Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Last Kingdom’s ending.
The fifth and final season of Netflix’s historical fiction series, The Last Kingdom has come to an end, and although a feature-length film is currently in development, fans had to say goodbye to several characters this season, as the show has never shied away from killing off fan favorites. But for Alexander Dreymon, the series lead star, the experience of shooting the finale was “wonderful” and “cathartic.”
While speaking to Variety, Dreymon, who starred as the fearless protagonist Uhtred throughout all five seasons, revealed the process involved in shooting the final moments of the series.
Warning: Spoilers to follow.
“It’s so hard to get it right, the ending. That scene was an idea by Jon East, who is the director of the final two episodes. He worked with us several times before and he’s a very, very dear friend of mine. He had that idea of having like a little best of reel at the end. But in order to get the right emotional tone for me during that time, basically what we did, it was just one take, and we set up the camera. And I went up to the battlements and he just talked me through all of the moments.”
He also admitted his closeness to East and his ability to be vulnerable around him made the “wonderful” experience very organic and natural.
“We had sat down before and we looked at which moments we wanted to incorporate into it. And then he just talked to me throughout the take, and I relived all those moments that we went through and again, because he’s somebody that I feel so close to and that I feel so comfortable being vulnerable with, it was a very, very easy organic process. It was a wonderful experience. Actually. I was so exhausted at that point, because it was very close to the end of the shoot. It was kind of cathartic, actually, to relive those moments.”
The follow-up film, titled Seven Kings Must Die has started filming, although there is no word yet on which members of the series will be returning to reprise their roles. All five seasons of The Last Kingdom are available to stream on Netflix.