The Winter King Episode 1×10

The Winter King – Episode 10

After Arthur (Iain De Caestecker) is forced to cut a deal with the Saxon King Aelle (Craig Parkinson) - and at a much higher price he was initially willing to pay – he is determined more than ever to “kick every Saxon back into the sea from where they came.”

Derfel (Stuart Campbell) is trying to rescue Nimue (Ellie James) from the Island of the Dead. He finds her but they are soon trapped behind a sealed prison wall and attacked by the other inmates. Meanwhile Arthur and his warrior Sagramor (Ken Nwosu) are on their way to the Island as well to save Derfel and Nimue.

Morgan (Valene Kane) is still suspicious of new Bishop Sansum (Andrew Gower), especially when she finds him baptising servants at Caer Cadarn. When he later gifts her a book with stories from the Bible, she seems to become more susceptive to his ideas.

Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White) finally reaches the cave he has previously seen in his vision and finds the Horn of Bran – one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain. However, as Merlin touches the Horn, it overflows with blood, which forms into the shape of Britain itself.

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The Winter King Episode 1×09

The Winter King – Episode 9

Morgan (Valene Kane) and Derfel (Stuart Campbell) return to Dumnonia with Bishop Bedwin’s (Steven Elder) body in tow and a surprising warning from Ceinwyn (Emily John). After Arthur’s betrayel her father King Gorfydd (Aneirin Hughes) has betrothed her to a Saxon king, Dumnonia’s worst enemies.

Sansum (Andrew Gower) leads the solemn funeral service for his predecessor. While Bedwin was a gentle man trying to ease Christian ways onto the pagan population of Britain, it is clear that Sansum is much more ambitious and much less patient. While Morgan, an aspiring Druidess herself, is still mourning the loss of her friend, she eyes Sansum with suspicion.

After his return Derfel looks for Nimue (Ellie James) and learns she was exiled to the Island of the Dead by Arthur as a punishment for her suspected involvement in the death of three Christians. Feeling obliged to her, Derfel investigates further and finds out the true cause of death and sets out to rescue her from a place, where no living soul can escape.

Guinevere (Jordan Alexandra) and Arthur fight when he realizes that she has gently steered him from the sidelines. His father’s abuse and banishment have left him with deep trust issues but as leader of Dumnonia, it’s time to start placing his trust in others. He finally hatches out a plan to buy valuable time in the looming war against Powys and the Saxons.

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The Winter King Episode 1×08

The Winter King – Episode 8

While Arthur (Iain De Caestecker) and Guinevere (Jordan Alexandra) are enjoying a moment of married bliss, many in Dumnonia are struggling yet again with one of Arthur’s decision: abandoning his plan to wed Ceinwyn (Emily John) and form a powerful alliance in favour of marrying a woman who – as she herself stated – has no titles or land.

Despite Guinevere’s warnings Morgan (Valene Kane) and Derfel (Stuart Campbell) head to Powys to negotiate peace and forgiveness for Arthur’s actions while Arthur is on his way to Iscar to deal with Cadwys (Billy Postlethwaite) who’s still unhappy about Owain’s demise and tests Arthur’s leadership.

In the meantime, Sansum (Andrew Gower), now a bishop, is facing his own challenges when he starts building a Christian church near Avalon. After Nimue (Ellie James) curses him and his followers, men start to die. On his return to Dumnonia, Arthur suspects the cause for their deaths might be a much wordlier one than Nimue lets to believe.

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The Winter King Episode 1×07

The Winter King – Episode 7

Arthur Pendragon (Iain De Caestecker) is caught between duty and his heart: he is betrothed to Ceinwyn (Emily John) but he is smitten with Guinevere (Jordan Alexandra). His marriarge is supposed to bring peace to the warring countries of Dumnonia and Powys. It doesn’t take Ceinwyn long to see what is going on between her best friend and her fiance. Her feelings are hurt but she offers a practical solution.

Being around Gundleus (Simon Merrells) – the man who killed his mother, assaulted Nimue and left himself for dead – is proving increasingly difficult for Derfel (Stuart Campbell). When Gundleus ambushes the young Saxon, Derfel is able to fight him off with Arthur’s help. Ladwys (Tatjana Nardone) warns her lover Gundleus to attack Derfel again or he will upset the Gods.

Bishop Bedwin (Steven Elder) tries to talk sense into Arthur but his feelings for Guinevere are stronger than any concerns. He breaks off his engagement with Ceinwyn, who advises them to leave Caer Dolforwyn in the dead of night. When they find themselves near a lake, the Bishop leaves the party to try and mend affairs with Powys, which leaves Sansum, the Priest (Andrew Gower), to fulfil Arthur’s and Guinevere’s wish.

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The Winter King Episode 1×06

The Winter King – Episode 6

When Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White) and Nimue (Ellie James) arrive in Caer Cadarn during the aftermath of Arthur’s (Iain De Caestecker) and Owain’s (Daniel Ings) fatal duel, Merlin takes the chance to declare Arthur the new ruler of Dumnonia. In a private moment, he later explains the origins of the sword, Arthur had found in his mother’s workshop.

Bishop Bedwin (Steven Elder), Sansum (Andrew Gower) and Derfel’s (Stuart Campbell) accompany Arthur on his way to Caer Dolforwyn to woe the “Star of Powys” Ceinwyn (Emily John), King Gorfydd’s (Aneirin Hughes) only daughter. The night before they arrive at court, however, Arthur meets a mysterious beautiful lady by a lake, who he is instantly attracted to.

Merlin has a vision of himself and the Horn of Bran, one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain, which are mythical items said to be infused with magic properties. He sets out on a mission to find the Horn because he believes that if all Treasures are united again, the quarreling tribes of Britain will also re-unite.

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The Winter King Episode 1×04

The Winter King – Episode 4

When Arthur’s (Iain De Caestecker) decisions continue to be encountered by incomprehension by many residents of Caer Cadarn, Arthur visits the place where his mother, a swordsmaker and King Uther’s (Eddie Marson) lover, used to lived. While he and his sister Morgan (Valene Kane) reminisce about their cildhood, Arthur comes across an old, rusted sword and decides to bring it back to the castle with him.

Meanwhile, Derfel (Stuart Campbell) joins Owain (Daniel Ings) on a mission to collect the overdue tax from King Cadwys (Billy Postlethwaite). They suspect that Cadwys lies about “bad harvests” in order to avoid paying his taxes, so Owain orders his men to lie in hiding while a messenger announces their immediate arrival. Their plan to uncover the hidden treasures succeeds but when Cadwys offers Owain an alternative deal, things go haywire.

Later, Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White) returns to Avalon where he meets a distraught Nimue (Ellie James), who is plagued by nightmares. He encourages her to follow the path the Gods have paved for her even though it means more personal sacrifices for her. Next Merlin visits Arthur and while there is genuine affection and respect between them, it also becomes clear that their vision of the future of Britain and how it is ruled, is vastly at odds.

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The Winter King Episode 1×03

The Winter King – Episode 3

The episode sets in right after the devastating events known as the “Avalon massacre” and just after Arthur (Iain De Caestecker) returns to Dumnonia in the nick of time to save the small group of survivors including his half-brother, the Edling King Mordred. He and his men are welcomed back at Caer Cadarn by Bishop Bedwin (Steven Elder) and the priest Sansum (Andrew Gower).

Arthur’s decision to hold King Gundleus (Simon Merrells) prisoner – instead of executing him for his crimes – is not met with approval by druidess Nimue (Ellie James) and Arthur’s sister Morgan (Valene Kane). Nimue, who was brutally raped by Gundleus, confides in her friend and almost-lover Derfel (Stuart Campbell) and makes him swear a blood oath to bind them together forever.

Arthur remembers Derfel as the boy he once saved from a death pit, and Derfel expresses his desire to become a warrior. He looks up to Arthur and feels loyal to him which puts him at odds with Nimue, who he still loves. Owain (Daniel Ings) also returns to the castle and his wounded men are treated by the women while the dying are helped to cross over to the afterlife by Nimue and Sansum.

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Bernard Cornwell Talks The Winter King

One of the first guests in the upcoming The Winter King Podcast is author Bernard Cornwell.

The Winter King is the first novel in Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles, first published in the UK in 1995 and now turned into a TV series starring Iain De Caestecker, Jordan Alexandra, Stuart Campbell and Ellie James. The book is based on characters and plot elements from Arthurian myth, but considerably changed and re-worked.

Despite favourable reviews from critics, the TV series faced some backlash online due to its diverse cast and lose adaption of the original source material. Bernard Cornwell has now addressed some of the concerns in the Official The Winter King Podcast (available on all podcast platforms):

I think they did a magnificent job, a quite extraordinary job, so I think you’re in for a treat.

I mean, I think the casting has been superb. The one member of the cast who actually dazzled me was Ellie James playing Nimue, which was almost exactly as I’d in a sense imagined Nimue.

So obviously when you get a character on screen, who’s doing exactly what you put her in to do in the book, you like it. She has a force which is remarkable and she’s a formidable young woman, Nimue, and she has a great role to play in the rest of the series of course.

Not always as a heroine but she’s a very complicated lady, is Nimue, and Ellie James I think caught her superbly, perfectly in fact, and I think the casting has been superb all through and Iain [de Caestecker] makes a wonderful Arthur.

Source: The Winter King Podcast

Arthur (Iain de Caestecker) and his priest Sansum (Andrew Gower)

Selected Reviews

Druidess Nimue (Ellie James) and Priest Sansum (Andrew Gower)

The Winter King UK – Release Date

Great news for all British fans!

ITVX will release ALL episodes of The Winter King on 21 December 2023 in the UK.

Previously, the plan had been to split up the season in 2 parts and release them on 21 and 27 December 2023 respectively.

The 10-part series, which was filmed between July 2022 and January 2023 in Wales and the West Country, premiered on 20 August 2023 on MGM+ in the USA.

It is also available on Crave (Canada), Stan (Australia), TVNZ (New Zealand) and OCS (France). It will be released on Timvision in Italy on 6 December 2023, on Movistar Plus+ in Spain on 29 December 2023 and on Magenta TV in Germany on 01 January 2024.

ETA (19 December 2023):

Thanks to Facebook user Lykke Ma we can add Viaplay (Denmark) to the places where The Winter King is streaming! #WatchThisPlace as we add more info as soon as we find out more!

Andrew Gower as Sansum

The Winter King Podcast

🗡️ Introducing The Winter King: Official Podcast 🗡️

If you want to dive deeper into the world of The Winter King, you will have the chance to listen to inside stories that “key cast, crew and creatives” share with host David Craig. The Official Podcast premieres with a sneak peek on 14 December 2023, followed by all episodes dropping on 21 December 2023.

Available on all of your podcast platforms!

Let’s hope the “key cast” also includes Andrew Gower! #WatchThisSpace for more information!