That’s not all it took. It also took Toby Regbo’s finest performance in the role, a rich and surprising script by Martha Hillier, and lighting by DP Tim Palmer that made every shot of the dying Aethelred look like a Baroque painting of Christ. It all combined to give the character some last-minute humanity, offering viewers a surprising take on an old villain and the establishment of a new one.
That’s Eardwulf (Jamie Blackley), who may well have just committed the most sickening murder in The Last Kingdom history. We’ve seen countless swords slide into gullets and and endless victims choke on their own bubbling blood in The Last Kingdom, but there’s never been a sound quite as unsettling as that of Aethelred’s skull popping like a dropped egg.
It was a turning point for Eardwulf, who – enticed by the prospect of the Mercian throne – went from self-serving schemer to Slytherin Head Boy in a single episode. The distance between him and his sister Eadith (Stefanie Martini) has grown steadily since they were introduced as co-conspirators at the beginning of the season, and now, they’re on opposite poles. He’s a monster and she’s on the side of good, as proven by her aiding Aethelflaed’s escape.
Confined women, and the narrow paths available to them at this point in history, was the unifying theme of this episode – as symbolised by Aelfwynn’s caged songbirds (what else is a royal princess?). Seeded by the story of Aelswith’s changing fortunes after the death of Alfred, The Last Kingdom shows how the safety and status even of privileged women in Saxon England was dependent on the protection and wisdom of male relatives, both of which are in short supply here.
However unlikeable it makes her, Queen Aelflaed’s rivalry with Aelswith is only that of a woman striving to hold on to what power she’s temporarily afforded by her son and husband. Both women are caught in the same trap. The same goes for Eadith and Aethelflaed, though Eadith’s conscience made them allies instead of rivals. Why would this particular mistress help this particular wife? Because who better to understand being at the mercy of a brother’s questionable judgment and the lust of a man like Aethelred?