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.

The most compelling aspects of the books is that they actively try to remove the anachronisms (wooden hill forts, ponies and spearmen instead of stone castles, warhorses and swords), and they look up at the legendary characters from the viewpoint of Derfel. Legendary characters sweep into Derfel's life, have impact, then leave. They keep their mystique because of the viewpoint we have of them. The show desperately wants to shift this viewpoint to Arthur and make it his story, which rather misses the point.

Straight away we start with the king in a stone castle and Merlin with some huts in a forest because that is the stereotypical settings for a High King and a Druid. Gone are the hill forts that gave the books an iconic setting, instead this adaptation just feels like churned out rubbish; wannabe Game of Thrones, Uthred or LotR.

That the characters have all had their personalities put through the wash is the final nail for this show. The worst examples are that Merlin isn't chaotic, Nimue has lost her bite and Morgan is bland. They've lost the very traits that drive their character arcs.

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.

This review is from someone who has read and loves the books. While I understand that some adaptation needs to happen to fit this complex narrator-driven story for the screen, I feel that some of the corners that were cut were not trivial.

Final Edit: I can't do it. I'm on episode 6 where Guinevere and Ceinwyn are introduced. The dialogue juvenile. Okay now Derfel has a mullet, classic Saxon trailer park fare. I advise others to turn off their screen and read the book instead. Better yet, Audible's recording narrated by Jonathan Keeble is fantastic.

Edit after episode 2: ep 2 is chaotic, and lacks cohesion in editing. The acting is good, and it is nice to see some events from the book portrayed, although again, they are adapted and delivered in a way that is less satisfying than what happens in the book. I'm annoyed at Morgan's character, as she is simply nothing like the twisted, scarred and bitter character from the book. The shades of character seem to have been reduced to "good guy" and "bad guy". Arthur at least is supposed to be nauseatingly "good", but Merlin, Morgan, Namue, Owain....come on. Give these characters back their grit! Their nuance! I think my score still stands but I will continue to edit as episodes come out (I swore an oath to finish the series).

Original review:

First, Merlin's character thus far is far from what he was in the book, and a lot of important plot elements are founded on his characteristics as an old, bearded, Celtic Druid and his particular balance of sagesse and lunacy. A young, black, lucid, intelligent, smooth-faced buddy Merlin simply clashes with essential plot points, and it is unclear how this will affect the original story. So far, it makes little sense. Also, him and Arthur are supposed to have a more complicated relationship. They admire each other, but aren't all "buddy buddy" like it shows in the TV show. They're not peers, or old old college roommates, and its weird to see them portrayed as such in the first episode.

The first episode tries to cover a lot of ground, but I feel like it rushes to establish relationships that took many chapters to develop in the book. I already mentioned the Arther/Merlin relationship is completely off, but the Derfel/Nimue dynamic felt extremely rushed and flimsy. Again, their relationship is integral to the story, and I feel like it would have been worth building up Nimue's Druidic ambitions and how that affects Derfel over the course of several episodes, rather than within the first 2 minutes of meeting her. Similarly, the TV show tries to establish Derfel's complex history into a shortened sequence that can't have lasted more than 4 minutes cumulative. And what's up with that terrible wig!

I appreciated the attempt to explain Arthur's presence in Gaul by depicting events not covered in the books. But similar to the Nimue and Derfel arcs in the first episode, this did end up feeling rushed and implausible. E.g. As he's being escorted out of Cair Cadern, he happens to be right next to the War Room where he pulls in his Buddy Owain (they are rivals in the book, not friends) and conveniently shows us the map and recites the main players in the upcoming struggles. The guards just kind of let it happen. How serendipitous!

It is possible that future episodes will improve on pacing, but the character changes are concerning. It feels like the richness of Bernard Cornwell's characters are being sacrificed on the altar of marketing startegy. Hopefully it gets better. Hopefully I'm wrong.

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.