The Last Kingdom's fan-favourite romance scrapped for season 5
It appears that Eadith and Finan are not meant to be.
Stefanie Martini has confirmed that a fan-favourite romance from The Last Kingdom season 4 will not be continued in the upcoming episodes.
Many viewers were delighted to see sparks fly between Uhtred's right-hand man Finan (Mark Rowley) and new ally Eadith (Martini), a woman who was left without a home after her family's name was disgraced.
The heartwarming interactions made it seem as if the two would embark on a romantic relationship, with fan-made compilations of their stolen glances quickly popping up on YouTube and racking up hundreds of thousands of views.
Alas, it appears their love was fleeting, as Martini revealed in an interview with RadioTimes.com and other press that season 5 will pick up years later, when Finan has settled down with somebody else.
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"In the jump between [seasons] 4 and 5, I think she's been off in Francia," said Martini of her character. "In my head she's been travelling around like a nomad and picking up herbal skills from various people and doing all this crazy stuff.
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"She rocks up after having not seen anyone for that whole amount of time, so in a way it's like she's rediscovering all these relationships, remembering these people that she really, really cares about – and one of them is Finan, but sadly it's not what it was. I think he's moved on by now."
The Last Kingdom is based on a series of novels by Bernard Cornwell, in which Eadith is actually introduced as a love interest for the main character: Uhtred of Bebbanburg (played by Alexander Dreymon in the Netflix adaptation).
Therefore, her dalliance with Finan was an original development created for the show, which might be one reason why it was abandoned as the series nears its endpoint.
But while romance is no longer on the cards, Eadith will still play a key role in The Last Kingdom season 5, with an unlikely team-up promised between her and Lady Aelswith (Eliza Butterworth).
Martini continued: "She's been learning and working, which is what I love about her is that she's sort of a very independent, normal woman, who would fit in really well in today's society, but back then there wasn't really a place for her. So I think that was what she needed to go and explore."
Butterworth added: "Eadith and Aelswith become like the dynamic duo that nobody knew that they needed. Eadith and Aelswith become like two superheroes almost and it's really, really quite incredible to see."
The Last Kingdom season 5 is available to stream on Netflix from Wednesday 9th March 2022. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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