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In 'The Last Kingdom', Aethelwold is King Alfred’s nephew that tries to scheme his way onto the throne of Wessex. He can be very humorous at times.

Published on May 20, 2020

In The Last Kingdom, Aethelwold (Harry McEntire) is King Alfred’s (David Dawson) nephew that tries to scheme his way onto the throne of Wessex. He can be very humorous at times, but also ruthless and he never seems to forget anything. What happens between Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) and Aethelwold? Read on to find out.

Why isn’t Aethelwold chosen to be the King of Wessex?

Aethelwold’s father, Aethelred (Alec Newman) was the king until his untimely death in battle. His father never considered him a truly suitable heir to follow after him because Aethelwold is preoccupied with other things such as women and strong drinks. Alfred is chosen to lead Wessex after his brother dies, and Aethelwold takes this slight and nurtures it for years. He wants nothing more than to take the throne for himself and he even chooses to ally himself with the Danes to do it.

What happens between Uhtred and Aethelwold?

Aethelwold’s scheming eventually leads to his death. Aethelwold kills Young Ragnar (Tobias Santelmann) after being manipulated into it by Cnut (Magnus Bruun). Aethelwold is convinced that if he doesn’t kill Ragnar, then he’ll be killed by him. Aethelwold stabs him to death in his sleep, meaning Ragnar can’t go to Valhalla.

Brida (Emily Cox) tells Uhtred who really killed Ragnar when she learns the truth. Brida and Uhtred believe that they must kill the one who took Ragnar’s life to release his soul into Valhalla. They must use blood on a blade from Ragnar’s sister, Thyra (Julia Bache-Wiig), and use it to kill Aethelwold to secure Ragnar’s soul. Uhtred does manage to do it, believing that by killing Aethelwold he can release Ragnar’s soul to Valhalla. Aethelwold meets his end at the hands of Uhtred. Uhtred fully believes he is avenging his brother’s murder. He doesn’t yet know about the role Cnut plays in all of this.

What do fans think of Aethelwold?

Despite the way things turn out for Aethelwold, fans really seem to be fond of the character. The actor also gets praise from fans for his excellent job in the role.

“Harry McEntire does a great job portraying his character,” a fan recently wrote on Reddit.

Some fans were hoping for more from Aethelwold including a possible redemption, but sadly things didn’t play out that way.

“For a time there, I was hoping that he was on a redemption arc, until he put a hard stop to that when he joined up with the Danes,” a fan wrote.

Fans seem to love Aethelwold’s humor in every situation. He didn’t care who was listening, he just said what was on his mind. “He was funny in seasons 1 and 2 for sure,” a Reddit user said. “I love Aethelwold’s humor. He has no shame. He’ll say whatever out loud in a quiet room with everyone listening including the king.”

One fan was happy that Uhtred didn’t let Aethelwold off so easily. “So hateable but for a moment there I thought he’d found camaraderie with Uhtred’s group and I sort off liked that he said what we were thinking until he ruined it. When Uhtred got him good thinking he’d sneak through that too, I cheered,” a fan admitted on Reddit.

Fans seem to really enjoy when Aethelwold is on their screens. However, many fans think he deserves his end at the hands of Uhtred in The Last Kingdom.

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