TV-MA | 10 episodes | Drama Fantasy | 2023
According to legend, Saint Derfel was once one of King Arthur’s mightiest warriors before he entered monastic life. His biography is more the stuff of myth than historical fact, but the young Arthur Pendragon certainly would have needed men of sturdy ilk to unify the tribes and fiefdoms of post-Roman Britain against the Saxon invaders.
Of course, he would also need a strong sword and a sage adviser who has a talent for foretelling the future. Viewers will see Arthur Pendragon become King Arthur from the perspective of the future Saint Derfel through realistically worldly means with only relatively mild fantastical assistance, in creator-writers Kate Brooke and Ed Whitmore’s 10-episode “The Winter King,” based on Bernard Cornwell’s novels.
It is fair to say that High King Uther Pendragon of Dumnonia is disappointed when his illegitimate son Arthur survives a battle with the Saxons, while the heir apparent, Prince Mordred, does not. In his grief and fury, the king banishes Arthur across the Channel to Normandy, which works out to the young Pendragon’s advantage.
While Arthur thrives as a warrior with a reputation for honor, King Uther finally has a second legitimate heir. However, the new Prince Mordred is born with a clubbed foot (and his late older brother’s name). Merlin, the official Druid adviser to the court, has visions of the newborn’s brutal despotism, but King Uther brusquely dismisses such mystical warnings.
Arthur will never reconcile with his father, but he dutifully protects his infant brother from both Merlin and the nearby rival kingdom of Siluria. Yet Arthur also envisions a united Britain that will probably require a strong leader like himself taking the throne.
Two Recent Books
Mr. Cornwell’s novel “The Winter King,” the first in his “Warlord Chronicles” trilogy, was published around the same time as Jack Whyte’s “Camulod Chronicles,” which tried to establish logical, non-fantastical explanations for the Arthurian legends. Mr. Cornwell’s books were comparatively cagier in their approach to magic, frequently depicting the practice but ambiguously leaving its efficacy open to question.A Dark, Dark Age
“The Winter King” immerses viewers in a rough world, as befits the grimness of the Dark Ages, without overindulging in dirty, grubby realism with respect to things like sanitation and hygiene. Consider it sufficiently realistic, especially the hack-and-slash swordplay.
Iain de Caestecker is reasonably rugged and masculine-looking, which makes him a solidly workman-like young Arthur. He lacks the screen charisma to overshadow Richard Harris in “Camelot,” but he is far superior to the badly miscast Charlie Hunnam in the 2017 film, probably the last big-budget King Arthur release.
Stuart Campbell is far less convincing as Cadarn, who looks more like a moody teenager than a warrior in training. However, Ellie James is eerily haunting as the ethereal Nimue, while Nathaniel Martello-White is appropriately wise and weird as Merlin. Eddie Marsan also impresses, playing against his usual nebbish typecasting, as the ferocious High King Uther.
Despite the supernatural visions, “The Winter King” is arguably the most grounded production of the Arthurian legends to date. That does not necessarily make it the best (John Boorman’s “Excalibur” is still hard to beat), but it deserves credit for its grit and grime. Recommended for fans of medieval historicals.
