The Last Kingdom

Obviously a much cheaper series than Vikings. It took me a while to get used to, but the gritty plot and especially the excellent main character definitely deserve four stars from me. Unlike a lot of Christian zealots, Uhtred is a loose cannon. He is selfish, disrespectful, uncontrollably angry and unchristian, which is why I’ve grown fond of him. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the series without him. (28.08.2016)

After watching Season 1, I must say I liked it a lot. The only exception was Episode 3 which made me think I would die of boredom if I ever set foot in a forest again. Another drawback was the low budget. It wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't made certain scenes look amateurish. But that's as far as my criticism goes. The atmosphere was perfectly grim, there was decent action, and the creators managed to incorporate into the story the typical church obscurantism, intrigue and an atypical protagonist. (01.04.2018)

The pilot episode of the series pleased me more than it disappointed me. The whole episode was soaked in a gloomy atmosphere, it just surprised me that considering the time the story is about, scenes of violent violence occurred rather rarely. I see the first part as an introduction to the story and characters, and I rate it 4*-, because it was too visible that they saved money on the budget. (30.03.2018)

This time I didn't enjoy myself too much, the atmosphere was great again, but the story stagnated too much for my taste. Uhtred and Brida returned to the forest too often to discuss the same things over and over again, so I got bored in some places. (30.03.2018)

The fourth episode was fortunately completely different from the previous one. The plot of the story had a decent pace this time, and instead of unnecessary and boring forest conversations, it started to weave highly intricate intrigue. Thanks to that, I was able to momentarily forget about the low budget. (31.03.2018)

The creators really delivered in the fifth episode, I assume it was from a feeling of guilt for the botched third installment. The atmosphere was traditionally gloomy, the plot was full of interesting events, there was again scheming and even some action and a bit of an emotional explosion. No boredom. (31.03.2018)

I was once again satisfied, similar to the previous episode. The atmosphere worked, the plot maintained its pace, I got my share of action, intrigue, and other intricacies. However, I must admit that the Cornish costumes made me almost despair. I thought I would only appreciate the episode with four stars, but considering that the creators did not hold back with ecclesiastical potentates and regulations, I happily added a fifth piece. (31.03.2018)

The penultimate episode had a build-up to five stars, the first half was once again an action affair which the creators succeeded in very well, the second half drowned the pace in the marshy ground around the River Severn, constant debates about God were getting on my nerves and out of all that darkness, only the notorious arsonist and ship destroyer - Uhtred the Unbeliever - saved me. (01.04.2018)

I enjoyed the final episode of the first season as a whole, unlike the previous episode, so I couldn't rate it any other way than with a full number of stars. There was planning and intrigue, this time the creators managed to gather extras for a decent battle, and they succeeded in writing the ending in a way that enticed me to watch the next season, so I was satisfied. (01.04.2018)

I was very surprised by how well Season 2 turned out. After all, I expected it to go down in quality compared to the first one, but I was wrong. Again, I got excellent atmosphere, the Middle Ages simply radiated from the screen, and action wasn’t scarce. Either I got used to the low budget or it wasn’t as obvious as in the previous season. The story nicely followed up on the previous events, and it wasn’t boring. I was also pleased with the new characters who added even more intrigue to the plot. Most importantly, you could see the honest work behind everything. Not everything has to be filled with CGI. I look forward to the third season in joyful anticipation. (05.04.2018)

I perceive the first episode of the second season as a starting point, and therefore I am currently rating it with four stars. The creators picked up right where the story of the first season ended, but I was a bit confused. At one moment, I was watching Alfred and his faithful enjoying their victory after the battle, and immediately after, I see Hild, whose hair has grown quite a bit in those few days. That was really strange. Anyway, the start of the new season was successful, and I hope the creators won't disappoint me. (01.04.2018)

In the second episode, I was thinking more about four stars because the action scenes were limited to small fights and little Hild easily got rid of her armor after one of the Danes too well, but in the end, I decided on the full number of stars because there were major intrigues and, as expected, the representatives of the Church love their God almost above all else (except for power and money). (03.04.2018)

I didn't really enjoy Uhtred's naval adventure, but it was compensated by the events on land, which were very interesting. The creators still manage to maintain the right atmosphere, when there is no action, they turn to intrigue and Alfred's conclusion was excellent. Cunning fox indeed. (03.04.2018)

I was completely satisfied with the fourth episode. The atmosphere was traditionally excellent, this time accompanied by a proper dose of action, and despite the low budget, I enjoyed the fortress battle. I was also pleased with the outcome of Ragnar's meeting with Kjartan and Sven's meeting with Thora. (03.04.2018)

After watching the fifth episode, I was a bit thrown off. In the middle of the ongoing season, there was this strange pilot episode that slowly introduced me to the story three years after the last events. It wasn't an uninteresting matter, but it unpleasantly annoyed me and unnecessarily slowed down the excellent pace of the second season so far. (04.04.2018)

After the previous slightly hesitant episode, fortunately, a fully-fledged episode came, in which there were intrigues, paranoia was in the air, if it came to action, it was worth watching, and there was even an alarming case of domestic violence. The creators simply returned to what they truly excel at, and therefore, I give it a full rating. (04.04.2018)

The seventh episode couldn't be said to be particularly action-packed, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm curious to see how the creators plan to use the new character, Osferth, in the story. I have a feeling that a completely new storyline could unfold around him. I couldn't help but notice that even though Erik is Danish, a nice case of Stockholm syndrome was portrayed here. (04.04.2018)

And the final episode of the second season was successful, which pleased me. I'm really tired of series that have a solid season, only to have everything collapse like a house of cards in the last episode. Once again, I enjoyed enough action scenes (although the final battle seemed somewhat naive), tension unexpectedly emerged, and even though my favorite character was killed off, I was very satisfied. (05.04.2018)

I really enjoyed the third season of The Last Kingdom. Unlike most other series, this one seems to get better with each new season. For the most part, the third season kept up a brisk pace and a great atmosphere. The authors created a perfect medieval setting full of intrigue and manipulation. They handled the battle scenes very well, and you could tell the budget was increased compared to the first season. Complete satisfaction on my part. (04.09.2019)

"I am Uhtred, son of Uhtred...", only this sentence can be surpassed by: "I'll be back!". Uhtred is back after a year and apparently returned in full force. I expected there to be much more dialogue in the first episode of the third season, but the creators did not hold back on action at all. The story had excellent pacing, the medieval atmosphere was great, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. (02.09.2019)