The Bastard Executioner
Season 1 Episode 6: “Thorns/Drain”
Directed by Billy Gierhart
Written by John Barcheski & Kurt Sutter
Created by Kurt Sutter
Starring Lee Jones, Stephen Moyer, Katey Sagal, Kurt Sutter, Sam Spruell, Darren Evans, Matthew Rhys, Timothy V. Murphy, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Elen Rhys, Danny Sapani
FX
Air Date: Tuesday, October 13th, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week on The Bastard Executioner, was another dark storm of violence. Milus Corbett (Stephen Moyer) sends Wilkin and Toran (Lee Jones and Sam Spruell) on a seemingly simple robbery mission, coated with blackmail, but end up burning 2 innocents alive. That Corbett… such a trickster! Gaveston (Tom Forbes) brings a pregnancy test to Ventrishire. He does not believe Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst)… with good reason. Thanks to Wilkin and Annora (Katey Sagal), she is able to satisfy the test, even though he still does not believe it. Love and Wilkin share some feelings and a lingering hug, long enough for Toran and Jessamy (Sarah Sweeney) to see. Uh-oh.

Some spoilers below.

The Bastard Executioner 1.6 “Thorns/Drain” review: This week had one of the most disgusting torture scenes to date, yet. And that’s saying a lot. This was one of the fullest episodes of the season thus far, but I can’t get the image of Toran thoroughly enjoying ripping pieces of tooth? tongue? from the inside of his captive’s mouth. This will haunt me for a while. I looked away for most of it, but there was CRUNCHING!

How did they get here?

Well… they all tried to escape. Brattle killed a knight who just wanted to follow him to asist him, and he fears everything will be found out. Wilkin told his wife and son to get ready to go (after trying to yell some truth to Jessamy). A few wife-betrays-fake-husband moments later, and Corbett catches them. But he is not heartless. He gives them a revenge bone. So Toran goes to town, and gets some info, at the expense of his soul.

Yeah! Lady Love is a rebel and her half-brother (The Americans Matthew Rhys) is The Wolf! At first I thought she was just protecting her brother, but I guess she is a big part of it all too. I wish her and Wilkin could be honest with one another!

Annora has a weird warning for Father Ruskin, and an even weirder stigmata of sorts. She is pulling the bloody thorns of Jesus from her body, and says it’s a warning. But of whst? Could it have anything to do with the sudden arrival of the Archbishop?

I feel so terrible. How do you lose the crazy wife, but keep the kids?

Wilkin and Love find a private moment again, with Love all but begging him to kiss her, but he retreating. They better watch out with psycho wife and psycho Chamberlain about.

Super comic relief – the menagerie leaving Corbett’s bedroom including a dwarf and a cage of rats best left “to the imagination.”

Solid episode. I need Wilkin to stop torturing himself, and start being more manly in spirit (he is manly enough in form). Four episodes left.

The Bastard Executioner airs Tuesday nights at 10pm ET on FX.

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The Bastard Executioner – Next On: Thorns / Drain

Wilkin and Toran encounter a new timeline for their revenge. Lady Love gets a surprise visit from an unlikely ally.