The 25 Best Characters on The Last Kingdom
4) KING ALFRED
It’s not easy being king, especially when you’re the last one standing. By the end of the third episode, King Alfred (David Dawson) has survived King Edmund, the Saxon ruler of East Anglia, and his older brother King Aethelred of Wessex. Ruling in a perilous time when every British kingdom save his own has been overwhelmed by Danish invaders, the uber-ambitious Alfred not only plans to survive but to conquer the Danes and finally unite all the kingdoms of England as a Christian nation.
Alfred and Uhtred have a complicated relationship. Alfred makes Uhtred a good many promises, but sometimes seems more interested in manipulating Uhtred to his own advantage. He doesn’t trust Uhtred, partially because Uhtred is a difficult guy to trust, given that he’s often telling half-lies to hide the little schemes he’s constantly running. There’s also a religious conflict. While the pagan Uhtred believes in the hand of Fate, Alfred sees the world as the work of the Christian God. “An Irishman across the sea kills a Dane and the world changes. The hand of God.” (Season 1, “Episode Four”)
Still, Alfred and Uhtred have been forced into a tenuous alliance, which leads to leadership clashes. Alfred prefers to contemplate every crisis before taking action, while Uhtred tends to leap before he looks. But through all of this, Alfred still recognizes Uhtred’s value, and it pays off: the heir to Bebbanburg has saved Wessex a number of times, not to mention being instrumental in saving the lives of Alfred’s children.
Alfred is doing his best to be a good, Christian king. Lechery is one of his many faults. He can be manipulative, stubborn and exercise poor judgment, but he’s also emotionally vulnerable. When Leofric and Odda the Elder, two of his best people, defy him to the point of committing treason, Alfred is painfully torn. Alfred is entitled, haughty and calculating, but he can be heartbroken. He is a king who weeps. Dawson’s performance helps here; he infuses the king with just enough warmth and humanity to render him both relatable and unpredictable
It’s a big mistake to view the pious and physically frail Alfred as weak; as far as achieving his agenda is concerned, he’s ruthless. At the end of season 2, his kingship over Wessex is stronger than ever, and he may well feel ready to pursue his dream of building a unified Christian England.