For weeks fans have been wondering about Lagertha’s fate in History Channel’s Vikings . Now, in Episode 18 of Season 5, Lagertha made her return. The actress who plays her, Katheryn Winnick, discusses Lagertha’s return.
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information about Episode 18 (titled “Balder”) of History Channel’s Vikings . Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.
Lagertha went missing during a huge battle between the Vikings and the Saxons in Episode 15 of Vikings Season 5 after Heahmund (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) was killed. Ever since then, fans have been desperate to find out what has happened to the fierce shieldmaiden.
Now, in Episode 18, some of their questions have been answered. It was Judith (Jennie Jacques) who found Lagertha. Traveling to a wise woman for treatment for her breast cancer, Lagertha was discovered in the woman’s hut. Confused and disheveled, Judith eventually took Lagertha back to the royal villa in Wessex.
According to an interview that Katheryn Winnick did with the TV Junkies , the actress was determined to show Lagertha in this episode as having ” lived a full life as a warrior.”
“That was one of the reasons why she went away, and you see she’s a new person when she comes back,” Winnick said.
In addition, Katheryn Winnick felt it was important to show young girls who idolize her character how life can affect a person.
“It’s important for young girls to see Lagertha change throughout the years as a mother, a shieldmaiden, a warrior, a queen, and as someone who has lost it all.”
?Lagertha is finally back on @HistoryVikings ! ? But where she’s been is seriously bleak… https://t.co/TOdLG50EvA pic.twitter.com/XtOwun0Z08
— TV Guide (@TVGuide) January 17, 2019
As for Lagertha’s physical changes, Winnick explains further.
“She’s a warrior and I wanted to have the opportunity to show a physical change with her,” the actress said.
“When she appears she has a huge scar that you don’t know where it came from. As an actor, I allow myself to age on camera, which was a 2.5-hour makeup process of adding layers and layers of latex around my eyes to give me wrinkly eyes, neck, and hands. I also tried to get my voice lower for maturity, and I’m not sure you’ll see it right away but, hopefully, you see Lagertha through a more mature and wiser lens.”
As yet, it is still unclear how Lagertha wound up in the wise woman’s hut and viewers will have to tune in to future episodes of Vikings to find out more about Lagertha’s story.
Vikings returns on Wednesday, January 23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. History Channel provides the following synopsis for Episode 19 (titled “What Happens in the Cave”).
“Ubbe is forced into hand-to-hand combat. Floki reaches new depths and is met by a shocking sight. Bjorn sets off for Scandinavia with an old rival.”
