The Winter King

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.

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.

Absolutely awful. I've waited 27 years for someone to bring this to the screen and all I have is a sense of crushing disappointment.

Right from the start, characters were not doing what the book had set out. The child Mordred was not Uther's son. Norwenna was not Uther's wife.

Merlin is a Druid of British Celtic origin. Hywel (Welsh name) is Merlin's Steward on the Tor. Lunete is Derfel's first female "companion" , is of Irish origin, and is not related to Hywel in any way. Morgan is disfigured by fire but appears whole on screen. When Gundleus attacks the Tor, Hywel is killed. Derfel rescues Nimue and makes his escape, picking up Hywel's sword. The sword is renamed "Hywelsbane" and features throughout the rest of the tale. That didn't happen on screen so will leave gaping holes in later episodes.

I lasted to half way through the third episode and then gave up. This ranks as one of the worst book to screen adaptations, only surpassed by "The Running Man"

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.

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.