The Last Kingdom - General Discussion

[One Tough Cookie]

On 3/27/2023 at 9:09 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

I don't think we were supposed to like Skade, so I'm not sure I agree with you.  I think the actress did a good job of being the villain we all hated.

I think she was a once note actress without nuance or no understanding what the character should be.  But I realize MMV on this.

[FnkyChkn34]

6 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I think she was a once note actress without nuance or no understanding what the character should be.  But I realize MMV on this.

I understand.  But I also thought Skade was a one note character, so I must not have noticed as much. 😉  On re-watches, I tend to fast forward her scenes because I can't stand that storyline.

[One Tough Cookie]

On 1/24/2023 at 12:19 PM, Nicmar said:

was so disappointed that Eadith and Finan didn't get together .

But, Finan married Ingrid and had at lest one child with her that we've seen.

[One Tough Cookie]

So I binged on  season 1 thru 4 and when I went to find #5 I couldn't find it. I have Fios,does anyone else have this problem?

I did remember why Brida was so unhinged in season 5--I had forgotten.

And speaking of Bride, I absolutely do not assume a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy could realistically murder so savagely. The producers really went rogue with that.   But she was a real nutjob

Edited April 1, 2023 by One Tough Cookie

[One Tough Cookie]

I just checked and the movie will be on April 14..this week!!!!☺️

[One Tough Cookie]

It's streaming now, but they haven't repeated season 5 yet!

[PatsyandEddie]

We watched this last night. Packed full of action and surprises. I’m sad that this series has come to an end. I’ve become very fond of the characters and the actors as well. 
 

Bernard Cromwell has written multiple books which could be easily adapted into series IMO. 

[FnkyChkn34]

I watched the movie last night, and while it was mostly very good, I was slightly confused.  Either I zoned out a few times and missed things, or the editing was poor.  I'm guessing a mix of both, but at least there was enough description later to fill in the blanks.

Where was Stiorra?  Where was Hild?  Where was Eadith?  Where was Sihtric's family?  Where was Aelfwynn and her husband?  I understand that Aelswith probably died, but no explanations for all of the other missing characters??

[PatsyandEddie]

After Sigtryggr’s death, Stiorra leaves with what is left of their Danish followers because she will not live under Edward. 

Hild would most likely have returned to her Holy Life. 
Eadyth was a travelling healer so may have moved on. When asked, Uthred said he “had no woman.”

Sithric’s family wasn’t seen or mentioned. No explanation given. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

I watched it last night. Oh how I've missed this show. I should've rewatched the last couple episodes of season 5 (which is on Netflix) because I was a little confused/lost as well. Showing the castle at the end as it looks today gave me the feels.

[One Tough Cookie]

7 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

episodes of season 5 (which is on Netflix

I was searching Netflix for that season and couldn't find it??? all I got when I clicked on the series was 1-4.Was it in a special cell?

I enjoyed most of it. The final battle must have taken them more than a week to film.

Loved the ending but have one question--did Brida die with her sword--I didn't think she did, but there she was laughing with Ragnar in Valhalla?

[FnkyChkn34]

22 hours ago, PatsyandEddie said:

After Sigtryggr’s death, Stiorra leaves with what is left of their Danish followers because she will not live under Edward. 

Hild would most likely have returned to her Holy Life. 
Eadyth was a travelling healer so may have moved on. When asked, Uthred said he “had no woman.”

Sithric’s family wasn’t seen or mentioned. No explanation given. 

In the season finale of the show, Stiorra is last seen hugging her family in Bebbanburg.  A comment or two about when/why she left would have been nice for us non-book readers.  But I also know that in the books, Eadith doesn't necessarily move on...  

Also, Finan's and Sihtric's sons (assuming they had some and not all daughters) should have been old enough to fight with them, and there was no mention at all.

There were just a few "holes" that I would have liked to see explained.  It would have only added a few minutes.

12 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I was searching Netflix for that season and couldn't find it??? all I got when I clicked on the series was 1-4.Was it in a special cell?

I enjoyed most of it. The final battle must have taken them more than a week to film.

Loved the ending but have one question--did Brida die with her sword--I didn't think she did, but there she was laughing with Ragnar in Valhalla?

I'm not sure what country you are in, but in the US, I can find all 5 seasons in the same place on Netflix.

I don't know about Brida, but I would have liked to have seen Gisela in the final scene.  She wasn't a warrior, but couldn't she have been there too?

[PatsyandEddie]

Gisela became a Christian did she not?

Ragnar Ragnarson wasn’t in the hall either. He didn’t die with his sword in his hand. 

[iMonrey]

I found this a little hard to follow at times. It felt like a whole season's worth of story crammed into two hours. I guess they didn't have the money to do a whole season and compromised on a movie but everything happened at a breakneck pace, with Uhtred & Co. zipping back and forth between Northumbria and Winchester in the blink of an eye. Uhtred banished from England then un-banished five minutes later.

I also had lost track of who had sons by who and how many. I can't remember how many children Uhtred has had over the course of the series. There was one son who became a monk (the one that Brida castrated) and then there was another son in this movie - I think the one he had with Hild?

Edward had twins, I think, with his first wife but his mother hid them or something, did they ever turn up? Or is Aethelstan one of those twins, and Aethelweird and Edmund were sons by Edwards second wife? I did not remember Eadgifu. Was that his third wife?

So many characters to remember and then a bunch of new characters on top of those.

I think I would have been fine leaving it with the way season five ended. I did like the movie's ending though with Uhtred glimpsing into Valhalla.

[FnkyChkn34]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I also had lost track of who had sons by who and how many. I can't remember how many children Uhtred has had over the course of the series. There was one son who became a monk (the one that Brida castrated) and then there was another son in this movie - I think the one he had with Hild?

Uhtred had 4 children total, one by his first wife when he was very young in the first season, and then 3 with Gisela.  The first child died as an infant.  He didn't have any children with Hild, but she took Osbert as a newborn and hid him.  Gisela died in childbirth with him, but he survived.  He's never mentioned again after his birth, so we don't learn what Hild did until the very end of the finale of Season 5.  

Edited April 17, 2023 by FnkyChkn34
fixed typo

[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.  

14 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

Loved the ending but have one question--did Brida die with her sword--I didn't think she did, but there she was laughing with Ragnar in Valhalla?

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.  

[One Tough Cookie]

6 hours ago, PatsyandEddie said:

Gisela became a Christian did she not?

Ragnar Ragnarson wasn’t in the hall either. He didn’t die with his sword in his hand. 

But didn't Utred obtain blood from Tura and Brida killed Athel/Ethel {Alfred's

bastard son} with her sword and then placed both on Ragnars grave?

[PatsyandEddie]

Yes!!!! You are correct!!! I had totally forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder. 🤗

[proserpina65]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:56 AM, PatsyandEddie said:

Gisela became a Christian did she not?

No, I don't think she did.  That was the point of Uhtred digging up her body and burning it - she wasn't Christian and he wanted her to have a proper pagan send off.

On 4/16/2023 at 5:57 PM, One Tough Cookie said:

But didn't Utred obtain blood from Tura and Brida killed Athel/Ethel {Alfred's

bastard son} with her sword and then placed both on Ragnars grave?

Aethelwold was Alfred's nephew.  Osferth was Alfred's bastard son.

[Fireball]

On 9/5/2021 at 4:26 PM, One Tough Cookie said:

This is my third time around and I still having trouble with the Athels.

On 1/12/2023 at 11:31 AM, proserpina65 said:

At some point I just started calling them all "Atheldude".

I couldn't keep any of the Saxon's straight. All their names stated with an A, and they sounded alike. I've thought about reading the books, but there's no way I would be able to keep who was who straight. At least on the show I had faces... 

On 4/15/2023 at 8:41 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

I watched the movie last night, and while it was mostly very good, I was slightly confused.  Either I zoned out a few times and missed things, or the editing was poor.  I'm guessing a mix of both, but at least there was enough description later to fill in the blanks.

I watch the movie last night and I was so confused. Who was this woman that showed up at Bebbanburg? Who was her kid? It seemed like she was into Uhtred which was also confusing since for the life of me I had no idea who she was. Hearing her name didn't help because well they all sound the same to me.  I had to google who was who since I was so confused; they changed the actress from the series which didn't help.

On 4/16/2023 at 11:04 AM, Eunike said:

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.

I liked the movie, but it would have worked better as a season. Everything felt too rushed. 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Fireball

[One Tough Cookie]

1 hour ago, Fireball said:

I liked the movie, but it would have worked better as a season. Everything felt too rushed. 

I'm OK with the movie itself, would have liked more Finan and Synthric; but I LOVED the final scene.  It sort of made me tear up.

[Anothermi]

I was fine with the movie because at least we got closure. 

Of course I would have preferred a final Season but that was not offered. 

I am thankful to the actors and fans who lobbied for us to get this final wrap up. 

It's better than just cutting it before the end. 

[CountryGirl]

I'm torn. I loved seeing Uthred and crew again, but it bugged that some characters weren't featured (Stiorra, Eadith, and Hild), plot holes, and unnecessary plots including Aethelstan's relationship with Ingilmundr. There was very flimsy evidence to suggest this, based on stereotypical assumptions at that with Aethelstan never marrying and how he wore his hair. Relationships, including same-sex relationships, deserve well-thought-out plots vs being used as a plot device (one that comes to mind is Flint and Thomas in Black Sails, so beautifully revealed, which I binged over the last several weeks).

The last scene with Valhalla was beautiful. But the S5 finale, with Uhtred flashing back moved me more. 

[millennium]

On 5/11/2023 at 11:53 AM, CountryGirl said:

unnecessary plots including Aethelstan's relationship with Ingilmundr.

I disagree that it was unnecessary.   A large portion of the plot was the schism between Aethelstan and Uhtred and its resolution.   The writers were faced with needing a plausible reason to explain why Uhtred's once-devoted pupil and brother-in-arms should turn on him so completely.   Having Aethelstan fall under the spell of a Christian svengali, who not only fills the young man's forbidden desires but also absolves him of the guilt certainly fits the bill.   I'm sure we all know of someone who at that age got caught up in an intense relationship with a controlling individual who put them at odds with their old friends and family.   Here's Aethelstan, a boy-king expected to conduct himself like a man for the sake of his people,  wracked with emotions the world tells him are unmanly and unholy ... then along comes older and more mature Ingilmundir to put both Aethelstan's heart and mind at ease, all to bend the boy to his own nefarious purposes.   I hate to use the word, but Ingilmundir groomed Aethelstan.  As a plot point, I found it to be highly credible.

I found the Valhalla scene to be somewhat lacking.   Brida was there, and Haesten, but few of the people who meant so much to Uhtred over the course of the series, many of whom would have been excluded simply because they were Christian.  Aethelfled was the love of Uhtred's life, but he has to spend eternity without her?   How is that so great?   Didn't he also have a wife and children who died?   And his comrade Osfert?   Is he to never see Pyrlig again in eternity?

I like to think that we all land in the same place, no matter what we were raised to believe.  All that should matter is that you lived a good life.

On 5/11/2023 at 11:53 AM, CountryGirl said:

The last scene with Valhalla was beautiful. But the S5 finale, with Uhtred flashing back moved me more. 

Same.

Edited June 14, 2023 by millennium
grammar

[proserpina65]

On 6/14/2023 at 1:50 AM, millennium said:

I disagree that it was unnecessary.   A large portion of the plot was the schism between Aethelstan and Uhtred and its resolution.   The writers were faced with needing a plausible reason to explain why Uhtred's once-devoted pupil and brother-in-arms should turn on him so completely.   Having Aethelstan fall under the spell of a Christian svengali, who not only fills the young man's forbidden desires but also absolves him of the guilt certainly fits the bill.   I'm sure we all know of someone who at that age got caught up in an intense relationship with a controlling individual who put them at odds with their old friends and family.   Here's Aethelstan, a boy-king expected to conduct himself like a man for the sake of his people,  wracked with emotions the world tells him are unmanly and unholy ... then along comes older and more mature Ingilmundir to put both Aethelstan's heart and mind at ease, all to bend the boy to his own nefarious purposes.   I hate to use the word, but Ingilmundir groomed Aethelstan.  As a plot point, I found it to be highly credible.

I found the Valhalla scene to be somewhat lacking.   Brida was there, and Haesten, but few of the people who meant so much to Uhtred over the course of the series, many of whom would have been excluded simply because they were Christian.  Aethelfled was the love of Uhtred's life, but he has to spend eternity without her?   How is that so great?   Didn't he also have a wife and children who died?   And his comrade Osfert?   Is he to never see Pyrlig again in eternity?

I like to think that we all land in the same place, no matter what we were raised to believe.  All that should matter is that you lived a good life.

Same.

The Christian characters were clearly not going to end up in the same afterlife as the pagan ones because that isn't what they believed and the show always honored what the various characters believed, however much you or I might disagree with that. It never actually endorsed any character's particular belief system over the others'. Not even Uhtred's.

Plus, they couldn't be bothered to include Osferth in the montage at the end of season 5, so why would they include him in Uhtred's afterlife?

[millennium]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Plus, they couldn't be bothered to include Osferth in the montage at the end of season 5, so why would they include him in Uhtred's afterlife?

Perhaps they were sore that he jumped ship to House of the Dragon.

I understand why the Christians and Danes were segregated in the afterlife.   It just seems sad and wildly ironic, since many of the characters spent much of their mortal lives trying to create a land where Christians and Danes could coexist. 

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, millennium said:

Perhaps they were sore that he jumped ship to House of the Dragon.

I understand why the Christians and Danes were segregated in the afterlife.   It just seems sad and wildly ironic, since many of the characters spent much of their mortal lives trying to create a land where Christians and Danes could coexist. 

I definitely agree about it being sad.

I doubt Ewan moving on after his character had been killed off was a factor but who knows with showrunners. 

[proserpina65]

Finally saw Seven Kings Must Die this weekend.  I've been watching TLK with a friend who'd never seen it past the end of season 1 and she has Netflix so we watched the movie.  (I probably wouldn't have otherwise.)

I was pretty meh on it.  Aldhelm's death was sad, as was Ingrith's, but otherwise I wasn't really all that engaged.  Except when my friend referred to Aethelstan's boyfriend as "Ingil-dingle" - that was rather amusing.  I guess we got closure, but I didn't need it.  Honestly, had I been watching TLK by myself, I'd have stopped with episode 4 of season 5.

My friend did enjoy the series, though, so I'm definitely glad we did our weekly Uhtred-ing.