This show just gets better and better. It's not just a great adaptation, it's a great series on its own. It even somewhat improves on the books, not having to see everything through Uhtred's eyes. Alfred's character gains from it the most, the writing for him and the actor who plays him are phenomenal.

I hope this show runs long enough to get to her story. It's a real shame that she is pretty much forgotten.

Aetheflaed is probably the most badass woman in Middle Ages history.

It was everything I expected it to be and it was delightful. Hail to the king!

TLK is based on the books of someone who knows how to write historical fiction, and made by people who know how to write for TV, direct, act and so on. TBE has none of this.

Yeah, ok, whatever makes you happy. It was just a suggestion.

You know, you don't have to watch this show if it insults your superior intelligence. Leave it to fanboys like us and watch a show where one of the main and fan favorite characters is a violent religious nutcase who kills innocent people for the lulz. I love Vikings, but if you can accept that show and have a problem…

The incompetence of Alexandrians borders on slapstick.

This depiction of christians comes from the books the show is based on (including the Edmund scene). Bernard Cornwell just doesn't like christians, for personal reasons, and most of the priest/fanatics characters in his medieval books are depicted in a very negative light. Beocca is one of the few priests in this book…

He's like Joffrey, but you can punch him as much as you want without any consequences. Pathetic little shit.

I too like the Arthur series the best. It must be adapted at some point, there is so much good drama in it.

It uses people who existed in the described time period and describes the events that took place then, with artistic license when necessary for the narrative.

Yes, the books and the TV series are about how England became England, told from a point of view of the Saxons (mostly). It is much more historically accurate than Vikings. I love both series.

Oh, look, another group of violent psychopaths.

Cornwell writes stories in time periods that interest him. This particular series' goal is to tell how England was created. He takes historical events and puts his characters, both real and fictional, into them. I love his writing, I enjoyed everything I've read from him.

Jason Flemyng is awesome, even if he's in something for one scene. Edmund's martyrdom is one of the best scenes I've seen on TV this year. He starts with a demand that the Vikings convert, then realizes he's basically committing suicide, then just accepts his fate. Ubba and Guthrum's complete bafflement with christian…

Perhaps I'm actively looking for bad stuff in this schlock, but this episode had the most hilariously awful pseudo-medieval sounding dialogue I've heard in a long time.

THE BASTARD SEXECUTIONER!

As a long-time fan of this book series and Bernard Cornwell in general, I loved pretty much everything about the first two episodes. Fantastic adaptation.

Literally, a blaze of glory.