Episode 3
We pick up exactly where we left off at the end of Episode 2, with Stiorra confronting Brida in Eoforwic, making the very bold decision to challenge the Vikings warrior woman to a fight. That goes about as well as expected, but it does buy Uhtred, Sigtryggr and the rest time to infiltrate the community and give Stiorra some backup, setting off a battle that takes up the first chunk of the episode.
What we have here is the climax of the last episode here at the start of this one, which doesn’t quite sit right with me: I dunno, maybe I’m just programmed to expect the most dramatic moment in a story to come at the end; I feel unmoored when the huge battle scene starts the proceedings.
Perhaps for that reason, this skirmish doesn’t have quite the punch I was hoping for. Uhtred and Brida reunite on the battlefield, but it doesn’t have the drama a moment like this deserves. Instead we get some hacky dialog about Brida castrating Uhtred’s son. “It’s not like the little priest was using his cock.” Great, thank you, very edgy.
The turning point comes when Brida’s creepy daughter climbs a roof to get above the fray, and then has to decide whether to accept Uhtred’s help in getting down or leaping off the roof into her mother’s waiting arms. At Brida’s urging she chooses the latter and dies. And it’s…unintentionally funny? Maybe I’m just a monster, but I wasn’t feeling the tragic weight I think the episode wanted me to feel here.
In the end, Brida gets away and every character save her daughter is left standing. I dunno, the resolution of this conflict left me feeling a bit cold, but things do improve once the episode slows down and starts focusing on Aethelflaed’s worsening condition. I was particularly moved by the scene where Finan tells Uhtred what’s going on and Alexander Dreymon starts putting together his Emmy reel. “I thought we had more time,” he whispers. Oof, that got to me.
I was also moved by the scene where Aethelflaed, who’s literally on her deathbed, tries to prepare the rebellious Aelfwynn for her ascension to the Mercian throne. We haven’t known this grown-up Aelfwynn for very long, but it’s still stirring to see a daughter blink back tears and try to live up to her dying mother’s expectations.
Although of course, there are plenty of people who would prefer Aelfwynn not succeed her mother; Aethelhelm immediately starts scheming to put his grandson Aelfweard in charge of Mercia, which I’m sure will stir up plenty of conflict in the episodes to come. The Last Kingdom has always been good at knocking over dominoes even as it sets up new ones.
Finally, we have Sigtryggr, who’s going through an identity crisis after Brida ransacked his home. On one level, I was having trouble understanding why is was so mad at the Christians for “poisoning” his people. Sure, it seems like Edward and Aethelflaed didn’t send him aid, but it was the pagan Brida who wrecked the place.
But on the other hand, I know he’s having an irrational reaction, which deepens his character. I like Sigtryggr. I like that he has a mix of brutality and tenderness, and an intelligence behind the eyes that makes it believable why Stiorra would want to be with him. I hope he comes out the other side of this with his spirit intact.
The episode ends with Sigtryggr and Stiorra putting Sigtryggr’s brother on trial for betraying them to Brida. And it’s not a normal trial with evidence and a judge and stuff; this is a weird Viking trial where he pull a brand out of a pot of boiling water and take nine steps with it in hand, which will prove his guilt or innocence according to the old stupid ways. Seems like a low stakes place for a cliffhanger.
The Last Bullet Points
- This episode deepens the relationship between Edward and Eadgifu, who Edward is coming to trust far more than his wife. Even though she’s conspiring against him, I do kind of feel bad for Aelflaed, who on some level seems to want to be a good wife to Edward but is pushed away by him. The show is careful not to whitewash Edward’s character; he’s a flawed man who can do good things.
- Uhtred, on the other hand, is pretty much a paragon. Even after Brida mutilated his one child and beat the crap out of another, he’s still willing to try and help her daughter. I dunno, I guess I could stand to see Uhtred act a little less heroic sometimes.
The Last Kingdom Episode Grade: B-
– Dan