Summary
- Ragnar's absence from The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die's Valhalla sequence ruins his character's ending and casts doubt on whether Uhtred and Brida's efforts to help him reach Valhalla were successful.
- The decision to exclude Ragnar and other characters from the film was made to keep the cast limited to those most pertinent to the plot and to prevent overstretching the storyline.
- However, Ragnar's inclusion in the Valhalla sequence would not have detracted from the plot or other character arcs and would have honored his story, making the film's ending more complete.
One The Last Kingdom character had their season 3 ending ruined by their exclusion from the show's sequel film, The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die. Seven Kings Must Die wrapped up The Last Kingdom in two hours of pulse-pounding action, carrying the story to its natural climax at the famous historical Battle of Brunanburh. The film covers the last three of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories novels and brings the wildly popular series to its epic conclusion.
Though Seven Kings Must Die provides a satisfying ending to the series, several of The Last Kingdom's biggest characters are conspicuously absent from the film. Despite dying before the events of the film, several characters were able to come back for Seven Kings Must Die's ending; however, not everyone was on hand. Unfortunately, one widely popular character did not appear at the end of the film, which lessened the impact of their original ending in the show.
Ragnar Was Missing From The Valhalla Sequence
The most important missing character from The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die is none other than Ragnar Ragnarsson (Tobias Santelmann), the adoptive brother and best friend of Alexander Dreymon's, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. At the end of Seven Kings Must Die, Uhtred stands between life and death having a vision of his deceased friends and family drinking in Valhalla. However, Ragnar is not featured in this scene. His absence severely hurts the character's ending because of everything Uhtred and Brida (Emily Cox) go through in some of The Last Kingdom season 3's best episodes to ensure Ragnar reaches Valhalla.
After Ragnar is killed in his sleep by Aethelwold (Harry McEntire), preventing him from reaching Valhalla, Uhtred and Brida embark on a mission to kill Aethelwold with the blood of Ragnar's kin on the blade. Uhtred and Brida go to great measures to ensure this happens, as they believe it's the only way for Ragnar to enter Valhalla. Their eventual success seemingly puts the issue to rest, until Ragnar's omission from Seven Kings Must Die's Valhalla sequence casts doubt on this outcome. What this suggests is that all the work Uhtred and Brida did to help him reach Valhalla may not have worked after all.
The Real Reason Why Tobias Santelmann's Ragnar Wasn’t In The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die
As for why he wasn't around, the many character absences in Seven Kings Must Die, including Ragnar's, were due to the film's desire to keep the cast limited to the characters most pertinent to the plot [via Radio Times]. Seven Kings Must Die tells a more intimate story than the show often does, mainly following the relationship between Uhtred and Aethelstan (Harry Gilby). This means adding too many characters would have risked overstretching the plot and leaving the story feeling incomplete.
Even so, Ragnar's inclusion in the Valhalla sequence likely wouldn't have taken away from any plot development or distracted from any other character arcs, considering that it happens at the end of the film when everything has already been wrapped up. With that in mind, leaving Ragnar out of this sequence is among the movie's most disappointing decisions. Ragnar's inclusion would have honored his story and helped The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die achieve a more complete ending.
Source: Radio Times
