Astrid, Vikings

Astrid (Josefin Asplund)

In the mid-season finale of Vikings season 4 there was a time jump of 10 years. Promo pics and trailers revealed regular character Lagertha had a new lover, Astrid. Katheryn Winnick, who plays Lagertha, revealed in an interview they had been together 6-7 years. On the show in the second half of season 4, the relationship was heavily downplayed.

Episode 4×11, the mid-season premiere, had a sex scene between Lagertha and Astrid that was cut from the version that aired in the US. The US version only showed the two of them kissing and then jumped over the sex scene. In contrast, none of the show’s heterosexual sex scenes were cut from the US version. Lagertha and Astrid’s relationship was limited to a few interactions, with Lagertha treating Astrid like any shieldmaiden. Lagertha took Torvi, her son Björn’s wife, as a second-in-command and Astrid as third-in-command.

In episode 4×18, Torvi became Lagertha and Astrid’s lover, as all three were shown in the same bed. The same episode, Astrid had sex with Björn, and it was implied it was not the first time, rather an on-going occurrence. Lagertha seemed to be aware of the affair, and when Astrid came to their bed after having sex with Björn she commented that hopefully it was enjoyable as otherwise it was not worth it.

Season 5

The show was renewed for season 5, to start airing fall 2017.

Female love interests:

• Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick, bisexual, regular)

Relationship story arc with a woman: Yes

Male love interests:

• Björn "Ironside" Ragnarsson (Alexander Ludwig, regular)

Relationship story arc with a man: Yes

Filter Relationship Arc:

• Female (Regular), Male (Regular)

Storyline during sweeps? No

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.