The Last Kingdom (2015)

SevenHouses March 3, 2017

★ 9/10

Pleasantly surprised by the first episode *Spoilers* As a fan of Cornwell's Warrior Chronicles/Saxon Stories I've been looking forward to this series for quite some time. Mentally prepared for a major disappointment I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. If you haven't read the novels the story of Uhtred unfolds fast, perhaps too fast. This first episode covers more than half of the first novel. Although a lot has been omitted, many of the aspects that make the novel such a pleasure to read are there, but (very) subtle. If you have read the novel you have to accept that many events concerning Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his character traits are only touched upon or skipped: his loathing for his father, his fascination for the religion of his forefathers, his contempt (or rather boredom) for Christianity, the stories the blacksmith tells him, Beocca's attempts to teach him to…

Dean June 10, 2020

★ 10/10

This is a great medieval TV show. It got great soundtracks. Great acting, great characters and great story. If you're fan of medieval TV shows especially TV shows like Vikings, you should definitely give this TV show a chance. It's worth it. Just one thing that I see issue about this TV show is the last season where years passed, but characters still look same. Characters that must be at least 50 years old looks like 25 years old. I don't know how or why they made such a mistake, but it's very visible sadly, however in any other aspect this TV show is very good.

damagedone666 August 27, 2020

★ 8/10

If you're wondering if this is like Vikings... It is, but it's better! I'd say there are two minor points against The Last Kingdom: in the 1st season, the camerawork and lighting are at times somewhat amateurish and, from what I recall, compared to Vikings, the fight/battle scenes aren't as well choreographed/edited/filmed. Apart from those points I'd rate The Last Kingdom over Vikings in every way. Even the guest star at the start of season 1 of The Last Kingdom is better than the one at the beginning of Vikings. I mean... Rutger Hauer's just perfect! Gabriel Byrne on the otherhand... why? Just why?

rspen46 January 3, 2021

10.0 out of 10. If you've watch other similar Shows on the history of great Countries, Empires and people in history like Rome, Vikings, Britannia, and others you must watch this one. I absolutely love this show, it has a great story, excellent actors, overall slightly better than Vikings, but Rome is still my Favorite. They do kill off some top Characters but as far as History goes, some have to go, but 2 or 3 others I thought they should have kept that they were excellent and should have kept them. For me it just gets better, definitely check it out.

swiewior October 27, 2023

★ 2/10

Every season is worse than the previous one. Perhaps the death of Alfred and his reconciliation with Uhtred in season 3 was the only memorable moment from the whole series, the rest was just yet another dumb TV series for the millennial audience ordered by a streaming service. Cheap, dull, shallow and just absurdly stupid with its pathetic attempts to catch extra points for gender and ethnic equality.

cineast78 November 12, 2024

★ 8/10

**Great, but could be better and decreases in quality in season 4.** I am writing this review after having watched season 4. I have binge watched this TV show and loved it overall, but I was disappointed of how the show decreased in quality in season 4. One reason for that decline might be that the former showrunner and head writer Stephen Butchard quit as the head writer after season 3. Another one might be that a central character of the seasons 1-3 died at the end of season 3 - resulting in a major shift for all the other characters and especially for the main protagonist of the show. Another reason for the decrease in quality seems to be that it becomes more unrealistic, inconsistent and carricaturistic in season 4 than it already was to some extent in the seasons before. To give some examples: I simply hate it when stupid stuff is presented, like kings (or even queens) u…

mcmitsie July 6, 2026

The story was originally a series of books by Bernard Cowell, based upon the historical writings "The Saxon Chronicles" Written by multiple eye witness Monks across Britain. I previously watched the Vikings TV show created by History Canada. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but the historical content is slightly shaky due it being based on the "Viking Sagas" written by one person, so hard to determine accuracy. I see many people reviewing this show saying "They should have kept this character alive" The reason they were not kept alive, is because Utred was a fictional character used by Bernard Cowell to bind the fascinating storyline in British history together and create added Drama. These people who died at the time in the Last Kingdom, actually died in real life. e.g. Athelfled (Lady of the Mercians) the Daughter of Alfred, ruled Mercia 911 until her death in 918 where she died of Cancer. E…

TkA July 31, 2026

★ 5/10

**S1-3 tolerable, S4 bad, S5 started & ditched it** I started watching this under a recommendation from the reviews of Vikings. That show takes the Vikings perspective, whereas in this show takes an English perspective. More specifically the life of the main character, Uhtred, and those who interact with him in his life. The show was somewhat tolerable for the first 3 seasons, the action and the story was decent but nothing spectacular. A fair time waster. But season 4, was a mess and i ended up playing it back at a faster rate just to get through it. Even that was a slog. I stopped after the first 5 minutes of season 5 because it was still being ridiculous, and came to write this review. This is a series i won't watch again. I might finish it later if i'm bored someday or with nothing else to watch, but not before I watch Vikings again first!