Alexander Dreymon “very happy” with Uhtred’s ambiguous ending

Today marks the release of Seven Kings Must Die, a movie that follows up on the final season of The Last Kingdom. That show ran for five seasons on Netflix and told the story of medieval warlord Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon), whose long journey is finally at an end.

That said, the ending of Seven Kings Must Die is a bit ambiguous. If you don’t want to know what happens, stop reading now, because there will be SPOILERS below.

Alright, so Seven Kings Must Die climaxes with Uhtred participating in the Battle of Brunanburh, which historians mark as the battle that united England into one kingdom, where before it had been divided between many different rulers. Uhtred and co win the battle, but he is wounded. His friends take him back to his home castle of Bebbanburg, and in his final scene he swears fealty to King Aethelstan before his closest advisors. However, Uhtred is drawn to Bebbanburg’s great hall by the sounds of celebration. He staggers to the door, only to see some of his dead friends — including Brida and Haesten — feasting in Valhalla. The film ends with Uhtred standing in the doorway between the living and the dead, tears streaming down his face.

Not even The Last Kingdom writers know if Uhtred lives or dies

So does Uhtred join his living friends or his dead ones? The movie doesn’t give us a firm answer. “I’m actually very happy with the way that it ends because there’s that ambiguity,” Dreymon told Radio Times. “You see everything that he’s fought for his whole life and he’s believed in… because the idea of Valhalla and heaven has been such a big character in the show in a way. And that he has the option of going to the feast hall – that he aches for so much – is beautiful to see. But it really shows that he’s a man who’s had a full life and who is loved by the people who are still there.”

"It’s such a big thing for him to have that choice. To be able to decide: ‘Do I stay with the people that I love here or do I stay with the people that I love there?’ And ultimately, it’s all going to be okay. So, I think the life that he’s led is going to be very rewarding for him in the end – so I’m very happy for him."

If you’re hoping for an answer to the question, “Does Uhtred live or die?” you’re not likely to get it. Even screenwriter Martha Hillier isn’t sure what Uhtred chooses. “Between all of us, I don’t think we had a conversation about it,” she said. “We sort of leaned into the idea that we don’t know the ending. Alex may have a different view in his head.”

"I actually don’t know the answer. I don’t know what happens after that scene. I don’t know if he recovers and comes back to life, lives there another 20 years, or actually, if that was the absolute. I don’t know, and we never sat down and went, ‘What is the truth?’ I think we’ve probably all got different versions of it in our heads."

The Last Kingdom fans get to choose the ending that works for them. Destiny is all.

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