Every single episode of The Last Kingdom, ranked worst to best
(18) SEASON 1: “EPISODE SIX”
“Uhtred catches the eye of a lovely pagan queen, and his band of raiders become mercenaries for a Cornish King. But he soon faces the fury of Alfred.”
Recap
Seeking their own fortune, Uhted and Leofric prepare to raid villages in Cornwalum disguised as Danes. Uhtred and Mildrith’s relationship is strained over her desire to convert him and baptize their son. Uhtred and Leofric lead their raiders into Corwalum and discover Aethelwold in their midst. Odda the Younger and Bishop Alewold arrive at Uhtred’s estate to investigate the killing of Oswald.
Uhtred’s raid is a failure until he reaches the lands of the Briton King Peredur, and his shadow queen Iseult. After being misled by Peredur, Uhtred teams up with the frightening Sword Dane Skorpa and turns on Peredur and his Britons. Skorpa betrays Uhtred, but isn’t aware of Peredur’s real treasure cache, which Iseult reveals to Uhtred later. Uhtred uses his newfound wealth to pay off his debt to the church and terminate the investigation into his killing of Oswald. Uhtred takes the pagan Iseult home with him, humiliating Mildrith and effectively ending their marriage.
Since Uhtred was arrogant enough to give his real name at Cornwalum, King Alfred learns of his illegal plundering of Saxon territory. Both Uhtred and Leofric are condemned to death.
Our Take
Noteworthy for its introduction of really interesting characters like Iseult and Skorpa, this episode veers somewhat away from the main storyline of the season, concentrating instead on Uhtred and Leofric’s disastrous raid on Cornwalum, a prime example of their bad judgement.
Uhtred’s mistreatment of the honorable Mildrith is jarring. It’s another example of his tendency to be vindictive and immature, eager to misplace blame. He’s infatuated with the raven-haired Iseult and her paganism, which inspires him to spurn his devout wife and baptized son. While Uhtred is disappointing here, we appreciate the show’s commitment to exploring his dark side, with an eye toward evolving him into something more than a cardboard cutout protagonist.
Meanwhile, Uhtred is justifiably angry when Odda the Younger takes credit for Uhtred killing Ubba at Cynuit Hill, but Uhtred’s emotional outbursts at King Alfred’s witan don’t help his case. He’s caught lying about his Cornwalum raid, and it’s gut-wrenching that the main witness against him is the already-compromised Leofric.
The episode’s best moment is its ending, when Leofric requests a fight to the death, which would at least allow Uhtred to die a warrior and gain entry into Valhalla. It’s a hell of a cliffhanger.
QUOTE: “No crucifixes and crosses. You are god-fearing Christians no more. You are Danes now. Pagans! You don’t cross yourselves nor look to the heavens. Let’s make ourselves rich!” (Uhtred, to his Saxon raiders disguises as Danes)
