The decision was made much to Roman’s disappointment - Kendall just wanted to get back at his dad and Shiv wanted to get her own back on her estranged husband Tom.

As soon as they heard (from info shared by Tom, no less) their father was preparing to buy Waystar rival Pierce Global Media (PGM) from Logan’s nemesis Nan Pierce, they quickly ditched The Hundred to focus on getting one over on their estranged father. Stepping out from under their father’s shadow is probably a good idea for the siblings, but it’s not one that lasted very long. Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy (Photo: HBO) Turns out she was simply “talking about talking” with the transition team of a presidential candidate (presumably not Connor). “Shivvy, are you snaking?” Kendall asked his sister when she arrived late to their meeting. Joined by his sister Shiv and brother Kendall, the trio were working on ideas for their new venture, The Hundred, and while they all seem to be on the same team (for now), there was still some lingering suspicions. The first episode took us to Roman’s sprawling mansion in the hills of LA. The look they shared at the Abbey after she gave him a plan to infiltrate Bebbanburg said love.‘It’s Substack meets Masterclass meets The Economist meets The New Yorker‘ It’s not just sweaty candle-lit shagging for those two (though it is quite a lot of that). Risking hers is Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia and Uhtred’s new lover. She’s a right sort using her sexuality for political influence while he’s a soldier in the closet (in ninth century England, the closet contained so many people, it could have been a kingdom entirely of its own), and they’re both trying to protect the family name.

The Lord of Mercia’s new mistress and her brother Eardwulf appear to be very much the Margaery and Loras Tyrell of The Last Kingdom. He may well have an almost complete set of Saint Oswald’s body parts, but as Brida says, he’s only thinking with one of his own.Įnter: Eadith, something Aethelred’s desperate to do. Where Uhtred inspires loyalty and promises his men rewards, Aelfric screams and spits, promising only punishment.Ĭut from the same cloth is Aethelred, who’s currently ransacking the villages of East Anglia, having swallowed Haesten’s misinformation about Cnut having left for Ireland. The ‘pep talk’ he gave to his men after the skirmish with the Scots showed Aelfric to be half the leader his nephew is. Aelfric’s still every inch the Sheriff of Nottingham-type, loathed by his subjects and disdained by his peers, fixated only on his divine right to have more stuff than everybody else. This is the uncle who planned to have the 12-year-old Uhtred killed, bargained for his head as an adult and attempted to forcibly marry the woman Uhtred loved. Our reintroduction to Aelfric was only a reminder of his villainy. The Last Kingdom: Who is Aelfric? By Louisa Mellor Their reconciliation prior to Alfred’s death was all the more meaningful because of that, and now Young Uhtred can play the part of his father’s faith-antagonist. For years, Uhtred and the king of Wessex were two men divided by faith, neither understanding or respecting the other’s religion. Young Uhtred (we definitely needed another Uhtred, it’s frankly too easy to follow all the names on this show) can also step into the gap left by Alfred. It took three seasons for our Pagan hero to reconcile his warring Saxon/Dane selves, and now a kid with the same name as him is beginning the same process right from the start. Making Uhtred’s son a devout Christian lost to his roots is a poetic way to reframe The Last Kingdom’s constant themes of family, faith and identity. Both start with Bebbanburg fighting off marauding invaders, both end with our hero vowing to reclaim the fortress from his usurping uncle, and in between, both see a boy plucked from his faith and thrown in with a band of warrior-strangers. There’s pleasing symmetry between this season four opener and The Last Kingdom’s first ever episode. The Last Kingdom Season 4 Episode 1īack to where it all began. This The Last Kingdom review contains spoilers.

Legacies season 4 episode 1 synopsis