Uhtred’s missing son on The Last Kingdom season 4 explained
Hands up if you wondered about Uhtred’s third son on The Last Kingdom season 4. You’re not alone, and now his disappearance has officially been explained.
If you’re anything like me, you spent the entirety of The Last Kingdom season 4 wondering where Uhtred’s third son was. For clarification, this is the third child he had with Gisela but third son in total (including the one with Mildreth in the first season). We know the child is still in the novels, so did the show just completely change the storyline?
He wasn’t mentioned once. Even when Hild asked Uhtred how his children were, he mentioned his elder son, Young Uhtred, and his daughter, Stiorra. They were both mentioned since they both showed up throughout the series. However, not once did he even hint that there was a third child still alive out there.
It’s understandable that fans were annoyed. I think I annoyed my husband a little when I questioned the third son every single episode.
In an interview with Radio Times, executive producer Nigel Marchant covers the topic of the missing child. He is still somewhere in the world, but with only 10 episodes there wasn’t time to feature him. Not only did we have two children from Uhtred to focus on, but there were two of Edward’s children and then other new characters to introduce.
That’s fine, except that there wasn’t even a mention. This argument doesn’t stand when all it would have taken was a quick mention to Hild. Stiorra was with Aethelflaed’s daughter and Young Uhtred was following a life within the church. Within that quick mention of the children, just a mention that the third living child is doing well would have sufficed. After that, I could have accepted that there wasn’t enough time to have that third son involved.
The child wasn’t the only one I felt missing. After focusing so much on his wife and son in the third season, I felt cheated that Sihtric didn’t mention her throughout the fourth. Had they left? Or were they somewhere in The Last Kingdom season 4 void with Uhtred’s son?
Now hopefully, the show gets a fifth season. Maybe then just a quick mention of these characters who would be important to Uhtred and Sihtric could happen. Honestly, one line and it would have all been fine!
What do you think about the explanation for the missing son on The Last Kingdom season 4? Share your thoughts in the comments below.