Raised by Danes, birthed a Saxon, Uhtred lost Ragnarok in a raid on his village and ran off to find Wessex. Uhtred finds himself between being loyal to both sides: would he choose to be with the Saxons or with the Danes? He seeks land and power to become Uhtred of Bebbanburg. Around him, kingdoms are joining together as one to create the country known as England. 

In 2015, The Last Kingdom released on Netflix and it was an immediate hit. When it comes to the medieval genre, The Last Kingdom is one of the best to experience. The series ended on March 9, 2022. There are five seasons which consist of about 10 episodes each, running up to an hour long. Everything about this series is great. The relationship between Uhtred and the Saxons or the Danes is very emotional and it is amazing to see the character development overtime. To have to see people die that you loved, and even the massive wars that broke out all throughout – Uhtred experienced every bit of it. Every episode was directed beautifully with everything being included perfectly.

I remember over the summer, I would watch two or four episodes every night without getting bored at all. At the end of Episode 10 in season five, it teased another war coming to Bebbanburg and that Uhtred must fight to defend his kingdom. That leads into the brand new movie, released on April 14, 2023, called Seven Kings Must Die. The movie takes place after the end of the Netflix series. With one final stand down, Uhtred is against all odds to survive and to save his family, his friends, and his kingdom. 

Seven Kings Must Die takes place as King Edwards is on his deathbed. His heir, Aethelstan, then took the crown once he passed. This movie shows the tragic world Saxons and Danes went through to take and establish England. King Aethelstan made horrible decisions to get his way. This was in order to make peace and have villages take orders to fulfill his ancestors’ destiny, but nevertheless he didn’t pick the greatest choices to get there. Uhtred’s fighting days were over, however, the threat to England and his people still remained close. Uhtred and Bebbanburg had a call to war once more. The two must stand up and defend the Saxons for England as they did before. It stays true to the Netflix show, bringing back Uhtred with his legendary sword and going back into battle one last time to protect his home. He succeeded and every other king who attempted to invade Aethelstan had one of their sons killed. The invaders ran off. The Saxons were victorious once again.

Spoilers! Sadly at the end, Uhtred of Bebbanburg dies and is sent to Valhalla. He reunites with his old friends who had died earlier in the show. It was a beautiful ending to a great show that you can experience for a long time. The show is lengthy, but that means there is so much content to connect to. I went through so many emotions during this show. As mentioned before, each season is about 10 episodes with each being an hour long, so you are watching the same characters and connecting with them while they develop with the story over a long period of time in real life and in their fictional world. Every death, every war won, and every new kingdom made – this story is perfect. 

Seven Kings Must Die was the nail in the coffin for the story and it concluded it well. The wait was worth it for this film and it was amazing. It became the #1 movie on release in the U.K. for Netflix and it is still getting love. After years of this amazing tale, it sadly ends but it ends on a good note: a note where everything was worth it. Every war, every Saxon or Dane killed – it was all worth it. The Last Kingdom was established.