‘The Last Kingdom’: Uhtred Once Had to Fight Leofric
In the popular series The Last Kingdom, Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) and his good friend, Leofric (Adrian Bower) fight. But why do they fight and what happens during the critical moment? We have all the details from season 1, episode 7.
Uhtred and Leofric come up with a plan in ‘The Last Kingdom’
Uhtred meets Leofric, a man loyal to the crown of Wessex and Odda the Elder’s (Simon Kunz) sworn sword, in season 1. They almost end up fighting upon their first meeting, but they become quite close over time. They are both fierce fighters, and when Uhtred allies himself with King Alfred (David Dawson), they end up working more closely together, and they get into some trouble as well.
Uhtred and Leofric decide to pretend to be Danes and raid Cornwalum in hopes of finding silver. Uhtred knows he’ll need silver to have an army and secure Bebbanburg, his ancestral home. Together with other warriors, they decide to fight with King Peredur (Paul Ritter), a king of the Britons, when he says he’ll pay them to get his fort back.
But when they learn the enemy is a group of Danes led by a man named Skorpa (Jonas Malmsjö), Uhtred decides to join the Danes. They work together and attack the Britons, and Peredur is killed. But Skorpa betrays them and takes the treasure for himself, threatening Iseult (Charlie Murphy), Peredur’s shadow queen and a woman Uhtred is now taken by. But Iseult is unharmed, and Uhtred and his men find more silver and treasure thanks to her.
Uhtred gets into some trouble for what happens in Cornwalum
Uhtred is summoned to a Witan, where the situation in Cornwalum is mentioned after Brother Asser (Nicholas Rowe), a man who served Peredur, travels to Winchester and spreads the word. Uhtred is charged with taking men to Cornwalum and “making war against the Britons,” according to Odda the Younger (Brian Vernel) who reads out the charges. Uhtred is also being charged with “joining forces” with Skorpa and killing Christians, and the punishment is death. Brother Asser is the witness to the crimes, but Uhtred tries to say he was “patrolling” Alfred’s “borders” and “protecting” his “kingdom.”
Someone also destroyed and burned a church that Odda the Younger was having built where the Viking Ubba (Rune Temte) was killed by Uhtred. Monks were also murdererd, and Asser has learned from others that Skorpa committed the crimes and that Uhtred was with him, which isn’t true. Uhtred tries to defend himself, and Leofric is brought out as a prisoner.
Leofric confesses to their crimes during the Witan, telling Uhtred beforehand that Odda wants him to die, and he will “do” his “best” to “give” him Valhalla if it’s what he wants.” He’s also donated his silver to the church and has begged for forgiveness. But Leofric says he went “willingly,” and he shares the “blame” for what happened in Cornwalum.
Uhtred once had to fight Leofric
Leofric offers to be the one to kill Uhtred, saying, “It is clear that like me, the arseling here is guilty. It is also clear that he is too proud, and too stupid to repent, and as a consequence will die. Because of my own guilt, and for my respect for Uhtred as a warrior, I request that he dies at my sword.”
Alfred grants a fight to the death between them, and Leofric tells Uhtred that Odda had people waiting to testify against him. “Warrior’s death is all I can give,” as he’s trying to be a good friend to Uhtred in his own way, but it’s a hard situation for them both.
The next day, the two friends fight while the people of Winchester and the king look on. Leofric manages to knock Uhtred to the ground with his foot, and he rolls back onto his feet. They dodge each other’s shots, and at one point, Uhtred gets Leofric backed up into a storefront and pummels him with blows from his sword and shield, but Leofric recovers.
In another moment during the battle, Uhtred maneuvers Leofric off his feet with his shield, and he dodges Uhtred’s blows. Then Leofric comes at him hard and fast, and people watching try to hold Uhtred down, though he manages to get free. The fighting continues between them, and Uhtred pushes a guard at Leofric. Uhtred falls down a set of steps after Leofric pushes him. Leofric even almost kills him with a spear, but Uhtred manages to get clear just in time.
A prisoner in a cage nearby grabs Uhtred during the fighting, but Uhtred slashes their arm and gets away. Leofric stabs the prisoner with the spear accidentally, and Uhtred manages to break the spear. Uhtred comes at him with a knife, but he’s disarmed, and they start punching each other. But they’re interrupted.
Just then, the Danes, led by Guthrum (Thomas W. Gabrielsson) with Young Ragnar (Tobias Santelmann), attack Winchester, and both Leofric and Uhtred, along with Isuelt, make a run for it together. Luckily, the two friends don’t have to continue fighting after all of that, and it seems to be perfect timing.
