6 plotlines to remember for The Last Kingdom movie Seven Kings Must Die
By Daniel Roman
The end of The Last Kingdom is upon us! After eight years and five seasons of television, we’ll finally get to see how the journey concludes for Uhtred son of Uhtred in Netflix’s two-hour sequel movie Seven Kings Must Die. Will King Alfred’s dream of a unified England finally be realized?
Seven Kings Must Die is a direct continuation of The Last Kingdom TV show, picking up after the climactic events of the show’s fifth season. Considering that it’s been more than a year since that was released on Netflix and that every other name on the show is some variation of Æthel-something, you could be forgiven for being a little hazy on the details. Fortunately, we’ve put together a quick primer to help you brush up on some of the major elements from The Last Kingdom season 5 which might be relevant to Seven Kings Must Die.
But first, a SPOILER WARNING, since we’ll be discussing major plot points from The Last Kingdom season 5. And with that, let’s refresh your memory!
1. The Heir to England
One of the central struggles of The Last Kingdom season 5 is who would succeed King Edward. During season 5, there were two main contenders for the job: Æthelstan, Edward’s son from his first marriage who was raised in secret by Uhtred (and who many believe is a bastard, since the marriage itself was secret and swiftly annulled); and Ælfweard, Edward’s son with Queen Ælflæd. A huge portion of the season focused on Ælfweard’s grandfather Æthelhelm trying to place him on the throne.
By the end of the season, however, it seems much of this dispute has been put to rest. Edward has taken Æthelstan under his wing, and Ælfweard is seemingly out of favor following the revelations of his grandfather’s scheming. At the same time, Edward has married the Lady Eagdifu, who is also pregnant with a child.
We know from history and from the official description for Seven Kings Must Die that it will revolve around Æthelstan taking the throne and what he does once he has it. But given how complicated the question of Edward’s heir was in season 5, we expect the question to loom large in the film.