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The episode opens with the weight of defeat. Alfred’s court is reduced to a handful of bedraggled loyalists hiding in the reeds. The air is thick with mist and the smell of rot. Uhtred, ever the man of action, chafes under Alfred’s insistence on prayer as a weapon. While the King seeks divine intervention, Uhtred seeks fire and steel.
The turning point comes when Uhtred and Iseult, the Shadow Queen, provide Alfred with the hope he needs. Iseult’s presence unsettles the Christian court, but her prophecy of a great battle gives Alfred the spark to send out the summons. The "fyrd" is called.