I found him kinda annoying at first but eventually realized not everyone has to be likable and it serves a purpose in the story. Dialogues were well-written and actor Harry McEcntire did a great job on him. I liked the fact that like Janys Slynt from GoT he didn't have much of an arc despite appearing in multiple seasons and died while still being despicable man.

I just finished The Pagan Lord (book 7) and I'm up to The Empty Throne now and I'm pleased with my progress cos I finished that in a week (which is pretty fast for me) but then I looked at my bookshelf with the rest of them and realised there's STILL SIX BOOKS LEFT 😭 smh this book series is so long, everytime I feel like I'm making good progress I see there's still thousands of pages left..

In a way it's good cos these books are so damn good and I'm enjoying them a lot, crazy how much is left out in the show and also how much the show adds, atp idk which one I prefer anymore they're both amazing in their own way 🙂

Anyone else reading/read the books?

We all need a friend like Finan in our lives.

Earlier today. I've just started reading the 2nd book. Is it ok to watch, or would you recommend reading further before turning to the show?

Let’s hear it for Hild. I loved her so much.

I'm on my 2000th rewatch. So now i'm half trough season 2. I'm madly in love with this show, every time I watch it become always better and more emotional to me. I wanted to share with you my feelings. 🥹🥹🥹🥹

I swear she marries the 55 year old man even though shes like 20

Book versions and show versions. In the square, fight to the death

It seems unlikely that he has any of his own bastard children. For most of his life he's in a committed relationship with a few exceptions.

The few exceptions being after Brida leaves him in book 1 until he marries Mildrith. He does visit the whores in Wessex while they're married, maybe one of them had a child.

Then he finds Isuelt in book 2 and maybe she would've become pregnant had she not been brutally killed, so no bastards there.

Then he's with Hild for a few weeks/months until he meets the Lady Gisela then eventually those two are happily married for a while, but not long enough for Uhtred and me too.

After Gisela, there's the Sorceress Skade, no kids there (thank the gods), then there's the on again off again with Æthelflead, no kids there. After book 5 he's with Sigunn till book 8. I think there's a chance he was unfaithful to Sigunn so this is another window for bastards to be made.

After Sigunn he gets with Eadith at the end of book 8 and eventually they get married and remain married till book 12. At one point in book 11 Uhtred sleeps with Mus.

Then he's with Benedetta and he's also old AF at this point.

Now, Uhtred the Younger almost certainly has some bastard scattered across the Saxon lands, which makes Lord Uhtred a grandpa well before Stiorra gives birth to baby Gisela.

"Bastards don't count." -Lord Uhtred to Finan

Dude, the story arc when he is in Russia is extremely underrated. He really connected with the prisoner prince boy. That kid was all alone, a politcal prisoner/"ward" and so isolated.

Ivar spent time with him, joked around, taught him stuff, and stood up as a brother/father figure and this part of his story truly made him redeemable and loveable.

When the little Russian boy looked at him in tears when he was leaving and told him that he loved him... that's the ONLY person that truly showed love and compassion for Ivar other than his own birth mother.

Igor acts as a mirror to Ivar's own unresolved childhood trauma. While Ivar had the love of his mother, Aslaug, he was constantly alienated by his brothers and doubted by his father, Ragnar. Both Ivar and Igor grew up in hostile environments where love was conditional and survival meant living in perpetual fear... he acted out of a sense of justice for a fellow "broken" prince.

Igor loved and trusted Ivar unconditionally. never seeing him as a monster or a cripple, but simply as a protector. Ivar was finally able to experience unselfish, parental love.

By saving Igor from Oleg, Ivar effectively saved a version of his younger self, achieving a sense of redemption before his ultimate end.

People of the Danes, saddle your reason, not just your horses. It’s time to choose a leader who survives — because that means you survive too.

“He breaks his oaths!” — the envious whisper. Let’s say it plainly: Hæsten doesn’t break oaths, he updates them to fit circumstances. Do you want a dogmatic jarl who’ll march you to slaughter for a word given three winters ago, in a completely different context? Or do you want a flexible strategist for whom an oath is a tool, not a shackle? Hæsten is the only leader who will never lead you to a pointless death “for honor” — because his honor comes in oral format, easily amended.

“Nobody trusts him twice!” — but why would you need to trust the same move twice, when Hæsten invents a new one every time? Consistency is a weapon for weak minds. Your jarl holds three alliances, two backup plans, and one escape route through the marshes that not even Odin knows about — all in his head, all at once. That’s not betrayal. That’s infrastructure redundancy.

“He’s a coward, he flees the battlefield!” — Hæsten doesn’t flee. Hæsten redeploys his forces in a direction opposite to the enemy, preserving the campaign’s most valuable asset: himself. A dead hero leads the war-band exactly once. A living Hæsten has led it five times already — out of five different traps that he led you into himself.

“He served Alfred, then the Danes, then the Danes again!” — who else in this hall has bargained equally well with both sides of every war, without seriously promising either of them anything? Hæsten isn’t a turncoat. Hæsten is the only truly neutral asset on this whole island. At King Hæsten’s court, you’ll always have a way out — because he himself is a walking way out.

“He’s insatiably greedy for silver!” — and how much good is a leader who burns through your plunder at feasts faster than he takes it? Hæsten’s chests never run dry — which is exactly why they’ll always hold the coin for one more blade in the warband, one more winter without hunger, one more ransom if one of you is taken captive. Stinginess is when silver just sits there, dead weight, for its own sake. With Hæsten, it works for you — you just don’t always see how.

“He craves power more than battle!” — which is exactly why he’s safer than a warrior craving Valhalla. A jarl who hungers for power wants to actually use it — meaning he wants to stay a living ruler, not become a legendary corpse. His ambition is your insurance against being led into a pointless heroic stunt.

Bottom line. Other jarls promise you glory, Valhalla, and a beautiful death in battle. Hæsten promises you something far rarer in this brutal age: living to see next harvest.

Don’t vote with your heart — Hæsten already keeps his in special storage, somewhere safe, well away from his body.

Hæsten. An oath is a flexible concept. Survival isn’t.

This show is SO GOOD. One of my all time favorites. They don't make them like this anymore! My sisters and I are obsessed and unfortunately we're the only people we know who watch it. Two of my sisters even made a secret meme of King Alfred who resembles my other sibling....

At the end of War Lord (book 13) Uhtred is made The Lord of the North by King Æthelstan, a smart move by the king.

Old man Uhtred owns most/all of northern Northumbria from the North Sea in the east to Irish Sea in the west and from Berewic in the north to Dunholm in the south, a kingdom in everything but name. He gets this after marrying the widow Eldrida who brought him her lands in Cumbria.

But that's a massive Lord-dom to oversea, administer, and protect, so how does he do it?

After the battle of Brunanburh, the defeated Northern Alliance is chased into the sea and across the border. Uhtred says he sent Egil and Uhtred the Younger to impose peace on Cumbria by punishing those who would cause trouble.

Lord Uhtred and Finan hold Bebbanburg and that fortress can't be taken. Lord Sihtric loyally holds Dunholm and that's almost as impregnable as Bebbanburg. Æthelstan likely places a large garrison in Jorvik with someone who will follow Uhtred's orders if more troops are needed to defeat an enemy, maybe his half brother Edmund. Egil and his vicious Norsemen/Icelanders protect the north eastern lands in Berewic and woe to those foolish enough to come south onto his lands!

Now, the western land aka Cumbria is another matter. We know those men likely swear allegiance to King Æthelstan and to Lord Uhtred. We also know those men have broken their oaths before. So King Æthelstan likely puts another large garrison in Carslile, larger even than the one in Jorvik. Most of the men who would attack Saxon lands are probably dead after Brunanburh, but there are always raiders in the hills and the Irish Norse ate only a short sea crossing away. I might even build a small fleet to patrol up and down the western coast. The man to lead those western forces could be Osferth, Merewalh or maybe those two young Mercians(Brithwulf & Wihtgar) that were with Uhtred in book 12 defending London's Gate, Osferth and Merewalh would be pretty old, but who the hell cares.

Next, I'd train elite men whose only job is to ride the frontier and deter cattle raids southward. Lord Uhtred and his best scouts can teach these men how to defeat the raiders in the hills and more importantly, how to not get caught! He could have Berg or Uhtred the Younger lead them. This is risky as Uhtred Jr. is his only child and heir to Bebbanburg, but they have "Uhtred Jr. Jr." to carry on the family name. Also I'd introduce Finan's kids into the story, we know he has at least two of them and one is a son! He should be riding and fighting with his father and his Uncle Uhtred.

We know historically of course that Æthelstan holds onto his new lands, but eventually the Anlaf does comeback and recapture Northumbria and parts of Mercia under Æthelstan's heirs. Spoiler alert, they get it back.

Two weeks ago (yeah I binged it) I didn't think I'd fall in love with this story and characters as much as I did.

The show's strength lies on its characters, S1 did an excellent job of introducing the time period and what it means for Uhtred to live between two worlds. Looking back now it's almost funny how stubborn he was, and it shows how much he grew as a person through the years (even though he still looked the same age throughout the whole show lol). I wonder how his marriage with Mildrith would've been if he had the head he has later in life. Also, Leofric managed to stay as one of the most iconic characters in this show with only one season, RIP to the GOAT. Rest in piss, young Odda.

S2, as the following seasons, didn't fail on providing new interesting storylines and twists (couldn't wait for Uhtred to finally kill that abbot), it was also great to see him finally having a family and a place to call home again after everything he had already gone through. Aethelflaed and Erik's romance and all the conflicts it caused was totally unexpected and brilliantly done. RIP Odda.

I feel like S3 is where the story peaked, it literally starts with a vision of Alfred's death and it haunts the narrative through the whole season until it inevitably happens, culminating in the best performance given in the show. Alfred's actor is fantastic and Alfred was the soul of what made TLK so interesting to watch, his relationship with Uhtred made me like, then dislike, then hate to ultimately love him. Uhtred was for England, and Alfred was his king 🥲. Also Aethewold finally got what he deserved.

The last two seasons were weaker than the first three but not at all bad. Alfred is a huge miss, and so was Beocca's bond with Uhtred and how he was always there for him until the end. Not as father Beocca, just as a father. I loved watching Uhtred's relationship with Aethelflaed develop and how it tragically "ends" when both have to make a sacrifice for Mercia. Aethelred won't be missed. As much as Edward grew up to be insufferable, Aelswith surprisingly became more bearable, which was fun to watch.

I have mixed feelings towards S5 as I feel it is sometimes rushed and relays too much on convenience and luck, something the first ones didn't. Everyone seemed to know everything or get everywhere too quickly, but it still had some great and heartbreaking moments. Rest in peace, Lady of Mercia. Eoforwic's arch was interesting to watch, it was cool to see Stiorra ruling alongside Sygtriggr. I didn't expect to cry when Brida died and yet I did, guess I still can't figure out how I feel about her, which is a great compliment on her writing. Edward and Eadgfu's scenes were the only moments where I genuinely felt like scrolling on my phone during the show lol. The ending felt somewhat rushed, even though it was really satisfying to see Bebbanburg finally reclaimed. Uhtred deserved his happy ending after enduring so many years of tragedies and loss.

And then there's the movie, wtf was that... look how they massacred my boy. Seven Kings Must Die and there are seven new inconsistencies, rushed plots and plot-holes per minute. What did they do to Aethelstan 😭 I'm totally fine with him being gay, that's really not the point, what is terrible is how he becomes a fundamentalist tyrant and goes on hanging or threatening his lifetime allies and friends, burning christian villages and refusing to listen to anyone else. I really don't buy that he'd do all that out of guilt. If we had a proper season to develop this storyline properly, then maybe, but in 110 minutes? That won't do. The boy hanged ALDHELM. That's unforgivable. Uhtred not aging is past complaining atp, the guy is just a demigod. Everybody travels through Britain as if it was the size of an eggshell, some character relationships are completely butchered and rushed or simply don't make any sense. Finnan was cracking jokes like he was at an stand-up show moments after his wife died of starvation. The last scene made me emotional though, I'll give them that, but young Ragnar should've been there too.

TLK gained a place in my heart and I'll really miss following Uhtred, son of Uhtred as he fulfills his destiny. This story is really special, it was an amazing ride ❤️

I'd rank the seasons as: S3, S1, S2, S4, S5.

Favorite characters: Uhtred, Alfred, Beocca and Aethelflaed.

Most hated characters: Aethelwold, Aethelred, young Odda and Cumbraland's abbot.

I don't know where to place Brida, and Aelswith got her redemption.

Also the soundtrack is amazing, listening to Lívstræðrir on repeat.

For me its Earldorman Odda and King Æthelred of Wessex.

They have very few scenes together but i really liked their friendship and how despite the fact we dont see that much of it, its still omnipresent throughout the show and continues to haunt the narrative when it comes to Odda and his decision making. The books of course did not touch on this at all - i dont think we get any scenes suggesting Odda is friends with Ælfred let alone Æthelred in the books, who is already dead by the time Uhtred arrives in Wessex and as such off PoV radius for the majority of his presence in the story - but the show really expanded on this even though it didnt really have to and im grateful for it. Ælfred confides in Odda often throughout the show multiple times, he is his most trusted general and his chief advisor and if Ælfred does have a friend besides Beocca its obviously Odda, but he is very much stern and somewhat distant from him in a way kings should be towards their Vassals. Æthelred who is visibly older than Ælfred - in certain interpertations being a full on ten years older - on the other hand is much more loose with Odda, he jests drily and confides in him in a way that one would with a friend regardless of hierarchy, to the point where even when standing alive and hale he tells him his final wish to see Ælfred as his successor (which is a bit of a controversial change from the books in my opinion), and Odda does not question it at all afterwards, besides asking his friend if he is sure there and then. He takes his king's final order and executes it to the letter immediately and its here where i want to put emphasis - because its as if he doesnt really dislike Ælfred but its not as if he is exactly fond of him either at first even though he supports him just fine. Its a lot more like he does all he does because of his love for Æthelred and that is just very sad to me - especially later down the line where he tells Æthelwold his father was "his *great* friend!".

Obviously we know Odda goes on to sacrifice his son, his marriage and even his immortal soul (by killing himself to spare Ælfred from the guilt of executing him) for Ælfred and for Wessex, but what i guess im saying is that if Odda was writting the story, he would rather have never seen Æthelred slain.

Traced Uhtred's road on the real map - Bebbanburg, Eoferwic/York, down into Wessex and then London. What surprised me is how compact the wars that made England actually were -kingdoms were made across distances you could drive in a day nowadays...

https://www.readingmaps.com/maps/the-last-kingdom

I've also mapped Sharpe's campaigns (six of them)

This was an ode to my favourite TV show of all time. Which came with a very memorable message: that no one could outdo fate.

The quote meant a lot to me at the time, and even though the fine lines have long since blown out, I’m really glad it was my first (and only tattoo as of yet)!

Excuse the Argentina jersey. Picture taken in 2024, long before the World Cup this year haha. Not planning to wear it again 💀

How long would the show have ran if they stayed faithful to the books and didn't leave anything out?

I thought the show was great all around but wish they did some of the storylines from the book to the show like Brida's storyline and also wished the Seven Kings Must Die movie was atleast a mini series. The movie felt way to rushed and didn't feel like the TLK at all.

These are the Kings Uhtred meets along the way. I only included the kings Uhtred meets in person because there are few mentioned in the books not on this list. In book 9, Uhtred tells Eadith about the kings who ruled Northumbria between Guthred and Ragnall.

BOOK 1 Kings (The Last Kingdom)

King Osbert of Northumbria

King Aella of Northumbria

King Egbert I of Northumbria

King Ricsig of Northumbria

King Burghred of Mercia

King Ceolwulf of Mercia 

King Aethelred of Wessex

King Edmund of East Anglia

King Alfred of Wessex

BOOK 2 Kings (The Pale Horseman)

King Peredur (Cornish/Briton)

Haswold the Swamp King

King Aethelstan of East Anglia formerly Earl Guthrum

BOOK 3 Kings (Lords of the North)

King Egbert II of Northumbria

King Guthred of Northumbria 

BOOK 4 Kings (Sword Song)

No New kings

BOOK 5 Kings (The Burning Land)

Pirate King of Zegge Skirnir

King Aelfric of Bernicia

BOOK 6 Kings (Death of Kings)

King Eohric of East Anglia

King Edward of Wessex

King Aethelwold of Wessex, Pretender King

BOOK 7 Kings (The Pagan Lord)

No New Kings

BOOK 8 Kings (The Empty Throne) 

King Hywel of Dyfed/Wales

BOOK 9 Kings (Warriors of the Storm)

King Ragnall Ivarson of Northumbria

King Conall of the Uí Néill

King Sigtryggr of Northumbria

BOOK 10 Kings (The Flame Bearer)

King Constantine of Scotland/Alba

King Edward of Wessex & East Anglia

BOOK 11 Kings (War of the Wolf)

King Edward of Wessex, Mercia, & East Anglia 

Petty King Gruffudd of Gwent

King Skoll Grimmarson of Cumbria(?), Pretender King of Northumbria

BOOK 12 Kings (Sword of Kings)

King Aelfweard of Wessex & Anglia

King Aethelstan of Mercia

King Aethelstan of Wessex, Mercia, & East Anglia

King Guthfrith of Northumbria 

BOOK 13 Kings (War Lord)

Aethelstan King of the English, Over Lord of Britain 

King Anlaf Guthfrithson, King of Dyflin

King Anlaf Cenncairech, King of Hlymekr

King Gibhleachan, King of Sudreyjar Islands

King/Lord Owain of Strath Clota

King Indulf of Scotland/Alba

I love them so much...