The Last Kingdom | Season 1 Episode 7 REACTION

[@MrArgman]

I think people have a hard time understanding that these characters have strong, real religious belief. They are not from our modern age of skepticism

[@jeh58]

Most people think Alfred had Crohn's disease, that is why his stomach had problems with certain food.

[@philipturner9087]

They use hump because the word they did use began with F and it’s now considered swearing.

[@JackOiswatching]

The names are hard as you'll notice the Saxons don't have last names or clan names. For example, Alfred is just Alfred of Wessex. So 'Aethel' was (sometimes) used to denote someone of noble birth and that's how you get Aethelwold, Aethelstan, Aethelflaed and others.

[@matthewwalker5430]

What's clever about the storytelling in this show is it includes the mysticism but leaves it ambiguous. When Isolde saves the child Edward all she is effectively doing (at least by our modern understanding) is lowering his fever by bathing him in cool water and mud. However, they would have understood it differently and the whole "another must die" ... sadly, infant mortality back then was incredibly high, chances are MANY other babies died but it has nothing to do with ritual.

[@megriorso4516]

Love the reactions!! Episodes 1, 7 and 8 are definitely the best in this season!!!

[@philipturner9087]

The burnt food his historically recorded and the veggie thing is because of Alfred’s weak stomach.

[@dukedude7460]

Part of me does think Leofric would have ultimately killed Uthred in that fight if the Danes hadn’t attacked. Leofric was just as big as Ubba, but wasn’t anywhere near as arrogant/cocky and also knew Uthred and how he fought.

[@JustinJurazick]

In the books, Uhtred gets lucky against Ubba because he slips on some gore

[@granddaddyotaku636]

All is good and Destiny is all ⚔️💜

[@JamieS1992]

6:30 half this "story" is based on real life his story ends when it ends in the history books ;)

[@megriorso4516]

Alfred historically couldn't eat meat. Well he could, but he would have chronic stomach cramps for days after. Historians believe that he may have had Crohn's disease, which would have impacted his digestive tract and potentially his bone development, possibly resulting in a smaller and more fragile frame. I don't know why the show decided to spin it as a religious thing but it was far more physical IRL, the man could not eat meat (and other rich foods like red wine) without suffering for days afterwards.

[@Blackd0nuts]

I don't think the show is spinning it as a religious thing as much as how the religious characters decided to see/understand his illness.

[@Temujin1206]

It's portrayed as a religious thing in the show because that's how it was understood at the time. Modern historians have been able to use the recorded symptoms and modern medical knowledge to guess that Crohn's disease was the likliest cause, however that wasn't information the Anglo-Saxons had on hand and, as was often the case at the time, they put it down to divine factors. Asser's Life of Alfred claims that young Alfred struggled so much with lust that he prayed to God for a distraction and was struck down with piles, then later prayed to God to be cured of them and given some lesser disease, at which point his piles miraculously cleared up and the "unknown disease" that would plague him most of his life appeared, presented as a gift from God. Similarly other sources of the time frame his weakness as a test from God or a reminder of his mortality (i.e. you'll die and meet God one day so choose your actions carefully, so you're ready to answer to God for them), or else as Alfred being possessed by a devil or cursed by a witch. I think it's easy for people in the modern day; with access to modern medicine, epidemiology and other scientific advancements to forget how central religion was to medieval life and the minds of medieval people-without a clear idea of how or why disease was transmitted religion was often the go to answer for questions that had no other answer.

[@megriorso4516]

@@Temujin1206 Oh! Thanks for clarifying that 💓

[@chippydogwoofwoof]

Next episode is great but season 2 is where it really gets going

[@Kingkimo-gf8bc]

I'm first 🥇 This episode is great but the finale is peak

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

What she did was essentialy Evil but it benefits them. So it was indeed like the King's said, non-Christian.

[@danniandersen5858]

How is the idea of virginity a social construct?

[@jamesmccloud7535]

I laughed when she said that ngl

[@JohanaUhtreddottir]

Maybe write the names down so you don't forget them 🤣