Fans of historical epic TV shows assemble: The Winter King is here, and this medieval TV show is chock-full of bloody battles, betrayals, kingdom-spanning plots and more.
Based on Bernard Cornell’s Warlord Chronicles (the author who also wrote the books The Last Kingdom is based on), The Winter King is a realistic adaptation of the King Arthur Cycle. Magic and fate are replaced by swords and fighting.
In particular, it’s about Arthur, the bastard son of Uther Pendragon, who’s exiled from his father’s Kingdom of Dumnonia. However Saxons threaten the kingdom, and Arthur needs to return from exile lest the invaders take over the land.
If you’ve seen The Last Kingdom then you know exactly what to expect. Here’s our The Winter King episode 1 recap, which spans many years and follows many characters… except Arthur himself, who’s barely in it.
The once and future King
In the aftermath of a big and bloody battle, Arthur (Ian De Caestecker) is kneeling over the body of his dead brother, Mordred. His second-in-command Owain (Daniel Ings) pulls him away from the field, as the Saxons are coming and they must retreat.
Arthur’s party bears the body to Caer Cadarn, the capital of the kingdom of Dumnonia. Owain convinces Arthur to bear Mordred’s body to their father, Uther Pendragon (Eddie Marsan), the high king of the land. When they go to him, Uther is far from happy that the army was ambushed — after all, it had ventured into territory he’d told them not to go.
Uther’s aide reminds him that he’s not too old to have another heir — Arthur is only his bastard — but this doesn’t quell his rage. Instead he starts beating up the man, who doesn’t stop him or accept help, and Uther nearly kills Arthur until the older man’s daughter stops him.
Also in attendance are lots of the kings of lands within Dumnonia’s influence. Uther gives them a talking-to about how they haven’t supported him enough in the fight against the Saxons, and to make a point prepares to stab Arthur — until Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White) tells him not to. The politician convinces Uther to exile Arthur instead, which he does.
As Arthur is being dragged out, Owain speaks to the main. The exile asks his friend to stay in Caer Cadarn to help Uther in fighting the Saxons, and to create an alliance of the kingdoms to present a strong front against the invaders.
Arthur leaves Caer Cadarn, and staggers away. He steals a horse and later sees smoke columns over some trees. He investigates to find a fishing village burning, after an attack from sea pirates. Everyone is dead except a young boy, who’s been impaled on a spike. Arthur rescues him and rushes him to Merlin’s town, Avalon.
In Avalon, A girl called Nimue uses magical powers to tell what happened to the boy, and heals him, also giving him the name Derfel. Merlin asks Arthur to stay in Avalon but the man is taking his exile to heart, and leaves.
A party in Avalon
Eight years have passed. Derfel (Stuart Campbell) and Nimue (Ellie James) are now in a relationship together, and Avalon is currently preparing for a big festival. We’re introduced to Lady Morgan (Valene Kane), who requires Nimue to help with the preparations, and she also tells Derfel that it’d be best if he stuck to other girls instead of Nimue.
The man who’s been looking after Derfel asks the boy to start taking over his farm, though Derfel doesn’t seem overjoyed about this forecast for his life.
At the festival, Merlin gives a speech that leads to some betrothals in the village. In the middle of the ceremony, Derfel and Nimue sneak away to kiss, and Derfel says that they should get betrothed at the next ceremony. However Nimue starts having visions of a wolf which rather kills the mood, and she realises that the gods are telling her to choose between Derfel and her fate.
Merlin shows up and makes it all clearer: Nimue is in training to be a Druid, and this includes abstaining from relationships. The young woman tells Derfel that she can’t deny who she is.
Derfel storms off, and sees a woman with the same snake tattoo as the raiders who attacked his village eight years prior. This woman was a slave of theirs. Derfel has a flashback to his mum getting taken away from him during the attack. The young man then gets very drunk at the festival, takes his horse and rides off into the night — he falls off eventually and has dreams of Arthur.
The next morning, when Derfel returns to the village, he’s met with a commotion: the queen is in labor and Merlin, Nimue and Lady Morgan are about to ride to Caer Cadarn to help. Derfel accompanies them, though when they arrive the first three help and Derfel is told to simply set the fires. This is a beacon system used to alert the residents of Dumnonia to news.
Merlin takes the baby to Uther. It’s a boy, and therefore a legitimate heir. However it has a twisted foot and so won’t be able to walk, and also Merlin has visions of evil when he touches the kid. Uther doesn’t care — he likes the baby and ignores Merlin’s advice to ditch the infant and find Arthur.
Uther tells Merlin to raise this baby, dubbed Prince Mordred, in Avalon. Merlin isn’t happy and instead sets his sights on a quest to return Arthur to the kingdom. Merlin puts Nimue in charge of Avalon, even though she doesn’t think she’s ready, to look after the baby. Derfel doesn’t go with either party, and he instead stays in Caer Cadarn to learn to be a knight like Arthur.
A snake from the past
Three months later, Derfel has found work in the stables, yet at night he sneaks into the armory to train himself with a sword. This time, though, Owain is there waiting for him. He takes a shine to Derfel, and tells the man that if he looks after Owain’s horse, the older knight will maybe consider teaching him.
One night, lots of riders approach Caer Cadarn. These are from the same faction of pirate raiders who’ve been praying on Dumnonia’s villages, including Derfel’s. They say they’re here to pay respect to the king, and the leader Gundleus (Simon Merrells) is granted an audience with him.
Lady Morgan wants to simply kill Gundleus due to all the raping and pillaging they’re doing, but Uther hears the man out. Gundleus says he wants his people to make peace with Dumnonia, and Uther sets him a task: he must kill his uncle, who is the ringleader of all the raiding parties.
Derfel is listening in on this whole exchange. He remembers that Gundleus was the man who led the attack on the village, all those years ago.
We jump over to Gaul (modern France), where Merlin has landed on the gloomy shores. It’s the scene of a fight, and a man tells Merlin that Arthur now leads war parties for Gaul’s kings.
Merlin finally finds Arthur, bathing under a waterfall. He asks the future king to return to Dumnonia, to save the kingdom.
