Yes, and with the focus now on films they could always pick the story up further down the line and he can still do other projects.

I could see Dreymon being a fit for a role in some future House of the Dragon spinoff.

Be glad you didn't watch The Last of Us. It was largely a disappointment. It wasn't bad, just mediocre. They toned down the violence, the infected and conflict. I remember when George Romero called The Walking Dead a soap opera with zombies. Well, this was a soap opera without them.

I've been very critical of The Walking Dead, but this show was no match for those early seasons. Yes, it has a bigger budget so it looks better. But after the Meh finale I thought back to that Season 2 scene with Shane and Rick in the field and thought about how much The Last of Us lacked that intensity, emotion and grittiness.

 

I enjoyed it and thought it was well done. I was left wanting more though, in the sense that I thought this would've made a great full season instead of a film. I think the villain here was very good and deserved more time in a Season 6. The way he had gotten Athelstan's trust was interesting and I would've like to see his double dealing and treachery play out over an extended period.

All the kings coming together was interesting too and I wanted to see more with the brutal cannibal Viking guy.

I'm not complaining really, I just feel it would've been one of their best seasons with all the scheming and twists playing out over an extended period. But we were spoiled with a very good show for 5 seasons, so if you're in a spot wanting more then overall they did their job.

As to the ending, I agree that it leaves it open. I don't see it as Uhtred going one way or the other actually. Even in the narration they said there was no record of him beyond the battle, yet in the books I hear Uhtred lived to old age.

I suppose they're leaving it open to pick up the story again, depending on how the film is received. The reviews from critics and fans have both been overwhelmingly positive too.

It would've been fun if they had done maybe a trilogy of films telling the story that just played out. There was so much I wanted to see explored indepth, like the dark turn Athelstan took for a bit.

I was a little surprised that Eadith wasn't in the movie, and would've like a cameo from Hild, maybe at the end.

Nice job though in making all the elements they had in there work over the course of a 2 hour film. That can't be easy when they're accustomed to longer storytelling.

 

I also would've liked to see the execution/hanging of Aldhelm expanded on. It would've been the better part of an episode itself in a series. You know they would've made the moment as tragic and epic as some of their other character deaths.

I read that they're going to do a series based on other books from the writer that the Last Kingdom was adapted from. It's called Winter King. It's a retelling of the Arthurian legend. I don't think it's going to come out this year though.

There's a series premiering on Prime at the end of the month, The Citadel. It stars Richard Madden who played Robb Stark. I'll give it a chance, but I'm unsure at this point. It could be decent, or ridiculous.

 

Ridiculous can be fun though. That's the appeal of The Boys on Prime. The core of that story is a bunch of superheroes that are bad. It's hilarious at times.

We have to wait until summer of 2024 now for House of the Dragon. They are doing two spinoffs as well, Aegon's Conquest and the Dunk and Egg novellas are both in development.

I read where Interview with the Vampire might be back at the end of this year, but Season 2 could be delayed until early 2024 too.

 

I'm looking forward to both. I wanted them to start with Aegon's Conquest and work through the history that way, but I think they chose the Dance because there's more family conflict etc.

I love those novellas too. Martin said season 1 will focus on the first one. So they have three seasons worth of material. My only concern here is that it's another unfinished GRRM work. He said in his blog he has time to write the others before they catch up. We've played this game before, so I'm not amused by his comments. He said he has to do Winds, Fire and Blood 2, Dream of Spring and then work the novellas in between. That's just crazy talk.

But going in I'll just count on getting three good seasons and not worry about what happens after. I hope they just end it there rather than going beyond the source material.

From what I've read we can expect Dunk and Egg first, which is smart. I can see that coming out before House of the Dragon ends, and then Aegon's Conquest will sort of be the successor show for HOTD. If they play their cards right, with the long wait time between seasons we could have one series running each year following Season 3 of the current show.