I did not know who Katheryn Winnick was prior to the Vikings airing.  I had seen her in other things but just didn’t notice her.  She’s a fine actress and pretty but… well, now I have noticed her.  I have mentioned before my weakness for period dress (And apparently the name Katherine and all variations of it, for real I have posted more Katherines of various spellings than any other name by far) and I think that must be part of it.  I do seem to really like costumes.  At least, the type of costumes that appear on TV, I am sure there are whole eras of dress that would do nothing for me, we just don’t see a lot of shows about those time periods.  Anyway, that must be part of it but I think more of it has to do with the theory of The Other.  It is said this is where a lot of conflict comes from, be it racism and xenophobia or sexism.  There has always felt to me to be a lot of truth to that, everyone reading this will have to admit at least to themselves a strange discomfort they have felt in a room full of people they somehow see as not like themselves.  It is very unlikely in a dinner you are truly in danger but you can feel very much so just being around people who are not of your ilk, wherever that difference may lie.  But I think it also historically causes attraction as well.  Maybe the best thing Vikings does is accentuate the Alieness of Viking culture.  Now, be it accurate or not it does a very good job of making sure we know and feel they are not us, they are not even close to us, they are different and their ways do not always make sense.  I figure this, seeing Katheryn Winnick like that every week has to add to the appeal but why?  I mean, partially it could be the grass is always greener, ancient tales often speak of other lands and how they are known for the beauty of their women, no doubt this is because you only notice the hot girls when you travel to Elsewhereistan.  Also though I figure it has to be a deep seeded urge to conquer, a lot of this other conflict is rooted in a need to make others like us.  We don’t like talking to people who don’t share our world view.  Like it or not we have an urge to make others more like us or… exterminate them.  Even more disturbing sexual conquest has always been a part of this, a need to plant our flag or seed or whatever.  To make our mark.  Very few Romance novels have a woman falling for an outsider and becoming an outsider herself, much more common she tames his wild nature and makes him acceptable, normal, no longer the other.  Be it conquest through the heart or the libido it is still conquest.  And I think in that lies a lot of the attraction we have in these cases.  The attraction I have certainly.  What I am saying is you should feel bad about being attracted to Katheryn Winnick because you are perpetuating millennia of conflict and suffering.  So you know, walk away in shame, I’ll suck it up and take her.  I’ll be the bad guy here and say that today I want to fuck Katheryn Winnick.