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How The Last Kingdom Season 5 Ending Sets Up the Movie

Love in the air for Eadith and Uhtred

Any woman who falls for Uhtred should consider her days numbered; the man seems cursed to lose lovers. Skipping over Mildrith (an arranged marriage to a woman he didn’t love), every one of Uhtred’s women has died: Iseult, Gisela, Aethelflaed and Brida. Now, it seems as though Eadith is moving into position as Uhtred’s next bedfellow, perhaps the healer shouldn’t start any long books.

When Eadith returned from her travels in Francia, Uhtred greeted her warmly, and the pair exchanged a bit of flirtation when he mistakenly lay naked in her bed, thinking he was waiting for ‘the tall girl from Frisia’ (who’d swapped rooms with Eadith). At the end of the finale, Uhtred invites Eadith to remain in Bebbanburg, an offer she accepts. And she’s not the only one…

Lady Aelswith lives on!

The longevity of Lady Aelswith has been one of The Last Kingdom’s biggest surprises in a show where characters drop like flies. (It’s also resulted in the strangeness of actor Eliza Butterworth playing the mother of Millie Brady, who’s the exact same age as her, and the grandmother of Phia Saban, who’s only five years her junior.) At the end of season five, Aelswith’s still standing, and planning to move into Bebbanburg along with Eadith, demanding a room with sea views.

Den of Geek spoke to Eliza Butterworth about Aelswith’s long life. “It actually was a bit of a surprise!” Everybody assumed that Aelswith had met her end after being poisoned by Lord Aethelhelm at the end of season four, but back she popped. “It was quite lovely that this woman keeps coming back again and again. She found her redemption finally in season four where she saw her wrongdoing and is trying to make amends. In a way, it’s nice to give that character another breath and try and help actually rather than be a pessimistic scowler.”

Eadith and Aelswith become “the dynamic duo that nobody knew that they needed!” laughs Butterworth, describing her character as having a comedy factor in her old age, “almost like the Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey character, this old lady that’s always making these ridiculous comments but you can’t help but giggle at them and sometimes see where she is right.”

Aethelstan, Eadgifu and Edward’s successor

It’s no spoiler to anyone familiar with English history that Aethelstan succeeds Edward as King, and season five saw the boy in training for leadership and a career on the battlefield, as trained by Uhtred. Aethelstan proved loyal, brave, wise and a true ‘son’ of Uhtred in season five. He’ll likely remain in Bebbanburg where his preparation for ruling will continue.

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