For years, The Last Kingdom has been one of Netflix's leading period dramas. The series is based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories, a series of historical fiction novels published between 2004 and 2020. BBC aired its first two seasons and in 2018, it was acquired by the streaming giant, and seasons 3-5 premiered on the platform. The focal character of the series is Uhtred of Bebbanburg, played by Alexander Dreymon.
Set in the ninth and tenth centuries, alliance and reputation are everything. Marriage was often used to achieve these things. In forging these bonds, people were often forced to think about their actions, especially if their ally was in a significant position of power or posed a worthy threat. As The Last Kingdom's main character, Uhtred is the subject of a great deal of chaos and political bargaining. He becomes a pawn in the political game and the subject of many people's admiration, love, and envy.
As the focal character, Uhtred takes part in an endless number of love affairs. Throughout The Last Kingdom, Uhtred shares romantic entanglements with both Saxons and Danes, reflecting his own duality. Uhtred was once a future Lord of Bebbanburg before he became a slave to Earl Ragnar, and eventually a son to him and his family. Brida (Emily Cox), Mildrith (Amy Wren), Iseult (Charlie Murphy), Gisela (Peri Baumeister), Aethelflaed (Millie Brady), and many others become romantically tangled with Uhtred, but the best love story of the series doesn't involve him. Aethelflaed has a love story with another Last Kingdom character that trumps the other love stories the series has to offer.
In season 2, Aethelflaed is being prepared for her marriage to Aethelred (Toby Regbo), the Lord of Mercia. Shortly into their marriage, Aethelflaed learns what members of the audience already knew: Aethelred is vile, cruel, and untrustworthy. Aethelred insists that Aethelflaed travel with him and his men partway into battle, and she obliges. During the Siege of London, Aethelflaed stays with the other women and older men who have made the journey. The camp becomes overrun by Danes who have abandoned London as a trick to capture Aethelflaed, and the Danes succeed. The men leading her capture are brothers Erik (Christian Hillborg) and Sigefrid (Björn Roger Bengtsson), who hoped to acquire a large ransom from Aethelflaed's father, King Alfred (David Dawson), for her safe return. The brothers also knew that word of their capture would spread and that men would join their army, enabling them to conquer the Saxon lands.
Unlike the other men, however, Erik doesn't treat Aethelflaed with all the cruelty of a prisoner. When Sigefrid says Aethelflaed should bathe in front of their men, Erik refuses and allows her to bathe with guards, whom he forces to turn their backs. When Haesten (Jeppe Beck Laursen) tries to force himself onto Aethelflaed, Erik arrives to break it up, continuing to act as her protector. Erik invites Aethelflaed to get fresh air in the evening and the two share stories from their vastly different lives, and a genuine bond begins to form between the two. Aethelflaed even confides in Erik about Aethelred's cruel treatment of her, and as she and Erik become romantically entangled, they make plans to run away together.
Unfortunately, Aethelflaed and Erik's love story is unfairly short-lived. Sigefrid catches wind of Erik's strong feelings for Aethelflaed, and has her moved to a cage hoisted above the men in the great hall. With their plans of escape stalled, Erik is forced to improvise to regain his brother's trust. Even with the arrival of Uhtred and their men to assist with their escape, it doesn't work out. Sigefrid confronts Erik about his betrayal of making the men miss out on the hefty ransom for Aethelflaed, and Erik insists that he cannot let Aethelflaed go. The brothers fight with one another, which ends with Erik killing Sigefrid. Aethelflaed is able to escape, and she reveals shortly after that she is pregnant, and the child might be Erik's.
The star-crossed love story between Aethelflaed and Erik is the perfect addition to The Last Kingdom. For a brief time, their relationship suggests that Saxons and Danes are capable of caring for one another in spite of their ongoing conflict. While short-lived, Aethelflaed's time with Erik allowed her to find her voice and defend herself against her husband's cruelty. Her unwillingness to fall in line like many other Saxon women and wives is a huge part of her journey from there on out. Her admiration and respect for Uhtred eventually turn romantic, and given Uhtred's standing with the Saxons, there is a chance their relationship could work. Without Aethelflaed's capture and the relationship she forged with Erik during her imprisonment, the strong version of Aethelflaed many fans of The Last Kingdom grew to love wouldn't have existed, or at least not as soon as she did.
With The Last Kingdom's exploration of the conflict between the Saxons and Danes, what Aethelflaed and Erik shared would have been hard to make last. Unlike Uhtred, Erik had no standing in Saxon lands, and any union between the two likely would have brought shame to Aethelflaed and her royal family. However, without the relationship between them, Aethelflaed never would have become the strong-willed character many grew to love.
The Last Kingdom is now streaming on Netflix.