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[[File:Last_Kingdom_2.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|The Last Kingdom - Season 2]]
<i> Warning: This article contains spoilers.!!!!</i> Check out our summaries for [[How Historically Accurate is season 1 of The Last Kingdom?|Check out our Season 1 summary.]] and [[How Historically Accurate is season 3 of The Last Kingdom?|Season 3]].
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<i>The Last Kingdom</i> is a historical-based series set in Anglo-Saxon England in the 9th century AD during a time of major Viking (Norse and Dane) invasions. Season 2 focuses on family conflicts that embroiled Uhtred, the protagonist, and the conquest of London, which was a an actual historical event.
===Set of Events===
Season 2 is divided into two novels from the <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEYI47C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LEYI47C&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5896bb38392fa928ad7836385dccf0d Saxon Tales]</i> series written by Bernard Cornwell, namely books 3 and 4 (Season 1 was books 1-2). The novels span roughly between 878-886 (Figure 1). The main focus for Season 2 in the first four episodes is Uhtred's quest to go north from Wessex into Northumbria, a less tamed area of England that is ruled more by Danes but their hold is somewhat less clear. Uhtred seeks his ancestral home in Bebbanburg (Bamburgh Castle) and also wants revenge against Kjartan, who killed is his adopted Danish father.<ref>For more on the series, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saxon_Stories</ref>
Uhtred finds himself helping a Dane, King Guthred, who was a slave envisioned to be a king by priests serving Saint Cuthbert, specifically abbot Eadred. This was a period after Halfdan, a Dane, had conquered Northumbria. Guthred was indicated to be Hardcanut's son, who somehow ended up in slavery. The story of Guthred being freed is depicted in the first episode, as he is rescued by Uhtred. The crowning of Guthred was preceded by a period of some anarchy, as the population arose against the Danes. Historically, there was uncertainty after Halfdan was killed in battle as he was fighting in Ireland. This was used by the series to create the context in which Guthred came to power.
===Historical Characters===
The series develops several significant characters that were introduced in the first season. The first being Æthelflæd, who is now of marriageable age. She is to become be an important historical figure in leading Mercia to full independence from Viking occupation. Her parents marry her to Æthelred, who is Lord of Mercia, (the areas of Mercia free from Danish rule) n order to form a strategic alliance between Wessex and Mercia. The marriage is portrayed, however, as unhappy. Æthelred is depicted as abusive and as marrying Æthelflæd solely in order to advance his position with her father, King Alfred. There is some historical account to suggest they had an estranged or less than happy marriage, although the two did form an important political combination in Mercia.<ref>For more on Æthelred and Æthelflæd, and their role in uniting Mercia and Wessex, see: Marafioti, N. (2014) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442647582/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1442647582&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6adde8dd803068319e28a91c24747861 The king’s body: burial and succession in late Anglo-Saxon England]</i>. Toronto Anglo-Saxon series. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, pg. 58.</ref>
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Another key character introduced in the first four episodes is Guthrud. He was likely a Dane and he may have been a Christian. It is unclear if he really was a slave, but accounts do suggest that was the case. While Alfred was shown as scheming to help make him king, the reality is less clear. He may have simply become king because the population of Northumbria was becoming increasingly intermixed and having a ruler showing greater sympathy to the Danes and Christian Anglo-Saxons may have suited everyone in Northumbria. He also may have simply succeeded normally as any Dane would, but the Anglo-Saxons tried to make it look legitimate through the stories of St. Cuthbert selecting him. There is a story that St. Cuthbert's body did not decay and, in the series, he is shown as relatively well preserved, as his corpse is used to give the new king Guthrud his blessing.<ref>For more on St. Cuthbert, see: Marner, D. & British Library (2000) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0712346864/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0712346864&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8c244d371d8366274e6a7cc14f71af96 St. Cuthbert: his life and cult in medieval Durham].</i> Toronto; New York, University of Toronto Press.</ref>
One of the Vikings was Haestein, who seems to be a key aid to the leader Norse in the series, namely the brothers Sigefrid and Erik. While Siegfried and Erik seem fictional, Haestein is known to who may have come to England in the late 9th century and did launch some devastating attacks. His role, however, in this season is more minimal, focusing on his support of the two Norse brothers.<ref>For more on Haestein, see: Craughwell, T.J. (2008) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592333036/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1592333036&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=44291a423dc425c1f210eca587ff0e8d How the barbarian invasions shaped the modern world: the Vikings, Vandals, Huns, Mongols, Goths, and Tartars who razed the old world and formed the new].</i> Beverly, MA, Fair Winds Press, pg. 199.</ref>
The story also introduces Osferth, who likely was Alfred's illegitimate son. The historical records on him do not make it clear, and in the series he is shown as a monk who wants to join Uhtred's warriors. There does exist records from Alfred's will that suggests Osferth was a son of Alfred's, where he is called kinsman, and he even held some important positions as ealdorman in historical texts.<ref>For more on Osferth, see: Abels, R.P. (1998) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1138808121/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1138808121&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=011e368cfa6485952d2a7141c26bb10a Alfred the Great: war, kingship, and culture in Anglo-Saxon England. The medieval world].</i> Harlow, England ; New York, Longman, pg. 48.</ref>
