The final season of The Last Kingdom gets a release date and trailer

The time is almost upon us for the final season of The Last Kingdom! Just today, Netflix dropped a trailer and release date for the show’s fifth and final season. It’s been a long wait since season 4 aired back in April 2020, with the show facing severe delays in the meantime. But that’s almost over. Apparently, when Aelswith actor Eliza Butterworth teased we’d be seeing season 5 “suuuuper sooooon,” she wasn’t kidding.

Here’s the trailer:

The Last Kingdom season 5 release date

As we can see, things look to be getting pretty intense. Brida (Emily Cox) has it out for her old friend and lover Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon). Their relationship has long been one of the cornerstones of the series going all the way back to the show’s very first episode. But with years of warfare driving them ever farther onto conflicting sides, things have finally hit the breaking point.

We also check in with plenty of other characters, including a much older and more seasoned-looking King Edward (Timothy Innes) and his mother/advisor Aelswith. There’s also a stunning shot of a clifftop battle outside of what appears to be Uhtred’s ancestral home of Bebbanburg. There are several references to the fortress in the trailer, which make it seem pretty likely that after all these seasons, we’ll finally get to see Uhtred march north to retake his home with an army of allies at his back.

But by far the most exciting thing about this trailer is that it also tells us exactly when to expect The Last Kingdom’s final season. It will be hitting the streaming platform exactly a month from now, on March 9.

New images for The Last Kingdom season 5

In addition to the trailer and release date, Netflix also released a bunch of new images from the show’s upcoming final season. Let’s look at a couple of highlights.

Brida has always been a really important player in the show. The trailer hints that she’s going after Uhtred, aiming to eradicate his bloodline and make him pay for siding with England against the Danes. She’s leading a newly unified force of Dane raiders; the white markings on her forehead are one of their signature identifiers.

It’s not totally clear who that is she’s got at knife point in the second picture. It almost looks like Uhtred, but the trailer overlays this scene with Brida saying “bring me Uhtred,” so it’s probably not him.

King Edward has had a rocky road to becoming a powerful ruler. He took over the throne of Wessex at a young enough age and struggled greatly with the responsibility as advisors whispered conflicting counsel in his ear. In season 5, it looks like he’s finally come into his own as a king.

We also get a shot of Edward’s sister Aethelflaed (Millie Brady), who is now the Queen of Mercia. Aethelflaed has been every bit her father’s daughter, a shrewd politician and leader who commands the respect and adoration of those who serve her. Aethelflaed’s awful husband Aethelred was assassinated last season, which means that after surviving the coup and securing her power, we’ll likely find Aethelflaed at the top of her game in season 5.

And of course, no set of Last Kingdom images would be complete without Uhtred son of Uhtred, the exile lord of Bebbanburg. When last we saw him he was wandering the land with King Edward’s young son, both to keep the boy safe from dissenting factions in the king’s court and to teach him about the world. From the looks of things, Uhtred will be doing more fighting than wandering in the show’s final season, which is just how it should be.

That last image is a little trippy, but it seems like maybe those are horses charging past Uhtred. Considering that this is going to be the last time we see The Last Kingdom as a television show, it should be an emotional and heady affair as long-simmering plotlines finally come to a head.

We’ll end with this stunning wide shot of two people looking out over a mountain vista. We can’t say for certain who these characters are quite yet, but from the clothing we’re guessing Danes. We’ll find out when we finally get to see The Last Kingdom season 5 next month on Netflix. And after that, The Last Kingdom movie Seven Kings Must Die is in the pipeline.

The Last Kingdom season 5 premieres March 9 on Netflix. Season 1-4 are currently available on the platform for preparatory rewatch purposes.

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