'The Last Kingdom' Season 4 Ending Explained: Why does King Edward give Northern kingdom to warlord Sigtrygrr?
As always, the North is always the most difficult to conquer and keep. In the thrilling finale of Season 4 of the 'Thee Last Kingdom', we see the exhausting siege of Winchester, the capital of the Wessex kingdom. It is the same capital that King Edward (Timothy Innes) spent nearly the entire season fortifying, only to have it fall into the hands of Danish warlord Sigtrygrr (Eysteinn Sigurdarson). Sigtrygrr is Cnut's cousin, who frees Brida (Emily Cox) from Welsh captivity, and agrees to her plan to sack Winchester.
All season, Edward struggled with when to fight and when to stay his hand. As he stayed with his army in Mercia to bully the leaderless kingdom, he left Winchester unguarded. Even if Eardwulf hadn't betrayed them, Pyrlig points out that it was common knowledge that the King was not in Wessex. And so, Edward pays the price when he realizes his two heirs, mother, wife and father-in-law are at the mercy of Sigtrygrr.
We have had some great Danish warriors depicted in the show, from Ragnar, Ubba to the most recent Cnut. All of them, much like Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) himself, were brash, passionate, and impulsive. They "made it up" as they went along, often coming up with battle strategies on the fly.
However, Sigtrygrr's silence to Edward's provocations and threats outside Winchester's fortifications makes Uhtred realize that Sigtrygrr is a different kind of Danish warlord. He isn't spoiling for a fight but wants to negotiate — something Edward refuses to get and decides to "burn it all". It takes Sigtryggr to leverage his sons to get Edward to back down.
However, he is not after revenge (like Brida who sabotages the temporary truce) or the chance to be king (like Cnut) or interested in pillaging (like Ragnar). He is after peace and land where his men can settle and not have to fight anymore. Time spent with Stiorra (Ruby Hartley), Uhtred's daughter reading Alfred's "Chronicles", makes him realize that Northumbria with its capital Eoferwic will suit him well.
When Uhtred exchanges Edward's sons for himself, he goes in knowing that he will end this. Unlike Edward, Uhtred recognizes the cautious way in which Sigtrygrr is proceeding and knows that he will be willing to negotiate. However, Brida, who has now become an avenging harpy, throws Uhtred's sword among the dead bodies so that Edward thinks Uhtred is dead.
When Aethelflaed (Millie Brady) returns with the armies of Mercia after defeating the Danes in Eoferwic, she provides the indecisive Edward the push he needs to attack. She tells him that with his sons safe, "Alfred's line" will survive. "You are Wessex," she emphasizes, telling him that cities can be rebuilt and so can tombs, referring to their father's tomb in Winchester. But giving up on Winchester was not an option since it was the heart of the Wessex empire.
In an all-or-nothing attack, using smoke from bags of shit and limestone to make the Danish soldiers gag and leave them incapable of defending the fortress, the combined armies of Mercia and Wessex manage to breach the walls. As they break through the main gate, it becomes an all-out bloody battle.
It takes Uhtred's intervention to finally get both armies to stand down and get Edward to listen to what Sigtrygrr is proposing — the northern kingdom with its capital in Eoferwic in exchange for peace in the other three kingdoms. After Edward and Aethelflaed finish negotiating, another demand is added. That Stiorra will also go to Eoferwic with him.
To avoid any more bloodshed, Edward and Aethelflaed agree, which means there will be a few years of relative peace. As Finan, one of Uhtred's men, puts it, "not bad, you hold three of four kingdoms". Aethelflaed holds Mercia, Edward holds Wessex (and its capital Winchester) with East Anglia patrolled by both these allied kingdoms.
Even though Aethelflaed has to give up the land she just won from the Danes, Edward slyly tells her that Sigtrygrr has taught them that there are "other ways" to conquer a kingdom than war. This means Edward is not giving up his ambition to unite all the Anglican kingdoms under his overlordship — this is why he gives up the land to the north because he knows he will take it back when the time is opportune and Winchester, the "soul" of Wessex is more important at the time.
Peace with the Danes also means that he can pay attention to his heirs — while he takes responsibility for his son from the second marriage, he gives the responsibility of raising his firstborn to Uhtred after Lady Aelswith dies of poisoning. By temporarily ceding the northern lands, Edward buys some time and breathing space after his army has nearly been exhausted in the 30-day siege of Winchester.
'The Last Kingdom' Season 4 premiered on Netflix on April 26.