By Brent Snyder (3/10/2022)
The fifth season of Netflix's historical adventure series "The Last Kingdom" finds hero Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) in an unusual place for the warrior - peacetime. The Danes and Saxons in medieval England are successfully living under a truce with their respective kingdoms prospering.
At least at the very start of the season - because the vengeful Brida (Emily Cox) has raised a Viking army in Iceland and launches a massive attack on England to enact revenge on Uhtred and anyone else she believes has wronged her.
There be spoilers here - Uhtred and Brida have a complicated relationship that has evolved over the course of five seasons. As Saxon children they were both captured as slaves by raiding Vikings and then adopted and raised as Danes. The childhood friends grew up together, fell in love and became inseparable partners.
But war and fate divide them. Uhtred believes his destiny is to reclaim his family's title and land in England, while Brida sees her path as serving the Norse gods and devotes her life to destroying the Christian Saxons. While Uhtred - who identifies as both Saxon and Dane - continues to serve English kings and queens he seldom agrees with, the ever angry Brida allies herself with a roster of Viking leaders determined to conquer England.
By the fifth season, Brida is no longer the second-in-command to yet another Viking warlord - this time, the she's primary antagonist of the story. And it's about time. Cox is a phenomenal actress with a dynamic emotional range and steals pretty much every scene she's in.
Dreymon as Uhtred is by comparison, a more somber and brooding heroic figure, yet just as captivating onscreen. Uhtred always wants to do the right thing, but is willing to make the hard choices when necessary - and is always putting himself at the forefront of danger. Dreymon is also excellent at sword fighting and the many medieval combat sequences continue to be highlights of the series.
Based on author Bernard Cornwell's "The Saxon Stories" novels, "The Last Kingdom" mixes fictitious characters with historical figures, much like the "Vikings" and "Vikings: Valhalla" series. Fans will recognize familiar names like Ragnar, King Alfred, Ubba, Earl Sigurd and Cnut, but they are very different from their counterparts in the "Vikings" universe.
Also like "Vikings" and "Vikings: Valhalla," "The Last Kingdom" spends time with the Saxon side of the story as well, with royal family drama and court intrigue. Behind castle walls, alliances, betrayals, infidelity and assassination attempts are the order of the day. One such assassination finds the wrong target, which has cataclysmic consequences that threaten to once again engulf both Saxons and Danes with the flames of war.
Season five is said to be the final season of "The Last KIngdom" and I am happy to report that by season's end, everything works out for the best. Not only is this one of the best final seasons of a series, it also has one of the best season (and series) finales I've seen in a while. All of the various subplots are wrapped up with a bow and happy endings are the ordrer of the day.
Unfortunately, even in the last season, "The Last Kingdom" follows the trope of doomed romance when it comes to Uhtred's love life. If a female character becomes a love interest of Uhtred, she's not long for this world. Apparently "fridging" was a thing even back in medieval times. Which is a real shame because there are some excellent female characters presented throughout the five seasons of the show.
Thankfully for fans of "The Last Kingdom," a spin-off movie, "Seven Kings Must Die," is currently in production. There are 13 novels in "The Saxon Stories" (now retitled "The Last Kingdom") series of books, with plenty of material leftover for more Uhtred adventures. And maybe someday Uhtred will fall in love with someone he can grow old with. Wouldn't that be a nice destiny?
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