Every single episode of The Last Kingdom, ranked worst to best
(21) SEASON 2: “EPISODE TWO”
“The stratagems of Abbot Eadred play on Guthred’s weakness. Uhtred rallies the men of Cumbraland to march on Eoferwic, but faces a cruel betrayal.”
Recap
Tekil, Kjartan’s assassin, arrives in Cumbraland with Sihtric, ready to join Guthred’s army. The Danish Guthred plans to be baptized and marry a Saxon woman, but warns Uhtred away from Gisela. Tekil is killed in the attempt to abduct Uhtred, and Sihtric is captured. Hild beheads a Viking corpse to gain a suit of armor. Guthred calls a witan with the lords of Northumbria and plans to march his holy army to Eoferwic, with the body of Saint Cuthbert at the head.
Sihtric defeats his captors and Uhtred brings him into his army. Abbot Eadred continues to convince Guthred that Uhtred is a threat. Uhtred and Gisela spend the night together. Uhtred and his scouts see Sigefrid and Eric with their reduced force, and Uhtred wants to attack them immediately. Guthred disagrees, choosing to parley instead. Guthred cuts a deal with the Viking brothers to take Dunholm from Kjartan. Abbot Eadred convinces Guthred to join Kjartan and betray Uhtred. Uhtred is sold into slavery. Hild rides to inform King Alfred.
Our Take
The Last Kingdom explores a vast and complicated geopolitical landscape, and sometimes it has to take time to explain what the heck is going on. This is one of those episodes. As usual, the showrunners still keep everything moving at a good clip and never forget to deliver those small character moments that keep us engaged.
Hild, a complex and magnetic character, dominates almost every scene she’s in, something she’ll make a habit of. (She fills the Leofric void, not Steapa). Her beheading of one of the Viking corpses — with a knife, no less — so she can get a suit of armor and take revenge is a chilling moment. But while she dons her chain mail and arms herself with blades, she still wears her cross; she, like Uhtred and many others, becomes a character caught between two worlds.
Uhtred and Beocca’s farewell scene is tender, with Uhtred acknowledging how little he might heed the good advice of his father figure. Gisela begins to demonstrate her independence from her newly empowered brother, proving that she’s going to be a good match for the headstrong Uhtred. Uhtred’s betrayal by Abbot Eadred and Guthrum is unexpected, but not shocking; Uhtred has a habit of underestimating enemies outside the battlefield.
You may love this episode, especially if you like big servings of Guthred. In many ways, it’s a place-setting installment for the two episodes to follow.
QUOTE: “It is not lost on me that while you who gave me my freedom, I am now taking yours. You will become a slave, Uhtred.” (Guthred, to Uhtred)