The Last Kingdom- Preferences and Imagines | actors + characters

Season 5- my thoughts on it

Hej! It's Kristen! Thought I would share my opinions about Season 5 (I think we're out of the spolier zone by now)

Season 5 was honestly over all good in my opinion!

-I liked the ending a lot, Edward has become such an unlikable prick over s4/5 and so honestly it's nice to see him get fucked over! I also think it was a pretty happy note for all, with Uhtred getting his home back, and the Danes getting peace in England too, plus almost every character got their arc completed which was nice!

-however, Uhtred's arc frustrated me, mostly because of the fact that he wasn't the one to kill Brida, which means his consciousness wasn't fully cleared, because he did not bring her peace and I would have liked him to be more upset over it, or at least be angry with Stiorra

-speaking of Stiorra I loved her character! Honestly all the female characters this season were so badass, so well written!! Aelswith has become one of my favourites, which she want before season 4 (I hated her)! "From killing a man with my bare hands" and then Eadith's face, so class! And I love how Stiorra was comprised, her values she had in s4 were still clear in her, and the acting from Ruby was fenominal! Phia was a great Aelfwynn too! Loved the dynamic between her, Eliza and Stefanie on screen!! Kudos to all the women, giving us such strong female role models to follow

-Aethelflead's death was a little weird in the way that it was written, can't lie... I'm still undecided of her dying in Uhtred's arms was good or not and in what way- I feel like in terms of plot it really did nothing, in terms of story not a whole lot but it was very emotional and you really could see how much they loved eachother... but at the same time, I'm a huge Erik fan girl and so I feel a little betrayed that she seems to just completely forget about his existence...

-also on that note, I would have liked Aelfwynn to have know about Erik, rather than it just be kinda mentioned by Hæstan in the end, although I did like that little detail about how most people knew about who she really was, that was very cool

-Sigtryggr's death however pissed me off to high heaven and back because it was totally unnecessary in terms of plot, especially with how they ended the show- the only real value it had was to make us hate Edward and to let Ruby serve us some incredibly emotive action, but I really don't think most people needed more fuel to hate Edward, he was a prick right from the start... honestly the whole scene was just traumatic and quite frankly I think Sig should have been allowed to live and get his happy ending with Stiorra! He was such a good character, he needed more screen time (boys take notes: that show you treat your gal)

-I did fully take a 2 day break to recover from Sig's death

-it was really cool that Alex got to direct an episode too!! So glad he did, as we all know that the actors come up with a lot of the ideas and who better to direct the action that him, as he knows his character better than anyone!

-I was a little bit dissatisfied with Brida's conclusion, she deserved so so so much better than the ending she got, she deserved a warriors death- after everything she has been through, she should have gotten a death to reflect it and Emily is a brilliant actress and has portrayed her so so well!! Would have love to see a true battle with Brida and Uhtred and some flashback of maybe when they were kids, and her and Ragnar, and her and Cnut and you could see what was feeling all this hate and you could be more empathetic with her, so I think her conclusion was a bad decision overall

-Brida and Pyrlig's whole thing was so good though! Showing how desperate people try and find faith but showing how she was just far too far gone to find it, it was fitting for her character honestly and  I liked the dynamic they had, he brought out her human side, which was really nice to see, and the really complimented each other in terms of acting too!! Both so talented!!

-Osferth wasn't as sad as I thought it would be! What really got me was Finan's reaction after it! Because eu think they made it a little too predictable during the battle that he was going to die and so I feel like it wasn't as well executed in terms of visually and emotionally as Sigtryggr's death, mostly also due to the way the actors were allowed to interact with the scene. I think there was some bad writing choices, and I feel like it would have been much better had you not have seen Finan run for Ingrid, because to me that just gave away that Osferth was going to die, and that ruined it for me... and Uhtred's later reaction to it was emotionally, but I didn't like how distant Sihtric was to it either

-this may be a bit of a less common opinion but I hated Athelhelm's death, it was honestly shite. He was such a bastard and literally the villain for 2 whole seasons and the man goes out like a total coward?! Should have had a much more brutal death, would have been cool to see Edward kill him as a prisoner after everything or even just for him to get what he deserved, rather than the ending we did get

-also Edward's other son is a little bitch and he can fuck off, think he should have been killed as a traitor too, show how Edward is becoming more brutal and I think that would have set up nicely for 7KMD too

-this may be controversial but I think Aelfwynn should have been married to Aldhelm... let me explain before you go off... Mercia would have been secured undoubtably, with them as king and queen on the throne, working alongside Wessex as Allies, and they could have remained allies with Uhtred too, also we know Aldhelm was in love with Aethelflead and I think he would have grown to love Aelfwynn too, he already cared about her so... plus them getting married at the end really just finishes their arcs nicely, in my opinion, with Aelfwynn fulfilling her mother's wishes and growing into a capable young queen and it completes Aldhelm's, as he would have finished his development really well, with him taking the throne of his country as the husband of the daughter of the woman he loved and the man who taught him to be better- it would have been so perfect!!

-I really liked the beginning however, the scene where Finn (Uhtred's son) stumbles in covered in blood is so unexpected and he performs so so well throughout! It was a gory season, which is fitting for the final season, and this opening really just set the tone and I think both writers and actors did a great job of carrying the tone through the entire season!!

-also the weird friendship-hateship of Aelswith and Eadith is priceless and think the Eliza and Stef have such good chemistry and act so beautifully together that I just makes it work so so well

-also I really like how the story came full circle, it started in Bebbanburg and ended there, with Uhtred and both sides of him, Dane and Saxon, learning to co-exist and it's also fitting that it back to the place where he acquired both identities; I also really liked the very idea of 'the last kingdom' and how the meaning changes through seasons- season 1, 2 and 3 it's Wessex, the last kingdom to remain Saxons land; in Season 4, it's Mercia, the last kingdom to remain under control of Alfred's children and thus the last kingdom holding England together and then in Season 5, it's Northumbria, the last and only kingdom not under Saxon control, meaning it's the last kingdom standing between the whole image of an England- and I think that's so fucking cool, intentional or not!

So overall, I really liked the ending, I thought the whole season was directed, written and acted superbly and the story told really tied up the series well, as well as leaving room for 7KMD too