The 25 Best Characters on The Last Kingdom
21) GUTHRUM
Guthrum (Thomas W. Gabrielsson) is a ruthless Viking warlord who starts the show as the wild Ubba’s number two. He and Ubba make a good pairing despite their very different personalities: Ubba is loud, impulsive and obsessed with his sorcerer’s reading of omens. The dour Guthrum is a thinker, far more interested in strategy and something of a seeker as far as faith goes. Looking at their demeanors, it’s not surprising that Guthrum is the one still breathing at the end of season 2.
Midway through season 1, Ubba confronts Guthrum about losing a battle, which he considers a unacceptable. Guthrum, who had mortally wounded the Saxon king Aethelred, talks his way out of it, but you get the feeling that had it been any Viking other than Guthrum, Ubba would have simply separated his head from his shoulders without conversation.
Unlike Ubba, who will lash out emotionally in most any situation, Guthrum is more measured. When he orders his men to kill Uhtred and the other hostages at Werham, Ragnar the Younger confronts him. He defers to Ragnar’s wishes rather than risk losing the support of Ragnar’s men, where Ubba would surely have followed through with his original plan, risk be damned.
Christianity continually fascinates Guthrum. He’s interested in the tale of Saint Sebastian and in Uhtred’s baptism, and later has many conversations about religion with Father Selbix when the priest is held hostage at Werham. But Guthrum doesn’t get too attached to his teacher, knifing Father Selbix when it comes time to eliminate the Saxon hostages.
After Ubba’s death, Guthrum’s Viking forces take Lunden towards the end of season 1. Guthram spares the sniveling Aethelwold, probably figuring that someone with a legitimate claim to the throne of Wessex might come in handy later on. Guthrum is drawn in to Alfred’s great “decisive battle” at Ethandun, and retreats after his forces are defeated.
After Alfred brokers a peace at the beginning of season 2, Guthrum seems to have been pacified. The contentious Ubba is dead and gone, and Guthrum has chosen a life of peaceful co-existence with the Saxons, taking the crown of East Anglia and going so far as to be baptized and renamed Aethelstan. Now “officially” a Christian, he has joined the league of Last Kingdom characters who exist between two worlds.
It all might be a scam, though. We’re interested to see what the clever Guthrum has planned for season 3.