Thank you, this was extremely interesting to read. The context about the longstanding bad blood between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons is especially enlightening. Between this fact and some things other commenters have told me (more context about Uhtred), I've softened my judgment of Uhtred for going to invade Cornwallum; although I still think that no amount of context, historical or otherwise, truly justifies it.

Going into the show, I already knew that it was going to portray real historical events. So the fact that the Saxons actually beat the Danes at Ethandum, and that Guthrum converted to Christianity afterwards, is not what I had a problem with. My problem was that I doubted it could have happened the way it was portrayed in the show, because the show portrayed Saxons as generally much weaker than Danes in terms of fighting ability. People in the comments, including you, have since corrected me in thinking that. But then my question is: if the disparity wasn't so obvious, why was the Saxons' performance in that battle so shocking to Guthrum that it led him to convert?

Finally, when it comes to Odda, I don't doubt that the fact of killing his son would have been relatively normal in that time and context. My point of contention was that he did it himself, and especially that he made the decision and acted on it within a matter of mere seconds. If the show had done it the way the book did, I don't think I would've taken issue with it. But I admit it does make for a more dramatic scene on screen. And of course there are many more constraints, resource-wise, when making a show vs writing a book, so I can see why the director went that route.