The Last Kingdom Season 5 just dropped on Netflix, and fans seem to be enjoying the latest season of the series. Netflix also recently released the newest Vikings show, Vikings: Valhalla. The original Vikings series and The Last Kingdom share many similarities, but the latter has one big advantage.
While the show still has some incredibly serious events taking place, the characters seem to be able to incorporate more humor into these events. They’re not telling complete jokes, or turning the show into a comedy, but the character interactions feel more real because they seem to joke around like friends really do.
The Last Kingdom tells the story of Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon), an Englishman raised by the Danes. The story covers many of the same events as Vikings and even has some of the same characters. Uhtred is a fierce fighter and loyal friend. He has gone from being a Danish invader to an English lord over the course of the show. His story is full of incredible battles and heartfelt relationships. He and his classmates have authentic relationships and a lot of that authenticity is the witty comments and humor amongst the group. While Vikings had many interesting relationships, the show was very serious and rarely had any frivolous moments.
The best of the series? The humor he uses with his characters. While you don’t need humor to make a compelling show or have authentic relationships, it can really help. Both Vikings and The Last Kingdom have some very intense scenes of violence and deal with serious events. The Last Kingdom helps break up the serious moments with a bit of light humor.
This helps make the show more enjoyable because it reminds viewers that while it may be a dark time for the characters, there are still some light moments. Vikings for the most part was a continuous stream of betrayals and emotionally heavy segments. There is nothing wrong with this format as the show was very popular.
The Last Kingdom shows that when humor is used correctly it can really elevate a series. Without the small amount of humor in the series, the entire show can feel very dark and bleak. Vikings fell into this trap at times and could have used humor to help take the pressure off the events of the series. While both are great shows, The Last Kingdom has the edge over Vikings because it was able to use humor to make relationships more believable.
