With the return of the fifth season of Vikings comes an interesting new turn for the group that followed Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) in creating a new Viking settlement in Iceland. As previously seen, the settlers were quick to discover that building a new society on a volcanic island was no easy task.
Now that they are settling in, though, things only going to get worse. GameSpot spoke with WWE Hall of Famer Adam "Edge" Copeland, who plays Kjetill, about the show's return and exactly what's going to happen when life for this group only becomes harsher by the day. While Floki believes he was destined to lead a thriving settlement after being chosen by the gods, Kjetill--among others-- is beginning to realize it was never going to be quite that simple.
"I think [Kjetill] was a realist in the respect that he knew there was going to be some work involved," Copeland said. "It wouldn't just be easy. I think he was enough of a realist to understand, 'I want to believe Floki. I want to help him see this vision come to fruition but I think there's going to be more to it than what Floki assumes.'"
And while Kjetill may consider himself Floki's most trusted ally in this new environment, there is likely a breaking point looming. "I think that's where the character, in a way, is let down and is trying to fight these other emotions underneath," the actor teases. "You know, the trying to be the pillar of a community, trying to be kind of the right-hand man for Floki, trying to be very dependable and be a husband and be a father and be caring. But underneath all of that he's still a warrior, he's still a Viking in his blood and at some point, can he keep that buried down or should he keep it buried down?"
Without spoiling, Copeland teased that keeping it buried down won't be very easy. "You're going to see some of those things come to the forefront and I think it's only a matter of time with this character... You know, there's some stuff bubbling and you know, eventually… the volcano has to burst," he said. "And I don't want to give too much away, but you get a sense by the end of this season, you get a sense of what he can actually do if put in that position and it's a scary thing."
Interestingly, though, it's not the physicality and action that excited Copeland most about playing Kjetill. While he assumed one of the reasons he was hired was to make use of his sports entertainment background for battle scenes and fight choreography, he was pleased to see Kjetill be someone else entirely.
"This was more of an exploration of character and that was so much fun," he said. And it's exploring that character that has helped Copeland get a sense of what matters most to Kjetill. As he explained, "This guy is doing all of these things because he's trying to protect his family... bad things happened and there's revenge that comes with that and all of those base emotions that he's always trying to keep in check."
So may the gods be with whoever comes between Kjetill and his family. With that Viking warrior blood in his veins, he may become unstoppable when Vikings returns on November 28 on History.