Eunike

While I liked it, the pacing could have been better, and it felt like the writers tried to cram too much plot into a two-hour film. Even a shortened season would have allowed for better pacing and character development. However, with streaming today, it's rare for shows to have multiple seasons and a definitive ending, and I'm happy the show got one. Of those not mentioned, Stiorra was the most jarring. It would have been nice to have a line explaining her absence, like Uhtred Jr. The others are easily explainable. Aelswith died of old age, Hild is back at her abbey, Eadith is a traveling healer, and Alfywnn lives elsewhere, married to Cynleaf. The show already deviated from the books, so I have no issue with them changing the character endings. Eadith's end in the books always annoyed me. Alex mentioned in an interview that with Aethelflaed's death, there wasn't room for romance in the film, and the writers wanted to move him away from the James Bond-type figure he was in the beginning, so thankfully it's safe to say her fate is very different from her book counterpart. Yes, Uhtred made sure that Brida died with a sword in her hand. It's implied that she sees Ragnar in Valhalla when she dies. Uhtred always tries to ensure that even his enemies, like Ubba, die with a sword in their hand. The exception being Cnut because of his betrayal of Ragnar.

In the show Aethelflaed seems to think that Erik is the father. In the books, it's Aethelred. To me, Aelfwynn doesn't seem much like either of her parents. Even as a teenager, Aethelflaed was way smarter and more focused on her duty than Aelfwynn. Erik came across as smart for most of season 2 as well.

Another strong season and a fitting ending for many of the characters. I'm glad it didn't turn out like season 8 of GoT. I know there's a movie coming, but from my understanding, it's standalone and focused on completing England. Since It's only two hours long, I can't see a lot happening outside of the Aethelstan storyline. Episode four was my favorite. The final scene between Uhtred and Aethelflaed was the most heartbreaking and romantic scene of the entire show for me. Both actors nailed it. Show Uhtred and Aethelflaed are far more romantic and tragic than their book counterparts. I never was a fan of how Cornwell handled them in later novels. Another change that I liked was Eadith. I'm glad she was an independent character and not just a love interest. In later novels, I thought Cornwell did a huge disservice to her character, and I'm glad the show writers rectified that. Not a Brida fan, so I wasn't upset by her death, but I did enjoy Emily Cox in the role. Aethelhelm's storyline was my least favorite of the season. Also, is Aethelflaed sure Aelfwynn wasn't Aethelred's daughter after all? She didn't inherit anything from her mother, and her intelligence seems to have been closer to Aethelred's. I find it hard to believe that Aelfwynn is supposed to be the daughter of the Lady of Mercians and the granddaughter of Alfred the Great.

The books are quick reads, and it's clear that the author knows his history well. Cornwell's primary goal is to tell the story of the creation of England, and it's great to see historical figures like Alfred, Aethelflaed, and Aethelstan come to life. My chief complaints about the books are mainly 1) pretty much every major female character who isn't a blood relation becomes a love interest at some point and is then conveniently discarded. Thankfully, the show changed this after season one only keeping his most significant love interests, Gisela and Aethelflaed. 2) The later books become a bit formulaic, and I find the quality isn't as good as the earlier ones. Septuagenarian Uhtred is also a bit unbelievable since he would have been pretty ancient for the period.

I remember Katheryn Winnick mentioning in an interview how long the makeup process took to age Lagertha, and I never found her aging to be very believable. Claire and Jaime from Outlander have also barely aged since the show started. While characters like Uhtred, Aethelflaed, and Brida are supposed to in their 40s and 50s according to the timeline, we're clearly meant to see them as being a lot younger in the show. There's a reason why the show stopped giving dates back in season 2. They don't want us to think about the timeline too much. Besides, the show has been asking us to suspend disbelief since the first episode when they cast thirtysomethings Alex Dreymon and Emily Cox to play 18-year-old Uhtred and Brida. My main concern is always the story and the characters. As long as I enjoy those I have no problem overlooking any timeline inconsistencies. If anything, slowing down the aging process will work in the show's favor later on since I have a very hard time seeing a near 80-year-old Uhtred still fighting, which is what happens in the book timeline.

My impression was that Uhtred gave up the throne because he knew that Edward wanted to use him as a puppet. I don't think his hair was even dry yet from the baptism when Edward was going over what was expected from him as the new lord and protector of Mercia. Ultimately, though, you're right, it does come down to history. The real-life Aethelflaed was the only Anglo-Saxon woman to rule a kingdom in her own right, and the show was never going to change that even to make her a co-ruler. While it felt somewhat contrived, her chastity oath does at least have some basis in history since later Norman historians mention her taking a chastity oath to avoid the dangers of child-birth. The show definitely condenses the timeline to make the characters younger than their book and real-life counterparts. Based on the books, there's around an 8 year time jump from the end of last season to the beginning of this season, and season 4 is meant to take place between the years 910 to 911. This would make Uhtred somewhere in his fifties, even though he clearly doesn't look it. The last book in the series is coming out this October, and Uhtred is near eighty and is still fighting. Quite frankly it's becoming a bit ridiculous. I wish Cornwell had switched the narration over to his son, but he wants to keep Uhtred as his protagonist and have him fight alongside Aethelstan at the battle of Brunanburh even though it is completely unrealistic. While the books aren't as bad with the timeline as the show, there are still inconsistencies, and the dates don't always line up if you think about it too much. I think part of the problem is that the writers don't know what to do with Edward and so they made up the fictional battle of Winchester. Edward is barely in the books at this point since Uhtred's loyalty is to Aethelflaed, not Edward. If the show had completely followed the book storyline this season, Edward would have only made a brief appearance during the Battle of Tettenhall. He's mostly heard of, but not seen, and what we do hear of him makes him seem like an inferior version of Robert Baratheon, especially in comparison to his sister. I am curious to see they handle his storyline next season since he's barely in those books as well.

Bernard Cornwell has a formula and he pretty much sticks to it throughout his books, whether it be Sharpe or The Last Kingdom series. As historical fiction, I find his books very entertaining and enjoyable, but writing women is his weak point. The majority of women serve as love interests who are then conveniently killed off or sent off somewhere to never be seen from again when Cornwell wants to move his hero onto the next love interest. What happens to Gisela in the show is taken straight out of the books. The only female character in the Last Kingdom series who sticks around for any length of time, and has any major character development is Alfred's daughter, Aetheflaed. I think Cornwell actually did a good job with her since we see her character develop throughout the series from a young and naive girl into a wise and hardened ruler. Too bad this isn't the case with the other women in the series. Part of the reason why I love the show is that I think it handles its female characters so much better than the books. Characters like Aelswith and Hild are far more interesting and much more developed than their book counterparts.

I meant the no contact only covered Europe. Jo and Laurie do talk to each other again once he returns at the end. I just thought that the non-linear timeline added to the sadness between the two. Laurie's first scene takes place in Europe and we know immediately that he and Jo are no longer on good terms. According to Greta's script, John and Meg's wedding takes place in 1865 while the present-day is in 1869, so that's about four years of no contact.

The movie begins with the characters as adults flashing back to their past. The structure of the film is non-linear, jumping back and forth between the two timelines, so by the time we get to Jo and Laurie's proposal in the movie, we've already known for a long time that the two don't keep in contact in the future. There's about a four-year time jump between Laurie's proposal to Jo and his return from Europe with Amy.

I may be in the minority, but I never cared for Jo and Laurie as a romantic couple. It always seemed one-sided in the book to me, and I hated that Laurie wouldn't listen to Jo and tried to wear her down with his proposal despite Jo making it very clear she didn't love Laurie in that way. I thought this film portrayed their relationship closest to the book. Gerwig frames their relationship as platonic, although Laurie has mistaken it for romantic. I found the scene tragic, not for romantic reasons, but because their friendship will never be the same. Due to the film's non-linear structure, we already know Jo and Laurie still don't talk to each other years later. This was the first film that I thought got Amy and Amy and Laurie right. Other films focus mostly on Jo, which is why Amy usually comes across as nothing more than the bratty younger sister who gets everything handed to her. Amy gets a ton of character development here, and for the first time on screen, we see her motivations. Amy and Laurie are also shown together quite a bit, and their relationship develops organically. I like how Gerwig contrasts Lauries's proposal to Jo with the lazy Laurence scene in France by showing why Amy and Laurie work well together as a couple and why Jo and Laurie don't. Overall, I enjoyed the film quite a bit, and I had no problems with distinguishing the two timelines. As a fan of all the sisters, and not just Jo, it was nice to see them get more character development, especially Amy. I grew up with the 1994 film and still love it, but I think I prefer this one.