All 5 seasons of The Last Kingdom (and the movie), ranked worst to best

First Place: The Last Kingdom season 3

With King Alfred and his dream of a united England dying, Uhtred must regroup the Saxons to confront a huge invasion of Danes.

As the budget increased after season 2, the writers stepped up to deliver the best season of The Last Kingdom yet. Having lost his beloved wife Gisela in childbirth, the distraught Uhtred once again locks horns with the dying King Alfred, pushing their love/hate relationship to the limit.

A hero is only as great as the villains they defeats, and season 3 confronted Uhtred with a set of powerful adversaries: the beautiful but deranged Skade (who puts a “curse” on Uhtred), the brutal Bloodhair, and the conniving Aethelwold. Meanwhile, romance smoldered between Uhtred and Aethelflaed.

Tragedy rocked season 3 as fan-favorite Father Beocca lost his wife Thyra; Aethelwold, conspiring with Cnut, murdered Ragnar in his sleep. The resulting battle between the Saxons and Danes put the bigger budget to work. Fans cheered as Uhtred killed Aethelwold and ensured that Ragnar was able to reach Valhalla.

Season 3 excelled with its bold narrative strokes, battle sequences and quiet character-building moments, but the greatest driver of the show’s success was the fraught relationship between Uhtred and King Alfred, which dominates many of the episodes. After refusing to swear an oath to Edward and killing a Christian monk, Uhtred only escapes execution by using the King himself as a hostage.

After this, it seemed doubtful that Uhtred and Alfred could reconcile, especially after Alfred exiled Uhtred and seized his estate and his children. Yet after Uhtred plots with the Danes and rescues Aethelflaed, he finds himself reunited with Alfred. Alfred shows Uhtred his written history and pardons him, knowing his son Edward would never survive without Uhtred’s help.

And who can forget that eerie scene where the emaciated King Albert watches Uhtred from the shadows, his dying form already taking on the aspect of a ghost? By the time season 3’s last episode fades to black, viewers are left breathless.

Seven Kings Must Die airs on April 14th on Netflix

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