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
Season 1 Episode 9: “The Bernadette Maneuver/Cynllwyn Bernadette”
Directed by Paris Barclay
Written by Robert Patino, Curtis Gwinn, 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, November 10th, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week on The Bastard Executioner, Lady Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) shows her political prowess, impressing her chamberlain Milus (Stephen Moyer). Gaveston is a wanted man, and Love secures money and security for her shire, if they deliver him. Father Ruskin (Timothy V. Murphy) now knows that Annora (Katey Sagal) is not pagan, as she holds The Books of Nazarene (the future New Testament). The clergy wants to destroy it and her. Jessamy (Sarah Sweeney) catches Wilkin (Lee Jones) and Love in an embrace and goes crazy. She is sedated and tied to a bed. The bad priests come and kidnap the warrior priest and Maddox’s son, Luca. Annora shows Wilkin a vision of when he was a baby, and The Dark Mute (Kurt Sutter) cuts down a dozen men seemingly by magic.

Spoilers below.

The Bastard Executioner
Season 1 Episode 8: “Broken Things/Pethau Toredig”
Directed by Ciaran Donnelly
Written by Ryan Scott & 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, November 3rd, 2015, 10:00pm

Last time on The Bastard Executioner, Wilkin (Lee Jones) confessed all to his Lady Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst), then said his goodbyes to his son, and really said goodbye to his fake wife (Sarah Sweeney). Love was having none of that, having only just found him. The most violent scene ever is the end of this episode, where we witness a man drawn and quartered (limbs ripped from his body), in all its gruesome glory. This man confessed to killing Baron Pryce’s wife (even though we know Wilkin did it) for his family to be taken care of. Father Ruskin and Annora’s (Timothy V. Murphy and Katey Sagal) scenes are quietly mesmerizing, as this warrior priest attempts to understand.

Spoilers below.

The Bastard Executioner
Season 1 Episode 7: “Behold the Lamb/Gweled yr Oen”
Directed by Ashley Way
Written by Carly Wray & 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 20th, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week, The Bastard Executioner, we discovered that Lady Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) is a rebel, and her brother (Matthew Rhys) is The Wolf! Wilkin and Toran (Lee Jones and Sam Spruell) plan to ditch the shire, but Jessamy (Sarah Sweeney) snitches. Milus Corbett (Stephen Moyer) tries to slake their vengeance thirst by giving them one of the men that detroyed their village. Toran has a good old time torturing the man, in one of the most gruesome torture scenes ever. Annora (Katey Sagal) starts pulling bloody thorns from her body, then brings them to Father Ruskin (Timothy V. Murphy) with a warning.

Spoilers below.

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
Season 1 Episode 5: “Piss Profit/Proffidwyr Troeth”
Directed by Kari Skogland
Written by Roberto Patino
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 6th, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week on The Bastard Executioner, while Lady Love (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) is away, Milus Corbett (Stephen Moyer) will play… manipulative violent games. Lady Love is summoned by the king to decide the fate of Ventrishire. However, she is treated poorly, the king only caring of play, so is at the mercy of his right hand. The decision is to split up her land, which she stops by faking a pregnancy. What is this? General Hospital? Meanwhile, Corbett is home trying to sell her. Plus, he imprisons Wilkin Brattle’s (Lee Jones) friends as leverage. That crazy Milus! Wilkin is starting to care for his fake children, but is a bit horrified by his crazy fake wife (Sarah Sweeney). Watch out for her!

Spoilers below.

The Bastard Executioner
Season 1 Episode 1.4: “A Hunger / Newyn”
Directed by Ciaran Donnelly
Written by Curtis Gwinn
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, Ed Sheeran
FX
Air Date: Tuesday, September 29th, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week on The Bastard Executioner, Wilkin Brattle (Lee Jones) and Miles Corbett (Stephen Moyer) continued their mutual blackmail dance (although I think odds are in Corbett’s favor). “Our buried truths bind us.” Brattle continues to pose as the executioner, in order to bide his time and find all the culprits of his village’s massacre. He is finding it harder and harder to play this role, ending up pulling the fingernails off a young girl for info, then slicing off her nose as punishment. I understand that the snake visions are symbolic of evil or Wilkin’s situation, but I still haven’t connected the sorcery to this setting. And yet. I totally believe the supernatural stuff in Vikings because it belongs to myth. Lady Love Ventriss (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) is a big surprise – calm, just, wise – the antithesis of her now-dead husband and many of the nobles we get to know.

If you haven’t watched the episode yet, spoilers ahead!

We are 3 episodes (in 2 weeks) in to The Bastard Executioner, Kurt Sutter‘s highly anticipated next project after his highly acclaimed Sons of Anarchy, and if you’ve been watching… week 1 and week 2 have been worth the wait. This 14th century period piece follows Wilkin Brattle, a former soldier weary of the fight, forced to play an executioner while lying in wait for vengeance. Modern day actors aren’t just born swordfighting, British-accented, horseriding masters, they need serious training to make their work look authentic. How do they do that?

Check out the video below.

The Bastard Executioner
Season 1 Episode 1.3: “Effigy / Delw”
Directed by Paris Barclay
Written by Kurt Sutter, Charles Murray, Nichole Beattie
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, September 22, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week during The Bastard Executioner’s premiere, we were sucked into the bloody violent 14th century world of Wilkin Brattle (Lee Jones), former knight who wants nothing to do with war, giddily happy with his pregnant wife in his little life. We all knew (even if we didn’t see all the trailers), that that meant her imminent death. It was more graphic than I have ever seen, even as the hope for her survival was snatched away at the end (we think by The Dark Mute – Kurt Sutter – but are not sure) That’s not the last we will see of Petra (Elen Rhys), as she haunts Brattle during at his most desperate moments during moral battles. She is slaughtered, as is the entire village, and the grief is palpable. The reason? The lord of the land in consultation with his chamberlain, Miles Corbett (Stephen Moyer), raised the already hefty taxes, and Brattle joined his fellow villagers to send a rebellious message. Brattle already had crossed their paths in battle, after they left him for dead. They attack Ventris, who is killed via sword through the head (works every time), but it is not over. Also killed during this fight is the real executioner, whose family was sent ahead to the castle. Brattle poses as he (thanks to Annora marking him as such), and is almost exposed, but the abused wife and child claim him. Corbett knows who he really is, and they are bound by this secret.

FX has released another, longer video for The Bastard Executioner, with cast commentary in between the delicious little episode scenes (most likely from the pilot). Lee Jones (Wilkin Brattle – the Executioner), Katey Sagal (Annora of the Alders), Kurt Sutter (Creator and also playing The Dark Mute), Elen Rhys (Petra Brattle), and Stephen Moyer (Miles Corbett) all speak of the show in between scenes.

Watch that video and the brief “Tools of the Trade” teaser below.