The Last Kingdom: TV Review-S5 "Episode 3"
On a splendid roll, The Last Kingdom keeps upping the stakes in "Episode 3."
The Last Kingdom
Season 5: “Episode 3”
In the aftermath of the tragic battle for Eoferwic, Sigtryggr is forced to make a painful choice. Edward learns of Aethelhelm's intrigues in Mercia.
(BEWARE OF SPOILERS)
RECAP
In York, Stiorra emerges from hiding and confronts Brida, demanding they fight to death in the square. Sneaking in through a sewer, Sigtryggr, Uhtred and their company move to ambush Brida’s Vikings, by releasing the prisoners and opening the gates for Father Pyrlig’s cavalry. Brida’s daughter Vibeke is killed and Uhtred allows her to escape with the remnants of her army. Uhtred vows to chase her down.
Changed, Sigtryggr must weigh the fate of his treasonous brother, Rognvalder; he also asks Uhtred to join him on a Viking crusade, but the duty-bound Uhtred refuses. In Winchester, Aethelhelm forges a conspiracy to make his grandson the King of Mercia.
Aethelflaed, fading faster than expected, is taken home to Aegelsberg, where her daughter Aelfwynn agrees to accept the responsibilities of the Mercian throne. Finn decides to tell Uhtred about Aethelflaed’s condition. Meanwhile, King Edward’s lover, Eadgifu, overhears Aethelhelm and Aelflaed plotting and informs the King. Sigtryggr forces Rognvalder to prove his worth in a public trial.
REVIEW
Considering the quality of episodes 1-3 it sure looks like this final season of The Last Kingdom could bow out with its best season of the bunch. I’m very hopeful the producers will wrap up Cornwell’s story by continuing to stay true to the spirit of the novels and the show. Honestly, I experience a touch of trepidation each time a view a new season 5 episode . . . I guess I’m still gun-shy due to trauma over Game of Throne’s disappointing and ramshackle sendoff. I am happy to report to you that “Episode 3” is no stinker.
The Last Kingdom has always been a show waist-deep in pain, even more so than most potboiler TV dramas. Good heavens, poor Uhtred has lost more wives and loved ones than most any human being could bear. And yet, he battles on. Events at the start of season 5 have battered the poor guy even more. He’s tangled up his stewardship of Rumcofa, protecting King Edward’s son from assassins and racing to save Stiorra from peril in York. He’s had to deal with the severe wounding of his son (as part of Brida’s assault on his family line) and learned the news of Aethelflaed’s impending doom.
No wonder the guy is crying. So am I.
And now there’s a new wasteland of agony surrounding Uhtred. Brida, consumed by vengeance, will go over the brink with the death of her weird daughter. The cancer-consumed Aethelflaed despairs over her legacy. The wise Viking Sigtryggr, betrayed by his brother and Brida and beaten nearly to a pulp has, as Stiorra describes “a shadow on him;” his denouncement of his Christian conversion signaling his reversion to the brutal ways of his ancestors.
The half-Saxon, half-Dane Uhtred has lived many lives through the series, in different roles in different places as a lord, a warrior and an outlaw. He’s become so embroiled in personal, political and military conflicts that his dream, his obsession, of retaking Bebbanburg has been in hibernation for long periods of time.
Not any more. Despite the first three superb episodes being wound up in the Viking invasion of York, we know (from the trailer and for the sake of the narrative), that Uhtred will finally get to make his play for Bebbanburg. Can we expect heavy losses—even the death of Uhtred himself—in the attempt?
Though I dread what may come for these characters I’ve come to love, my hope is The Last Kingdom will stay the course it set out from its first glowing shot of Uhtred and, when the moment of fate arrives, pull no punches.
EPISODE RANKING: 8.6 out of 10
If you enjoyed this review please consider becoming a free or paying subscriber to my Substack newsletter and join our community. For the monthly price of one cup of decent coffee you become my patron with early access to my novels, the Writer’s Kitchen podcast and much more insider stuff. Here’s to the Arselings!