History Characters / TheLastKingdom

* {{Badass}}: Possibly rivals Uhtred in this department.

* {{Badass}}: Not many [[spoiler: storm out of their burning hall while on fire, with nothing but a sword and a night shirt, and still have the strength to kill several enemies before succumbing]].

[[folder:Lord Uhtred]]
!!Lord Uhtred
->'''Played By:''' Matthew Macfadyen

Uhtred’s father, Lord Uhtred, is ruler of Bebbanburg, one of three kingdoms in Northumbria.

A serious and rather distant man, whose commitments to Bebbanburg leave little time for his two sons. Lord Uhtred is a formidable fighter and leader of men, and his son Young Uhtred struggles to win his father’s affection and approval.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lord Uhtred]]
!!Lord Uhtred
->'''Played By:''' Matthew Macfadyen

Uhtred’s father, Lord Uhtred, is ruler of Bebbanburg, one of three kingdoms in Northumbria.

A serious and rather distant man, whose commitments to Bebbanburg leave little time for his two sons. Lord Uhtred is a formidable fighter and leader of men, and his son Young Uhtred struggles to win his father’s affection and approval.
[[/folder]]

* OddFriendship: With Thyra. [[spoiler: Seeing her for the injured creature she is, Beocca approached Thyra calmly, confidently, winning her trust by showing no fear and presenting no threat, assuring her that her suffering is over, promising to help her through her trauma and [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre complimenting her on her strength to have endured such abuse for so long]].

* Badass: Not many [[spoiler: storm out of their burning hall while on fire, with nothing but a sword and a night shirt, and still have the strength to kill several enemies before succumbing]].

[[folder:Alfred]]
!!King Alfred
->'''Played By:''' David Dawson

As the King who dreamt of uniting the separate kingdoms of England, Alfred has integrity and true gravitas. Where Uhtred is gallant and daring, Alfred is a thinker and master strategist, yet troubled by poor health. A man of great wisdom, he is committed to the power of the written word and the spread of Christianity. Learned, pious and cautious — the responsibilities of leadership rest heavily on Alfred's shoulders, but his faith and inner strength are forever tested by his habitual infidelities. Despite these vulnerabilities he remains determined. Even Uhtred, who first sees Alfred as a humorless nit-picker, grows to admire the man who will become known as King Alfred the Great.

* OnlyIMayKillYou: [[spoiler: Commands his men to take Uhtred alive, as Kjartan wants the pleasure of killing him personally]].

-->'''Eadred''': [[spoiler: You're nothing but a heathen and ''the bitch is married! [stab]''.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: One of the driving forces behind his betrayal and murder of Ragnar is revenge for the mutilation of his son.

* GoodIsNotNice: [[spoiler: She might be fond of Uhtred, but she doesn't hate to criticize and nag him when it's required]].

* TooDumbToLive: [spoiler: Having already earned Uhtred's enmity by conspiring with Uhtred's EvilUncle Aelfric to sell him into slavery, when Uhtred comes back and finds Eadred in the middle of trying to wed Gisela (the woman Uhtred's eye has fallen on) to Aelfric by proxy, it would probably be a good idea to keep his mouth shut. Eadred instead insists on repeatedly pressing Uthred's BerserkButton about the matter until Uthred finally has enough and Eadred comes down with a fatal case of knife-through-bowels]].

-->'''Eadred''': [[spoiler: You're nothing but a heathen and the bitch is married! [stab].]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: She goes through this when she believes the ritual she performed to save Alfred's son killed Uhtred in his place]].

* RapeIsASpecialTypeOfEvil: She clearly believes this [[spoiler: to the point she [[EyeScream stabs a Danish warrior in the eye]] for raping a nun]].

* ConflictingLoyalties: One of the driving motivations of Uthred's character is his uncertainty of who he is; a Dane, or a Saxon. He was born a Saxon but raised a Dane. The ultimate reason why he chooses to be a Saxon is a combination of MyCountryRightOrWrong, a reluctant respect for Alfred and a serious desire not be known as his own tribe's destroyer.

* ArchEnemy: He's one of many to Uthred.

* AnAxToGrind: His favored weapon is an axe, and he can do a great many terrible things with it. [[spoiler:Uthred places Ubba's axe in his hands, so he may hold it as he dies.]]

* CrisisOfFaith: He seemingly attempts to induce one on King Edmund, although he may have just been genuinely curious. It's hard to tell with someone as unhinged as Ubba. [[spoiler:Uthred later pays him back for this by needling him about falling out of favor with the Gods.]]

* DuelToTheDeath: [[spoiler:After he catches Uthred setting fire to his ships, Ubba challenges him to a duel. When Uthred asks if it is to first blood or to the death, Ubba rather succinctly answers by bellowing and charging him.]]
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler:While Odda wants his body mutilated, Uthred insists that he be treated respectfully in death.]]

* AdaptationalBadass: Unlike his book counterpart Beocca is much more physically able in the TV series, lacking many of his physical deformities such as his club foot and palsied eye. [[spoiler: He also managed to throw a spear from the fourth rank in the Saxon lines and over the Viking shield wall for Uthred to catch on the other side. Not a javelin, but an infantry spear!]].

* ArchEnemy: He's Uthred's main political enemy. Odda despises Uhtred for being raised a Dane, gaining the trust of the King and marrying Mildrith.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: As doting as she appears to be, she shows a shocking viciousness when it comes to dealing with Pagans of any stripe. She pushes openly and eagerly for Uthred's death, despite him being an ally.

[[folder:Lord Uthred]]
!!Lord Uthred

* AdaptationDyeJob: From blonde in the books to dark-haired in the series.

* BarbarianLonghair: it usually gets him mistaken for a Dane.

* BigBrotherInstinct: towards Thyra.

* BreakingSpeech: gives one to Alfred after the Danes take over, though it is at least partially intended to get Alfred fighting.
* CharacterDevelopment: after the AgeCut, he goes from brash young warrior only interested in achieving his revenge to steady and loyal servant of Alfred who is integral to his regaining his kingdom, something Alfred acknowledges, the two parting on good terms.

* CoolSword: with an amber pommel, no less.

* MasterSwordsman: the only character better with a sword than Uhtred is Leofric.
* MentorOccupationalHazard: played straight with Ravn, Ragnar the Elder and [[spoiler: Leofric]]. Averted with Beocca.

* NotSoDifferent: to Alfred. Both are ruthless, both are steadfast in their beliefs and singleminded in their pursuit of their goals, and both are GoodParents. Both also have a weakness for beautiful women who aren't their wives.
* OneManArmy: he's badass enough normally, but when his BerserkButton is pushed, he's a very literal version of this trope in that [[spoiler: he effectively destroys the entire Danish army by breaking the shield wall and killing pretty much everyone within reach, allowing the Saxon army to follow him through the hole.]]
* {{Ronin}}: following the death of Ragnar the Elder, he is effectively this, and the rest of the series is devoted to his trying to find a new place and a new master.
* TookALevelInJerkass: being humiliated with the enforced penance after having the credit for Ubba's killing stolen by the craven Odda the Younger drives him down a darker path.
* UnstoppableRage: when [[spoiler: Skorpa]] pulls a DecapitationPresentation with [[spoiler: Iseult's]] head, Uhtred goes absolutely berserk, vaulting over the shield wall and singlehandedly [[spoiler: breaking it - effectively ''destroying the army'' -]] and chasing down the mounted [[spoiler: Skorpa]] (who admittedly turns to face him), he [[spoiler: spears him with a spear Father Beocca throws to him]].

* GoodOldWays: believes in this and is thoroughly hostile to Christianity as a result.
* HappilyAdopted: by Ragnar's family.
* TookALevelInJerkass: by episode 7 in response to Uhtred throwing his lot in with Alfred. As Leofric remarks, "she was always angry, but now she's nasty."
* UpToEleven: is this for all of Uhtred's anti-Christian/anti-Saxon traits.

* ManipulativeBastard: identifies Uhtred's motivations and character, then promptly plays him like a harp.
* NotSoDifferent: to Uhtred. They're both GoodParents, both singleminded in the pursuit of their aims, both TheFettered, both utterly ruthless when required to be and both have a weakness for beautiful women.
* TheSpymaster: he takes the maxim of 'know thy enemy' to heart, with information so extensive that it astonishes Uhtred and impresses Guthrum.

* TookALevelInKindness: after being humbled by being driven into the swamps of Athelney, then accepting the tonics of Iseult (which greatly relieve his illness) and her [[spoiler: healing of his son]] and finally seeing the lengths Uhtred goes to in order to protect him and his family, he gets nicer and lets go much of his antipathy to paganism.

* CharacterDevelopment: does a lot of growing up, by the end of the series.

* HiddenDepths: while initially portrayed simply as a drunken lech, he shows a remarkable talent for playing to a crowd and to everyone's surprise, for fighting, when he's finally put in a battle (and afterwards, he comes off as considerably more mature). He's still a drunken lech, though.

* TheResenter: to his uncle Alfred, who he believes nicked his throne. Seems to get over it by the finale.

* DeadpanSnarker: from time to time, usually directed at Uhtred or Brother Asser.
* PapaWolf: verbally and spiritually towards Uhtred (when it comes to physically, Uhtred can more than look after himself), warning him of Aelfric's intention to ransom him in order to kill him, swiping the deeds to Bebbanburg on Uhtred's behalf, constantly standing up for him in Alfred's court (even when Uhtred's less than appreciative of this) and unhesitatingly declaring that if Uhtred is as soulless as Brother Asser claims, then he will be Uhtred's soul and intercede with God for him.
* UndyingLoyalty: as covered under PapaWolf.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: in the books, he's described as being fairly squat and ugly. Here, he's tall, dark and fairly handsome in a weathered sort of way.
* TheHeavy: to Odda the Elder and Alfred.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: superficially harsh and refers to Uhtred by an InsultOfEndearment, while being more than willing to bounce Aethelwold's head off a table when he's being stupid, he's more patient with either of them than they really deserve.
* TheLancer: to Uhtred.

* SarcasticDevotee: to Uhtred.

* GoodParents: she is, by all appearances, an excellent mother.
* HappilyMarried: she and Uhtred genuinely love each other and she reacts with dismay when Aelswith tries to comfort her by telling her that Uhtred (who is a hostage of Guthrum) will soon be dead. If it wasn't for Uhtred's {{Pride}} being wounded by the enforced penance and other events, there's every chance that they would have remained so.
* NiceGirl: she is, by default, a very lovely person, to the point where it gets in the way of her good sense, and it's a large part of why Uhtred warms up to her. This makes it all the more upsetting (for her and the audience) when the penance drives a wedge between her, pious, and Uhtred, pagan and prideful in equal measure.
* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: she and Uhtred don't meet until the wedding, but quickly warm up to each other and, one suspects, would have been very happy with each other if events had gone another way.

* BlondeGuysAreEvil: He has bright blonde hair, and some of his favorite past-times include torturing prisoners.

->'''Portrayed By:'''