The Bastard Executioner - Piss Profit / Troeth Elw - Review
Last week on The Bastard Executioner, Milus arranged a meeting with another Baron in an attempt to eventually marry Baron Price to the Lady Love. Jessamy continued on her downward spiral, taking drastic action to keep Wilkin's attention, Lady Love made the trip to Windsor to see the King, but left telling a lie that she was pregnant to protect all that she has, and Wilkin became even more vulnerable after he killed a Chamberlain who knew his secret.
"Keep her safe" Annora
‘Executioner’ continued this past Tuesday with an emotionally fueled and revealing episode. The big moment that so many have waited for finally came in the closing minutes, Lady Love and Wilkin hugged. It was an ever so sweet and heart-warming moment and a big development for them both as characters. That moment will be the turning point in their slow-developing relationship and something that fuels a possible romance between them.
Whilst Lady Love and Wilkin are growing closer, Jessamy and Wilkin are growing more apart. She continues to fixate on her past and treat her son how the father would have had he not died - much to Wilkin's displeasure. But what is more interesting, is how Jessamy pays close attention to what Wilkin is doing. Jessamy has just as much to lose as Wilkin and Milus. Should she feel threatened or insecure, I have no doubt that she will turn on Wilkin to protect herself. Her seeing Wilkin hug the Lady Love might just be what pushes her to confess her sins, and do that.
There could be another reason for her paying close attention to Wilkin, she could be spying for Milus. He tends to know an awful lot about Wilkin's problems, and there's no one closer to him than her. If she is, in fact, helping Milus, then Wilkin is in even more trouble. Lee Jones though shined this episode as Wilkin in what is perhaps his best performance to date. It was an emotional episode for Wilkin, and Jones performed exceptionally.
"That woman is not with child" Gaveston
Gaveston returned this episode and played a key part in Lady Love's pregnancy storyline. He wants the Castle and the land Lady Love possesses, and will stop at nothing until he gets it. He is a bigger threat than most give him credit for. This was evident when the twin sisters who Milus has been sleeping with were revealed to be related to Gaveston and are spying for him. This was a shocking reveal and another wonderful creative move by Sutter. Sutter loves to go for shock and awe, and this type of reveal was so clever because it was hidden in plain sight from the beginning. There was no prior build up to the reveal, just one out of nowhere shocker. This is something I love seeing from the series.
Speaking of Milus, we saw a rare side of him this episode. He was humiliated and showed that he is vulnerable and isn't emotionless. For Milus, this was something he didn't like. He likes to be in control, he does things that are necessary, but he doesn't like being humiliated. Gaveston hurt him, and so when the Baroness revealed her ‘pregnancy’ he was pleased. Not for her, but for the simple fact that it meant Gaveston lost and wasn't going to obtain control of Ventrishire.
It would have been more satisfying for Milus to gain one over on Gaveston, but whatever gets Gaveston out the door quicker works for me. He has to be one of the most unlikable characters I've ever seen. The actor is great, but the character is awful. He's not badly written, he's just so despicable.
Milus might have been humiliated, but he demonstrated how he is still the most cunning among them by tricking Wilkin this episode into killing Baron Price's wife. This moment creates an opportunity for the Baroness to take. Milus might have a violent way of doing things but he's now given the Baroness a second option, meaning she doesn't need to go through with the whole needing to get pregnant ordeal now that the door is open for her to marry another Baron. Again, Milus gets things done. He just needs to tell her.
He has a dishonorable ways of doing things, but he will not lose his stature he has worked so hard to gain. Whilst Milus was thinking of the greater good or himself, Wilkin didn't appreciate being lied to. This created a brawl between them, something that has been building up for some time. It was a much needed moment in their relationship and going forward they both will be wary of the other. I do question however how much this will change the dynamic of their partnership. We will see.
Summary
‘The Bastard Executioner’ continued with its best episode yet, in what was one of the most emotional episodes that's aired. The shows continued focus on Wilkin, Milus and Lady Love is always a joy to see, though the lack of screentime for some of the supporting cast such as Timothy Murphy's character is worrying. Wilkin and Lady Love's relationship is slowly building up to something bigger, and I like the development each episode. Annora continues to intrigue me, and there has to be a reveal about her soon as I'm going mad just thinking about whom she could be. Overall, this was a fantastic outing for the show and simply the best episode so far.
As always, thank you for reading. Let me know in the comments what you thought of Piss Profit / Troeth Elw!
