The Winter King

As a fan of book series (written by Bernard Cornwell whom also did the Saxon Stories that 'The Last Kingdom' is based on) I have been following the news and was eager to watch this show. To me, the trailer did not look promising given the lack of time provided to the book's central character - Derfel.

While it is obvious that this show would not be a faithful adaptation, cinema often isn't so I went in with an open mind.

The actors do a well enough job with what they are given, but it is obvious that the characters will not be the same as the book series (i.e. Merlin is meant to be senile and old, Morgan is not at all the same). Clearly this happens often as interpretations differ, but Winter King's interpretations are completely opposite to key characteristics for main characters.

While trying to view this property as a stand alone or outsider unaware of the original story, it is certainly better (maybe a 6.5/10 acknowledging my bias), though it provides nothing new or groundbreaking.

To most the show would be used to passably kill time. Entertaining enough I suppose. Time will tell where this show goes, does it get better with time or does it become The Witcher.

It is a different aproach to the legendary story of Arthur Pendragon. A Tale a little more realistic and dark than the usual. You got to see it with an open mind. It have a very interesting view of thing, very deep in the human process, in the human progress, and in the evolution of the character. You have to see it with patience and profund prospect of analysis. Nothing is in vain. Everything mean something. The ambientance is particularly realistic and with a touch of humility, the main characters are complex and a very human structuration. The interaction bethwen them is very rich. I recommend this serie.

It's hard to quantify why this show doesn't work. Certainly the historical inaccuracies turned me off, especially the language - who in the fifth century asks, "Gotta minute?"

But it's way more than that - mediocre acting, uninteresting characters, a plot as slow as a soap opera, and no beauty or elegance whatsoever. I'm not really into fight and battle scenes, but I would have welcomed a few in the first episode, in place of the violent beatings and degradation it contained.

Game of Thrones has huge pluses over this show, including internal consistency, and gorgeous actors with true talent.

The Warlord Chronicles are among my favourite books, having read them a number of times. Whilst this adaptation captures some of the key elements of the first book, there is still much that is missing, particularly a heart to the story.

This is made to be Arthur's story rather than Derfel's. Consequently the complexities and nuances of certain relationships between characters are lost, particularly through the role of Merlin. This makes the production less interesting than it could otherwise have been.

World building is also a bit lacklustre and the sense of scale is lost by putting characters on horseback, a very noticeable shift in the story. Thus we lose some of the grit and realism of battles that came through the book (where are the shield walls?) and could have made for a compelling adaptation, rather just giving us something that we've seen before.

The adaptation also seeks to reflect "the world we live in today" through both its casting choices and the way in which certain characters are written. This works in some respects, but doesn't in others which is ultimately to the detriment of the show.

I've watched through the whole of series 1 and whilst I found it watchable, as a long time fan of the books, i felt this was an opportunity missed.

The Winter King is even better than I expected would be. It tells the story of how of former monk turned warrior, Arthur Pendragon, became known as King Arthur and the lord of war. My only hesitation was that the role of Arthur went to Iain De Caestecker who I only knew from Agents of Shield. His character in that was more of a nerdy scientist so I thought I would have a hard time buying him as Arthur. I was wrong. He is terrific as the lead here. Actually, the entire cast is great here except for the actress who plays Nimue. She's awful and badly written. If you're a fan of this story and King Arthur then this will not disappoint. It's a must watch for any Arthur fan.