A female Arthur, a fanatical religious warrior, and a pious politician who murders men with her bare hands; the women of "The Last Kingdom" are badass even without fire-breathing dragons.
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00:00A female Arthur, a fanatical religious warrior, and a pious politician who murders men with
00:06her bare hands, the women of the Last Kingdom are badass, even without fire-breathing dragons.
00:13When HBO's Game of Thrones debuted in 2011, it rekindled interest in medieval and medieval-inspired
00:19stories in much the same way the Lord of the Rings films reignited interest in epic fantasy.
00:25As both relied on fantasy and European medieval history, it was no surprise when a crop of
00:30new series incorporating those elements began to appear on the network streaming scene.
00:35But as popular as these new series have proven to be with modern audiences, they've all failed
00:40in a very particular way.
00:41While seeming to promote strong female characters, most don't provide the women in their stories
00:46with the emotional complexity of the male characters.
00:49There is, however, one medieval drama that rejects that trend, Netflix's The Last Kingdom.
00:55While shows based on history or the literary traditions of the medieval period cannot escape
00:59the influence of the early church, many don't even try to avoid the trope trap, offering
01:04only a one-dimensional view of women.
01:07The Last Kingdom is an exception, evading these pitfalls by constructing fully-developed,
01:12powerful female characters while staying true to the historical realities of the period.
01:16Because of its dependence on non-fiction sources, The Last Kingdom might seem even
01:21more confined by the era's restrictions on women than most, but the series' female characters
01:26exhibit genuine humanity and portray a range of emotions and strength that assumes women
01:31of the past were just as complex as they are today.
01:34Unfortunately, the same approach to female characters is not taken in other popular medieval
01:39or medieval-inspired series.
01:42Game of Thrones, for instance, fails when it comes to giving its so-called strong female
01:46characters the complexity and realism of its male characters.
01:49While Tyrion Lannister and Petyr Baelish are cut from the same cunning cloth, they possess
01:54vastly different motivations and viewpoints.
01:56Contrast this with Sansa Stark, the typical virgin archetype, who then transforms into
02:01the equally stock political warrior only after she suffers serious abuse at the hands of
02:06men.
02:07A similar path is followed by Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister as they each descend
02:11into their versions of the role of a standard, evil queen.
02:14In what seems to be a nod to more progressive women, the series offers Brienne of Tarth
02:18and Melisandre.
02:19Sadly, this turns out to be just more of the same.
02:22In a new pair of archetypes, the Arthurian Lady-of-the-Lake Melisandre and the Saint-Joan-like
02:27Brienne of Tarth.
02:28All my life, men like you have sneered at me, and all my life I've been knocking men
02:33like you into the dust.
02:34In fact, except for the archetypes of Brienne and Melisandre, and possibly Arya Stark, an
02:39embodiment of the tomboy-slash-child archetype, the women of Game of Thrones are defined and
02:44driven by the actions of men.
02:46The problem with the series isn't so much that it mistreats its female characters.
02:50It simply never allows them to rise above their tired tropes.
02:54This trend pops up again in Vikings, with its Stark vengeance warrior, Lagertha, locked
02:58in conflict with its Stark seductress-slash-witch, Cleen Auslock.
03:02The sequel series, Vikings Valhalla, kicked off with a supposedly strong female lead character,
03:06only to reveal that these qualities had developed as a response to victimization by men.
03:11Finally, in the short-lived series Nightfall, Isabella and Joan are little more than reincarnations
03:16of Queen Guinevere, the good woman trope who's driven to sin by sexual desire.
03:21Although it has roots in early medieval history, The Last Kingdom is far from a docudrama for
03:26history nerds.
03:27Providing some significant female characters, the women of The Last Kingdom are messy, relatable,
03:32dynamic people.
03:33The Nun Hild, for example, draws strength from her anger, but refuses to let hate disillusion
03:38her.
03:39In contrast, Brida, the Viking, is driven by a complex combination of faith, grief,
03:43betrayal, and loneliness.
03:45Only in her final confrontation with her former friend and lover, Uhtred, can Brida finally
03:50resolve her inner conflicts and find the strength to forgive him.
03:53In the end, it's authenticity like this that makes the women in The Last Kingdom more relatable
03:58and powerful than women who rely on destroying cities with fire-breathing dragons.
04:02Brida's character is contrasted with Æthelflaed, the Lady of Mercia.
04:06Based on an actual historical figure, Æthelflaed provides another depiction of power and strength
04:11far more subtle than an action figure shieldmaiden or evil queen.
04:15Not only does she give up the love of her life, but she also faces her own mortality
04:19with the grace and humility of a tragic female Arthur.
04:23In other series, women may be allowed to make a noble sacrifice to prove their strength,
04:27but typically it's made out of love for a man or a child and not out of her desire to
04:32protect her kingdom.
04:34In Stiora and Edith, The Last Kingdom even manages to put a fresh twist on the age-old
04:38warrior-slash-virgin and sorceress-slash-whore archetypes.
04:42Uhtred's Viking daughter, Stiora, loses her husband due to her father's loyalties,
04:47but decides not to let the unjust actions of men define her.
04:50Though she does take her revenge on Brida, it's an act she considers necessary to achieve
04:55peace.
04:56Refusing to follow Uhtred's orders and come home, she takes command of her husband's
04:59Vikings, proving to be a forward-thinking leader capable of strategic thought.
05:03And yet, when the most unlikely person begs for her help, Stiora has the humanity and
05:08strength to forgive, a decision that has a major impact on the series' portrayal of
05:12English history.
05:14As for Edith, while initially presented as a seductress, the character takes a different
05:18arc, leaving England to study.
05:20She becomes a doctor and returns to the island, not as a romantic interest for Uhtred, but
05:25as a sought-after healer.
05:27While all the women of The Last Kingdom are complex, flesh-and-blood characters, Queen
05:31Aelswith is perhaps the best example of the series' commitment to presenting women as
05:35human beings.
05:37In the show's first two seasons, Aelswith's aggressive piety and hatred of Uhtred sets
05:41her up as a series villain.
05:43Over time, however, she draws on surprising reserves of inner strength, becoming the force
05:48behind much of the series' action while maneuvering around the restrictions of her
05:52gender.
05:53What's more, this growth is managed on her own terms and not as a reaction to the trauma
05:57suffered at the hands of men.
05:59After the death of her daughter, Aethelflaed, Aelswith's vulnerability allows her to find
06:03the strength to trust her longtime foe.
06:06That vulnerability, along with the realistic pace of her evolution, transforms Aelswith
06:10from a woman motivated by blind faith and fear into one of the series' strongest characters.
06:15She even develops a wry sense of humor, describing how she once killed a man with just her bare
06:19hands.
06:20I drove a knife through his neck.
06:24I was not wearing gloves.
06:26Ultimately, what sets The Last Kingdom apart as a series is that its women are not defined
06:31solely by the actions of men.
06:32They are not forced to conform to the same dreary stereotypes, but are portrayed as real
06:37people with complexity and courage.
06:40It has been an eventful time.