BBC America's historical drama, "The Last Kingdom," set in the 9th Century, is anything but predictable. The show, which captures the numerous battles between the Saxons and the Danes, relishes in surprising audiences with time jumps, unexpected deaths and an existential threat posed by the Danes.
Last week's episode 3 was dedicated to the Saxons for winning a small battle against Guthrum (Alec Newman). After the death of his brother, Alfred becomes the new King. All is well in the Saxon camp, except the show's protagonist Uthred's lover Brida (Emily Cox) leaves him and runs away with Ragnar. Although Uhtred (Matthew Macfadyen) is accepted and settles into the Saxon way of life, and finds a great companion in Leofric, does he truly belong to the Danes?
This week's episode will delve into Uhtred's character. In episode 4, Uhtred will realise that he is only a pawn in the hands of the pious and the Machiavellian King Alfred (David Dawson). No doubt, the Saxon King will want to retain Uhtred in his camps, but how will he achieve this? We predict that marriage is on the cards for the protagonist. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if marriage and a family can hold back Uhtred, especially when he realises he is not important to King Alfred.
Spoiler TV reports that episode 4 will depict a reunion between Brida, Ragnar Ragnarson (Tobias Santelmann) and Uhtred. The article claims that Brida and Uhtred's foster brother will persuade him to leave King Alfred and return to his Danish roots.
According to TV Guide's synopsis for episode 4, "a great battle threatens Wessex." This perhaps is an indication that Earl Ubba has travelled south from Ireland with his mighty Danish army. The Saxons don't have the manpower or battle tactics to win against Ubba (Rune Temte).
In the light of a possible defeat, will Uhtred abandon the Saxons?
"The Last Kingdom" episode 4 airs on Saturday, 31 October at 10pm on BBC America. You can live stream the episode via Amazon.
Watch the promo for episode 4 here:
