El rey del invierno

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 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.

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.

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.

I have to say that I've been looking forward to The Winter King ever since I first heard about it. I love these kind of shows, this genre is definitely one of my favorites. When I first heard about this I was excited but once I saw the trailers my expectations grew even more. While it might not be quite as good as I was hoping for it's still pretty good and worth the time to watch it. It might start a little slow for some but stick with it because it picks up in a hurry and you won't be able to stop watching. I didn't think Ian De Caestecker would be able to pull off the role of Arthur but he does. He's actually the best of the show. Besides the acting and writing being pretty good, the visuals are also good. I hope that we get multiple seasons of this.