The Last Kingdom recap: season one, episode four – heathens can wait

Uhtred gets a wife, although all is not straightforward, while the rest of the episode was a delicately paced cat-and-mouse game between Alfred and Guthrum

Spoiler alert: this blog is for those who have watched the fourth episode of The Last Kingdom, showing on BBC2, Thursday nights in the UK; please refrain from posting any spoilers if you’ve seen more of the series. Read Sarah’s recap of episode three here.

‘You don’t deserve to marry her. That woman is a lady and you’re a heathen. You could bathe all day long and you’d still stink of pig shit’

He may not yet have achieved his destiny but, as Jane Austen could no doubt have warned Uhtred, even a single young heathen not in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

This week’s episode saw the wily Alfred take another step towards binding Uhtred to him by ensuring that our impatient young hero gained both a beautiful wife and a crippling debt to the church. The wife, Odda the Elder’s goddaughter Mildrith, was actually a plus point, turning out to be kind-hearted, trusting, prepared to be won over by her dashing young husband and clearly fertile. Unfortunately, like many a maiden in story and song, she had a wastrel for a daddy and a debt that isn’t likely to dissipate any time soon.

She also has some sort of previous connection to Odda the Younger, who clearly loved her but, being a cunning wretch, not enough to give her entire bride price, deciding instead to cheat her and Uhtred and make some money on the side. The resentment on Young Odda’s face when his father found out about that sneaky financial transaction suggested that his list of enemies probably now consists of only one name and that name begins with U.

Still, there’s no doubt that Mildrith helped Uhtred get over the departure of Brida with relative ease, and I’d also add that, just because she’s a kind and gentle person, it doesn’t mean she lacks steel. The look she gave Aelswith, when she suggested that, with any luck, Uhtred would die in battle, would have given even the oncoming Danish hordes pause to think.

‘This is our land. Our Wessex. Our England. And we shall murder any heathen bastard that tries to take it’

Marital relations apart, the rest of the episode was a delicately paced cat-and-mouse game in which Alfred and Guthrum paid lip service to negotiation tactics by exchanging hostages, even as each man knew that this was a false peace, dictated only by the absence of Ubba (who had conveniently headed off to Ireland to avenge his brother’s death), and that battle was inevitable. There will be those who find the constant hinting each week of battle to come somewhat frustrating, but I rather enjoyed the delayed anticipation, not least because it gave us the chance to spend more time with both Alfred and Guthrum.

David Dawson’s Alfred is a Machiavellian joy, willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone in pursuit of his goals, but justified in doing so because he is fighting not for himself or his crown, but for a vision of unity. His decision to make Uhtred one of the hostages demonstrated that he has a gambler’s eye, betting that the possibility of Bebbanburg remained a bigger pull for our young hero than reunion with his Danish compadres. Of course, the odds were a little in his favour given that Uhtred knows Ubba will kill him and ask any questions later, but still Alfred’s move was an interesting one, not least because he was also gambling that Uhtred would survive the inevitable cull of the hostages and get the fiery warning to the Saxon army.

Thanks to Young Ragnar and the bonds of childhood, that gamble paid off, but it was a very close-run thing. Meanwhile, the sardonic Guthrum (charismatic Swedish actor Thomas W Gabrielsson) is also more than the sum of his parts, being as much philosopher as fighter, a man who is prepared to listen to other ideas even if they do not quite touch him yet. I enjoyed his line about the peaceful nature of the church and his subsequent, almost wistful, taunting of God, while the scenes between him and poor, now dead, Father Selbix were cleverly done, showing a meeting between two equally world-weary men, one of whom couldn’t help but be intrigued by the other’s lightly worn faith.

Additional notes

• The arrival of the fleet presumably means the arrival of Kjartan and Sven and thus the chance for Uhtred and Young Ragnar’s revenge. It is interesting that no one has mentioned Thyra – do they think she’s also dead, rather than Sven’s slave? Certainly Uhtred, being too intent on his own act of murder, never noticed her being led off.
  
• As the scene in the church demonstrated, Aelswith really is a nasty piece of work, all false concern and insinuation. That said, I’d happily watch more of her scheming – there’s something so deliciously poisonous about it.
  
• Brida actually seems much happier with Young Ragnar, for whom I have a definite soft spot, not least because he appears to be uncomplicated, loyal and dedicated to life’s finer pleasures (drink, women and song). Go, Young Ragnar, may your life be long, your revenge worth the wait and your celebrations riotous.
  
• You might, however, want to have words with your partner, who has now taken to wearing coloured wraps in her hair like many a holidaying trustafarian before her. If this series doesn’t end with Brida selling incense burners in Camden Lock while munching on a falafel wrap, I shall feel let down.
  
• I liked Leofric’s throwaway line that if Mildrith had been a leg-spreader, Alfred would have been on to her by now. It was a welcome reminder that Alfred might believe in self-sacrifice, but not always, not all the time.
  

Violence count

One fortress filled with dead Saxons after the fall of Wareham, one priest murdered by Guthrum, and the killing of many hostages, but not Uhtred, who survived thanks to a combination of his own fighting skills and Young Ragnar’s willingness to drive a hard bargain.

Quote of the week

“We could be slipping in blood and entrails before the day is out” – Ah, Leofric, you continue to win my heart with your brusque ability to tell it as it is.

So what did you think – was this a good episode or do they need to get to the fighting now? What did you make of Mildrith? And how will Odda the Younger get his revenge? Most importantly, what terrible fashion trend will Brida embrace next week? As ever, all speculation welcome below …

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