Now that the “Men of Mayhem” have been laid to rest, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter takes us across the pond to the land of Wales for his new sword-slashing creation. After the “passed its expiration date” final season of SoA, I’m very excited to see this talented writer come up with some new material…
The Bastard Executioner takes place in the 14th Century, around the same time of the movie Braveheart (1995). Funny enough, the head villain over the Scottish in Braveheart, King Edward Longshanks, is mentioned to have just recently passed with his son Edward II now ruler. For those who remember the kings abusing their power over the land back then — taxing and village pillaging! — it will come to no surprise that this show depicts the many rebellions that were created in the process.
So–why the history lesson?!
Our lead character is Wilkin Brattle (newcomer Lee Jones), a veteran of King Edward’s army who left after feeling betrayed and narrowly escaping death in battle. Now living in a small, quiet shire with a pregnant wife and new friends, he has pledged his allegiance against the crown. The man that he’s fighting against is Baron Erik Ventris (The Last Ship’s Brian F. O’Byrne), who, along with his right hand man Chamberlain Milus Corbett (True Blood vet Stephen Moyer), is using taxation to keep the people down in the region known as Ventrishire.
After a recent ambush of Ventis’ tax collector by Brattle and Co., Ventris leads an attack that destroys their village and murders all the inhabitants, including Brattle’s wife and unborn child. Cue the revenge plot!
Since the pilot episode alone was at 2-hours length, I’m not going to drive the carriage that takes you all the way to how the title of the show comes to be. But, feel comfort in knowing that it all makes sense in the end. Sutter has done a thorough job of making all the pieces of the puzzle fit together as the second hour of the show concludes into a premise for the ongoing season.
But is this 2-hours worth your time on the couch? Like the giant Kool-Aid man busting through the wall with a OH YEAHHHH!!! The first half of the pilot is a little slow; but all the story and character build-up is necessary. This is also not for the squeamish: There is a ridiculous amount of blood and violence, which I can only suppose is accurate for the time period…
While the Divine One felt that much the violence in the modern day SoA was used for shock value, this is different. This is a time in history when kings felt the only way to invoke fear into the masses were by use of blood in their power. At the same time, civilians had to push back by any means necessary when fighting for their homes and families.
To no surprise, Sutter brings many SoA alum with him, including his wife Katey Sagal who plays a strange, enigmatic — and poorly-accented — healer named Annora, and fellow executive producer/director Paris Barclay. Even though the story of the oppressed medieval people isn’t exactly groundbreaking, #TBX‘s pilot ep does a fine job. Brattle is also more than just a conflicted, good man who makes you feel his pain, as his desire to hurt those who kept him from just trying to live out his life is justified–unlike say that of Jax, who did plenty of questionable acts against those who DID NOT deseve it.
I applaud Sutter for not only taking on a different time period, but also for choosing to continue to stick to the values that were strong on SoA. Hell, even the music and black-and-white scene fades and production value is similar. Sutter’s characters continue to place family, friends and significant others in high regard no matter how dark and possibly fatal the circumstances. Although it took a while to get going, the next chapter should bring new elements and attitude to an already too familiar time period.
The Bastard Executioner will air Tuesdays at 10pm on FX.