The Last Kingdom (Season 4)
Apr. 29th, 2020 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakNetflix put up the fourth season, which I find I like better than the third one, despite it by necessity lacking what used to be a key dynamic of the show.
Not least because I in 99% of the cases seriously dislike the "evil sexualized witch" trope, of which Skade in s3 is one unfortunate example. S4 not only is thankfully lacking in said trope, but offers (mostly) three dimensional characters opposing each other for good (from their pov) reasons. Edward hesitating to come to Mercia's aid is because he - correctly - thinks it's a Danish trap. Sigtryggr, the latest entry into the "main Danish fighting foe" stakes in the later half of the season, is clever, has a code, and can think strategically. The characters who are definitely villains and evil by their society's standards as well as ours, Aethelwulf (spelling?) and Aethelred, are actually given repentance and moments of grace before their deaths (without this negating what they did earlier or those they've hurt forced to forgive them). Evil McEvil characters like Uthred's uncle and cousin aren't overused but used in a way to make a point about Uthred, and provide a good narrative twist. (Uthred as well as the audience is primed to believe that he'll succeed in recapturing 'Bebbanburg when he finally after several seaons makes back there at the start of this one; he's the rightful heir, he's a legendary hero, he's more often than not beaten the odds. And yet he's bested, not just because his cousin was more ruthless but because Uthred is a stranger to the current inhabitants of Bebbanburg - where he hasn't been for decades - and thus can't command their loyalty at the critical moment. Which, you know, MAKES SENSE. I love it when historical shows do that.
And I continue to love how much better this show (mostly) uses its female characters when compared to the source material. Aelswith is a one dimensional minor opponent in the books, burdened with the worst clichés - "nagging wife, spoiler of joy, jealous, bigotted Christian vs our heathen hero". Aelswith on the show may start out this way, but even in s1 she has that scene with Hlld, and s2 shows her as Alfred's advisor and consort in that sense, too and makes it clear that they have a strong bond. S3 had her act cruel towards both our hero and her son's first wife/lover, but for ic reasons and in a particular situation. S4 now, s4 not only finally provides me with scenes between Aelswith and Aethelflaed, showing us what their mother/daughter relationship is like, but instead of demonizing her which I was afraid might happen, because books, instead goes into completely the opposite direction where she realises some of the mistakes she made, and acts on that, but without stopping being Aelswith. (I.e. she still is proud, concinved of her religion as the one true faith, and not fond of Danes.) Most importantly, she's written as a woman who has been in politics (even if it isn't called that) all her life, and knows the game. Of course she recognizes a schemer when she sees one. This is also the first season where the fact Aelswith is from Mercia is really used in an narratively important manner, both by herself, and how the story positions her with Edward and Aethelflaed in their arguments. I hadn't expected Aelswith to be much around after Alfred's death, or if she was, to be used by the story in a positive manner, and I can't tell you how thrilled I was about her arc this season.
(And the grudging respect scenes between her and Uthred were just right, too. More would have felt wrong for both characters, given their history, but this was perfect.)
Aethelflaed early on I was afraid would be used too much as a romance figure and too little as a budding ruler, but as the season progressed, I was relieved that this turned out not to be the case. I'm especially happy that the show didn't flinch from the fact that once she is a ruler, she has to make the same type of "good of the many vs the good of the one" decisions the male characters did, and that she did go through with them, instead of being excused on a Doylist or Watsonian level. Also that she earlier was the first to point out that precisely the qualities which make Uthred Uthred, and for which she loves him, would make him a bad ruler. I had feared that Aethelflaed would be presented as a woman witout ambition on the general "only those without ambition deserve to rule" principle, which annoys me in past and modern narratives alike, especially with female characters, but no, not in the end.
Eadith and Uthred's daughter Stiorra were the major new female characters this season, and I loved them both. Eadith was everything Skade had not been. Three dimensional, interesting, plausible, constantly used by the story in unexpected ways. I dared to hope when the episode that introduced her made it clear she saw her position with Aethelred (and him) clearly and played a bad card she was handed as well as she could, and the rest of the season followed through. That she also turned out to be brave and loyal once she did give her loyalty made it even better. I was thrilled when she made it out of the season alive, and without having become Uthred's mistress. (Something new narratively important female characters otherwise invariably end up doing.) (Mind you, could still happen despite the show shipping her with Finn.) Stiorra's cleverness and restlessness was shown as well as told, and that she got to be snippy about being condemmed to babysitting just because she was a girl was great. Earlier, when the show introduced Uthred's son as a teenager, I was afraid this would be yet another case of only the sons being treated as worth fleshing out, but no, and thank you, tv show!
David Dawson as Alfred being gone, the show now promited Emily Cox - Brida - to the second spot in the credits. While Brida's sstory this season contains what is basically the one element I dislike, this still was another acting showcase for Emily Cox, who totally deserves that spot. The element in question: Brida being tormented by Rhodri. At least the torture wasn't sexualized, but it was clearly there just to kill any remaining affection for Uthred in Brida and to push her into a mind frame where she only wants vengeance. Rhodri was simply a plot device, we were never given any reason as to why he had it in for Brida in particular and wanted to torture her. He just did it because he was evil. It was the one badly constructed point of the season for me. Everything else - Brida turning against Cnut when she finds out he was ultimately responsible for Ragnar's death, Brida's persistance in captivity, and her emerging from it the way she did all made sense given who she is, and the show has established the complicated relationship between her and Uthred so well through the seasons that you can understand both why him refusing her the death in battle after defeat feels such a betrayal to her and why he can't. Oh, and mad props to both costume department and actress: Brida has been the most skilled female warrior for four seasons now, and NOT ONCE did the show put her into a figure hugging breast showcasing warrior babe outfit.
Speaking of the looks: Alfred remains the sole character who was allowed to age realistically on this show. Uthred still looks at best ten years older than Aethelfled and Edward, not a generation, and the remaining few from s1 were similarly nearly untouched by time.
Death of the season: RIP, Beoca. Uthred in the season which highlights his relationships - or lack of same - with his children losing his own father figure is typical. It also, of course, provided Uthred with a reason to hate his otherwise unknown cousin.
Too often used trope: Uthred being trreated unfairly by the King of Wessex mid season only to come to the rescue in the last third. It just doesn't have the same dynamic when Edward does it.
Most delightful to me twist of the season: Aelswith being written as smart veteran of queenship coming to terms with her mistakes instead of being written as the bitter widow. Yay!
Not least because I in 99% of the cases seriously dislike the "evil sexualized witch" trope, of which Skade in s3 is one unfortunate example. S4 not only is thankfully lacking in said trope, but offers (mostly) three dimensional characters opposing each other for good (from their pov) reasons. Edward hesitating to come to Mercia's aid is because he - correctly - thinks it's a Danish trap. Sigtryggr, the latest entry into the "main Danish fighting foe" stakes in the later half of the season, is clever, has a code, and can think strategically. The characters who are definitely villains and evil by their society's standards as well as ours, Aethelwulf (spelling?) and Aethelred, are actually given repentance and moments of grace before their deaths (without this negating what they did earlier or those they've hurt forced to forgive them). Evil McEvil characters like Uthred's uncle and cousin aren't overused but used in a way to make a point about Uthred, and provide a good narrative twist. (Uthred as well as the audience is primed to believe that he'll succeed in recapturing 'Bebbanburg when he finally after several seaons makes back there at the start of this one; he's the rightful heir, he's a legendary hero, he's more often than not beaten the odds. And yet he's bested, not just because his cousin was more ruthless but because Uthred is a stranger to the current inhabitants of Bebbanburg - where he hasn't been for decades - and thus can't command their loyalty at the critical moment. Which, you know, MAKES SENSE. I love it when historical shows do that.
And I continue to love how much better this show (mostly) uses its female characters when compared to the source material. Aelswith is a one dimensional minor opponent in the books, burdened with the worst clichés - "nagging wife, spoiler of joy, jealous, bigotted Christian vs our heathen hero". Aelswith on the show may start out this way, but even in s1 she has that scene with Hlld, and s2 shows her as Alfred's advisor and consort in that sense, too and makes it clear that they have a strong bond. S3 had her act cruel towards both our hero and her son's first wife/lover, but for ic reasons and in a particular situation. S4 now, s4 not only finally provides me with scenes between Aelswith and Aethelflaed, showing us what their mother/daughter relationship is like, but instead of demonizing her which I was afraid might happen, because books, instead goes into completely the opposite direction where she realises some of the mistakes she made, and acts on that, but without stopping being Aelswith. (I.e. she still is proud, concinved of her religion as the one true faith, and not fond of Danes.) Most importantly, she's written as a woman who has been in politics (even if it isn't called that) all her life, and knows the game. Of course she recognizes a schemer when she sees one. This is also the first season where the fact Aelswith is from Mercia is really used in an narratively important manner, both by herself, and how the story positions her with Edward and Aethelflaed in their arguments. I hadn't expected Aelswith to be much around after Alfred's death, or if she was, to be used by the story in a positive manner, and I can't tell you how thrilled I was about her arc this season.
(And the grudging respect scenes between her and Uthred were just right, too. More would have felt wrong for both characters, given their history, but this was perfect.)
Aethelflaed early on I was afraid would be used too much as a romance figure and too little as a budding ruler, but as the season progressed, I was relieved that this turned out not to be the case. I'm especially happy that the show didn't flinch from the fact that once she is a ruler, she has to make the same type of "good of the many vs the good of the one" decisions the male characters did, and that she did go through with them, instead of being excused on a Doylist or Watsonian level. Also that she earlier was the first to point out that precisely the qualities which make Uthred Uthred, and for which she loves him, would make him a bad ruler. I had feared that Aethelflaed would be presented as a woman witout ambition on the general "only those without ambition deserve to rule" principle, which annoys me in past and modern narratives alike, especially with female characters, but no, not in the end.
Eadith and Uthred's daughter Stiorra were the major new female characters this season, and I loved them both. Eadith was everything Skade had not been. Three dimensional, interesting, plausible, constantly used by the story in unexpected ways. I dared to hope when the episode that introduced her made it clear she saw her position with Aethelred (and him) clearly and played a bad card she was handed as well as she could, and the rest of the season followed through. That she also turned out to be brave and loyal once she did give her loyalty made it even better. I was thrilled when she made it out of the season alive, and without having become Uthred's mistress. (Something new narratively important female characters otherwise invariably end up doing.) (Mind you, could still happen despite the show shipping her with Finn.) Stiorra's cleverness and restlessness was shown as well as told, and that she got to be snippy about being condemmed to babysitting just because she was a girl was great. Earlier, when the show introduced Uthred's son as a teenager, I was afraid this would be yet another case of only the sons being treated as worth fleshing out, but no, and thank you, tv show!
David Dawson as Alfred being gone, the show now promited Emily Cox - Brida - to the second spot in the credits. While Brida's sstory this season contains what is basically the one element I dislike, this still was another acting showcase for Emily Cox, who totally deserves that spot. The element in question: Brida being tormented by Rhodri. At least the torture wasn't sexualized, but it was clearly there just to kill any remaining affection for Uthred in Brida and to push her into a mind frame where she only wants vengeance. Rhodri was simply a plot device, we were never given any reason as to why he had it in for Brida in particular and wanted to torture her. He just did it because he was evil. It was the one badly constructed point of the season for me. Everything else - Brida turning against Cnut when she finds out he was ultimately responsible for Ragnar's death, Brida's persistance in captivity, and her emerging from it the way she did all made sense given who she is, and the show has established the complicated relationship between her and Uthred so well through the seasons that you can understand both why him refusing her the death in battle after defeat feels such a betrayal to her and why he can't. Oh, and mad props to both costume department and actress: Brida has been the most skilled female warrior for four seasons now, and NOT ONCE did the show put her into a figure hugging breast showcasing warrior babe outfit.
Speaking of the looks: Alfred remains the sole character who was allowed to age realistically on this show. Uthred still looks at best ten years older than Aethelfled and Edward, not a generation, and the remaining few from s1 were similarly nearly untouched by time.
Death of the season: RIP, Beoca. Uthred in the season which highlights his relationships - or lack of same - with his children losing his own father figure is typical. It also, of course, provided Uthred with a reason to hate his otherwise unknown cousin.
Too often used trope: Uthred being trreated unfairly by the King of Wessex mid season only to come to the rescue in the last third. It just doesn't have the same dynamic when Edward does it.
Most delightful to me twist of the season: Aelswith being written as smart veteran of queenship coming to terms with her mistakes instead of being written as the bitter widow. Yay!
