The Last Kingdom season 5: All episodes reviewed and explained

Episode 8

The endgame for The Last Kingdom comes into sharper relief in “Episode 8.” When this season started, I didn’t really expect Aethelhelm to become the big bad, but here we are. The fact that he is now pinning his daughter’s death on Edward is pretty despicable, especially because he tries to convince her son Aelfweard of it. With Aelfwynn arriving at Bebbanburg this episode as well, all the pieces are in place for Aethelhelm’s plan to unseat Edward.

Not all is rosy for him though. There’s clear and enjoyable tension between Aethelhelm and Wihtgar. The Scottish king Constantin (Rod Hallett )makes it clear to his followers that he’s only planning to stay loyal to Aethelhelm as long as it’s necessary. But the biggest thorn in Aethelhelm’s side this week is a reversal by Father Benedict, the priest who previously betrayed Rumcofa to Aethelhelm’s spy. Unnerved by the web of lies that Aethelhelm is spinning around his grandson and allies, Benedict returns to Eoforwic to warn King Edward about the coming storm. Benedict has had a long arc this season, going from a self-serving priest who gambled himself into obscurity to being willing to put his own life in danger in order to do what he believes is right. It’s the kind of arc that The Last Kingdom has always done well.

The central thread of this episode revolves around the various allies at Eoforwic deciding that the time is right to attack Bebbanburg. Uhtred is grieving Brida, and wishing he had some kind of home or birthright to offer his daughter Stiorra, who has decided she’ll go live in the wild with her Danish followers. He’s disillusioned about the situation, wishing he could rebuild Rumcofa and basically wind back the clock to focus more on his family and less on the dead king Alfred’s ambitions. When the news comes that Aethelhelm is holed up in Bebbanburg, he hesitates to push to take the fortress.

This is a huge moment for Uhtred that shows just how far he’s come. He was always pushing to attack Bebbanburg, but the last time he did it ended up getting Father Beocca killed. There’s been a bit of a feeling this season of characters getting pushed from A to B in order to serve the plot; a lot has happened very quickly, almost without time for us to really process things. But Episode 8 pushed back on that by giving Uhtred space to process his doubts about going back to Bebbanburg. His conversation with Father Pyrlig is another standout.

It all leads to a climactic debate in the throne room at Eoforwic. Edward has been especially callous this season, and he goes further now as he lays out a plan to basically sacrifice half of Northumbria and his niece Aelfwynn for the sake of securing peace. Uhtred lays out a plan to push back the Scots before they’re ready, leaving Bebbanburg without allies and ripe for siege, but Edward refuses. Then we get the feel-good moment of the episode where literally everybody in the room takes Uhtred’s side on the matter. Even Aelswith, who has so often been at odds with Uhtred, voices her support. The last blow is Aethelstan, Edward’s own son and Uhtred’s ward, who claims that it would not be virtuous to abandon the people of Northumbria. He too backs Uhtred’s plan.

Edward reacts about how you’d expect. He nods to his guards, who all draw their swords and try to take Uhtred and his companions captive. But with Aldhelm saying that the Mercian guard would storm the town if Edward went through with this, and Uhtred reiterating that the attack was going to happen with or without Edward’s support, it’s not looking likely that his refusal will be anything more than bluster.

The episode ends with a cliffhanger; we don’t get to see Edward’s decision. Given how fragile his pride has been the season, even if he does decide to help out, it’s doubtful it will be a happy arrangement.

The Last Bullet Points

• Eliza Butterworth continues to be a total scene stealer as Aelswith. The scene where she describes how she “slaughtered” a man by stabbing him through the neck made me laugh out loud. And she didn’t even wear gloves!
• Edward continues to be seriously gray. From the ineffective boy king he started as to where he is now, he’s really come a long way…but I don’t know if he’s ended up where anyone wants him to be.
• Aelfweard had a pretty good episode as well, showing that despite his trust in his grandfather he actually doesn’t want war with his father, nor does he want his cousin to be married off. I’m curious to see how that develops, since Aelfwynn is making her captivity and unhappiness known.
• Speaking of Aelfwynn, I can’t help but wonder if she and the Scottish king might actually be a good match, personality wise.

The Last Kingdom Episode Grade: B

– Daniel