You’d be forgiven for letting The Last Kingdom slip you by over the years. The BBC-turned-Netflix production has been streaming for the better part of a decade now, and its final season rolled onto screens just last week. Similar to Peaky Blinders – another gritty, British drama set not quite as far in the past – this is a series that doesn’t arrive to the fanfare of a Stranger Things despite being fantastic television all the same. Instead, it has spent years quietly garnering an audience who come for the promise of big budget action sequences and a well-paced plot, but ultimately stay for the meticulous character arcs and rewarding story threads. Season five is nothing if not the absolute peak of what came before, successfully closing the book on its characters and storylines like few other shows have managed before. If you have even the slightest interest in character-driven drama with a large slice of action, The Last Kingdom is undoubtedly one of the best in the business.
As in previous seasons, the plot follows Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), a Saxon warrior raised by Dane Vikings in the years where the two sides fought across a divided England. Quite some time has passed since the climactic events that ended the last season, and Uhtred now holds the peace in the north on behalf of Queen Aelthelflead (Millie Brady) and King Edward (Timothy Innes). Naturally, the peace quickly turns to chaos early on with the return of Uhtred’s former ally Brida (Emily Cox), who is now hell-bent on extracting revenge against him and those he is closest to. This spurs Uhtred and his band – Finan (Mark Rowley), Sihtric (Arnas Fedaravicius) and Osferth (Ewan Mitchell) – to run to the aid of his daughter Stiorra (Ruby Hartley) and Dane King Sigtrygger (Eysteinn Sigurdarson), with fears this could break the already uneasy alliance between the Saxons and Danes. What follows is a series of events spun together with moment-to-moment action, resulting in the return (and loss) of a number of the series’ most interesting personalities as the grand finale approaches.
The key to the show and this season in particular’s success is The Last Kingdom constant sense of pace and purpose. Much like the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, this series has been built, beginning to end, from a successful collection of novels which the show veers very close to. This allows for character arcs to be completely planned with an ending in sight; each event or conversation feeding into the larger narrative and culminating in fantastic payoffs. The narrative is ultimately fixed, and not liable to sway with audience popularity like shows such as The Walking Dead. The writing may lack at times compared to the aforementioned Thrones, with several plot threads devolving into nothing of much consequence (particularly rife in season four). But these nitpicks rarely affect the overall package, never diluting the show’s incredibly fine eye for detail.
While Uhtred and his kin are fictional, the plot throughout The Last Kingdom is tied to actual historical events, figures and locations of the time. The significant battles between infamous rulers all play out as they do in the history books, and the show is able to deftly weave detailed stories around each of them whilst maintaining that larger accuracy. This approach grounds The Last Kingdom in realism, whilst presenting the human story at its core in a far more accessible way than some similar fantasy epics, despite its distant time period.
The whole effect is bolstered by the incredible locations and set pieces used throughout this season in particular. The dedication to capturing the period is clear in the intricate buildings, forests and towns that fill each frame and backdrop, and which work immediately to transport you to the time and place that each scene demands. Combine this with the frenetic action sequences often taking place in the foregroun and you’ve got something special on your hands – the excellently choreographed battles between large armies looking like something from a blockbuster film.
Yet despite all these strengths, the show’s greatest success lies with its characters. It’s rare to have a whole cast embody a group of personalities as well as they do here – to the point where it would seem bizarre to watch them play anyone else. Dreymond’s Uhtred continues to carry the show with his wide emotional range, and it is his character arc that is the most satisfying to bring to a close here in season five. With such a lengthy history and list of of allies and enemies at this stage, it is hugely entertaining to see how these past events dictate the final scenes he shares with characters such as Brida, Edward and Aelthelflead. New personalities do a great job in making their mark on the already expansive roster, with other long-term characters – Aelswith (Eliza Butterworth) and Haesten (Jeppe Beck Laursen) amongst them – also finding their long-awaited retribution this season. Each of the cast seem to take pride in the characters that they’ve brought to life, and most are able to capitalise on their own final chapters before things come to a close.
Concluding on a high note for a series so thoroughly consistent across its run is no easy feat, and by following a well-designed plot from start to finish, season five of The Last Kingdom manages what most other shows fail to do in their final outings – maintaining its strong momentum right up until the bloody end. The brutal action and general setting of the series may act as a barrier for some and it isn’t always as smart as the early seasons of Game of Thrones, but the fantastic character work and considered, exciting story threads place it among the top shows you need to be watching at the moment. If only all history lessons were as engaging and thrilling as this, some of us probably would have paid a little more attention in high school.
The Last Kingdom: Season 5 stars Alexander Dreymon, Emily Cox, Millie Brady, Timothy Innes, Eliza Butterworth, Ruby Hartley and Mark Rowley – Streaming on Netflix now.