The Winter King - General Discussion

[AnimeMania]

The Winter King is a 10 episode Drama TV Series that will air on MGM+ on August 20, 2023 and on ITVX in the UK.

The Winter King is based on 3 novels by Bernard Cornwell, The Winter King (1995), Enemy of God (1996), and Excalibur (1997), together referred to as The Warlord Chronicles. The Warlord Chronicles is set in the fifth century, long before Britain was united, in a brutal land of warring factions and tribes, where lives were often fleeting, a mixture of historical fiction and Arthurian legend. The first book, the Winter King, is told from the perspective of Derfel Cadarn, a former warrior sworn to Arthur and now an elderly monk. He reflects on how Arthur becomes the warlord of Dark Age Britain, despite his illegitimacy to the throne. Follow Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from an outcast to a legendary warrior and leader. 

Eddie Marsan as Uther, High King of Dumnonia, old and battle tested, he commands incredible authority, over almost all, bar Merlin.

Iain De Caestecker as Arthur Pendragon, the illegitimate son of King Uther, an exiled warlord who returns to Britain. He evolves from an outcast into a legendary warrior and leader. 

Nathaniel Martello-White as Merlin, a politician, powerful, enlightened, and absolute. Fearless in the face of a King’s wrath and dedicated to his gods.

Ellie James as Nimue, a priestess saved by Merlin because she can see the Gods - he gives her power, wisdom and learning.

Stuart Campbell as Derfel Cadarn, the narrator of the story, an orphan who becomes a warrior and the truest of all the warlords of Arthur and even though he sees Arthur's flaws, he recognizes greatness and knows that Arthur is the only hope for Britain.

Olumide Olorunfemi as Lunete, Arthur and Derfel's childhood friend.

Daniel Ings as Owain, one of Arthur’s closest childhood friends and like a son to High King Uther. The champion of Dumnonia, an experienced but not always honest senior warrior.

Ken Nwosu as Sagramor, a fierce Numidian from Africa Nova and veteran of the old Roman army who has followed Arthur to Britain after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. A fearsome warrior who is Arthur’s friend and brother in arms.

Matt Mella as Lanval, Arthur’s friend and brother in arms.

Steven Elder as Bishop Bedwin, the deeply kind and affable Bishop of Dumnonia

Andrew Gower as Sansum, Bishop Bedwin’s fanatical novice, who holds great sway over the Christians of Britain.

Valene Kane as Morgan, Arthur's half-sister and another illegitimate child of King Uther. She is a sharp-tongued and independent minded pagan and student of Merlin.

Jordan Alexandra as Guinevere, the exacting, beautiful and ambitious exiled-Princess of Henis Wyren who becomes Arthur's wife, she is a hard, ambitious woman who cares very little for others and seems only to want power and a high social status.

Emily John as Ceinwyn, the sought-after princess of Powys.

Aneirin Hughes as Gorfydd, the ruthless leader of Powys, a traditional enemy of Dumnonia.

Simon Merrells as Gundleus, King of rival kingdom of Siluria. Imposing and savage, Gundleus is prepared to slaughter whoever he needs to secure power.

Tatjana Nardone as Ladwyss, a wild pagan and warrior, and rebellious lover to Gundleus

Billy Postlethwaite as Cadwys, a shrewd and wily warrior-king with a dedicated tribe.

Enoch Frost as Ligessac, Captain of the King's Guard.

[blackwing]

Arthur is played by the actor who played Fitz on "Agents of SHIELD"?  Not sure what it is, but he looks way different to me now.

What is MGM+?  I've never heard of it.  I assume it's a pay channel I almost certainly don't have.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

What is MGM+?  I've never heard of it.  I assume it's a pay channel I almost certainly don't have.

MGM+ is the name change for the EPIX Channel on Cable TV. Also the channel that shows "From".

[greekmom]

Quote

Jordan Alexandra as Guinevere, the exacting, beautiful and ambitious exiled-Princess of Henis Wyren who becomes Arthur's wife, she is a hard, ambitious woman who cares very little for others and seems only to want power and a high social status.

I'll be honest, not all too jazzed about this take on Guinevere. I always thought that Guinevere was a pawn in the whole story. I guess that's the way the novel portrays her.

[AnimeMania]

[Harvey]

Oh wow this looks really good honestly.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E01: Episode 1

King Uther banishes his son Arthur; Arthur rescues a boy named Derfel whom he entrusts to Merlin.

Premiere Date: August 20, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[Broderbits]

I would watch this if it was on a channel I already subscribe to, but I'm not adding MGM+ just for one show.

[Which Tyler]

It's a few months before we'll get this in the UK.
I've been watching the promo.s with an ever increasing fear.

Any reports on the first episode?

[DMK]

I got through almost half of the episode before I decided to bail. I really tried to get through the whole thing. 

[rhygirl720]

This moved very slow...and casting isn't the best.

[AnimeMania]

The first episode of The Winter King can be streamed for free on Prime Video.

[Enero]

I watched the first episode on Prime. I thought it was Mordred who died in battle which is what got Arthur banished. But later in the episode the Queen gives birth to Mordred who is destined to be this evil ruler who will destroy the Isle and his people. So who died in battle at the beginning of the episode?

Anyway, this wasn’t that good. The world building wasn’t that clear and the characters weren’t all that interesting. I don’t have MGM and even if I did I wouldn’t continue this series. 

[AnimeMania]

S01.E02: Episode 2

An untimely death leads Merlin to locate Arthur and urge him to come back to Britain; chaos ensues when Gundleus assaults Avalon.

Premiere Date: August 27, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[ybrik]

22 hours ago, Enero said:

I watched the first episode on Prime. I thought it was Mordred who died in battle which is what got Arthur banished. But later in the episode the Queen gives birth to Mordred who is destined to be this evil ruler who will destroy the Isle and his people. So who died in battle at the beginning of the episode?

Anyway, this wasn’t that good. The world building wasn’t that clear and the characters weren’t all that interesting. I don’t have MGM and even if I did I wouldn’t continue this series. 

That was also Mordred. Because of the rate of infant mortality being so high, one family having multiple children with the same name isn’t so uncommon back then. However, it is a bit more unusual with this being a ‘grown’ man who died and then naming the next child the same name. I do think as it looks like the mother of baby Mordred is a lot younger then the King and closer to Arthur’s age so I am guessing that this is not the King's first wife and mother of the elder Mordred. 

I also think the show runners were wanting to do a tease to people who know the Arthurian legends. Of course they did another tease this new episode. 

I will keep watching despite the show kind of dragging because I love the Arthurian legends. 

[LuvizBlind]

On 8/27/2023 at 5:48 PM, ybrik said:

I will keep watching despite the show kind of dragging because I love the Arthurian legends. 

Me, too. I've watched and enjoyed both episodes. I'm hoping the pacing will improve, but it won't prevent me from watching even if it doesn't. 

[Which Tyler]

It's still pretty common in some places to name the son for the father.

 

Baby Mordred is adult Mordred's son, and Uther's Grandson.
Arthur is adult Mordred's half-brother.

[AnimeMania]

Next New Episode: September 10, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[AnimeMania]

S01.E03: Episode 3

Arthur takes Gundleus prisoner, and Nimue begins to plan her revenge; Arthur learns that Gundleus' uncle Gorfydd is preparing for war.

Premiere Date: September 10, 2023    MGM+    9pm

Edited September 10, 2023 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

S01.E04: Episode 4

Nimue returns to Avalon, where she is found by Merlin. Derfel and Owain travel to collect taxes from King Cadwys. Gundleus returns to Caer Cadarn.

Premiere Date: September 17, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[AnimeMania]

S01.E05: Episode 5

Derfel feels uncomfortable about the attack on the mine—which Owain is keeping a secret. Tristan, prince of Kernow, demands justice for the raid at the mine.

Premiere Date: September 24, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[AnimeMania]

S01.E06: Episode 6

Arthur and the tribe kings enter peace talks; Arthur meets Guinevere, Ceinwyn's lady-in-waiting, while traveling.

Premiere Date: October 1, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[statsgirl]

I was excited for this because I liked both the Sharpe books and the series. But I've watched the first episode and it's so dark I can barely see who is in most of the scenes but then, it's hard to tell the characters apart even in the light, people speak in half sentences not explaining what they mean and Arthur doesn't wash the blood of the battle off his face as he takes the boy Derfel to Merlin and then goes off into exile (contrary to what the Gaul warrior says).

I don't see how Uther keeps power because his decisions resemble King Lear's more than those of a good war lord.

I really liked that shirtless Iain De Caestecker looks like a healthy normal person rather than a steroid popping body builder.

I'll give it another chance, hoping someone will turn up the lights so i can see the scenes and that I'll start to like more characters than just Merlin and Arthur.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E07: Episode 7

Arthur and Guinevere meet secretly before Arthur and Ceinwyn are to be married.

Premiere Date: October 8, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[AnimeMania]

Oops, dates are off

S01.E06: Episode 6     Premiere Date: October 8, 2023    MGM+    9pm

S01.E07: Episode 7      Premiere Date: October 15, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[AnimeMania]

S01.E08: Episode 8

Arthur believes that Bedwin will be able to negotiate peace with Gorfydd; however, when Morgan and Derfel arrive in Powys, they discover a horrific site.

Premiere Date: October 22, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[MissLucas]

Watched the pilot and I'm not sold yet. Might give episode 2 a try. Not fond of the casting, Derfel does not carry the charisma his character needed to be such a focal point. Nimue isn't very convincing either. Too dark and drab, horrible lighting. Sluggish pacing. The costuming department seems to have repurposed items from Matrix Reloaded's infamous Zion rave scene. They had dyes for tattoos - why not for clothing? And WTF what was the bull doing there - this is Avalon not Crete. Oh so many clichés - I almost started to laugh at the wolf howls from the baddie in Derfel's last flashback scene.

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by MissLucas

[AnimeMania]

S01.E09: Episode 9

Gorfydd allies with the Saxons and declares war; Arthur admits he exiled Nimue to the Isle of the Dead.

Premiere Date: October 29, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[AnimeMania]

S01.E10: Episode 10

(Season Finale)

Derfel finds Nimue inside the Isle of the Dead. Guilt ridden by the deal he's been forced to make with the Saxons, Arthur vows to fight to save Britain.

Premiere Date: November 5, 2023    MGM+    9pm

[Crashcourse]

I wonder who styles Guinevere's hair to keep it like that?  I know she thinks she's "cool", but she looks like an idiot. 🤣 

[Meredith Quill]

If this had been the original Arthurian legend, nobody today would've heard of him. What a complete borefest this was, yawn.

[blackwing]

I read all three books of Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles.  Just binged the entire first season.  I thought this season was going to cover the entirety of the first book, but apparently not.

The pacing is very slow and there's really not much that happened.  I had issues with the books because there are way too many characters and I couldn't keep track of who was who, who was on what side, etc.  It was the exact same here.  I couldn't distinguish amongst the various kings.

I think I'm most disappointed because I was waiting all season long for

Gundleus and Gorfydd to be killed, and was greatly dismayed when it was episode 10 and I realised it wasn't going to happen this season.  I can't stand Gundleus, baying like a wolf after they killed Bedwin.  And Gorfydd just oozes sleaze, why couldn't Arthur just slay him on sight?

I know the show hasn't yet been renewed for Season 2.  I feel like most of the plots just got cut off midstream and there was absolutely no resolution on any of them.