On a field in England, the sons of Ragnar met Aethelwulfs army. In Kattegat, Lagertha struggled to defend her city against a violent coup. (Read the full recap here.) Credit: History Channel ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There were two major battles in this episode. Can you talk about what kind of preparation you do when youre constructing the narrative of sequences like that? Do you read up on your military history? MICHAEL HIRST:I think weve made the point right from the beginning to do each battle differently....

Warning: Major Spoilers for the latest episode ofVikingsare ahead. But this week, the show cut down its most legendary figure. Anyone familiar with the sagas from whichVikingsderives its narrative knew that Ragnar would die eventually. Credit: Jonathan Hession You might be surprised, though, to hear that this death was originally going to happen much earlier. I ended up staying around for three more! I was asking them to get my head shaved for awhile....

Bjorn Ironside returned from the Mediterranean, leaving his Uncle Rollo behind in his adopted Frankish home. We spoke toVikingscreator and writer-of-every-single-episode Michael Hirst about how The Great Army sets up this seasons big climax. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I have to ask about the moment that ended the episode, with Bjorn kissing Astrid. Credit: Jonathan Hession Weve seen some tangled relationships within the Lothbrok family, but this definitely took me by surprise!...

A typical episode ofVikingsis often fatal for minor or major characters. That’s a guaranteed bloodbath. We saw Ecbert die, by his own hand, in this episode. Credit: Vikings Their stories were interweaved. They were very different, but they found that they had so much in common. The process of discovery, of finding out what they had in common, was organic. It never occurred to me in the beginning. Ecbert was a cultured, sophisticated mirror image of Ragnar’s authenticity....

The Great Heathen Army marches to Wessex. Death follows with it. See Ecbert, King of Wessex and Mercia and perhaps some other lands he has forgotten about. Credit: Jonathan Hession/History Ecbert is a great man, and he is an old man. He sits off his throne, long beard and long hair and mind far away. No one could have foreseen the consequences of those actions, and the hundred of actions that followed....

Sutherland talks to EW about dying well. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you know that Aslaug would be dying this season? ALYSSA SUTHERLAND:The whole time I was onVikings, I was waiting for this to happen. Credit: Bernard Walsh I actually thought that it would happen earlier, to be honest! I think it was about six weeks heads up I was given. We were filming episode 9 and 10 when I was told....

Ragnar gives a speech and Ivar plays chess. Little Ivar and Little Alfred play chess. One game moves toward an inevitable conclusion. Credit: Bernard Walsh Ragnar asks Ecbert if he can speak to his son. He knows this will be their final moment together. He tells him anger is a gift and he is unpredictable. Use your anger intelligently, says Ragnar. I wish I wasnt so angry all the time, says Ivar....

Two kings sit together in a throne room Queen Aslaug is queen no more. There is a freedom to knowing you will never be free again. The Queen looks amused by her invader. Credit: 5525800 How strange, Lagertha, that you should play the usurper. One woman against another. I was never the usurper, says Lagertha. Aslaug took Lagerthas husband, her world, her happiness. Youre a witch, Lagertha says. She did not bewitch Ragnar, but she knows he is dead....

So does the other one. Yet one man in particular catches Torvis eye, as she patrols her fortress-city. He sailed in this morning with the other traders. Credit: Jonathan Hession/History He looks at the wares being peddled but he and his men do not want to buy anything. The reason is clear enough: The man calls for an attack, and the battle for Kattegat begins. It is not the only battle the Northmen are fighting this week....

The Viking army descends on the coast of Northumbria. The Great Army assembles in Kattegat, kings and earls and heroes and monsters. A great sacrifice must be made, says Lagertha, the heroic Queen. Credit: Bernard Walsh/History The gods call for a special sacrifice at times like this. The question is not what, but who? All must sacrifice in times like this. The sons of Ragnar Lothbrok must sacrifice their pride, perhaps, or perhaps much more....

Ragnar Lothbrok’s memory lives on They build, they build, they build. It is a modern city, and it is a prize, and Queen Kattegat will defend it. She has set her people to building, building, building. Credit: Jonathan Hession They will build defenses. There are enough enemies within already. Ragnar Lothbrok is dead, but he lives on. He lives on in his dying words, carried by wind and rumor and legend to his sons....

Bjorn Ironside has sailed down rivers and across the sea on quests of conquest and plunder. Its exquisite and wonderful. The backlot occupies several acres, so its huge. Jonathan Hession/History The town of York just went on and on. York I know very well because I was brought up right near there, he says. It brought back my childhood of wandering down these very narrow lanes. Jonathan Hession/History The moment hes crashed it and leans up against the wheels, he realizes hes surrounded by Saxon warriors....

The fifth season will debut on Nov. 29. AsEntertainment Weeklyexclusively revealed, the new batch of episodes will send characters all over the map. Bjorn will ride a camel through the desert. Ivar will battle Bishop Heahmund (played by new series regular Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in England. Floki will set off on his own journey, which will take him to Iceland. But many of the characters will also join together for a climactic battle....