There was some questioning in the community of “Vikings” fans about the future of Kevin Durand’s character, but according to recent reports, we’re going to see him back on the screen – and in full swing, too, as he will reprise his role as Harbard and there are apparently already some dramatic plot developments being discussed among the writers/producers. It seems like they have something special planned for the character in the new season.
In the last season, we saw him visiting the village of Ragnar, and according to Durand himself, filming is already underway for some scenes that involve the bearded Wanderer. He was there about a week ago and only took a break for Comic-Con, continuing his work on the new season afterwards.
We don’t know what the character’s return could imply for the show, but it’s most probably nothing good for the townspeople. According to Durand, Harbard will end up creating “more chaos” for them, and we don’t find this difficult to believe at all, given the character’s nature and what we’ve seen from him so far.
He really shook up the scene when he appeared in the third season of the show, leading to the death of Siggy (played by Jessalyn Gilsig), but he also managed to create a very hostile environment between the King and Queen, after he tried going after Aslaug. Now, it looks like he’s back for more, and this time he might push the boundaries even more, as if his character was mild in this regard before.
Floki was the one to tell Ragnar about Aslaug’s cheating, and not because he saw it as inappropriate that the Queen had cheated on his friend, but rather because he was deeply convinced that Harbard was actually Odin, the chief Viking God and ruler of Asgard.
He actually said “Odin slept with your wife” when delivering the news to Ragnar, as he was apparently actually excited that the great God had chosen none other than the wife of his king to lay in bed with. However, Ragnar was less than impressed, confronting Aslaug for her infidelity immediately – despite the fact that he himself was no stranger to cheating – but it looks like the drama between the two might just be getting started.
In the trailer for season 4, we can see Aslaug asking the Seer if a woman may rise and rule the village one day, which has some serious implications for the future of the story. She apparently has a strong interest in power all of a sudden, and this might be related to the return of Harbard, but we’re not sure.
But in any case, it’s shaping up to be an exciting new season, full of the kind of drama and betrayal that fans of this show have grown to love and crave. In other news about the upcoming season, two new actors have been said to have joined the show, namely Peter Franzen and Jasper Paakkonen, who will be playing the roles of King Harald Finehair and his younger brother, Halfdan the Black, respectively. Meanwhile, Dianne Doan will be playing the role of Yido, a Chinese woman of mysterious origin.
She will apparently have a major role in the new season, and there is likely going to be another time jump as well, with the added implication that the new season of the show could actually feature a “god” in some form. That would be a very exciting development indeed, but it’s just a rumor so far.