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The Last Kingdom S2 |OT| "Destiny is All Arselings" *UK Airing on BBC*

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DrSlek

Member
In the latest episode I was slightly concerned they were introducing some
supernatural elements
to the show, which would make it too similar to Vikings.

I'm pleased that they did a bait & switch there.
 

Timbuktu

Member
Holy shit at that cliff hanger. The new baddies are a good contrast from the last set, but I guess this arc is about Alfred more than anything. The dynamic between him and Ultred is great; I like that the faith that fuels Alfred's ambition blinds him as well. His daughter is proving to be a good character too now that she is coming to the fore, even if she like most characters on this show have impossible to spell names.

You really get how good Ultred is tactically on the battlefield. Enjoying this more than GoT or anything else at the moment. I enjoy the pace, but some side characters are good enough to deserve more moments devoted to them.
 
S02E06, #$@% wow that cliffhanger...
Show is leaps beyond season 1, and has already surpassed Vikings in my eyes.

The side characters are a joy to behold.
 

Qvoth

Member
incredible episode, really blows my mind
p0QHO.gif
 

Yado

Member
btw, am I the only one who was getting a gay vibe from Ethelred and the guy who works for him? (can't remember his name) totally thought that was where that was heading.
 

Chumley

Banned
Fucking Alfred pisses me off so much. How quickly he forgets that he owes literally everything to Uhtred. His life, the life of his wife, his children, and his status as a king. Not to mention Uhtred sacrificed Isolde and single handedly won several battles for him.

All that, and he still can't trust him and is scheming yet again to get rid of him. Fuck Alfred, Uhtred needs to dump a bag of severed heads at his doorstep to remind him who the one true god really is.
 

Qvoth

Member
Fucking Alfred pisses me off so much. How quickly he forgets that he owes literally everything to Uhtred. His life, the life of his wife, his children, and his status as a king. Not to mention Uhtred sacrificed Isolde and single handedly won several battles for him.

All that, and he still can't trust him and is scheming yet again to get rid of him. Fuck Alfred, Uhtred needs to dump a bag of severed heads at his doorstep to remind him who the one true god really is.

uhhh in alfred's view, god gave him all that, not uhtred
uhtred being pagan is the biggest reason for alfred's distrust
 

Timbuktu

Member
The tension between Uhtred and Alfred is the best thing. This arc will be about Alfred getting over his faults as much as anything else.
 
I just wanted to give a little bump and chime in that my comments earlier in this thread (or was it the season 1 thread?) about this season not being as good as the first were severely mistaken. I had started reading the books, which are a blast by the way, and I thought maybe they were getting in my way of enjoying the show and I think I was right.

By the flash forward, in ep 5 I think, the show has taken leaps and bounds. The drama between Alfred and Uthred is high, the sword play is amazing and the story line much more cohesive than the beginning of the season where I think they may have felt a little rushed to tie up some threads from season 1. This show is just so god damn good and I continue to push it on anyone that has even the slightest interest in history or action. Even if you don't care for either of those things the acting and writing is top notch and I this show deserves a third season and more
 

Timbuktu

Member
The last episode was setting up to the big battle of the season more than anything, so less dramatic compared with the previous few I guess. There are quite a lot of good character building moments, but this was one of those time that I thought they could have done with more time to let relationships develop, especially with such great actors. Seeing hatable characters get humiliated is always great though, and Alfred's daughter is also becoming a great character.
 
The last episode was setting up to the big battle of the season more than anything, so less dramatic compared with the previous few I guess. There are quite a lot of good character building moments, but this was one of those time that I thought they could have done with more time to let relationships develop, especially with such great actors. Seeing hatable characters get humiliated is always great though, and Alfred's daughter is also becoming a great character.

She has really come into her own which is good because (book spoilers)
she plays a pretty important role in the story going forward, this season and likely in the seasons ahead

I absolutely LOVE the guy playing Alfred as well, and I think he captures his inner turmoil exceedingly well.

Alfred, at least according to the books and the show, is a guy who puts God above all else but he's also really pragmatic so while he continually undervalues Uthred he understands that there's a need for him.

My personal opinion is that he not only understands Uthred's value to the kingdom but he's also knows in his heart that Uthred is a good man. Unfortunately his dogmatic approach to ruling and his constant worrying about the uniting of the kingdoms makes him, on the surface at least, distrust and sometimes even hate Uthred. Make no mistake though, he's very conflicted about it.

Also loving my man Beocca finally getting a wife. Uthred's wife and Irish running partner are awesome additions to the story and the cast. Can't wait to see more genuine shield walls (I'm looking at you Vikings lol) and Uthred owning more heathen Danes!!!
 

Chumley

Banned
S2E7 was great. A little slower paced than usual but pretty important.
I totally bought the arc for Alfred's daughter and Eric, it was well established how much she hated her husband and looked up to Uhtred, so of course she'd go for an Uhtred 2.0 type. Eric's actor is also really good, considering how big of a plot moment their relationship is I was glad to see how convincing it all was. Kind of new territory for the show to tread into love affair stuff, but as with everything else it pulled it off flawlessly.

I'm really curious how it plays out and what Eric does, like if he sails away with her in the middle of the night or what, and how the hell Uhtred is going to explain this to Alfred.
 
S2E7 was great. A little slower paced than usual but pretty important.
I totally bought the arc for Alfred's daughter and Eric, it was well established how much she hated her husband and looked up to Uhtred, so of course she'd go for an Uhtred 2.0 type. Eric's actor is also really good, considering how big of a plot moment their relationship is I was glad to see how convincing it all was. Kind of new territory for the show to tread into love affair stuff, but as with everything else it pulled it off flawlessly.

I'm really curious how it plays out and what Eric does, like if he sails away with her in the middle of the night or what, and how the hell Uhtred is going to explain this to Alfred.

Oh you just wait! 🙊 It's such a great story arc I can't wait to see them put it on the small screen. If this season isn't already above season 1 that whole storyline will most definitely propel it above it
 

Donthizz#

Member
Read the books long time ago. Can't remember
Athelflaed Running off with a Viking.Uthred's daughter did that iirc.

Excited to see how this plot line ends.
 

Qvoth

Member
Ep 7 spoilers
I legit thought she was just playing erik to find a chance to escape, very surprised she actually did fell in love with him
 

Chumley

Banned
Ep 7 spoilers
I legit thought she was just playing erik to find a chance to escape, very surprised she actually did fell in love with him

I liked it. Actually felt genuine with what we know about her and Erik.

Also, Uhtred being a boss as usual - "You will kneel." "We will not kneel"

He acts like a guy who knows he could kill everyone in the room at a moments notice, because he actually can.
 

Timbuktu

Member
I fear for Odda more than anything

Edit: not sure why Erik didn't take the ransom and give the princess back to Alfred. He could have gotten her back when they conquer Wessex.

RIP big guy.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
This is hitting the states tomorrow (in one hour, technically). I'm looking forward to checking out the season, finally!
 

Chumley

Banned
It's up on Netflix U.S! Time to update the thread.

Finale was great.

S2E8 spoilers
FUCK ALFRED. As usual. Uhtred and Odda saved Wessex from his dumb ass, he kills Odda for it and still is a complete prick to Uhtred. He grew on me in Season 1 a little bit, but any of that good will is gone now.

Sad that Erik died. Hopefully Aethelfled stands up to her husband after all that. As good as the show is about being incredibly satifying almost every episode, the finale had the most melancholic ending of probably any of the 16 so far.

Oh, and Uhtred took a direct horse charge like a boss. That was the most fucked up he's ever gotten, maybe next time step out of the way dude.

It's too bad we only got one truly awesome battle scene in Episode 4, the S1 finale battle still takes the cake though I overall liked S2 more.

Bring on Season 3 as fast as possible please. Destiny is all.

Also, I'm unreasonably annoyed that AVClub just posted they're not going to do reviews of this season. I don't comprehend how this show can still be so underlooked.
 
I fear for Odda more than anything

Edit: not sure why Erik didn't take the ransom and give the princess back to Alfred. He could have gotten her back when they conquer Wessex.

RIP big guy.

Probably wouldn't have sat well with his wife to be if he was responsible for killing her entire family.
 

Iadien

Guarantee I'm going to screw up this post? Yeah.
Shit, for some reason I thought this was going to be 10 episodes this season. Anyway, will binge this weekend.
 
I watched the second season today while working. It's really good. I think I actually prefer this over Game of Thrones and Vikings now.
 

W1SSY

Member
Just saw season 2 was up on Netflix and am hoping to watch some this weekend. I am even more excited after reading impressions in this thread.
 

Treo360

Member
I was excited about this show just based on reactions here. I've never seen it and watched episode 1 of season 2 as it happened to be on. Didn't connect with it at all. Felt very campy to me. Went back and watched Vikings again.

Perhaps I need to watch this from the very beginning?
 

Iadien

Guarantee I'm going to screw up this post? Yeah.
I was excited about this show just based on reactions here. I've never seen it and watched episode 1 of season 2 as it happened to be on. Didn't connect with it at all. Felt very campy to me. Went back and watched Vikings again.

Perhaps I need to watch this from the very beginning?

If that was the first episode you watched, then you're not attached to any of these characters, so it makes sense that you didn't really enjoy it. However, Vikings wasn't for me, but I enjoy this, so maybe Last Kingdom just isn't for you.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Wow, episode 3 was super eventful - plot wise, it felt a bit like a movie.
I'd heard a bit about Uhtred's slave arc, but I didn't expect it to all happen in one episode!
 
I was excited about this show just based on reactions here. I've never seen it and watched episode 1 of season 2 as it happened to be on. Didn't connect with it at all. Felt very campy to me. Went back and watched Vikings again.

Perhaps I need to watch this from the very beginning?

Yeah I can't see how you can enjoy the second season without understanding of the first. And the first episode of season 2 is the worst of the season as I thought the rest were all great, whilst that episode was just OK.

As someone who has watched and enjoyed all of Vikings so far, this show has far better pace, far better acting in general, and has more interesting characters.
 

KorrZ

Member
Season 2 was excellent, I think overall it's better than the first season.

Alfred is really starting to piss me off with his shit though. Most of his success so far can be attributed to other characters and he would have been his own downfall several times over, yet he still treats everyone like shit.
 
It would definitely be nice to get a third season although I think they might struggle to carry on beyond that due to 'closure' of certain storylines and the fact the story ages the characters quickly (Uhtred in his sixties by book 10 (series 5).
 
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