The year is 872, and many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Danes, leaving the great kingdom of Wessex standing alone and defiant under the command of King Alfred. Against this turbulent backdrop lives our hero, Uhtred. Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is captured by the Danes and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. What is he? Saxon or Dane? On a quest to reclaim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately, recapture his ancestral lands...
I really like this which is another hit rather than a miss for the BBC. The Last Kingdom now joins Wolf Hall and Poldark in its ability to transport me back in time.
Obviously this depends on how well you know any given time period. I am more pedantic about the last two world wars so not every BBC effort achieves this. People might love The Crimson Field but in no way did people speak or say things in WW1 that they did in that particular drama. For a reality check watch The Great War: The People's Story.
Leaving that era aside we have now watched four episodes of The Last Kingdom and all have been excellent and "believable" if that's the right word for what remains fiction. It must be difficult to get it right hence some people on here slating this series. Only slate it for historical inaccuracies if you are that obsessed but don't knock the overall effort for what remains a "Dark Ages" drama.
Yet it actually feels like it was way back then. This has been achieved in far less stylised way than say Game of Thrones which is obviously not really grounded in any time period yet remains an excellent drama most of the time.
Also, with The Last Kingdom there is no gratuitous violence just for the sake of it as there is with some other offerings set in this same time period. You only get occasional violence within the story line so this gives you the opportunity to get interested in the love scenes too and these are not over the top. Also people are allied in all sorts of ways. The end scene in Ep4 was brilliant and sums up what I mean.
You can't expect killings all the time. If you want more detail buy a copy of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. Apparently there are plenty of deaths mentioned in that!