‘The Last Kingdom’: What Do Fans Think of Aethelflaed in Season 4?
Season 4 of The Last Kingdom has made many fans stop and question a few characters’ actions. More than a few people are shaking their heads at Aethelflaed (Millie Brady). Read on to learn what fans thought of her this season. There are spoilers ahead for season 4 of The Last Kingdom.
Aethelflaed confused some viewers in season 4
In the new season, Aethelflaed’s husband, Aethelred (Toby Regbo) dies at the hands of Eardwulf (Jamie Blackley) while he lays in bed from a head injury. No one apparently wants to leave a woman in charge, so naturally King Edward (Timothy Innes), Aethelflaed’s brother, starts scheming to put another warm body on the throne of Mercia that can be controlled.
Eventually, he actually settles on Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) to be the leader of Mercia, at least for a few years. However, Aethelflaed isn’t happy about it and thinks Uhtred is the wrong man to lead Mercia. Numerous fans were confused about her feelings in regard to the situation considering she could have just married Uhtred and secured safety for both her daughter and herself.
Uhtred immediately abdicates in favor of Aethelflaed and she becomes the ruler of the Mercians, but at the cost of her relationship with Uhtred.
What do fans think of Aethelflaed this season?
Fans are all over the place when it comes to Aethelflaed in season 4. Although she is eventually chosen as the leader of Mercia, she must give up Uhtred and she so easily does. One fan brought up a point that she could have agreed to marry Uhtred instead.
“Even agreeing to rule Mercia was a decision driven by the want for peace and to protect Aethelflaed and her daughter,” a Reddit user explained about Uhtred’s actions. “She could have ruled alongside him and cared for Mercia, but she couldn’t have that.”
Another fan thinks Aethelflaed came off as a hypocrite in season 4. She goes from loving Uhtred one minute, to casting him aside in the next. “Yes she came off as a massive hypocrite and seriously undervalued Uhtred’s leadership skills,” another fan said.
A fan thinks Aethelflaed wasn’t directly opposing Uhtred
One Reddit user thinks Aethelflaed wasn’t directly opposing Uhtred’s rule, but rather why she wasn’t being chosen as the right person to sit on the Mercian throne.
“She is justified. Uhtred is no Mercian and didn’t want the throne,” the user wrote. “I don’t think Aethelflaed was complaining about him being chosen rather than her not being chosen as the best option, simply because she wasn’t a man.”
Where would Aethelflaed be right now without Uhtred?
A fan thinks Aethelflaed’s tie with Mercia is greatly overexaggerated. Yes, her mother is a Mercian and she married one herself, but that’s about all that binds her to these people. She herself is from Wessex and relies on the help of Uhtred more than a few times.
“To be fair, Aethelflaed isn’t Mercian. She is of Wessex, born and raised and daughter of Alfred,” said a fan. “The only difference between her and Edward is that she married a Mercian ruler. She never truly did anything for Mercia, other than instigate a battle, that quite frankly she would’ve lost on her own without Uhtred and the aid of the Welsh (and eventually Aethelred and Edward).”
One fan defends Aethelflaed because she’s doing what she needs to in acting like a leader. She has a whole country to be concerned about, not just herself and Uhtred’s happiness.
“She’s acting like a leader/queen. Her concerns are about more than one person,” said a fan. “And she didn’t want Uhtred to be lord of Mercia because she knew her brother would be meddling in Mercia and Uhtred isn’t even Mercian. It makes much more sense for her to be the ruler.”
Fans are divided when it comes to Aethelflaed and her actions in season 4 of The Last Kingdom.
