Ranking the seasons of The Last Kingdom (and the movie, of course!)
A lot happened throughout the course of The Last Kingdom. Just how do the five seasons and the movie rank? Here’s my thoughts.
Let me be honest and say that I loved every minute of The Last Kingdom. There isn’t actually a bad season of this series. There are just some seasons that stand out more than others, and there are some moments far more memorable.
While I was looking at Uhtred’s best moments for a piece on Winter Is Coming, I got to thinking about the ranking of the seasons. I remembered the highs and lows of each storyline, and it brought me to ranking the seasons for myself. Yes, I’ve thrown in the movie, Seven Kings Must Die, as well.
The Last Kingdom Season 3: The most forgettable of the lot
It took so long to get the third season that I hate saying it was the most forgettable. It’s the one that I was so excited for and worried that it wouldn’t happen. Yet, it did end up being the most forgettable. I’m really glad I rewatched the first three seasons before the fourth season dropped as there would have bene a lot of “when did that happen” moments as stories were told.
Now, I love Skade. She is by far one of my favorite antagonists of the whole show. I wish she could have been used a little better in the story, but I loved seeing all that play out.
The storyline with King Alfred and Uhtred seemed to drag a bit at this point. Aelswith continued to be annoying, and I didn’t feel like a lot moved forward in the overall storytelling for most characters.
The Last Kingdom Season 1: Where it all began
The first season introduces us to the characters. Looking back, I adore seeing how Uhtred grew up throughout the seasons. He was still sometimes impulsive, but he also learned a few lessons along the way. In the first season, he is a man who needs to learn more about politics and diplomacy. You don’t always get what you want or what you think you deserve.
Leofic is a great part of the story. We get to see that potential friendship between him and Uhtred grow. I say potential because in the end, Leofic stands by his duty rather than his friendship.
There is also a lot of time spent getting to know the characters. We have to spend a lot of time figuring out who stands on which side, what people want, and yes, screaming at characters to get their heads out of their behinds.
It’s a great start, but I think combining too books in one with so much going on didn’t quite work. It did later, but not for this first season.