Following on from the finale of season five, which was considered the final season of The Last Kingdom, Seven Kings Must Die was announced as a movie that would round off the world that the show was based on and what’s an ending it was.
Titled Seven Kings Must Die, we watched this following after King Edward’s death; Athelstan was corrupted and was looking to take over the entirety of Britain due to wanting to make his mark as King. However, corruption and a poisoned mind were something that caused his downfall.
The conclusion of Uhtred’s involvement as one of the greatest warriors of the time was left up to interpretation at the end, and it was an extremely powerful ending. So with that, let’s break down, do a The Last Kingdom Seven Kings Must Die Ending Explained, and explain everything there was important about this movie.
The Last Kingdom Seven Kings Must Die Final Battle
As we embarked on to the movie’s ending, we saw that the Battle of Brunanburh was occurring and left it united all of the kings in the north with the health of Ingilmundr, who was acting as a spy by getting close to King Athelstan. He was getting him to attack different places, and he also persuaded him to kill his brother so that the Kings and the north were more united and prepared to come together to take action.
The breaking of the treaty that was signed by his father was something that also contributed to this too, something that we saw was the case in the final battle as they were all united as Anlaf rallied them together.
Uhtred had spent the entirety of the run time looking out for Athelstan, even though he banished him at one point for considering him a traitor, and also ignored his advice when it came to the understanding that Ingilmundr was actually a traitor and a spy. However, Uthred was prepared to fight for him in the end, despite the fact that he had treated him so poorly throughout all of the other time.
Within the final battle, we saw that Aethelstan and Uthred’s men were on the back foot and had low ground against Anlaf, and it looked as though they were on the verge of being defeated. That was until Osbert flanked around and took Anlaf’s men from behind and ultimately ended up overpowering them.
The Prophecy And Vision
The movie is called Seven Kings Must Die, and it is based on the prophecy and vision that Ingrith had on three occasions. However, five of the Kings escaped the field following the battle, but their race didn’t.
Tying into what was mentioned earlier on in the movie where it was spoken that even if the King died, it didn’t matter as they had their heirs to take over, whereas, on this occasion, the fact that the King’s heirs died meant that it was arguably more important due to the fact that their rule was essentially going to come to an end.
This was what meant that Athelstan was able to forge the unity of England and rule under that name, making him the first true King of England, and meaning that the battle was one of the most important battles in British history prior to the Battle of Hastings.
The Last Kingdom Seven Kings Must Die Ending Explained
With Aethelstan being victorious, we see that he captured Ingilmundr and killed him for being a traitor. But Aethelstan did state that the feelings that he had for him were genuine and sincere, to which Ingilmundr didn’t agree wholly but said that he did grow fond of him. He cared more for his people and their greater good of them, but it ultimately came at the cost of his life.
We saw that Uhtred was injured in battle, and I felt as though we were led to believe that he died on the battlefield, but in actual fact, he hadn’t. He was just severely wounded. We saw that he awoke and entered the room where he made Aethelstan promise not to marry or have a child so that upon his death, his brother Edmund would be able to take his place as King of England. This is something that we didn’t see happen in the movie.
In reality, this did happen. Edmund The First took over as King following Aethelstan’s death in 937. This was made possible due to Uhtred swearing his alliance to Aethelstan, something which he never did to King Edward, and said he would do to Athelstan only when the time was right. And by the end of the movie, he felt as though it was.
Did Uhtred Die?
After this, we saw Uhtred open up a door, and we got a glimpse into him being in between life and death. He had two doorways, one which led back to the room where his family in, or another which looked as though it was Valhalla, where celebrations were occurring as the camera panned back, it looked as though there was conflict within his mind on which pathway to take, and it was ultimately left up to us whether or not to believe if he had lived or died at that moment.
The voiceover mentioned that there were no records of if he lived or died following it, so it was truly left down to us. I’m going to believe that he died and he chose to walk into the celebration hall. He always said that he would fall in battle, and with him looking up, smiling at his son, and then looking fondly over at the celebration hall, I feel he stepped into the gates of Valhalla and finally got peace.
With five heirs dying, King Edward died, which made it 6 Kings. And then we wondered if Uhtred died, which could have made it 7. The prophecy did come true, and although Uhtred didn’t see himself as a king, everyone else did. He was a king that led by example and deserved the title of King.
We had a shot of Bamburgh Castle in the fictional setting, but then they transitioned into the present day, where it showed that it was still standing and that it was possible to visit. It showed the impact that it had on Britain even until the present day.
The battle is considered to be the very thing that unified England, and Aethelstan was considered to be the first true King of England in medieval times. So although we’re seeing it in a fictional sense, the battle did actually occur.
Overall Review On The Last Kingdom Seven Kings Must Die
I thought this movie was good. It served its purpose well as being a tool for rounding off the world that we came to know and enjoyed watching over the past few years. I would say, though, that after knowing The Last Kingdom as a TV series, getting elongated periods of time with the characters, and allowing almost 10 hours for the story in the season to develop, the movie did feel significantly shorter when compared to what I’m used to. It doesn’t make it any worse, and it’s just a different style.
It felt like where you’d normally have an episode or two, such as when Uhtred got banished; it just meant that it was a 30-second segment of him struggling in this feature. Because this movie was solely about focusing on a battle that took place and the events that led to its build-up of it, having it as a movie allowed it to work. Because it was only focusing on one thing.
Uthred is such a good character when watching him in the show, and the character definitely delivered this time round again when he was in the movie.
Alexander Dreymon gave his all to this role again for the sixth time, and the emotional farewell he got by seeing outright made his end extremely fitting. I feel they had to kill the character, and the fact that he was the 7th King despite never referring to himself as a king, it made it perfect.
I thought the battle scene that took place was well choreographed. The chaotic nature of it and the genuine fear that many of the men had, was relayed across the screen so well. The claustrophobic nature of being like sardines in a tin and there being no real protection from the enemy painted the perfect picture of what I imagined it was like being in a battle like that in medieval times. A time when it felt like if you were going into battle, you were most probably going to die.
This was the perfect way to round off the show that we came to know. Who’d have thought that a movie would make the perfect end to a show, not me? But on this occasion, it definitely worked, and I’m glad that we got to see it all unfold one final time.
With the show being concluded, I suppose there is anything else like that out there at the moment. The closest thing is most probably Vikings Valhalla, which has been renewed for a third season, but for now, the Lost Kingdom is well and truly over.
Also Read: How to Watch The Last Kingdom in The UK, USA, and Australia?
