The Bastard Executioner - Effigy / Delw - Review
Last week on The Bastard Executioner, Wilkin Brattle took upon a new life as an Executioner after his friends and loved ones were slain in their village. Milus Corbett is threatened by Wilkin's arrival, but he and Brattle share a dark secret which binds their fates together. The Baroness struggles to deal with watching violence occur on innocent people and Annora begins to guide and aid Wilkin.
"Do you know about me, my secrets?" Wilkin
‘Executioner’ continued this past Tuesday with a very revealing episode. Sutter loves to tease the audience, and he did a brilliant job by dropping hints throughout that Annora could well be Wilkin's mother. The reveal will still be shocking and contain that level of anticipation. But the build-up to reveals is always key, I think. By not revealing who his mother is early, it allows the show to further explore the relationship between Annora and Wilkin, which allows both to further develop as characters and it creates an interesting dynamic between them. She might not even be a relation of his, but at least there's groundwork in their relationship if she is.
Sagal continues to deliver a brilliant performance, but it's Stephen Moyer who continues to impress in the villainous role as the creepy and dangerous character Milus Corbett. Stephen was born to play Milus. It's rare for me to praise an actor continuously, but without Moyer on the show it wouldn't be as good. He's the glue that's holding the cast together.
Milus was respected and appreciated by Lord Ventris as he was violence prone, but the Baroness dislikes violence of any kind and sees it as a last resort. This is why she's taking a liking to Wilkin and is starting to distant herself from Milus' council. Wilkin doesn't like violence, and only uses it if it's absolutely necessary. It will be interesting to see over the coming episodes what Milus does to regain good favour with the Baroness.
The big reveal though this episode came from a flashback that Wilkin saw of his childhood. The Dark Mute was there. He was one of the monks that cared for and looked after him as he was an orphan. I should have been surprised by the reveal, but since the first episode, I knew the show was going to go down this route. It was obvious that The Dark Mute was going to be more involved in the story than just being present seeing as he's played by Kurt Sutter.
Despite the show giving us insight into his past, we now have even more questions left to be answered such as how he got disfigured and how he met Annora. Keeping the mysteries flowing throughout the season is a good idea, as it makes the show about more than just the tale of Wilkin Brattle. It becomes more captivating if there's a continuous mystery surrounding these characters - another reason to keep watching each week.
"The anger is for the guilty, you need each other." Annora
Our side story this episode saw Ash go missing. Berber and Calo ventured off to find him with assistance from Annora. The great thing about ‘Executioner’ is that all main characters are included in every episode. It's a truly unique character driven show that focuses on every single character, not just a few an episode. Each episode there's potential to mix and match characters, giving us different and varied interactions. That's interesting, I think, and it gives us the opportunity to see different relationships unfold between different characters.
‘Effigy / Delw’ also contained a lot less action when compared to the premiere episode. The main focus continues to be the characters, but there was a decent amount for those who enjoy the fighting scenes and such. We even got to see Father Ruskin play a part in defending the Baroness from rebels. He hasn't had a lot of focus, but now after it's revealed that he can fight, and might not have always been a priest, he becomes a fascinating character. The show has laid good groundwork for a potential exploration of his backstory, should they choose to explore it.
‘Executioner’ also has a solid set-up going. Each week there will be a different crime committed and Wilkin will have to perform his responsibilities. But behind them crimes will be a bigger story and it will all play a part in the narrative. This episode for instance, the girl was connected to the rebels and now the Baroness wants to meet with the leader of them as a result. These crimes all push the story forward for our characters.
Summary
The Bastard Executioner continues to impress and entertain me. The show may be a slow burn at times, but the compelling story and the journeys of these characters is enough to keep me watching it. This episode the show laid good groundwork for the potential exploration of a few characters backstory. The visions of Wilkin's wife are a bit bothersome now, but the flashbacks played a key part this episode in revealing a small part of Wilkin's childhood. I would like to see other characters get flashbacks to explore their pasts as well; that could be an intriguing aspect to the show if they used flashbacks for multiple characters, like LOST. Overall, ‘Effigy / Delw’ is a revealing and thrilling episode and it really feels now that we have a good set-up going. Kurt Sutter continues to deliver all that he promised for this show, and more. It has already become a favourite of mine.
As always, thank you for reading. Let me know in the comments what you thought of the Effigy / Delw!
