Uhtred's age plot hole in The Last Kingdom has finally been explained by The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die. Seven Kings Must Die concluded The Last Kingdom's story, capping off the franchise with an action-packed two-hour finale. The series is based on Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, which uses the character of Uhtred of Bebbanburg to tell the story of the unification of England and illustrate life in early medieval Britain.
The book series takes place over a roughly 60-year period, which has made adapting it for television somewhat of a challenge. Specifically, the age of the show's characters is difficult to reconcile with the books because it would require aging them several decades as the series progresses. This has made the age of The Last Kingdom's main character, Uhtred, a common point of confusion within the fandom. Speculation has arisen as to why Uhtred does not age more than 10 years in appearance over the course of the story, but Seven Kings Must Die just explained why it was done that way.
Seven Kings Must Die's Big Battle Wouldn't Work If Uhtred Were His Book Age
Uhtred is not aged significantly to match up with the books because it would not work with the Battle of Brunanburh, which has always been the targeted ending point for The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die. Uhtred fights in the shield wall in this pivotal battle, and it's unlikely a man of 70 could have survived such an affair. As it turns out, Uhtred likely did not survive the battle as a man in his prime, so it's virtually inconceivable that he would have survived as an old man.
He is also exiled by Aethelstan in Seven Kings Must Die and has to survive in the cold without proper clothing or any type of weapon. This also would have been nearly impossible for an elderly man to survive. Furthermore, there are several other moments of violent conflict in Seven Kings Must Die that might not have worked if Uhtred were aged several decades. Aging Uhtred too far would have severely limited what his character could do in Seven Kings Must Die, which would have hampered the Netflix original's ability to create one final spectacle for its dedicated fandom.
Making Uhtred Look Older Would've Complicated The Last Kingdom Movie
Trying to make Uhtred's age in The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die match up with the books would have negatively complicated the film. Seven Kings Must Die would've had to age up all the other characters as well without making it look like too much time had ed for the story to work. It also would have messed with the iconic look that Uhtred's character has grown into and required him to wear heavy makeup or prosthetics to look older.
Alternatively, it might have required him to be aged by special effects, which would have eaten drastically into the film's budget. None of those are good options, so it seems Seven Kings Must Die made the right decision in accelerating the timeline. Keeping Uhtred at a relatively young age left more avenues open for The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die's plot and kept it from getting overly complicated logistically.
