OK so I have just read these 5 The Last Kingdom series are based on 13 Saxon novels by Bernard Cornwell (born Wiggins, after his adopted parents).
Apparently, on the basis of his father's surname being Oughtred, Cornwell believes he is a descendant of Uhtred the Bold, upon whom he based the Saxon npvels.
So far so dubious. But what I REALLY hated in this final series was the colourblind casting which is an insuilt to history and human intelligence. Would they cast a white actor to play a Zulu warrior or a Chinese emperor or an Indian - maybe Ed Sheernan playing Nelson Mandela? WHY NOT. It's colourblind casting, YAY! Sick of it. THERE WERE NO BLACK PRIESTS IN 10th C BRITAIN. In 1939 there were only 6000 black people in the UK with a population of 44 million. JUST STOP IT!
What I liked was the great acting and scenes, the switching alliances - though it can be rather confusing and hard to keep up with the multiple characters and plotlines from all the series (I bet the author of the novels had a big map/plan on his office wall for that!). The battle scenes are spectacular.
But all in all, I do prefer the VIKINGS series. Maybe because it is easier to follow?
Great to see the history of Britain on screen anyway, though I doubt the women back then would be behaved like metoo activists, and all with perfect skin and teeth too. And no-one referred to being 'tasked with' anything in Britain until the 1990s at the earliest (though I do not expect them to speak Old Englisc)
3.5 stars rounded up.