The Last Kingdom Season 4 was awesome as always. What a great show. Let s reflect on the journey
of these amazing characters. Season 4 had 4 main plots: The Siege of Bebbanburg, The
Battle of Tettenhall, The Empty Throne of Mercia, and The Empty Throne of Wessex.
Let s start with The Siege of Bebbanburg. Lord Aelfric fought Scots outside the walls
of Bebbanburg. Far outside the walls, which was a nod to the reoccurring theme of Season
2: Empty Thrones. Aidin told Aelfric that they lost over half their men. They would
need to buy more forces to hold Bebbanburg. And low and behold, Uhtred s buddies were
there as well. Checking in on the status of Bebbanburg.
Meanwhile, Uhtred was down at his Wessex estate in Cookham with Aethelflaed, but Aldhelm interrupted
a good time to tell Aethelflaed that her husband, Aethelred, has noted her absence. Uhtred said
that he would fight for her. But the safety and stability of Mercia was more important
to Aethelflaed than her own happiness. So she left Uhtred and rode south to Winchester
so as to console her mother. Uhtred's boys then arrived with the good word.
That Bebbanburg was ripe for the taking. But Uhtred would need men to do so, so he rode
from his Wessex estate in Cookham to Winchester to request support from Edward.
Uhtred assumed that he and Edward had a common goal. He assumed that Edward would want Uhtred
to retake Bebbanburg in order to get one step closer to Alfred s goal of uniting all of
England. But Edward was focused on the defense of Wessex. That was his key priority. So Edward
denied Uhtred any troops. Nevertheless, Uhtred would still make a play on Bebbanburg.
In Mercia, Aethelred longed to gain power so that he would be considered Edward s equal.
One way that he sought to do so was by collecting all the relics of Saint Oswald, to put him
back together as a omen for the Mercian people. And Aethelred needed just one more piece.
Oswald s heart. So he sent two monks north to Bebbanburg to buy it from Aelfric.
Back in Winchester, Hild told Uhtred to meet Aethelflaed in the gardens, and Aethelflaed
told Uhtred about the two monks. Uhtred would later factor this into his plans.
He asked Beocca and Hild to join him, but they said that their fighting days were done.
Instead, Hild gave Uhtred a silver cross, which he could use for bribes. Uhtred ends
up using the cross later in the story, but for something much more important.
Uhtred then left Winchester and rode to Saint Wilfrid s Church and effectively kidnapped
his son, Uhtred. Just as he himself was torn from the life that he was living as a kid,
and forced to learn new ways, Uhtred tore Young Uhtred away from the life of the church
in an attempt to make him a warrior. Before they sailed off, Beocca arrived, as
he had basically been foolishly pushed aside by Lady Aelswith. Then, they sailed north
to retake Bebbanburg. Destiny is All.
Meanwhile, Uhtred s cousin and Aelfric s son, Wihtgar, who everyone had assumed to be dead,
returned to Bebbanburg with seasoned warriors. On their way north, Uhtred pitstopped at Grimsby,
North Umbria and devised a plan to infiltrate Bebbanburg. Young Uhtred would join two monks,
make his way inside Bebbanburg, give a signal, and then open the gate for Uhtred. Unfortunately,
Wihtgar caught on to him and captured him. Young Uhtred found himself fighting for his
life. Meanwhile, Uhtred and his men got inside anyway,
and they quickly took Aelfric hostage. Unfortunately, Wihtgar didn't care. In fact, he shot Aelfric
himself, making him the new ruler of Bebbanburg. And unlike his father, Wihtgar would not make
the mistake of leaving Uhtred or his heirs alive. So Wihtgar shot a bolt at Young Uhtred,
but Beocca slid over into the way, sacrificing himself for Young Uhtred. They then fled.
They barely escaped alive. Their ship broke up, they swam to shore, and ultimately, Uhtred
was a broken man. The Attempt to Retake Bebbanburg had failed, and more importantly, Uhtred lost
Beocca due to his hastiness. This was a lesson that Uhtred would carry with him going forward.
And in honor of Beocca, Uhtred buried the silver cross that Hild had given him
Destiny is All.