The new Netflix action flick Seven Kings Must Die finally wraps up the saga of Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon), the unification of England, and the story started by The Last Kingdom. We finally learn what happens when young Aethelstan (Harry Gilby) takes the throne and it’s, uh, not great. Aethelstan becomes a brother-killing, city-plundering, treaty-breaking little tyrant under the guidance of one Ingilmundr (Laurie Davidson). Aethelstan’s actions force an alliance of all the rival kings and a major showdown at the Battle of Brunanburh. How does Uhtred’s strategy change the course of English history? How do the titular seven kings die? And does Uhtred die at the end of The Last Kingdom movie Seven Kings Must Die?
Spoilers for all of Seven Kings Must Die, but it turns out that Ingilmundr isn’t the Christian reformer he’s presenting himself as. Ingilmundr is a secret Danish spy who has been seducing Aethelstan and pushing him to conquer the rival territories in order to unite the other kingdoms against Mercia. Uhtred realizes this when he is brought into the confidence of the Danes. While the other kings want him to declare himself King of Northumbria to join their cause, Uhtred notices that Ingilmundr is among their number. He returns to a sacked Bebbanburg, rallies his friends and goes to help a defeated Aethelstan. Uhtred and his allies launch a daring plan to survive battle against the united kings’ forces.
So what happens? Do Uhtred’s shield walls fall? Does Aethelstan die? DOES UHTRED DIE?!? And how did Ingrith’s (Ilona Chevakova) prophecy come true? Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of Seven Kings Must Die…
Early on in Seven Kings Must Die, Finan (Mark Rowley) reveals that his wife Ingrith had a prophetic dream. She shyly tells Uhtred that seven kings and the woman you love must die before England can become united. Uhtred shrugs this off because he doesn’t currently have a lover, but when news arrives that King Edward has died, Finan says he’s the first king down. Six more to go.
When Uhtred meets with the council of kings, he shares this prophecy. One of the kings laughs it off, explaining that if you kill a king, another will simply rise in his place. After all, he’s got a son. Anlaf (Pekka Strong), a daughter. Through their children, kings cannot die, but live forever.
When Uhtred finally returns to Bebbanburg with Finan and Sihtric (Arnas Fedaravicius), they discover that the city has been sacked. The surviving women and children were entombed alive by massive boulders. When Uhtred and Finan finally pull Finan’s wife Ingrith from this horrific tomb, they recall that Ingrith was looking at Finan when she said, “The woman you love must die.” Not Uhtred. Ingrith was the woman who had to die.
Realizing that Aethelstan has been tricked into a position of utter weakness, Uhtred rallies around his friend at the Battle of Brunanburh. There, five of the children of the rival kings are killed. When the kings regroup, they realize they’ve lost too much in the fight against Aethelstan. Because they’re children are dead, the kings and their legacies are dead, too.
So one king died in the beginning of the film, five died “spiritually” on the battlefield, and Ingrith died, too. Who is the seventh king? Well, it’s probably Uhtred…
Perhaps the biggest mystery at the end of Seven Kings Must Die? DID UHTRED DIE?!?!
The Last Kingdom and Seven Kings Must Die executive producer Nigel Marchant told Decider that, “You’re going to have to make your own call on that. Which is unhelpful, but it leaves it open to an audience about how they want to, you know, Uhtred isn’t gonna last forever?“
“So I think that’s a lovely thing about the end of this show is there’s an ambiguity in there for an audience to decide was that the end or did he fight another day. And you’ll see at the end we kind of come out of – to the real history, as it were.”
Marchant is, of course, referring to how the final shot reveals that the fortress at Bebbanburg still stands today. Albeit, there have been considerable renovations to the fort since Uhtred’s days.
That said, it seems like Uhtred does die at the end of Seven Kings Must Die. After all, he suffered a grievous injury during the battle. While he awoke back in his home, surrounded by friends and family, he sees a vision of the halls of Valhalla as the film comes to a close. Waiting there are some of his closest friends, foes, and allies who have passed…including Brida (Emily Cox).
Supposing Uhtred does die, who does he see in cameo format in his vision of Valhalla?
Even if somehow Uhtred managed to pull through that final scene, he got a glimpse of the afterlife: the great feast hall of Valhalla, where warriors who are killed in battle are spirited to by the Valkyries. Not only that, but Uhtred sees four familiar faces who are waiting for him there.
“There’s a few surprises near the end that you might pick up on, all kinds of cameos in there,” Marchant teased Decider before we saw the film, and now we know what he meant! The Last Kingdom fans will recognize Brida, Earl Ragnar (Peter Gantzler), Clapa (Magnus Samuelsson), and Haesten (Jeppe Beck Laursen) celebrating in Valhalla.
The biggest cameo is obviously Brida, Uhtred’s childhood friend, first love, and eventual enemy. She was killed towards the end of Season 5. Earl Ragnar was the Danish warlord who became Uhtred and Brida’s foster father, teaching the Saxon-born children to be warriors and pagans. Clapa was a loyal member of Uhtred’s original household guard who was felled by an axe in an earlier season. Finally, Haesten started off as a villain Last Kingdom fans loved to love and eventually became an ally.
If Uhtred does indeed die in Seven Kings Must Die, then at least we know he’ll be reunited with some of our favorite Last Kingdom characters.