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The Last Kingdom II - NO MERCY [SPOlLERS Season I & II]


Veltigar

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I gave up last night after episode 8, but wow, this season is still shockingly captivating. It is soooo good. How was this so bad before? Or was it? I'm not even sure anymore. I might do a rewatch. 

Spoiler

I was very proud of Uhtred when he killed Skade. He saw sense and didn't let himself be led astray by his... hormones. And he is also much less hot headed than I remember him to be in previous seasons.

 

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I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, but this season just clicked for me. For some reason the side characters felt more well rounded or stood out. I really enjoyed every episode.

I hope it gets picked up for a fourth season and they don't wait too long to release it. Though I'd rather wait 18 months and get season 3 level quality, than get it in 12 months and have it be just ok.

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The cool thing, too, is that Uhtred does age, mature and get wiser -- a figure in his situation wouldn't have survived to tell the Tale(s) if he didn't.  That the actor -- and the other actors too -- age in their roles doesn't hurt anything.  Unlike the preposterosities in terms of 'aging' we've bee subjected to on shows like, o, say, Vikings.

 

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Daaaaaaaaamn this is so intense. 

Spoiler

Alfred’s death made me cry.  

Thyra’s death was sad too, but it didn’t affect me as much because in practice she trapped herself. By killing that arse who chased her into the house, she caused his weight to lock her in. Of course she probably only noticed the fire later and she was so scared she couldn’t judge the situation appropriately which is understandable and realistic, but still, in practice, she trapped herself and even without the fire that would have been a bad idea. In any way. It was bad and quite tragic with the whole awkwardness of it. 

And now I’m waiting for Aethelwold and Cnut to follow them. I hope Brida kills Cnut. 

Spoiler

AND NOW ALDHELM DIES?! everybody with common sense dies?! 

 

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And I’m done. Wow this was truly very impressive and a most pleasant surprise. I just absolutely loved (almost) everything about season 3. It was the kind of top quality writing I’ve been missing for some time now. 

I love how the characters have grown to be complex and intense and how I could relate to everybody on some level. The acting was prime and the plot found that rare and beautifully balance between being unpredictable and sensible, instead of downright cliche or complete nonsense for the mere sake of shock value. 

I loved the cleverness of each and every move of Alfred and I really grew to appreciate and understand Aelswith. Uhtred has also become an enjoyable character (and for once I don’t mean his appearance). I adored Uhtred’s coccham companions and how the baby monk grew into a member of the crew and a person you can remember and care about. Very very nice work writing all these characters. 

And let’s not forget to appreciate some of the masterful camerawork and shots, in the battle scenes (especially the day time woodland battle of the finale) or the beautiful, beautiful death scenes (be that Alfred or Thyra or even Skade).

I hope they get renewed for season 4 because I want to run into Alexander Dreymon. And it’d also be great if they delivered another masterful season. And I kinda want to see Uhtred with his children and explore what kind of a father he is and who will help him reconnect with them. 

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21 hours ago, Myrddin said:

I enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, but this season just clicked for me. For some reason the side characters felt more well rounded or stood out. I really enjoyed every episode.

I hope it gets picked up for a fourth season and they don't wait too long to release it. Though I'd rather wait 18 months and get season 3 level quality, than get it in 12 months and have it be just ok.

Interesting I felt the side characters in season 1 and 2 (Leofric, Iseult, Skorpa, Guthrum, Ubba, Erik, Siegfried etc) were much more memorable than season 3 ( Skade, Bloodhair, Haesten, even Cnut was kinda meh for me.) 

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On 12/6/2018 at 3:59 AM, HelenaExMachina said:

That was exactly my thoughts on Thyra too. A very sad, fitting, and timely little arc. 

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Which ended in such a tragic yet fitting way. She escaped death by fire once, and I kept expecting Finan to rush in and save her from it this time. But sadly it was not to be :( 

Anyway, loved this season, I was riveted throughout. I’ve only read up to book 3 so this was all new material for me. As others have said, Skade didn’t work (though I echo others, it wasn’t the actress but the character) but other than that nothing stood out as glaringly bad. 

E10 spoilers

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There was something wonderfully satisfying about seeing Aethelwold’s plans crash down around him and his snivelling pathetic terror as Uhtred hunts him down. Never a more cowardly slimy character have I witnessed than Aethelwold this season, I came to utterly loathe him. Which is saying a lot, as previous seasons he wasn’t merely a bit of a joke but largely ignored. His plotting and scheming and backstabbing and the murder of Ragnar all made for a thoroughly detestable villain and his death was incredibly satisfying

 

I really disagree about Thyra and think it's bullshit. 

I thought it was a highly unnecessary fridging in a show that already has a history of killing its women (the way they killed her is particularly galling in the context of what she'd survived in the past).

Half of the main women characters in the show this season died. Three out of six. That's a problem - it's 2018, you'd think they'd know better. Kill Sihtric if you want to make a point about racism.

 

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17 minutes ago, Underfoot said:

I really disagree about Thyra and think it's bullshit. 

 

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I thought it was a highly unnecessary fridging in a show that already has a history of killing its women (the way they killed her is particularly galling in the context of what she'd survived in the past).

Half of the main women characters in the show this season died. Three out of six. That's a problem - it's 2018, you'd think they'd know better. Kill Sihtric if you want to make a point about racism.

 

 

Who are you not counting here because by my count there’s still 4 main women characters 

Aethelfaed, Brida, Aelswith, and Hild

 

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3 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Interesting I felt the side characters in season 1 and 2 (Leofric, Iseult, Skorpa, Guthrum, Ubba, Erik, Siegfried etc) were much more memorable than season 3 ( Skade, Bloodhair, Haesten, even Cnut was kinda meh for me.) 

I have no memory of these people. I know Leofric because Uhtred hallucinated him this season. And Iseult because Alfred mentioned her. I mean I do remember the girlfriend who saved Afred’s baby but I didn’t know her name and I do remember the name Leofric but I can’t really recall a thing about him.  Guthrum and Ubba I only know because of Vikings. Shame. shame. shame. Yeah. I should do that rewatch. 

I agree that Bloodhair and especially Cnut were meh. And the only reason I remember them is that the plot was captivating enough for me to pay attention enough. Skade was okay, especially that she was done with quickly enough, and Haesten is such a vile pig he’s memorable. 

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4 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Interesting I felt the side characters in season 1 and 2 (Leofric, Iseult, Skorpa, Guthrum, Ubba, Erik, Siegfried etc) were much more memorable than season 3 ( Skade, Bloodhair, Haesten, even Cnut was kinda meh for me.) 

Ya, I believe this too.

Calling Thyra and her arc stupid and that she did it to herself is mean and short-sighted, and just wrong.

But fridging women to advance character arcs and plots for the male characters is something Cornwell does in all his series, most of which were written, including the first novels of the Saxon Stories, before Bechdel tests became known and before #Metoo gained so many members, many of whom were not even born during the writing of most of Cornwell's many books. :read: 

Not that this didn't bother a lot of discerning readers even then.  In fact, this is a primary reason I couldn't ever read his Sharpe series: any woman with whom the protag falls in love will either betray him or die.  It was the formula, and it bored me silly.  But men seemed to be the primary demo, both author and publisher thought, and they didn't mind at all, both publisher and author thought.

It was a real shocker when it was noticed that at least as many women as men were passionately involved with the Saxon Tales -- if not more women, in fact.

Just as the latest research has revealed, shockingly, that films with female leads, whether blockbusters, art films, indie movies, etc., make more money than those with male leads.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/11/movies/creative-artists-agency-study.html

 

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Any story that was written before the rise of equality in popular media would most like have no regard for modern day rules and standards of writing books or television. I don’t think anything is wrong with that. You can’t go back 30-40-50 years and judge the actions and products of that time based on contemporary standards. It doesn’t make sense. 

Also, historical books and movies should, in my opinion, pay attention to remain historically accuracate to some extent and not throw all that out of the window for the sake of modern day rules and standards. And above all else, a story should first and foremost make sense, in my opinion. For me personally that comes before the bechdel test and any guideline for political correctness and equal representation, as - in my opinion - even the most diverse and inclusive story will be doomed without a cohesive plot that makes common sense. 

Aaaaaand I’m 10000% sure I should never have voiced an opinion on this, but oh well, there aren’t mistakes in life, only lessons. 

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2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

I didn't think skade was as bad as you all made out, but that was probably because I'd heard nothing but slagging her performance off, so it couldn't be as bad as I imagined.  

Also, she was fabulous. 

She was not.  She was risible.  The actor who is Uhtred could barely stand being in scene with her.  

 

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1 minute ago, BigFatCoward said:

Fabulous to look at. 

Not all of us agreed with that either, particularly in the context of the era in which her character was placed and the character she was supposed to be.  There was no charisma of any sort in her.  No sorcerer, magician, wizard, shaman, etc., can manage without that.

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