Article originally published as THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER Review on Seat42F.
THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER,
premiering this week on FX, is the much-anticipated project from Kurt
Sutter, whose Sons of Anarchy recently completed its celebrated run.
This isn’t just another drama about bikers, though; THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER
is a historical (fictional) drama set in 1400s Northern Wales, under
the rule of King Edward II. If that description of a medieval period
piece turns off those who enjoyed Sutter’s previous work, keep in mind
the new show’s title, as it is every bit as brutal and violent as the
former.
The titular Bastard Executioner is
Wilkin Brattle (Lee Jones, Slut: The Musical). A soldier under Edward I,
Wilkin has retired from the service and tries to live a nonviolent
existence with a wife, starting a family and becoming a farmer. He wants
to put his awful past behind him. But within the two-hour pilot, Wilkin
is thrust into events beyond his control, as many great heroes are, and
will find himself forced to wield a weapon once more, if he wants to go
on living. His is the central struggle of the series, and he is an
interesting, if familiar, character.
The entire story is complex and
many-faceted. We have the characters in Wilkin’s village, including his
wife, Petra (Elen Rhys, World War Z), his best friend, Toran Princhard
(Sam Spruell, The Last Ship), and animal-loving (grown) orphan, Ash y
Goedwig (Darren Evans, Galavant). We also have those of more noble
birth, such as Baron Erik Ventris (Brian F. O’Byrne, Aquarius), his
wife, Lady Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Leonardo), and their
chamberlain / adviser Milus Corbett (Stephen Moyer, True Blood). There
are those that serve the wealthy, like Isabel Kiffin (Sarah White) and
Luca Maddox (Ethan Griffiths), those who run in their circles, like
Father Ruskin (Timothy V. Murphy, True Detective), and those who head up
other factions, like Gruffudd y Blaidd (Matthew Rhys, The Americans.)
Plus, society has a fringe in the form of witchy woman Annora of the
Alders (Katey Sagal, Futurama, Sons of Anarchy, and Sutter’s real-life
wife) and her protector, The Dark Mute (Sutter himself). So, as you can
see, even if multiple of those mentioned don’t make it past the first
two hours, there is really a lot going on. And this is not the full cast
list by any means.
That actually makes it a bit hard to get
into. I spent most of the pilot just trying to keep everyone straight
and figure out what was going on. However, while dense, the script does
lend itself to helping one along. The two-hour running time of the
initial installment is welcome, providing plenty of opportunity to get
to know people right away, and even the more minor characters have clear
motivations, so they seem like a valuable part of the world, making you
want to learn more about them. It took effort, but by the end of the
initial offering, I was invested in the tale.
The setting is impressive. A village was
built in Wales, and the production uses a mostly British cast for
authenticity. This means you don’t have to worry about which part of
California they tried to convert into a British locale. While it’s hard
to nail all the details of such a long-ago time, and Sutter admits
that’s why he didn’t even attempt to shape speech patterns, it does feel
like a consistent, fully-realized world.
I will warn you, this is definitely not
for children. I mentioned brutal violence in the first paragraph, and I
probably undersold it. There are multiple disturbing, gruesome scenes
that go further than anything I’ve ever seen on a basic cable series.
There is nudity, too, and not just a butt, as FX is occasionally known
to do, though it doesn’t occur nearly as often as on an HBO show. So
please, watch this after your kids go to bed.
The one thing THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER is
missing is a solid hook. Wilkin is interesting enough, and there are
not any obvious weak points in the cast. But neither are there a lot of
stand-out characters, save perhaps Annora and The Dark Mute. Game of
Thrones, for instance, has personalities like Jon Snow, Tyrion
Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Brienne of Tarth, Daenerys
Targaryen, and many more that suck one in and motivate viewers to come
back. Wilkin and Milus are intriguing, but they don’t have the same
level of magnetism, and because of that, I’m not really excited about
the show. This can develop in time, though, and overall, it is well
made, so I’ll give it a chance.
THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER premieres September 15th on FX.
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