The Last Kingdom Season 1 Episode 3 Recap – Episode 3

In Winchester, Kingdom of Wessex, King Aethelred comes home after a successful battle. However, the King is wounded in battle. Father Beocca quickly visits Uhtred in prison to bring him some food. He says that King Aethelred has defeated the Danes by following Uhtred’s advice, therefore, he shares in the kingdom’s glory. But, Brida throws the food and swears at the priest. She is clearly not happy being locked. Uhtred tells her that Alfred now owes him, and he will see to it that he will take advantage of that and use Alfred as well.

Because the king is badly wounded in battle, people expect that he will not survive. Young Odda, son of a general, tells Aethelwold that they should pray for the king’s successor whoever it may be. Because there will be more battles to come. Aethelwold says that the crown belongs to him and that it is his birthright. He is confident that he will inherit the crown when his father dies. But Young Odda reminds him that Alfred is the king’s brother, and Aethelwold is still too young.

Young Odda gives Athelwold a piece of advice and tells him that if the king will name him as his successor on his death bed, then it will be difficult for the others to disagree. “

I believe your father will only be too happy to whisper in your ear, whether he was conscious or not,” Young Odda adds.

Aethelwold thanks Young Odda and says his help will not be forgotten.

On the next day, after a night of drinking, Aethelwold goes to see his father, the king. He finds Alfred there and more. Alfred says the king is already dead, and they couldn’t inform Aethelwold of it because they couldn’t find him. Aethelwold tells the people in the room that the king has named him heir to the throne. But, Odda tells him that everyone there has heard the king give his crown to Alfred. As he walks outside, Aethelwold is taken by Odda and Leofric. Odda says that the boy will be taken to a monastery where he will be educated.

Alfred thanks Uhtred for his advice. He is the reason they defeated the Danes in battle. Uhtred says thank you is not enough and he wants to be seen as an Ealderman, so he wants lands. Brida says Alfred won’t help them. But, Uhtred thinks that they need Alfred to take back Bebbanburg. Chieftain Ubba thinks Guthrum lost the battle. But, Guthrum denies this. He says that he has seen the king fall in battle. And without a king, there is no hope.

Under the instructions of King Alfred, Young Odda tells Guthrum that Alfred wants to negotiate peace. King Alfred tells Uhtred that advice from a heathen will be useful in his council. He offers Uhtred to be an Ealderman by marrying. And with this marriage, he will acquire land and title in Wessex. Uhtred makes it clear that he has no intention of getting married. King Alfred tells Uhtred to stay by his side during the negotiations and give advice, then afterward he might consider talks of giving wealth and land to him. Brida is against staying. She wants to leave and go to Young Ragnar. She saw in a dream that she was on a ship with him, but Uhtred was not there. 

Alfred is officially a King. And the first thing he does is to make sure there is peace.

Meanwhile, Ubba asks his sorcerer if a negotiation should happen. So, Storri, the sorcerer, casts the runes and says they should negotiate. Chieftain Ubba and Guthrum, arrive at the meeting place with their men. Guthrum says that if King Alfred wants peace, he would have to pay. King Alfred says that in exchange for an agreed amount of grain, livestock, and silver, the Danes and their ships should return to Lundene and remain there. He adds that Wessex is Saxon, and is therefore out-of-bounds to all Danes.

Guthrum says they won’t leave because they have just arrived. So, Alfred tells him that if they refuse to leave, they will starve. Guthrum and Ubba see that King Alfred’s men keep on writing as they talk. Alfred explains that they are keeping a record of every meeting because they are making history. And in the future, people will read that King Alfred chose peace and that he paid Lords Ubba and Guthrum in silver in exchange for peace. King Alfred has learned from Uhtred that the Danes value their men the most, so he uses this on Guthrum. He tells Guthrum that because he is a Christian he will choose peace, but if Guthrum chooses to attack, they are prepared to fight them.

King Alfred knows that his armies outnumber Guthrum’s army. Ubba sees Uhtred and asks the king for Uhtred’s head in exchange for peace. King Alfred makes it clear that he will pay them well to leave Wessex, and that he will not give Uhtred to them.

That night, King Alfred tells everyone that Uhtred has promised him a year of service. Uhtred will teach King Alfred’s army about the ways of the Danes and how they fight. Just before they leave, Brida loses the child she’s carrying in a miscarriage. Both she and Uhtred didn’t know that Brida was pregnant. They bury it together before they leave. Uhtred spends most of his time training Alfred’s army with Leofric, a general.

Brida tells him that she saw Young Ragnar and that they should leave and join him instead. When Ragnar sees Uhtred, the first thing he asks him is if he killed his entire family. Uhtred gives him a sword and says if he thinks it was him who killed the family, then he should take his revenge. Ragnar hugs Uhtred tight and says he never believed the story he heard about Uhtred killing his entire family. He says Kjartan made up a story. They want to take revenge but Kjartan is Lord Kjartan now and has more men fighting for him. It will be difficult to face him now, so Ragnar asks Brida and Uhtred to sail with him. Uhtred says he can’t go because he has already promised his services to King Alfred. But he adds that in time, he will join Ragnar.

Against Brida’s wishes, Uhtred decides to stay. He gives her one last kiss and tells her to be happy. Uhtred is unaware that King Alfred wants him to marry Odda’s goddaughter, to tie him to the land and to the church. Leofric tells Uhtred that King Alfred wants his help in taking back all of England. And that would require more than one year of his service. 

Our Thoughts:

Uhtred loves Brida a lot, and we know that Brida feels the same. But, unlike Uhtred, Brida doesn’t need land or silver. She just wants to leave. She doesn’t like how they live, and she wants to go back to living as a Dane. It is also evident that Alfred is using Uhtred’s need for wealth so he can keep asking him to do things for him. And because Uhtred sticks to his plan to claim what is his, he has no choice but to obey. Father Beocca has always been there to look after him, and to explain to Alfred that Uhltred is a good person and that he knows what he is doing. But of course, Father Beocca can’t always protect Uhtred. How long before they both fall out of favor?

If Brida’s child survived, she might have stayed with Uhtred. Now, they have finally gone their separate ways just as we expected. However, we doubt that Alfred will give Uhtred what he wants even if Uhtred will fight all his battles. We also think it is inevitable that Uhtred and Ragnar will meet on a battlefield.