War of the Wolf

After Æthelflæd dies in 918, King Edward takes Mercia, and Uhtred, refusing to swear to him, loses his Mercian lands. Still bound by his oath to protect Æthelstan, he rushes to relieve Ceaster and finds he has walked into Aethelhelm's trap. Meanwhile Sköll, a Norseman who calls himself a wolf, raids Eoferwic, Sigtryggr's city, and kills Uhtred's daughter Stiorra. Uhtred and Sigtryggr track Sköll to his fortress at Heahburh. Their first assault fails and both are wounded. With Berg's help, some of the enemy's own brothers switch sides. In the end Uhtred beats Sköll in single combat and lets Sigtryggr avenge his wife.

1. ChangeOnly bits on screen

   The show uses only elements of this book in S5. Sköll the wolf and the war at Heahburh are left out.

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2. ChangeStiorra survives on screen

   In the book, Stiorra dies in Sköll's raid on Eoferwic. On the show, she makes it to the end alive, with her father at Bebbanburg.

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3. ReferenceWessex takes Mercia

   After Æthelflæd died in 918, Edward took control of Mercia, as in the book. It was a real step toward a single England.

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