The Last Kingdom

What's the title?

The Last Kingdom

Who is the executive producer?

Stephen Butchard

When did it air?

2015 - Present

What’s it rated?

TV-MA

Would I recommend it?

Yes. And by “yes” I mean YEEEESSSSSS. Oh my gosh, yes. Please, more of this. Where has this been hiding? Why are more people not talking about this show? Just, go. Watch it. Now. Go watch it now. Just…

What's it about?(non-spoilers)

In the 9th century, Utred was born the son of a Saxon nobleman but raised as the adopted son of a Dane invader. When treachery forces him from his home, he flees to the last standing Saxon kingdom of Wessex in an attempt to take revenge on those who have wronged him and take back his birthright. Abandoned by the Danes and mistrusted by the Saxons, Utred has to walk a tight path to achieve his own aims. In the meantime, he may act as a crucial tool in building the new nation of England. Either way, it’s bound to be epic.

What did you think? (spoilers)

You guys. YOU GUYS.

Can I explain to you how much I love this show?

I honestly don’t know where to begin.

Alright, let’s give a little context. So, I have a viewing buddy whose taste I trust, and he was harping on me to watch this show - just going on and on about how he’d watched it and how good it was and how he’d even watch it again with me. Now, like I said, this viewing buddy has good taste and I trust him and all, but I have a lot of TV to watch – my queue is getting ridiculous – and I’d never heard of this show, so I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to put it in my eyeballs. But he was persistent, so I gave in.

We watched the first episode, and I was into it. I didn’t think it had as good of production design as Vikings, another show I watch that includes, you guessed it, Vikings. Still, I was impressed. I was intrigued by the characters, and the plot had enough of a hook that I wanted to know what happened next. So we watched another episode, and I saw more of the characters and more of the political machinations, and I thought to myself “man, this show is really good.” And, with each episode, the characters grew increasingly complex and compelling. The storylines gained more and more stakes.

The next thing I knew I was yelling at the screen. I was verbally threatening antagonists. I was lecturing characters who should know better by now, Alfred. I was crying over characters that’d only been present for two episodes. I was squealing over certain ships canonizing their coupledom. I cared. I was invested. I was thinking Vikings (a show I have watched regularly for four seasons and is a great show of its own) couldn’t hold a candle to Last Kingdom.

Now, I’m not blinded by my affection for the show. The production design, while impressive, is not peerless. The sex and violence on display can be a bit much at times. But there’s just so much to love about this show it seems churlish to nitpick at its meager foibles.

A more serious failing of the show is the complete dearth of people of color. There’s nary even a token character to be found. The Danes were explorers and the Saxons lived on an island. You’re telling me that there’s no possibility that any brown person ever made it to Wessex? Because I call hooey on that. Maybe, maybe, it wasn’t likely, but it was certainly possible.

While the lack of representation of people of color is a blight on the show, it’s female representation is aces. Over the course of the series, we get introduced to several female characters, all of whom have distinct personalities and desires. They all have agency, and their actions directly influence the plot.

“So,” you say as you read the previous paragraph. “What you’re saying is that the female characters are seen as human beings is all? You’re freaking out over women being people?” Yes, that’s what I’m saying. And, yes, I’m freaking out about it. Do you have any idea how RARE that is? Any concept of the sheer volume of stories I’ve sat through where the women are sexy lamps, or nags, or sentient sex dolls, or angels on the shoulder, or anything and everything BUT a human being? Maybe we’ll get a female character that is treated like something that closely resembles an approximation of a human being, but only if she is a Strong Female Character™ who (sexily) fights and (sexily) screws just as much as the boys do. Here the women get to act like women and humans and it. is. glorious.

My enthusiasm is not reserved for just the ladies. All of the characters and their characterization over the course of the seasons are a beauty to behold. Leofric, Hild, Beocca, Ragnar the Young, Utred himself now have permanent seats in my heart as beloved characters.

The show doesn’t pull punches. The world of Last Kingdom is a harsh and unforgiving one. Characters, even beloved characters, die, and often in mundane and not-at-all glorious ways. I like this (yes, I recognize how weird that sounds but I appreciate that this world has stakes). I like my stories to at least pretend they’re being honest, and Last Kingdom crosses that bar well.

I know The Last Kingdom is based on a series of books by Bernard Cornwell. After watching the series, I am both anxious and terrified to read those books. I strongly suspect that the depth of character and intricacy of plot present on the screen are direct results of the same being present between the pages. As a supporter of the “the books are always better” mantra, it would follow that the books are mind-bogglingly amazing. However, on the small chance that the books don’t measure to the excellence of the show, I am hesitant to read them. I’m sure I’ll get to reading them eventually, but not until I give the TV show a good rewatch. It’s only sixteen episodes over two seasons, and I’m desperate to be back in this world.

Images: iMDB, GIPHY

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