It has been about two years since fans have seen a new season of Netflix original The Last Kingdom. Although hearts started to beat faster once the news spread of an upcoming feature film based off the show, it was only last month that a trailer and release date came out for Season 5. Now that the wait is over, viewers can expect even more epic battles between the Saxons and the Danes, as well as a resolution to Uthred’s (Alexander Dreymon) journey to conquer Bebbanburg.
For you to get ready for the final chapter of the British series, here is a brain refresher with everything that you should remember from Season 4.
Season 4 begins with Uthred finding out that Leofric’s (Adrien Bower) power over Bebbanbrug is limited due to multiple Scot attacks. Recognizing that this is the perfect opportunity to reclaim the land that is his birthright, Uthred goes to Wessex and requests that King Edward (Timothy Innes) help him on his mission. Since the new king isn’t willing to lend some of his men for the cause, Uthred, his son, Father Beocca (Ian Hart), and the rest of his counterparts return to Bebbanburg in the hopes of conquering it by themselves. However, things get out of hand with Wihtgar’s (Leofric’s son) unexpected arrival. As the people of Bebbanburg ally with Wihtgar (Ossian Perret), Uthred is not only left at a disadvantage but loses one of his best friends, Beocca, during the failed attempt. In the middle of a crossroad, the protagonist has no choice but to once again become involved in the conflict between the Saxons and Danes.
Meanwhile, Aethelred (Toby Regbo) focuses on taking over Dane land with Haesten’s (Jeppe Beck Laursen) assistance. Eardwulf (commander of Aethelred’s household troops played by Jamie Blackley) meets with Haesten, who advises the King of Mercia to invade East Anglia and add it to his kingdom while the Danes head to Ireland. Agreeing with this plan, Aethelred prepares to attack East Anglia and sends a couple of monks to Bebbanburg to retrieve the Heart of St. Oswald as a token to increase his chances of a successful mission. Although the opportunity to conquer East Anglia seemed opportune, Mercia was left unprotected, giving way for Cnut (Magnus Brunn) and Brida (Emily Cox) to invade it alongside the Dane troops. Athelfled (Millie Brady) calls for an immediate intervention, but her brother believes that it would be best to wait for Aethelred’s return so that they can all join forces. Seeing that it is up to her to defend her people, Aethelfled secretly flees Wessex and requests that the King of Wales send his men to help fight the Danes.
As Aethelred and his troops gain many victories over the Vikings in East Anglia, he is suddenly infuriated by the news that Mercia is under attack and blames Eardwulf for following Haesten’s guidance. While they try to finish what they started, Uthred meets with Athelfled and is eager to fight alongside her in the Battle of Tettenhall. With the heated tensions between the Welsh and the Danes in the battlefield, the fight is almost too hard to handle. However, the Welsh take the upper hand when King Edward and Aethelred arrive at Tettenhall and guarantee the win over of the Vikings. During the battle, Uthred has a one-on-one face off with Cnut, who accidentally admits to killing Ragnar (Tobias Santelmann). When Brida overhears this, she rebels against him and kills Cnut before being captured by the Welch as a slave.
Despite the victory, the battle left Aetherlred with fatal injuries. While he lies in bed waiting for his tragic fate, Aethelfled and Uthred try to negotiate the terms on Mercia’s successor by hiding her daughter in a convent alongside Uthred’s daughter Stiorra (Ruby Hartley). King Edward decides to take the matter into his own hands by suggesting that his niece get betrothed to Eardwulf. At his deathbed, Aethelred refuses the idea of Eardwulf inheriting the throne. This only leads him to kill his master in retaliation, expecting to secure his destiny within the Mercian crown. As the elders cease to confirm the betrothal and are unfavorable to Wessex’s influence in determining Mercia’s future, Eardwulf and his men track down Uthred in the hopes of finding Aelfwynn (Helena Albright). When they are about to capture the princess, Edith (Eardwulf’s sister, played by Stefanie Martini) reveals that her brother was responsible for killing the King of Mercia.
After he finds out about this, Uthred goes to meet with the elder men and King Edward to tell them about Eardwulf’s betrayal, but King Edward refuses to believe him and has Uthred imprisoned. Edward’s advisor (his father-in-law Aethelhelm, played by Adrian Schiller) tortures Uthred into telling him about Aelfwynn’s hiding place, without the king’s permission. When he finds out about this wrongdoing, Edward loses his trust in Aethelhelm and leaves Mercia under Uthred’s authority, who then passes along the title to Aethelfled. To mitigate the elder men’s anger, Aethelfled avouches to a vote of chastity despite her feelings for Uthred.
After the Battle of Tettenhall, Brida was taken as a slave to Wales and is tormented and abused multiple times. She lives in misery up until the moment when Sigtryggr (Eysteinn Sigurðarson) sets her free. Filled with rage for all that the Saxons did to her and her loved ones, Brida is thirsty for revenge and takes down many Welsh lands along the way. United with Sigtryggr, Brida finds Eardwulf and takes him as a captive. To protect himself, Eardwulf reveals that Winchester is vulnerable to attacks, which influences the Danes to invade it. Desperate to fix the situation, Edward tries to negotiate with Sigtryggr but Uthred ends up offering himself in exchange for Edward’s sons. Although Brida wants to torment Uthred for all that he made her suffer, Sigtryggr finds other ways to get to a truce. At the end of the season, Uthred manages to prevent another battle and the Saxons agree to give the Danes control over the city of Efowic in exchange for Wessex.
Although Season 4 had somewhat of a peaceful ending, Season 5 indicates that the truce between the Danes and the Saxons won’t hold up for long. Since Brida is still furious with Uthred and the Saxons, she is once again filled with the urge to fight back and hurt Uthred the same way he hurt her by coming after his bloodline. As these two characters face off, we will also witness Edward fighting for a unified England, just as his father dreamed of. Even though we know what happens in the end historically speaking, Season 5 promises to fill in the blanks for the fictional characters’ unforeseeable destiny.
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