There has been woe in our household this week as we binge watched series 5 of ‘The Last Kingdom’, announced as the last series ever, although there is a film planned.

I am a big fan of Bernard Cornwell’s books and had read this series when they originally came out, just as I read all the Sharpe books and his Arthurian series. Like Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, Bernard Cornwell is an author I can return to time and again, particularly when I’m under stress. Just as it is hard now to think of Sharpe without seeing Sean Bean, I can’t think of Uhtred of Bebbanburg without seeing Alexander Dreymon.  

The story starts with the arrival of the ‘Great Heathen Army’ of Vikings with plans to conquer and settle in 866 along the Eastern seaboard of England during the reign of Alfred the Great.  Uhtred is the second son of the Lord of Bebbanberg who becomes the heir when his older brother dies. He is captured by the Danes after a battle in which his father is killed and taken with them as a slave but is raised by his captor, Earl Ragnar as his son.  He was born a Saxon but raised a Dane and this, plus the fact that his Uncle usurps the throne and will not recognise Uhtred’s right to rule Bebbanburg, is the story that unfolds over five series against the backdrop of the battle between the Danes and the Anglo Saxons of Mercia and Wessex over England.  

Most of the filming was done in Hungary, at Korda Studios, where on an eight acre set, entire early mediaeval towns and villages could be recreated and where the countryside more closely resembled that of England in the period.  Like all Bernard Cornwell’s historical fiction, the books were well researched and plausible, following the history of the period closely and there are very few anachronistic ‘nasties’ in the television series either.  Or at least, none so glaring that they irritate.  Alexander Dreymon is incredibly easy on the eye as well as being an entirely credible Viking and the series is studded with British and Scandinavian character actors playing major roles to a very high standard.  This makes it highly immersive in character, more like time travelling than watching a tv series.  

But don’t take my word for it, ‘The Last Kingdom’ has been reviewed by critics from ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ to ‘Private Eye’ and most of the major newspaper reviewers.  Only ‘Private Eye’ gave it a bad review, saying that it “demonstrates how Game of Thrones “haunts the BBC””, in my opinion, this demonstrates that the reviewer had confused American fantasy with English history and had not realised that the two shows were simultaneously airing  from 2015 to 2019. 

Rotten Tomatoes gave ‘The Last Kingdom” series 3  a whopping 100% approval rating and said of it “The Last Kingdom fuses beautiful cinematography and magnificent action sequences to create highly gratifying historical drama”. Even The Daily Telegraph review was positive saying ‘The Last Kingdom’ had “satisfyingly high production values, a bloodthirsty appetite for violence and a proper cliffhanger.” which is probably one of the few pronouncements by that newspaper I would not argue with.