The Last Kingdom season 5: All episodes reviewed and explained

Episode 2

I’ve always liked that The Last Kingdom doesn’t waste time. There are 10 episodes in this season and each one is pushing an hour long, and that’s with no commercials. When I see that, part of me fears that the show will drag things out, but I never feel like I reach the end of a Last Kingdom episode with nothing having happened.

That said, “Episode 2” takes us right to the edge of a big something. Brida has taken over Sigtryggr’s settlement at Eoforwic but has failed to capture Stiorra, who hides in some tunnels underneath the main square where she still has a clear view of the torture Brida is putting her ladies in waiting through, thanks to a handy curb drain. After forcing the women to remain on their knees for two days straight, Brida again drafts her creepy kid wander through the crowd and pick out human sacrifices, and this time they’re not willing.

That gets Stiorra to come out of hiding, shouting “I’m coming for you, Brida!” in a wonderfully dramatic way. But we cut out right before we get the confrontation. It sure does make you want to keep binging, I’ll give it that.

Naturally, Uhtred is mobilizing the team to save Stiorra, although he isn’t able to count on much help, which is another common theme on this show: honestly, the number of times Uhtred has had to go it alone is pretty staggering.

That said, the show always comes up with a good reason why he doesn’t have allies. This time he asks Aethelflaed to lend him soldiers, but she can’t because of something she cannot tell him: she’s dying of cancer, and she knows that means there will be trouble in Mercia before too long. She’ll need all of her soldiers to keep the peace and help the succession go smoothly, which is no guarantee considering her daughter Aelfwynn is a bit of a wild child who has no interest in ruling. And Aethelflaed can’t tell Uhtred this because then he might get distracted from the need to rescue his daughter. It’s a painful dilemma and I felt for Aethelflaed. I didn’t care that it was the 300th time the show had contrived a predicament like this.

Uhtred and co meet up with Sigtryggr on their way to Eoforwic and hatch a plan to infiltrate the town. I honestly forget how Sigtryggr comes to be wandering the wilds after Brida humiliates him and cuts his hair (“the Christians have a story about it,” she jokes), but it’s cool to see him angry and determined when he’s usually so calm and collected.

Again, the episode ends before we really get to the fireworks: just as Stiorra confronts Brida, Sigtryggr leads Uhtred and friends into town through some kind of back entrance. This is a solid episode that does what it needs to do, but what it needs to do is set up a more exciting hour to come.

The Last Bullet Points

• Once again, Aelswith kind of seems like an unneeded appendage here. She learns that her daughter is dying and gets upset, which is sympathetic, but her presence feels perfunctory.
• In Winchester, Edward is making like his dad and taking a variety of mistresses. His latest, Eadgifu (Sonya Cassidy), might become more than just a fling, despite Aethelhelm’s attempts to bribe her out of town.
• Last week we met Benedict (Patrick Robinson), a priest on loan from Aethelflaed to Uhtred. He seems like a decent guy, but Aethelhelm is using his debts to turn him into an informant about everything going on in Uhtred’s camp.

The Last Kingdom Episode Grade: B-

– Dan