son Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) - on raids of western kingdoms like England and Paris. The cast also includes Ragnar's brother Rollo (Clive Standen), whom we last saw defending Paris against Ragnar, following his marriage to Emperor Charles of West Francia's daughter.
The fourth season of Vikings, which was set to be aired in two parts, aired the first ten episodes from February to April 2016. The first part of season 4 ended on quite a cliffhanger; leaving us anxiously awaiting news regarding the second ten episodes. What will happen next has been teased in the series' Comic-Con promo, but news regarding the air date of the second part of season 4 had been kept under wraps - until now.
History has announced that season 4 of Vikings will return on a new night and time - Wednesday at 9pm ET/PT, starting from November 30th. In the press release, History teases the midseason premiere, stating:
"In the midseason premiere, Ragnar’s reappearance in Kattegat triggers a chain of events no one – except the Seer – could have ever imagined. He unexpectedly arrives home to see what has become of his sons and to handle unfinished business in Wessex with King Ecbert (Linus Roache). Meanwhile, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) plans a power play in Kattegat and Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) prepares to fulfill his long-held dream to explore the Mediterranean in a sleek new boat built for him by Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård)."
Series creator and writer Michael Hirst, discusses the second part of season 4, claiming that “this season is monumental and unlike anything we’ve ever done:"
“We’ve propelled ‘Vikings’ to the topmost level of historical drama as we follow storylines inspired by real life events such as Bjorn Ironside sailing through the Mediterranean and Ivar the Boneless becoming the most feared warrior of all time. It’s not a story of one man, but a saga of Ragnar and his sons.”
The second half of season 4 is looking like it could be the most exciting yet for Vikings. With quite a few loose ends to clean up, Ragnar Lothbrok has his work cut out for him. It appears that the series will be going back to England, where King Ecbert (now King of Wessex and Mercia) allowed his son to decimate the Viking settlement that was negotiated in good faith with Ragnar. The destruction of that settlement was kept a secret by Ragnar, so it will be interesting to see how he is confronted now that his sons and wife know of the deception.
In addition to traveling back to England, it looks like Bjorn will make good on traveling to the Mediterranean after finding a map in Paris, and commissioning Floki to build him a boat. One would also expect that Paris will play a role as well, with Ragnar and Rollo having unfinished business, and both brothers being featured in promos. We just have a few more months of anticipation before we find out for sure.
Vikings returns to History on November 30 @9pm ET/PT.