Netflix TV Review: The Last Kingdom (2015-)

Season three’s opening is different because King Alfred is no longer a young king. He is ripe with knowledge, but for the first time you see his body and mind not in congruence. He now concentrates on his family’s longevity and mainly through his son, Prince Edward (played by Timothy Innes).  It also includes his vision for Wessex to ensure its survival and a place in history.  In the land of the Danes, the story continues with the relationship between Uhtred and Ragnar as well as Uhtred and Brida (played by Emily Cox) where loyalties are tested.  Uhtred’s wife remains a part of life, Gisela (played by Peri Baumeister), and Skade (played by Thea Sofie Loch Naess) becomes a thorn in his side he’s trying to remove throughout the season. Patience is a key word when it comes to Skade as she is passed around from Sigurd Bloodhair (played by Ola Rapace), Haesten (played by Jeppe Beck Laursen), and Uhtred.

While some characters got what was coming to them, the precursor to it left me stunned because again, I never thought it would play out that way. The last episode includes a jockeying for power among the royalty including Athelwold (played by Harry McEntire) as well as among the Danes where Haesten probably misses Erik and Sigefried from the previous season. We end with Uhtred having the same goal he began with, and whether he got any closer to it remains to be seen. I’m wondering how the relationship between him and Brida play out in the next season as her commitment to Ragnar is fiercer than ever, and what will happen to Beocca. It wasn’t hard for me to enjoy the show because I like historical fiction. For all the other shows out there dealing with kings and queens, mystical beings, and jealous enemies, The Last Kingdom is also worthy of your time.