The 25 Best Characters on The Last Kingdom

22) SIHTRIC

As the bastard son of Kjarten, life must have rough for Sihtric (Arnas Fedaravicius), particularly after he swears an oath of fealty to his father’s sworn enemy, Uhtred. Sihtric is Uhtred’s captive early in season 2, but the young man chooses to make a case to Uhtred for why he’ll be useful rather than try and escape. Uhtred sees something he likes in Sihtric, and takes him into his company.

Though often teased by the older men — especially about his heartfelt love for a former prostitute — Sihtric is brave and utterly loyal to Uhtred, proving his value time and time again. It is Sihtric whom Gisela trusts to deliver her note to Hild as she flees Guthred’s tyranny, the man Uhtred trusts to remain behind in the dark to see if the dead Bjorn rises from his grave, and the man he trusts to spy on the Vikings holding Aethelflaed at Beamfleaot.

Like several other Last Kingdom characters, Sihtric is a man who doesn’t belong to the society he was born to. Uhtred lost two homes — his ancestral Bebbanburg and Earl Ragnar’s household –and Sihtric was obviously never accepted by Kjartan at Denholm. They’re both ill-fitting products of the unsettled English landscape: Uhtred is Saxon by birth and a Dane by breeding, while Sihtric is a Dane by birth but now fights for the Saxon King. Their mixed histories make them outcasts, but also position them as agents of change in the world.

In the final episode of season 2, Sihtric is in the thick of things at Uhtred’s command, acting as a spy inside Erik and Sigefrid’s Viking stronghold and fighting alongside Uhtred in the mission to rescue Aethelflaed. Though we don’t see him later, we can safely assume that Sihtric is with Uhtred when he returns to his estate at Coccham.