The Bastard Executioner
Season 1 Episode 10: “Blood and Quiescence/Crau a Chwsg”
Directed by Ashley Way
Written by 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, Sarah Sweeney
FX
Air Date: Tuesday, November 17th, 2015, 10:00pm

Alas! This is the last review ever of The Bastard Executioner, as it was announced today that this FX drama was canceled.

Last week on The Bastard Executioner, the big reveal was that Annora is Wilkin’s mother and the Drak Mute his father. We had that inkling though. Kinda cruel then to cut down your own daughter-in-law and grandbaby. Wilkin, Corbett, Toran, et al. (Lee Jones, Stephen Moyer and Sam Spruell), went on a boys hunting party to capture Gaveston, so Lady Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) could gain money and control of her shire. There was a lot of bonding amidst the gore. The surviving twin tricked Ash (Darren Evans) and escaped, but she got hers in the end. Ash seems the one killing and setting up the pieces of corpses. They find Gaveston after Wilkin pretends to torture his host’s mistress, and have a fake trial that ends with head removal. Love threatens Jessamy (Sarah Sweeney) to stand down – death of she doesn’t, life of comfort if she does. Wilkin comes back and finds out that Father Ruskin (Timothy V. Murphy) and the boy were taken, which led to that big reveal. Toran is regretting his revenge plan.

Spoilers below.

The Bastard Executioner 1.10 “Blood and Quiescence/Crau a Chwsg” recap/review: The Bastard Executioner did not end as it began, with love instead of violence. Oh there was plenty of blood throughout the episode, but we’ll get back to that.

Annora comes clean to Wilkin about the Nazarene, and the whole tattooed words. She admits that she has Jesus’s blood, and therefore he does too. Mommy!

Jessamy goes after Love again when she finds out that Luca has been taken. She is locked up. Later, the maiden secrets her away to be sent to a sanctuary of the insane at the behest of Milus. I feel bad. Jealousy does make one crazy, and she thought she was lied to

Toran finally goes to have his revenge. But Sir Locke was so truthful, he admits he deserves to die, which makes Toran allow him to fight for his life. The tables are turned and Toran is at Locke’s mercy. And he gives it, with a warning to never attack him again. Toran drops to his knees, sad and confused. But that’s closure. Wilkin confonts the Reeve, but if you remember, he let the wife go, only taking her cross. That also comes out in this episode.

The Wolf (Matthew Rhys) joins Milus and Wilkin on the rescue mission. It’s gratifying to see the two factions come together. It does give one hope that Love can peacefully end the rebellion.

The Dark Mute tells them they cannot win on horses. So he calmly…

Holy shit! He sets himself on fire and keeps fighting! That’s why he looks like that. It’s so sick. He doesn’t survive though. Annora feels his death.

The joined forces prevail. The archdeacon and the priest face off, but it is little Luca who kills him, and who also cuts Ed Sheeran’s leg later on.

Milus is much kinder this episode. That transformation has had inklings thorughout the series, but seems a little rushed. Still, Moyer makes anything believable. He has been the best thing of this series.

The series has been quite entertaining. Yes, it has felt rushed at times, but it was compelling television, filled with intrigue, violence, gore, and political, and religious machinations. It doesn’t sound like it can be resurrected, so the unanswered stuff, mainly how will Wilkin react when he finds out about Jessamy, Ash, the Dark Mute killing his wife, etc., must remain unanswered.

And my last question is… what is up with Sutter and lighting people on fire?

See you all when Sutter’s SOA spinoff begins.

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The Bastard Executioner – Next On: Blood and Quiescence / Crau a Chwsg

Wilkin and Milus lead an unlikely band of brothers on a life-threatening rescue mission.