Nick Lee
Copy Editor
Netflix’s “The Last Kingdom” continues to uphold its excellence of performances and storyline as it continues with its second season.
“The Last Kingdom”’s second season ended on May 4 and is an adaptation of historian and author Bernard Cornwell’s “The Saxon Stories”. The series maintains the book’s critical acclaim with a strong plot, excellent lead acting and an accurate portrayal of battles in the time period. However, the series lacks accuracy in set design and weaponry.
“The Last Kingdom” is a historical fiction television show set in late ninth century Britain when England was divided into seven separate kingdoms. The plot follows seven Saxon kings as their lands are plundered and encroached upon by the Viking Danes migrating from their homelands of Norway and Sweden.
Link: The Saxon Series by Bernard Cornwell is a collection of seven books
The series follows protagonist Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon), a born Saxon who was fathered by Danes. After his Uncle steals his crown, Utred tries to get it back, but is caught in a series misfortunes and an oath to the King of Wessex’s(David Dawson) who dreams of a unified England.
Photos from “The Last Kingdom” as well as outside information.
Although the expansive storyline can be credited to Cornwell, the producers do a phenomenal job condensing the massive plot. They capture the essence and originality of the novels while adding small, unique twists to it that add to the enjoyability of the series.
Another one of the show’s positive aspects is the fantastic acting by Dreymon. Dreymon’s acting is moving, compelling and very dynamic. His transformation and actions throughout the series inspires touching and vexatious moments.
The show also does a marvelous job of depicting late ninth century combat. Unlike cliche battle scenes where soldiers break line and fight one on one, the show utilizes historically-authentic battle methods from the era such as the shield wall when soldiers lock shields and fight as a single unit.
On the other hand, sometimes the show’s sets are debatable in authenticity. For example, often the thatching on the houses are a mere 3 inches thick with little to no angle. However, in reality the houses at that time had around two to three feet thick thatching and at least a 45 degree angle. The thin thatch would have never been able to stop the violent English rains deteriorating the believability of the show.
In addition, often times weapons used by many warriors in the show are glorified to look gruesome in order to appeal to audiences. Axe heads the size of watermelons and abnormally long and unwieldy swords are used on set which would never be light enough for an average human to carry.
“The Last Kingdom” includes historically correct battle tactics, remarkable lead acting and a powerful storyline. Despite small nitpicking of historical inaccuracies, the series is definitely worth watching.
It is available for streaming on Netflix and on BBC America for free.
Link: Netflix is a streaming website which provides video-on-demand online and DVD by mail
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