Tonight on the History Channel Vikings returns with an all new Wednesday, January 11, 2017 season 4 episode 17 called “The Great Army” and we have your weekly Viking recap below. On tonight’s Viking season 4 episode 17 episode as per the History synopsis, “A great Viking army assembles at Kattegat, while Lagertha remains vigilant in the absence of Bjorn. (Alexander Ludwig)“
Tonight’s episode looks like it is going to be great and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our Viking recap between 9PM – 10PM ET! While you wait for our recap make sure to check out all our Viking spoilers, news, photos, recaps & more, right here.
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Vikings begins tonight in Kattegat where Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) continues to watch over everyone working to build the wall to protect their village. Sigurd (David Lindstrom) is standing at the door of their house when Ivar (Alex Hogh Anderson) says that is his knife he is using to carve the wood.
Sigurd closes the door, telling him it isn’t his knife, Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), his father, gave it to him. Ivar says he wants the knife so he can kill her with their father’s knife. Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) tells them to stop and when Ivar drops Sigurd, Ubbe separates them telling them they have decisions to make and Sigurd is angry that he needs to tell them how to behave. Ubbe jumps in his face and asks him who else will do it?
Ubbe wishes Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) was there. Sigurd wonders if Bjorn knows. Ivar sarcastically asks him if he thinks Odin told them but forgot to tell Bjorn? Ubbe says hopefully Bjorn will be home soon and in the meantime it is up to them to decide what to do. Ubbe says they need to seek revenge against King Aelle (Ivan Kaye); Ivar interrupts him saying they must also go after King Ecbert (Linus Roache) who gave their father up as a sacrifice and that was what their father wanted.
Ubbe tells his brothers Ecbert has a large kingdom but Aelle is small and they have never done anything like that before. Sigurd says then they need to raise a bigger army than they have ever had before. Ivar closes the door and says Sigurd is right and they need to call in favors, and they can create an army twice the size of the one Ragnar took to Paris. Ivar says they will decalre war on the whole world.
Bjorn and his fleet are passing by France, asking Rollo (Clive Standen) if this is his home, he doesn’t know. Bjorn tells him they have to avenge his father’s death and if Rollo stays there he will have to kill him.
Ubbe comes to see Lagertha, the shield maidens stop him from seeing her until she lets him pass. They discuss Kattegat and he informs her they are raising an army to avenge Ragnar’s death and asks her if she will join them. She asks if he really wants her to come with them. He says they need all the help they can get and implies that she also has a reason to go. She tells him she also has a reason to stay there. She tells him she knows what his father would want her to do.
Astrid (Josefin Asplund) and Torvi (Georgia Hirst) approach Lagertha saying they do not trust Ubbe, just like they don’t trust Ivar. Torvi tells her she needs to improve her own security. Lagertha says if the gods don’t protect her, who can?
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) watches Helga (Maude Hirst) with the girl they took, asking what her name is, and tells her the girl is very afraid. Helga promises she will not hurt her but love her and protect her. King Harald (Peter Franzen) says they will sell all the women off that they have captured. They meet one of their captives who is the son of an Earl.
Ivar is again working with sharpening weapons. He confronts Sigurd about remaining silent when he wanted revenge on Lagertha. Sigurd says that his relationship with their mother Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) didn’t exist, she ignored him because she only had eyes for Ivar and Harbard (Kevin Durand). Ivar taunts him about feeling sorry for himself. Sigurd says he has a very good reason for not being so angry with Lagertha. Ivar tells him he is a bad son and Sigurd calls him a mommy’s boy. Ivar attempts to kill Sigurd but the blacksmith stops him, saying no one would know they were brothers by the way they act.
Judith (Jennie Jacques) goes to see her family, warning her father, King Aelle that there is a lot of talk about the revenge coming from the sons of Ragnar. Her father says he is prepared for any attacks and Judith says he isn’t sure he is aware of big the attack will be, given Ragnar was not just their king, he was the most famous man in their world.
He brushes her off saying he is fully prepared; her mother tells her they are all aware of her immoral relations with her father-in-law, King Ecbert and it grieves them deeply and pray she will return to her husband Aethelwulf (Moe Dunford). Judith tells her mother they don’t need to pray for her, she tells her if they don’t pray her soul will be damned for all eternity. Judith says at least if she is in hell she will be able to share company with her degenerate Monarch. Her father admonishes her but she tells her father that he shouldn’t talk to her like that either considering all his sinful ways.
Bjorn asks Rollo if he is going to go home and he tells him he knows what he has to do. Rollo offers anyone who wants to live in a rich land, they are welcome to live in his kingdom. Floki tells Rollo he is no longer one of them. Rollo offers him to come too. Bjorn says once a betrayer always a betrayer.
Helga says goodbye to him and he promises he won’t forget anything. Rollo leaves the boat and gathers his son in his arms. Floki tells Bjorn he should have killed him when he had the chance. Bjorn asks him why and Floki tells him he feels Rollo will reach more fame than any of Ragnar’s sons and he spits on the boat.
Rollo returns to his wife, Princess Gisla (Morgane Polanski). She gets on one knee and kisses his hand, saying thank God. She orders everyone to leave them, and she starts yelling at him and hitting him. She swears some more and punches him in the face, making him bleed.
In Kattegat, as they continue to work on the wall protecting the village, Ubbe comes to see Margrathe (Ida Nielsen), taking the rock out of her hand telling her she is no longer a slave. She asks how he can decide just like that, he says because he is the son of Ragnar Lothbrok and he doesn’t care about Lagertha. He says she is a free woman and she wants to know why. He says she needs to be free in order to marry one of the brothers. Ubbe offers her his hand, she looks at Lagertha and they leave together.
There is a quick glance to the spot where Ragnar was killed, and you can see the snake pit is open a little and you can see the sky. King Ecbert is teaching Alfred (Conor O’Hanlon) about books, and how they are just as important as swords.
He begins teaching him the works about Gregory the Great. Ecbert closes the book and tells Alfred he can see he is bored already. Alfred denies it, they pour some wine and toast to the future. Ecbert ordering him to drink up. Ecbert tells Alfred that one day he will be king and he needs to be a teacher to his people. He pushes him to drink more.
He says he hopes Alfred will be king with all his heart but tells him the burdens are real, and orders him to drink more wine. Alfred refuses but Ecbert tells him to drink one more. Alfred vomits up the wine. Ecbert pours his glass out telling Alfred that he kept saying he understood but he didn’t. He tells him to never be influenced by other people, especially people like him. Always think your own thoughts and act on them.
Judith arrives at the pit where Ragnar died. She then says it is a sacred place, her father says she is a disgrace and asks if she has gone mad. She tells them again to heed her warning that the sons of Ragnar are sure to come. Judith tells her sister to take care of her own soul and learn to read. She turns with tears in her eyes and leaves.
Ubbe and Ivar are happy to greet their first arrivals for their great army. Ivar wants to know if Ubbe is going to allow Lagertha to escape her punishment. Ubbe says no and Ivar says they must have revenge, sooner rather than later; he asks why are they waiting?
In the great hall everyone is celebrating the arrival of their visitors. As Ubbe greets the visitors, some apologize for not realizing who he is. They say that Ragnar was the greatest hero of their race and that is why they have come to help his sons avenge his death. Another says it feels like they have also lost their father. He leans over and openly laughs, asking who the cripple is.
Ubbe smiles and says his name is Ivar and he is my brother and suggests they stop laughing right now if they want to stay alive. They need to respect and fear Ivar. Ubbe offers Ivar a drink.
Lagertha is offered gifts and is surprised their fame has reached so far. Her guest tells her it is almost tiresome to hear the poets talk of her exploits. She jokes saying she was sorry it was tiresome and maybe they should have done things in a more interesting way. He says it is the fault of the poets and not her. He looks over Torvi asking who she is, Lagertha tells him she is her son Bjorn’s companion and then introduces him to Astrid, her shield maiden.
Lagertha approaches Margrethe and Ubbe saying he had no right to free her slaves without her permission, he says she never asked him for hims permission to kill his mother. Lagertha says that is different and she is queen now. Ubbe acknowledges that but tells her he doesn’t know for how long. As Ubbe leaves, she grabs his arm and tells him he looks just like his father when he was a young man; when she first knew him. Ivar and Ubbe exchange looks and both smirk.
Torvi watches as some men lock the doors to the great hall and warns Astrid that something is happening. The visitors hold her guests with knives and axes to their throats as Ivar crawls to the front where Lagertha is sitting. She stands and grabs her sword and walks towards Ubbe and Ivar who are both holding axes.
Bjorn and his men barge through the doors, telling his brothers if they kill her they will have to kill him too. Ivar says maybe they should. Ubbe tells him to shut up. Ubbe tells him that Lagertha killed their mother. Bjorn says he knows and he would want revenge too but it is more important for them to avenge their father right now and that is why he came back and that is what they are going to do. Ivar is furious and Ubbe walks out. Bjorn asks Lagertha if she got her revenge. She smiles.
Hvitserk (Marco Ilso) joins his brothers in their home, who greet him with hugs. He is happy that Ubbe freed Margrethe and want to marry him, but jokes about keeping her to himself. They discuss their mother’s death and Hvitserk says he doesn’t think they should kill Lagertha. Ubbe says Ivar says they should.
Sigurd makes a good point by saying while they avenge their father they need someone to run Kattegat. Ubbe chimes in saying if they kill Lagertha they need to kill Bjorn and he doesn’t want to do that. Hvitserk says he probably couldn’t do it anyways.
Harald is talking to the Earl’s son and he tells them it is great that they are building such a great defense in Kattegat but there are always weak points and they need to find those. Harald laughs as they look around. Lagertha goes to the docks and looks out at the fleet of ships, as more and more Vikings arrive.
Torvi is at home with Bjorn and their children, asking him how he could go with Ivar when he wants to kill his mother. She tells him it matter to her and Bjorn slams his hand on the table saying he didn’t come back there to be told what to do; not by her or anyone. He throws his food and drink causing all the children to cry. He leaves their house.
Helga tries to feed the young girl when Ivar arrives. He crawls over to the fire and wants to know who the girl is. Ivar says she will make a good slave. Helga says she
THE END!