In The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die, Uhtred must pick sides in the fight to unite England under one King. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot Summary
The Danish warrior-king Anlaf makes his way to Northumbria in the dead of night as he aims to prey on the independence of the region. King Edward has died and even though Lord Uthred did not swear fealty to him, he still considered him an ally.
Edward’s son Aelfward makes the first attempt at the throne and attacks Winchester, forcing Edward’s wife Eadgifu, and her son Edmund to flee to Northumbria with Aldhelm and Father Pyrlig.
His other son Aethelstan is on pilgrimage with Lord Ingilmundr, a man of strong Christian faith who has become a close advisor to Aethelstan and influences many of his decisions.
Uhtred agrees to honor Aethelstan’s claim to the throne but Aldhelm and Eadgifu warn him about Aethelstan’s recent change in demeanor and dedication to his faith.
Uhtred travels to Mercia with Finan and Sihtric to find out what Aelfward is up to. Finan’s wife claims to have seen a prophecy in her dreams that “seven kings must die” adding that the woman Finan loves will perish as well.
When the three of them reach Northumbria, they learn that Aelfward plans to set a trap for Aethelstan, so they try to secure a spot in the gates to give Aethelstan a chance to survive.
When Aethelstan arrives, he gains the upper hand but even though Aelfward surrenders, Aethelstan kills him and slaughters his people. Uhtred begs him to stop the massacre while Ingilmundr insists that it is necessary.
Uhtred begins to realize how disillusioned Aethelstan has become with Ingilmundr by his side and delays his decision to bend the knee.
Meanwhile, Anlaf has been making alliances with the other kings in the land by using the threat of Aethelstan’s tyranny as his reason for banding together.
Aethelstan continues to make more enemies with his action, while Uhtred figures out that he and Ingilmundr have also been sleeping with each other. Uhtred pleads with Aethelstan to not let that cloud his judgment but the young king becomes even more paranoid.
Ingilmundr makes a move to take Northumbria while Uhtred is occupied with Aethelstan but thanks to a warning from Aldhelm, Uhtred gets back in time to capture Inglimundr and set the terms of his release in front of the king.
Ingilmundr convinces one of the handmaidens that she will burn in hell unless she aids him and with some support, they ambush Uhtred. Aethelstan cannot bring himself to kill Uhtred so he banishes him instead while taking his son Osbert as well as Edmund hostage.
With Uhtred gone, Ingilmundr convinces Aethelstan to begin a conquest of Scotland, forcing Constantin to side with Anlaf and the other kings. Uhtred travels the lands for days and is found by some Vikings who take him to Anlaf.
Uhtred is offered a chance to join the other kings in their fight against Aethelstan but Uhtred would rather avoid war. They tell him that the one way to avoid this is simply by killing Aethelstan and they send him out to accomplish this.
As he leaves, Uhtred sees Ingilmundr and realizes he’s a traitor. Ingilmundr has been working with Anlaf all this while to derail Aethelstan. Uhtred tries to tell the king that he’s being betrayed but Aethelstan refuses to listen.
Anlaf and his Vikings head to Northumbria and slaughter the people there while Finan and Sihtric go to Winchester to fetch Uhtred. Uhtred predicts that Anlaf and the armies will land at Wirral and heads there to rescue Osbert and Edmund.
The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die ending explained in detail:
What do they find in Wirral?
When Uhtred and the others arrive in Wirral, they find several slaughtered bodies and run into Aethelstan and a few of his men. Aethelstan says he came there to prove that Uhtred was lying but was proven wrong.
He brings out Osbert and Edmund who survived by hiding during the attack. He tells Uhtred and Eadgifu to leave with their sons as he heads to battle at Brunanburh.
Uhtred says that he will stand by Aethelstan and not let him walk into a battle where he is so incredibly overmatched. He convinces his men that they can fight, and even win the battle with the right tactics.
They decide to head to the battlefield early and get there before Aethelstan.
What happens in the battle of Brunanburh?
Uhtred has a clear plan to defeat Anlaf and the other kings as they line up on the battlefield. They are eventually joined by Aethelstan as the two armies come face to face.
Anlaf’s army is drawn forward as Uhtred orders his men backward but it turns out to be a tactic to catch them unawares before the battle well and truly breaks out.
Uhtred’s men hold the line as they slowly try to turn the opposition to one side. When that is accomplished, they send out a signal which alerts their cavalry to attack the enemy from behind.
Anlaf loses his daughter while each of the other kings loses their sons as they are forced to retreat. Uhtred is gravely hurt in the battle but manages to hold on.
What is the fate of Northumbria and Uhtred?
Aethelstan captures Ingilmundr and has him killed for his betrayal. The other Kings agree that there’s no point in fighting anymore leaving Anlaf on his own.
Aethelstan and everyone else heads back to Northumbria where Uhtred is tended to. As they patiently await his recovery, he joins them in the hall to settle his future.
Uhtred agrees to serve under Aethelstan under the condition that the King does not marry or produce heirs to ensure that Edmund remains the true successor to the throne.
Aethelstan agrees to this, making him the king of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria, proclaiming these lands as a united England.
Uhtred then accepts his fate in this gravely weakened state as he hears the sounds of cheers and sees a great hall of Valhalla along with many of his fallen brothers and sisters.