The Last Kingdom: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

The Last Kingdom: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 21, 2017

The Last Kingdom joins a small group of TV shows to release to Blu-ray without all previous seasons available on the format, at least not in the United States (Universal released season one overseas). Some of the other shows in that company include South Park, which began releasing to the 1080p format with season 12, and NCIS, which randomly saw a release of its twelfth season with none before and none since. Granted, both of those shows started their runs prior to the format's release, South Park back in 1997 and NCIS in 2003. But The Last Kingdom is a bit different. It originally aired on BBC America and BBC Two in the UK in 2015, but its second season was picked up by Netflix for distribution in the U.S., a deal which would eventually lead to this release through Universal. So Blu-ray fans, at least those limiting themselves to domestic purchases, are either left to catch up online or via the DVD, which was released though BBC and is currently priced to move on Amazon.

Official synopsis: Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) is still recovering from fighting a defining battle that saved Wessex for King Alfred (David Dawson) but which came at a huge personal price. Mourning for those he lost, Uhtred begins a voyage north to reclaim his own fate: to avenge Earl Ragnar's death and recapture his ancestral lands. Alfred's conviction to create a united England is stronger than ever and he sets his sights on the wild lands of the north, which have fallen into chaos and rebellion. It is a dangerous time for Saxon and Dane alike but Alfred champions a new king -- a Christian Dane -- to unite the tribes. Uhtred is faced with questions of fate and duty as he continues to fight for the country of his birth, against the people of his upbringing. With a newfound love, it seems he may finally be on his chosen path, but in times of rivalrous factions, bloodshed and shocking betrayal Uhtred is tested like never before.

Without the benefit of having seen season one before and going into this review ice-cold, it'll lean more towards the show's technical side and storytelling in this season rather than examine how it's evolved from season one, narratively in particular. The included supplements do shed some light on the matter, but not much. The season one recap, at six minutes, is too choppy and condensed to make much of it; it actually works better in hindsight, armed with at least a few episode's worth of season two knowledge to serve as a glue for all the clips and information bombardment. The other piece claims that season two offers an expansion over season one in terms of production design. The theme is that season two is essentially season one on steroids, pushing the envelope, making refinements, crafting it bigger, increasing the scale, boosting the production value, expanding the sets, and shooting larger and more intensive action scenes. How big a jump is a mystery to this reviewer (though season two does at least visually jive with the snippets in the supplement) but the show does prove adequately large in scale, detailed, and lovingly put together. Aside from a few lower-end CGI insert shots, the show can be said to be an achievement in production design: costuming, set construction, props, and other things that add to its era authenticity. It's certainly not in the same league as some of its competitors, but it's a solidly constructed show from top to bottom.

Unfortunately, comparisons to other, similar shows, whether Game of Thrones or Vikings or anything else in the same ballpark, really, will invariably make The Last Kingdom look like one of the lesser shows of the bunch. It's expectedly bleak but not all that gritty. It presents complex characters, politics, and actions but never plays with any sense of density or driving force. It feels as if it's simply going through the expected character machinations. Motivations are stale, depth is minimal (even as the show tries to the contrary), and action never much excites or stands apart from the pack. The show offers solid, serviceable, fundamental period bits and pieces and a cohesive, basic narrative made of complex moving parts, but none of it ever feels epic, of great import. It can't shake that feeling of a second-run show, one thats trying not to capture a market but just get a little slice of it. It's a show that newcomers to the genre might find more palatable without the experiences of the superior forerunners under their belts, but in the super-crowded TV field, those already watching the better ones probably won't find much time in their schedules for this one.

The Last Kingdom: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Kingdom was shot digitally, and even considering the show's mostly bleak nature, the results generally satisfy. Detailing is solid, though unspectacular. Faces lack the sort of intricate depth and fine-point texturing the best digital images reveal, disappointing given the roughhewn, worn, battle-scarred textures that are ever-present, just not presented intimately. General clarity is solid, revealing the various backgrounds with enough depth and detail to please. Attire is suitably complex as well. Softness is never an issue. Colors, as noted, are rather drained, favoring, frequently, a dominant gray-blue scheme that doesn't allow the image to dazzle but does hold it true to the creative vision for the show. A few more brightly lit exteriors along the way reveal pleasing, but not blinding or abundant, coloring on clothes and natural greens. Black levels hold up well enough and skin tones are reflective of the show's bleak visual nature. Compression artifacts are few, and source troubles, like noise and banding, are minimal, though bright skies tend to appear blown out. Overall, this is a perfectly serviceable image from Universal for a visually bland program.

The Last Kingdom: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Last Kingdom features a disappointingly straightforward DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Perhaps "unremarkable" is a better word than "disappointing," but either way the track never really excites the aural senses. It's predominantly front-side dominant, lacking prodigious surround support and often struggling to offer more than cursory back channel presence. That holds true for score (which at times seems a bit left-side heavy), action, and ambience. Clarity is certainly more than adequate. Instrumentals are well defined and the low end, as generally timid as it may be, offers quality support. Ambient effects, such as horses and playing children and general background chatter and clatter in villages, sets the scene but rarely extend much beyond the front, again not truly enveloping the listener in the moment. The same may be said of action. It often lacks depth though not definition. It's adequate in terms of crashes, sword clanks, screaming combatants, and the like, but again, the listener never feels immersed in the mayhem. Basic dialogue is fine, well prioritized and positioned in the front-center.

The Last Kingdom: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Last Kingdom contains two extras on disc three.

• The Story So Far (1080p, 6:05): A brief season one recap. It's good enough to reveal the basics or refresh those who maybe haven't seen season one in a few months, but it's too much, too fast for newcomers to the show.
• Return to The Last Kingdom: The Making of Season 2 (1080p, 16:43): A look at how season two expands on season one in terms of production design and production value, where season two begins with a drunken and depressed Uhtred. It also explores character expansion and arcs for this season, sets and how the setting dictates production design, violence and details that make characters more menacing, crafting action scenes, and stunt work.

The Last Kingdom: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Last Kingdom is a perfectly serviceable show, and even if its second season falls more-or-less in the "middling" middle ground, it would have been nice had someone released season one on Blu-ray in the U.S. As it is, season two struggles to maintain interest without a season one watch under the belt (though for those so inclined, it is available overseas on Blu-ray and domestically on DVD). The show's second season offers rock-solid production values but characters, narrative, and action fall a bit flat. There's much better TV out there and there's much worse TV out there, but do take the time to watch season one in some form or fashion first. Universal's Blu-ray offers a couple of extras that help newcomers a bit. Video and audio are fine but nothing of note.