Every single episode of The Last Kingdom, ranked worst to best
(3) SEASON 3: “EPISODE TEN”
“As a climactic battle with the Danes draws near, untested Edward faces dire decisions about the fates of Uhtred, Wessex–and England.”
Recap
The third season finale pays off the cliffhanger from the previous episode, with Thyra trapped under the floorboards of her burning house. Uhtred sits in prison as the court proceeds with King Alfred’s funeral ceremony. Aethelwold still plies his conspiracies, this time to Aethelred. Thyra perishes and there is nothing Beocca can do. The grieving Beocca blames Aethelwold and his men and goes after them with an axe.
At Hunstanton, the Danes celebrate the news of Alfred’s death, knowing Wessex is now ripe for the picking. Aethelflaed informs Uhtred that he is now banished (again) and Beocca tells him that Thyra is dead. Aethelred tells Aethelflaed that he is now the king of an independent Mercia, and he stabs Aldhelm when the counselor flouts his will. The Dane army sets to the march. The wounded lovelorn Aldhelm retreats to the care of Aethelflaed, both professing his love and warning her she must call the men of Mercia to her banner.
Steapa is charged to take Uhtred to the Wessex frontier and accept his exile. Uhtred holds up Alfred’s pardon and states he will remain in Wessex to stand with Edward. Charged with making the ultimate decision, Edward decides that Alfred’s pardon stands and Uhtred is a free man. Uhtred chooses to remain in Wessex and follow Edward Rex. Serving as Edward’s battle commander, Uhtred tries to motivate the frightened court and stiffens Edward’s resolve to call upon his vassals to join his campaign.
Aethelwold rides to the Dane army, informing Cnut and Brida of how his ally, Sigebriht of Kent, will use his sizable army to betray Edward’s forces in battle. Brida sends a messenger to Uhtred to tell him that Aethelwold is the man who killed Ragnar. Edward rallies his soldiers as the larger Dane army approaches. The Saxons ambush the rear of the Danish column. Without the expected support of Sigebriht’s Kentish reinforcements, Uhtred and Edward’s outnumbered force is about to be overwhelmed.
Aethelflaed, sword swinging, charges her Mercian cavalry into the fray alongside the Saxons. The battle hangs in the balance as Sigebriht and his Kentish force arrive, and Sigebriht chooses to side with Wessex. With the Danes collapsing, Uhtred pursues Aethelwold into the forest to kill him with his sword drenched in Thyra’s blood. Uhtred and Brida believe Ragnar is now crossing to Valhalla.
Our Take
The death of Thyra and its effect on Beocca is a sad way to begin the episode, but happiness is a rare and often fleeting commodity on The Last Kingdom. The prison cell scene between Uhtred and Beocca is one of the most heart-wrenching of the series. Uhtred’s speech before the people in the main square of Winchester is well-written and moving, and it also frees him of Leofric’s ghost.
This is a great season wrap-up episode, pulling together many story threads and capping it all off with a big-budget, multilayered and exciting battle sequence: The Dane threat is throttled once again, Uhtred exacts his revenge upon Aethelwold, Edward proves worthy of his father’s crown and Aetheflaed blossoms as a leader of men. The final meeting between Uhtred and Aethelwold is a classic.
“Episode Ten” begins with Alfred’s dream of Wessex and a united England unraveling upon his death. The cracks within the Saxon alliance split and Edward’s cause appears doomed. Yet it is Uhtred fulfilling his promise to the dying king, to stand with Edward when the storm comes, that saves Wessex from destruction. Destiny is all.
Image: Netflix/The Last Kingdom
Quote: “All that Alfred stood for is crumbling. You, Uhtred, cannot be dragged into the shadows. You must become the light.” (Beocca, to Uhtred)