The Last Kingdom's Uhtred is beloved by fans for some things, and disliked for some others...
Some fans argue that The Last Kingdom should have been named "The Last Man" because Uhtred Ragnarson is always the last man standing. Uhtred seems to find a way that leaves all sides happy throughout the violence and hate that surrounds him.
However, every hero has a flaw, and Uhtred Ragnarson, portrayed by Alexander Dreymon, has lots of them. From being a bully, whenever he is dealing with new recruits to his stubbornness that got some of the best friends he had killed. You still have to love him for his many positive traits, and here are the best and worst characters of Uhtred The Godless.
Throughout the four seasons of The Last Kingdom, Uhtred has faced many worthy adversaries, but none matches his skills with the sword. The Saxons didn't stand any chance against the Danish army if Uhtred hadn't trained Alfred's army to handle swords and hold their wall better.
He has bested enemies on both sides of the divide, Dane and Saxon always beating them with his speed and agility. The only person that got close to fighting as well as Uhtred was Steapa, who, sadly, met his end in the fourth season.
The Last Kingdom is set in the 9th century, and women's rights weren't exactly at their best then, but Uhtred is not helping that at all. His wife, Gisela, was the first victim of Uhtred's low respect for women. Gisela was a good wife and mother but Uhtred wasn't there for her. He cheated on her and abandoned her to take care of the kids on her own.
He always had low regard for women that came into his life, both Danish and Saxon, until he met lady Aethelflaed whom he treated more as an equal. He also seems to have a problem with women in leadership, starting with his treatment of Brida to his failure to heed his sister's advice.
Uhtred has sealed his spot as the bridge between Danes and Saxons in the show. The religious extremes on the show have proved catastrophic as each side seeks to wipe out the other just to make one religion dominant. Fundamentalists on both sides of the divide failed to secure any form of peace, which is why both sides go to Uhtred whenever they need to reach out to the other side.
He is comfortable being baptized countless times by Christian priests but never stopped praying to his Danish gods. On the surface, he appears confused and rather difficult to deal with, but his true intentions are honorable. He just wants both sides to live together in peace.
Uhtred hasn't achieved anything significant throughout his life because of many obstacles, but the biggest one is his inability to listen and accept help. He is a self-advised proud man who is always available for everyone else except himself. Father Beocca was one of the few true friends Uhtred had, but the latter never seemed to understand the good father's love for him.
Beocca's advice would have helped Uhtred retake Bebbanburg long ago, but he never listened to him. Uhtred also failed to listen to his wife, his sister, Alfred, and everyone else that meant well for him. Being headstrong is important for him as a leader, but it has also gotten many good people killed.
Uhtred was the only man in Alfred's army that could offer himself as bait to be pursued by the entire Dane army. He never runs away from a fight, even when the odds are heavily tilted against him.
His bravery earned him a place in King Alfred's court, and it has also helped him remain significant in Edward's regime. However, sometimes his bravery is stupid; Like when he took on his uncle's army by himself, but it makes him the only man you can trust to win a battle.
Sable had a hard time explaining to Uhtred that her master's monks would be in Bebbanburg on the day of Ascension. He has never taken time to master the Christian dates, nor understand the value of the Christian relics that make Bebbanburg, his place of birth, important to England.
Apart from Father Pyrling and, of course, Beocca, Uhtred has very low regard for priests. For a person fighting for Alfred's dream of a united England, Uhtred should probably respect the church a little more than he does. He disowned his son Oswald simply because he chose to become a priest.
Wessex is more of a home to Uhtred than Bebbanburg, where he was born. He has given most of his fighting life to Alfred and his family and even given up on Brida and Ragnar, who were his family since birth. Alfred didn't keep his promise of helping Uhtred retake Bebbanburg, and Edward seems to have adopted the same position.
However, his commitment to retaking Babbanburg and becoming its rightful lord has never waivered. His attempt to retake it was thwarted by his psychopathic cousin and cost Fr. Beocca's life, but Uhtred has not given up.
Uhtred is a good military man and fighter, but his great skills on the battlefield don't follow him home. He lost his whole family while keeping Alfred and the rest of the Saxons happy. First, he let Iseult trade his child's life for Edward's. His wife eventually died, and his lack of clarity saw him lose his living son and daughter as well.
He also disowned his son for becoming a priest, and even after kidnapping him from the monastery against his will, he didn't care about the little guy's feelings. His daughter Stiorra is also a smart girl, but she hasn't had the chance to learn much from her dad. Overall, being Uhtred's child is nearly a death sentence.
Uhtred's loyalty is both great and stupid. It makes him the most reliable man on both sides of the warring parties but also creates enemies and casualties on both sides of the divide. He has kept all promises he made to everyone except the ones he made to himself. When he promised to help Alfred restore his control of Wessex, he gave up everything to keep the promise.
He lost the relationship he had with Brida and Ragnar just to keep a promise. He has also kept his promise of helping Edward become a powerful king and rule Wessex despite the fact that he didn't get what he was promised in return.
Brida's desire to go to Valhalla is just astonishing. She was crazy enough to tell Uhtred to kill her rather than letting her be taken as a slave. Her extremism aside, Uhtred has never been the brother and lover Brida knew as they were growing up. Since Uhtred swore his sword to Alfred, he abandoned Brida and Ragnar.
His betrayal led to Ragnar's death at the hands of schemers and also left Brida at the mercy of the same evil people that killed her brother. Uhtred also didn't do anything to help Brida when she was taken as a slave to Wealas by king Hywel's men.
