Ludeca

Ludeca is a Mercian lord with an eye on the throne, arriving in the story as one of the nobles circling the vacancy left by weak or absent kings. He is smooth, ambitious, and quick to invoke tradition and blood-right whenever it suits his own advancement rather than the kingdom's.

Richard Dillane plays him with the calm, reasonable manner of a man who has convinced himself his ambition is statesmanship, which makes him a sharper foil for Aethelflaed than a mere sneering rival would be. He works because the show lets his self-interest wear the costume of principle.