Season 4 has been a bit of a mixed bag. It started well, with attention seemingly shifting to Uhtred's aim to reclaim Bebbanburg. That had been a long time coming as it was always a matter of unfinished business for Uhtred but the broader plot seemed to be going in a direction where this wasn't going to happen. It didn't feature at all in Season 3 and it felt like Uhtred had given up on that goal.
Then in Episodes 2 and 3 we had the failed attempt to retake Bebbanburg and we were back to Saxon vs Dane manoeuvring. Episode 4 felt like a season closer it was so tense, action-packed and conclusive. By the end of that episode several long-term characters - Father Beocca, Cnut, Steapa, Aelfric - were now ex-characters and another, Aethelred, was soon to be added to that list, truly given the feel of the end of season.
The show then pivoted to Mercian (and Wessexian) politics which was interesting at times but also quite frustrating in that it seemed like the plot was just going in circles.
Then, just when it seems we have a way out of it, a way involving our hero Uhtred, we have this episode which, while it does untangle the Mercian political web, feels very clumsy and disappointing. It all just seems like machinations for machinations' sake and I really would have preferred the result that the previous episode was promising (though also wanted Aethelflaed to have some sort of power).
At least this political tangent seems resolved now so we can get back to what this show does best: Danes vs Saxons.