The 42 weeks a year without a new episode of Game of Thrones can be torturous for those who need their regular fix of swords and gore. Thankfully, BBC America's The Last Kingdom is looking to fill that Westeros-shaped hole in your heart by featuring all of the brutal action, political maneuvering and backstabbing of Thrones, but with real history as its foundation.
Based on the book series by Bernard Cornwell, The Last Kingdom is a sword-and-shield epic set in the late ninth century that chronicles the Anglo-Saxon battles against the Danes. This larger tapestry of history serves as a mere backdrop to the fictional story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg (played by Alexander Dreymon), the son of a Saxon nobleman who is captured by the Danes as a child and raised in their ways.
As he matures, Uhtred is embraced by the Danes but is eventually betrayed and finds himself again on the side of the Saxons. The clash of identities between the ways of the Norsemen and his true lineage as a Saxon help shape a conflict that will eventually change history.
Now that I got that boilerplate description out of the way, it's on to the good stuff.
Simply put, The Last Kingdom is what The Bastard Executioner and Vikings want to be. It's brutal without being exploitative, and it's historical without being a bore. It strikes that perfect balance between history and fiction, where, despite your best efforts, you might find yourself learning a bit about our roots, all while the entrancing story of the young, brash Uhtred leaves you jonesing like a junkie for the next episode.
You'll never pass a college history course on ninth century Europe after watching the show, but The Last Kingdom does a solid job of establishing the warring societies of the Saxons and the Danes. In addition to showing the differences between the pious Christians and their booze-guzzling counterparts, it also dramatizes important moments in history, including the reign of King Alfred (played by David Dawson) and his attempted negotiations with the Viking invaders.
The way the show sets the fictional story of Uhtred against some of the most important moments in European history is where The Last Kingdom really carves out its own mark. What the people behind the show understand—taking their cues from Cornwell's original book series—is that the historical climate at the time was just as, if not more, interesting than any fictional event that could be thought up in a writers' room.
All the series needed was an everyman for audiences to latch onto, and Uhtred is the perfect character for that. On the surface he's motivated by wealth, power and sex, but there's more to him than that. He's looking for his identity and a place he can call his own.
So, how can a show steeped in real history be compared to a series like Game of Thrones, with its dragons and magic and the fact that it basically looks like a Yngwie Malmsteen album cover? Well, like Thrones, this is a story about power.
The Kingdom of Wessex is under siege from Dane invaders who wish to shed blood, rather than sit around a bargaining table. King Alfred is trying to avoid war, defeat the pagans, bring about peace and be seen in the history books as a man who led these disparate kingdoms toward one, unified England.
But between tense negotiations and fighting off Viking raids led by the villainous Ubba (played by Rune Temte), there is also infighting within Wessex over just who the rightful king should be: Alfred or his nephew, Æthelwold. There are enemies without, enemies within, and a handful of people trying to keep everything together.
Any fan of George R.R. Martin's intricate political plotting will instantly find a kinship in The Last Kingdom, and it's only natural, since the two authors know each other's work very well. These are both stories of how kingdoms are created and how history is made, but on a more surface level, both series are absolutely brutal, because, as we know, the only way to build a world and achieve peace is by spilling some blood along the way.
A historical epic isn't worth its weight in mail if it doesn't have the battles to back it up, and while most viewers are probably accustomed to the widescreen bloodshed in Game of Thrones, The Last Kingdom scores points for realism. The highlight, of course, is the shield wall battles, which are brutal reminders of the primitive nature of ninth century warfare.
Don't go into The Last Kingdom expecting an HBO budget to be put to work; this time period wasn't about flash. It was about simplicity and brutality, so where The Last Kingdom falls short in terms of scope, it makes up for in personalized violence and intimate bloodshed.
The Last Kingdom will obviously always be overshadowed by more visible sword-and-shield series on premium networks, and its placement on BBC America will hurt its audience in the States. But, with a footing in real history and incredibly relatable characters and storytelling, this isn't just some derivative Xerox of its competition. It's something wholly different, yet similar enough that fans of Game of Thrones and other genre fare should feel right at home.
The Last Kingdom airs at 10 p.m. Saturdays on BBC America.
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