All 5 seasons of The Last Kingdom (and the movie), ranked worst to best
The Last Kingdom movie Seven Kings Must Die is now out on Netflix, which means we finally have the whole story. Netflix has taken five seasons of TV and one movie to tell the tale of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. It’s all been great, but some installments were better than others.
Which parts of The Last Kingdom stood out, and which lagged a little? Let’s rank all five seasons, plus the movie, from “worst” to best.
Sixth place: The Last Kingdom season 4
With King Alfred dead and replaced by his inexperienced son Prince Edward, Uhtred must act to protect the new King and prevent the Saxon world from falling apart.
The loss of King Alfred (David Dawson) at the end of season 3 created a hole in The Last Kingdom that was not easily filled. Alfred’s son Edward, who starts out refusing Uhtred’s requests, is basically Uhtred’s ward, which means he cannot have the same equal-to-equal adversarial relationship with Uhtred as Alfred did.
The flood of new major characters (grown Stiorra, grown Young Uhtred, Sigtryggr, Eadwulf and Eadith) demands a narrative reset. The Last Kingdom introduces new storylines about discordant allies and various political power struggles. It mostly works fine, but this show’s heartbeat is Uhtred on the move; when he’s offscreen, the pace suffers.
In season 4, Uhtred fails to retake Bebbanburg, losing Father Beocca in the attempt. Season 4 is at its best at the cinematically brilliant Battle of Tettenhall, and when it explores Brida’s increasingly twisted feelings about Uhtred. The Sigtryggr/Stiorra love affair is sweet, and Uhtred traveling gang (Finan, Osferth, Sihtric, etc) are always good for a few laughs.
But as a whole, season 4 loses some of the sharp narrative focus that made seasons 2 and 3 so effective. More character arcs to attend to and less screen time for Uhtred slows down the pace. Between Aethelflaed’s troubles with the Mercian succession and Aethelhelm’s constant conniving around the Saxon throne, the plot can feel overwrought and muddled.