The 25 Best Characters on The Last Kingdom

20) UBBA

A committed pagan, the belligerent and perhaps not-entirely-sane Ubba (Rune Temte) follows the will of the Norse gods and the will of the Norse gods only. He relies heavily upon the words of the pagan sorcerer Storri, even planning wars around his readings of omens and portents. “Ubba is unpredictable,” Brida says. “He takes his orders from the Gods.” Uhtred’s reply: “I know. He listens only to his sorcerer, and he’s half-mad.”

It’s fun every time we see Ubba come thundering onto the screen because we know he’s going to bring plenty of Viking machismo and threatening swagger. Uhtred describes Ubba as “the closest thing the Danes will have to a king.” In the second episode of the show, when the Vikings test the power of King Edmund’s god by porcupining him with arrows (which might be based on an actual historical event), Ubba is full of amusement and black humor. It’s one of my favorite Last Kingdom moments.

As the most powerful Viking warlord in England, Ubba quickly becomes Uhtred’s enemy. The enmity really gets going when Uhtred and Brida kidnap Ubba’s precious sorcerer, Storri. The next time Ubba sees Uhtred, it’s at the tense negotiation with Alfred at Wiltun, in the third episode. Ubba can barely contain his fury when he sees Uhtred standing with the Saxons. Alfred offers the Vikings a fortune of grain, horses, livestock and silver to keep away from Wessex, but Ubba is willing to forgo all of it if only Alfred will give him Uhtred, so he can chop his head off.

Heroes are only as great as the enemies they face, and Ubba is a furious Danish mountain. It does not seem that Uhtred could possibly match Ubba in battle, but when they match axe against sword in the fourth episode, Uthred proves the better warrior, which is kind of surprising.