At the beginning of the 9th episode, a ceremony is held for Aethelflaed (Millie Brady) in Mercia. Meanwhile, Aethelhelm (Adrian Schiller) gets up and begins preparing for the day ahead. He doesn’t realize that Winchester is being invaded by Sigtryggr’s army. Aethelhelm goes outside and finds a soldier dying on the ground before an arrow lands dangerously close to him. He doesn’t seem too scared when Sigtryggr and other Danes surround him and the small group of soldiers protecting him. Aelflaed (Amelia Clarkson) and Aelfweard (Marcell Zsolt Halmy) are taken captive by the Danes as well. Brida (Emily Cox) and Sigtryggr want to know if Aethelhelm wants to fight or yield. He looks around before saying yield and the soldiers are immediately slaughtered.

Eardwulf (Jamie Blackley) joins them moments later and Brida gives him credit for helping them capture Winchester. Aethelhelm and his family are taken captive while the Danes fortify the city before we jump over to Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) and his men. Uhtred has been put in charge of escorting Aelswith (Eliza Butterworth) and they’ve stopped on a trading route. Pyrlig (Cavan Clerkin), Eadith (Stefanie Martini), and the others work while Aelswith gives out orders and tries to make things right between herself and Uhtred. After that, Stiorra (Ruby Hartley) checks with her father and learns that they should reach Bedwyn by tomorrow with luck.

Then, he’ll head to Coccham. Stiorra explains she doesn’t want to live in Coccham because it is small before several men pass through. Aelswith becomes concerned and her worries are justified since Haesten (Jeppe Beck Laursen) arrives with an army and surrounds them. During the encounter, Uhtred learns that Sigtryggr is trying to unite the Danes and he has already taken Winchester. Uhtred is forced to watch as Haesten and his men take Stiorra and Aelswith. Next, Aethelflaed speaks with Edward (Timothy Innes) and learns that he intends to return to Winchester. Then, we see that Uhtred and his men have been hung upside down but Eadith goes unnoticed. Haesten leaves two men to guard Uhtred until they die and he leaves.

Meanwhile, Brida and Sigtryggr discuss Eardwulf and Sigtryggr doesn’t trust him. Brida is happy that they’ve got their price thanks to him. Sigtryggr wants to learn more about his enemy but Brida believes the key is attacking their religion. She suggests digging up their dead and using that against them. Sigtryggr would rather let the Saxons take the lead since that will reveal who their true leaders are and then they can kill them. Sihtric (Arnas Fedaravicius) struggles to stay awake while Eadith tries to find a way to help Uhtred and his men escape. She kills one of the guards and distracts the other giving her enough time to free the men. After a scuffle, Osferth (Ewan Mitchell) and the others manage to escape.

Uhtred urges them to run in the direction of Winchester but it is unlikely that they’ll catch up with Haesten. Pyrlig is sent to deliver the message to Edward. Brida visits Alfred’s resting place before Aethelhelm interrupts her. He offers to give her silver but she isn’t willing to cooperate with him since she wants revenge on all of them. After that, Aelswith and Stiorra are brought into the city. Aelswith gives Stiorra advice and encourages her to pray. Once Aelswith is taken inside, she tries to negotiate with Brida and the man in charge. She tells them that Edward won’t put up with it and will burn everything to the ground to prevent them from taking any piece of Wessex. Then, she tries to convince them that Stiorra and Aethelstan (Caspar Griffiths) are Danes.

Brida believes Stiorra might be half Dane but she doesn’t believe the boy is a Dane at all. Sigtryggr orders Stiorra to be isolated after Eardwulf notices her and says she is Uhtred’s daughter. Uhtred and his small army make it to Winchester only to find that the Danes have fortified the city. Back inside, Sigtryggr prevents Stiorra from harming himself and promises he won’t harm her either. She explains that she is Dane and Saxon and isn’t interested in fighting either. She doesn’t want to be held to the feuds from years ago before Sigtryggr asks about Uhtred and the reason he kills so many Danes.

The tries to explain things to him while Uhtred wonders how they can get into the village. Eadith believes she can get inside and find out where the captives are being held. She realizes she will be locked inside but she still wants to help. Meanwhile, Pyrlig makes it to Edward and tells him what has happened. Edward is upset and doesn’t understand why Uhtred didn’t protect his mother and he suspects someone has betrayed him. Pyrlig reminds him that his presence in Mercia was never hidden. Edward says that Winchester will be retaken. Meanwhile, Brida has the Saxon dead pulled from their graves and Eardwulf tries to convince him that this is wrong and needs to be stopped.

He claims he hasn’t betrayed the simple warriors but Brida suggests otherwise. Eadith manages to get into Winchester only to be surprised when she spots her brother. While being held captive, Aethelhelm speaks with Aethelstan and asks why he is traveling with Aelswith. He learns that the boy is going to be educated at Bedwyn. He asks the boy if Aethelstan is his name but the boy denies it. Then, he asks Aelswith why she brought the king’s bastard to Wessex and she claims the king asked her to do that. She warns Aethelhelm that he will not make it through this before telling Aethelstan about Alfred. A Dane begins them food moments later.

Back outside, Finan (Mark Rowley) wonders if they’ve sent Eadith to her death but Uhtred doesn’t believe so. Uhtred isn’t eager to rush into another battle since doing so resulted in the death of Beocca at Bebbanburg. Back inside, Eardwulf wanders the halls before running into Stiorra. He tells her he has been drinking ale before saying Sigtryggr is using her since he is bereft of conscience. He believes he should take vengeance on Uhtred by killing his daughter. Eardwulf smacks her across the face before Sigtryggr enters and repays the favor. Sigtryggr learns about Eardwulf killing Aethelred and fleeing Mercia but Eardwulf denies everything. Eardwulf is taken outside so he can be punished. Eadith watches as Sigtryggr speaks to his people.

He explains that the others have failed because they were driven by anger. He says Eardwulf is a man of ambition and there is nothing wrong with that but he only works for himself. He believes that the ambition is a poison that needs to be put to sleep. Eadith cries out for Sigtryggr to have mercy on her brother. Brida doesn’t understand why Sigtryggr speaks against their greatest warriors but he reminds her that they’re no longer here. Eardwulf is killed. Haesten catches Eadith trying to take food to the captives. He believes she is Eardwulf’s sister so he wants to hide her from Sigtryggr while Eardwulf’s body is removed from the city. Cenric and the army arrives and rushes toward the village gates.

The gates are shut before Edward and his men can get inside. Archers on both sides begin shooting arrows at one another until Edward is forced to pull back. Edward says that they’ll be surrounded by Saxons tomorrow before Uhtred tells him that Sigtryggr fights another way and that they need a better plan. Edward orders his men to attack again and the episode ends.

 

The Last Kingdom Review

This episode of the Last Kingdom was decent but ultimately very frustrating. There were many good moments but a lot of them were overshadowed by the stupidity of the main characters. Why would Uhtred and his men stop and rest right near a trading route? Why would Haesten let Uhtred and his men go knowing that they would create problems for him in the future? Would Edward really rush into the battle foolishly without a plan or reinforcements?

On the plus side, the Sigtryggr character is very good. I think he has stolen the spotlight this season since everyone else has been pushed out of the limelight. At this point, I am hoping Sigtryggr and the Danes slaughter everyone. However, I’d say we’re going to get three episodes of him and that is it. The writers have killed the main characters with the romance nonsense and by building new characters that they’ve killed off so haphazardly. Plus, we have so many things this season that are going to amount to nothing. Eardwulf was being built up all season only to be killed too quickly. That was disappointing.

I doubt anything will come of Aethelstan’s presence in Wessex. I am not sure where Haesten has been and now young Uhtred seems to have disappeared although he was supposed to be in Winchester. The episode didn’t show the boy at all. Before the season is over, Brida will give birth on the battlefield and Eadith who has never wielded a sword will slay the greatest Dane warriors.

While the season hasn’t been the worst thing ever, it is nowhere near the quality of the previous three. The show needs to get its writers back because this quality isn’t going to keep people around long enough and I don’t see it getting any better from here on out. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of The Last Kingdom can be found on Reel Mockery.