There has been absolutely nothing in the show so far to suggest that the visions Aslaug, Aethelstan, and occasionally Ragnar see are anything more than a way of elucidating their perspective. These are characters for whom the gods are a very real part of their lives; they sincerely believe in these things, heart and…

They landed in Northumbria and marched to Wessex.

Lagertha "got away with" killing the dude in Season 1 because she was Ragnar's wife. She could do whatever the fuck she wanted. If she said a guy gets got for rape, a guy gets got for rape. To challenge Lagertha would have been to challenge Ragnar.

Here's what would happen if Ragnar slapped Aslaug:

The Danes pretty much ran roughshod over Wessex for the better part of a century. Under the direction of Ragnar (and later, his sons) they conquered more than half the island, and came perilously close—several times—to taking the whole damn thing. They didn't lose very many battles, because they fought with a…

It's important to note that there are different styles to dialogue, and naturalism isn't always to be strived for. "Vikings" aims for a kind of sparse, functional minimalism flecked with a bit of cynical wit. For a comparable analogue, check out Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Chronicles" series of novels.

I don't think Taoism would take issue with Wan's solution. Taoism isn't so much "this is how things must be" as "go with the flow".

"Try to think of a scene in which Skyler is funny."

The scene where Gary and Hank are in the asylum doing arts 'n crafts.

Gary's Zoids reference was too much.  I lost it.  That's a reference so out-of-the-blue that the laughter was both at the joke itself, and at suddenly being reminded that Zoids, itself, ever existed.