The 25 Best Characters on The Last Kingdom
3) RAGNAR THE YOUNGER
We dearly hope The Last Kingdom season 3 brings big helpings of Ragnar! As the trueborn son of Ragnar the Elder’s Viking household, Ragnar loves his younger Saxon brother (Uhtred) and sister (Brida) as fiercely as they love him. He’s a Dane to the core: loyal, brave, wild, adventurous and hungry for the bloody thrill of war. While Uhtred is determined to seize his family’s rightful claim to the lands of Bebbanburg, Ragnar also has a personal quest: to kill Kjartan the Cruel (Alexander Willaume), the man who betrayed and murdered his father.
Even though he’s unsure of Uhtred’s allegiance to the Saxons, there’s no doubt that Ragnar will always be willing to protect his brother. We saw that in season 1, at Werham, when Uhtred was a Viking hostage and Guthrum had ordered his men to kill him. Without hesitation, Ragnar stepped in between Guthrum and Uhtred, demanding his brother be spared. Faced with the prospect of losing the support of Ragnar and his men, Guthrum relents. It was an honorable move on the part of Ragnar, but dangerous — we have no doubt that the powerful warlord Guthrum will remember his insubordination.
After Uhtred and Brida’s passionate love affair flamed out, Young Ragnar and Brida found love together. They seem happy, but one suspects that their romantic relationship might not last.
The last time we saw Ragnar was midway through season 2, at Dunholm. After a lifetime of planning, he is finally able to face and kill Kjartan, the man who murdered his family. And Uhtred was there beside him, as he had always promised he would be. The brothers were also able to free their long-lost sister, Thyra, and make certain she was being cared for.
One might think that both Ragnar and Brida have been released to live the freewheeling life of Vikings (Guthrum did promise him the stronghold of Dunholm), but we all know that their bond to Uhtred, especially Ragnar’s, will wrap them up in Uhtred’s next life or death adventure. Norwegian actor Tobias Santelmann plays Ragnar like a slam-bang cup of hot coffee–big, burly, brutal and sweet–so it’s hard not to like him.