The Last Kingdom Season 3 Episode 1 Recap – Episode 1

Skade, a sorceress, sees in her visions the death of a king. That king is Alfred. After the ritual, she tells the warriors not to look at her. One warrior makes the mistake of turning around and looking at her. Skade cuts the warrior’s flesh and he falls to the ground.

Skade sends the remaining warrior back to their camp to tell Bloodhair that the ritual is finished. She reminds him that no one is to look at her until she tells Bloodhair what she saw. Bloodhair should be the first one to see her. The warrior who looked at her begged her to be merciful. But then he calls her a bitch after Skade says she should cut his tongue. Skade gets angry and uses the handle of her dagger to make the warrior blind. She keeps on pounding on his eyes until blood flows down his face. Then she plunges the knife into his neck, killing him finally.

When she returns to the camp, no one dares look at her. She walks straight to Bloodhair. Then she cuts herself and lets the blood drip into Bloodhair’s mouth. She tells him to drink her blood and make her vision real. She finally tells him that she has seen Alfred’s death. Bloodhair claims in front of his warriors that Alfred and Wessex will fall. He kills a horse and then he wipes its blood to his hair.

In Winchester, Alfred tells Father Beocca that he worries about what will happen once he’s dead. He thinks there are still a lot of things to do. Father Beocca assures him that he did a lot of great things for Wessex and his people. The priest says that without Alfred there won’t be a church, laws, or even the thought of an England. The King’s son, Edward, practices his swords skill with Steapa.

Uhtred comes and replaces Steapa. He shows Edward that he is still not good in combat. Haesten arrives in the palace to tell Alfred about Bloodhair. He also admits that Bloodhair had asked him to join him but he declined. Uhtred advises the king that they should attack Bloodhair soon. Because the king thinks Bloodhair landing on Wessex is unacceptable, he says they will march soon.

As the king looks at Haesten while eating, he suddenly throws up and later, excuses himself. Haesten admits to Father Beocca that he doesn’t forget what lady Aethelflaed did to his lord. So, Father Beocca reminds him that he is only able to gain power because Aethelflaed killed Sigefrid. Haesten even mocked the priest by asking him if Aethelflaed’s child looked like his dead lord, Erik. After Haesten leaves, Uhtred asks Father Beocca if the king’s health worsens. Father Beocca admits that it does. Then he tells Uhtred that it’s important that he spends time with the king’s son, Edward. And also to make sure that the king’s work will continue. 

Bloodhair and his men start attacking Wessex by raiding one of its villages. They burn the houses except for the church. Skade puts a monk over the fire when the monk tells her they don’t have any silver in the church. Bloodhair quickens the monk’s death by using a spear to end his agony. However, when they ask the remaining monks about the silver, they keep saying they don’t have any. Bloodhair asks another monk to kill himself if he is telling the truth. He says they will spare the others if the monks do as he asks. But, the monk refuses to kill himself because he fears his soul will be damned. So, Bloodhair leaves Skade to do as she pleases.

Bloodhair leaves to attack the next village in search of silver, leaving Skade with her guards. Uhtred and his men arrive at the raided village and find only a few warriors of Bloodhair. After killing all their enemies, they meet Skade for the first time inside the church. Uhtred tells the remaining warrior to go back to Bloodhair and tell him they have Skade and there will be a ransom. But, Skade shows no sign of fear. She tells Uhtred that she knew it was him. And that from that moment Uhtred is cursed and will be following the path that Skade will choose for him. Uhtred is bothered by her words so he tells his men to tie Skade up and cover her mouth.

Uhtred meets up with Alfred at Aescengum Burh. He tells the king that Bloodhair will not attack them. But, Alfred refuses to follow Uhtred’s advice of attacking and says they should wait. Then, Alfred says he wishes to see the sorceress, Skade. Everyone is surprised by the request, but Uhtred still brings the king to the cell where Skade is.

Skade tells the king that he reeks of death. Alfred admits that he does, and he’s sad about it because there is more to be done. Skade tells him that he has riches and a reputation, so he shouldn’t be sad, then she tells the king to ask the question he wants to ask. So, Alfred asks her how much time he has before he finally does. Skade says the king will not see another summer, but his name will live on. And that he will be remembered as the first, the last, and only king of all Saxons.

After Alfred leaves her, Skades starts screaming for Bloodhair to help and free her. Uhtred comes up with a plan to use this so that Bloodhair will come to them. He takes Skade out of her cell so Bloodhair can hear her better. Skade whispers that she can take the place of Uhtred’s wife, and together they could rule from north to south. 

The next day, Bloodhair and his men show up with hostages. He kills the women as he asks for Skade to be returned to him.

Uhtred takes Skade outside for Bloodhair to see. Then he kicks and punches her. He tells Bloodhair to release all the hostages, or they will take turns on Skade. Bloodhair tells him not to hurt Skade because he belongs to him. Uhtred devises a new plan after realizing Skade is really important to Bloodhair. He and his men leave the fortress with Skade.

As expected, Bloodhair and his men start chasing them. Once the distance is just right for them not to be seen, King Alfred and his men leave the fortress and follow. When they reach the area where they are supposed to meet with the men of Mercia, Uhtred sees that they have brought a lot of warriors. The warriors of Mercia have arrived with Aldhelm and Aethelflaed. The battle begins and Bloodhair and his men come charging at the men of Mercia.

Alfred arrives with the men from Wessex and starts attacking from the other side, leaving Bloodhair and his men squeezed between their enemies. When Bloodhair realizes they will lose, he and some of his men escape and leave the battlefield.

After a successful battle, Uhtred and the others come back to Winchester. Sister Hild tells him that Gisela gave birth to a son. But then she died. Uhtred wants to see his wife but sister Hild tells him that she died days ago and is already buried. 

Our Thoughts:

The sorceress, Skade, is a violent one. Even without lifting a sword to fight, she has managed to scare Uhtred and his men. All she did was tell Uhtred he was cursed. They refuse to kill her because they knew she is valuable to Bloodhair. But more than that, they fear that Uhtred will remain cursed if they kill Skade. The sorceress even tells Uhtred that their fates are now entwined.

You can clearly see how important and powerful Skade is, not just to those who serve Bloodhair. Even Alfred came to ask her a very important question. He knows he doesn’t have much time left so he wanted to ask her. And Alfred is very religious. It’s surprising that he asked Skade about her visions of him. We can’t say if he believes her, but we know that her words carried enough weight to matter to the king. 

It’s also unfortunate that Gisela died after giving birth. It seems like everyone around her loved her a lot. Uhtred loved her a lot. Will he blame Skade for this? Will he think it’s part of the curse? No matter what he thinks, he can’t just kill Skade. If he does, Bloodhair will surely kill him.