The first episode in ITV's new epic re-imagining of one of literature’s greatest and most enduring heroes, Beowulf, starts in the new year so here's our Episode Info & Video thread to accompany the show. All new information for each episode will be added here as it becomes available, if you come across anything that has been missed then please use the button below and send it to us so we can update the post.
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Promotional Material (Click to expand)
Kieran Bew leads a stellar cast in ITV’s epic re-imagining of one of literature’s greatest and most enduring heroes Beowulf.
Kieran stars alongside multi award-winning actor William Hurt (Humans, Kiss of the Spider Woman) who plays Hrothgar and acclaimed actress Joanne Whalley (Wolf Hall, Jamaica Inn) who takes the role of Rheda.
Created by James Dormer, Tim Haines and Katie Newman, this action-packed 12 part drama series produced by ITV Studios is set in the mythical Shieldlands, a place of spectacle and danger populated by both humans and fantastical creatures.
Essentially, a Western set in Britain’s mythic past, the story unfolds on a huge canvas, filmed amongst the breathtaking beauty of England's north east.
Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands also stars Edward Speleers (Downton Abbey), David Ajala (Black Box), Ellora Torchia (Indian Summers), Gisli Orn Gardarsson (Spooks and Spirits) Laura Donnelly (Outlander), Elliot Cowan (Da Vinci’s Demons), Ian Puleston-Davies (Coronation Street), David Harewood (Homeland), Joe Sims (Broadchurch), Lee Boardman (The Interceptor), David Bradley (Broadchurch), Ace Bhatti (The Shadow Line), Gregory Fitoussi (Mr Selfridge), Susan Aderin (The Last Detective), Kirsty Oswald (Ripper Street), Edward Hogg (Indian Summers), Alex Price (Father Brown), Jack Rowan (Silent Witness) and Itoya Osagiede (Okora: The Prelude).
Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands is a series about courage, greed, betrayal, revenge, loyalty, power, man versus wilderness and, of course, love. It is a series that explores the notion of good and evil, heroes and villains. However, beyond these wider political undercurrents and inner personal turmoils are the excitement, danger and sense of adventure of any great Western. Epic fights, thrilling chases, raids, celebrations and battles are an essential part of the promise.
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Episode 1 (Click to expand)
Airs 3rd January on ITV and 23rd January on Esquire
Heroic legend Beowulf (Kieran Bew) gallops through the epic and mythical Shieldlands, to his childhood home of Herot, hoping to set right past wrongs.
Having left the rugged frontier town twenty years earlier, warrior come mercenary Beowulf, returns to pay his respects to ailing ward and Thane of Herot, Hrothgar (William Hurt). However, his gesture of goodwill soon opens old wounds. Beowulf is met with cold steel leaving him no choice but to fight his way into the Great Hall to be heard by new Thane Rheda (Joanne Whalley), wife of Hrothgar, whose appointment has caused controversy within Herot and afar.
With its defences fast fading, Herot falls under attack from within and when Rheda’s loyal servant is killed, Beowulf vows to remain until the enemy is routed out, justice is served and Herot is safe once more. It’s a race against time for Beowulf as he seeks to protect the town and catch the killer, be it human or beast…
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Episode 2 (Click to expand)
Airs 10th January on ITV and 30th January on Esquire.
Herot is bustling as the town makes preparations for the Gathering at which the next ruler of the Shieldlands will be elected. With the other tribal leaders due to arrive in Herot at any moment however, the pressure mounts to catch Herot’s killer before another victim is claimed.
In a bid to buy themselves more time and avoid panic amongst the tribe leaders, Rheda (Joanne Whalley), Slean (Ed Speleers) and Abrecan (Elliott Cowan) ride out to stall them whilst Beowulf begins his search. Keen not to let Beowulf investigate alone, Koll (Alex Price), the deputy Reeve, joins him in the hunt and their enquiries lead them from the working heart of Herot, the smelting pits, to the upper echelons of the Golden Hall. The discoveries they unravel shock Beowulf and those around him to the core.
Meanwhile, a member of Rheda’s riding party - one of our heroes, fails to return to Herot, signalling further danger may be in their midst.
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Episode 3 (click to expand)
Airs 17th January on ITV and 6th February on Esquire.
With Slean (Ed Speleers) and Thane Scorann (David Harewood) missing, Beowulf (Kieran Bew) and Rate (David Ajala), Thane of the Varni, charge out into the forest in search of them.
But with the Gathering fast approaching and Rheda’s (Joanne Whalley) bid for leadership depending on the hope of ever-loyal Scorann’s vote, Beowulf questions whether their disappearance might be more than a simple coincidence.
Beowulf and Rate continue their journey, tracking deep into the forest and are soon reminded that the Shieldlands are a dangerous place when they are set upon by Warig creatures. With their pride firmly at stake, some one-upmanship ensues and the men race after the creature, which leads them to a bigger, more dangerous situation where their steel is put to the test. Having overcome the Mudborn who were baying for their blood, they soon close in on Slean and Scorann’s trail, and an Outcast straggling behind the main group holding the Thane and Rheda’s son Slean captive, leads them one-step closer to uncovering the truth behind the kidnapping.
Now, almost in touching distance of their people, Beowulf hatches a plan to secure their release, however their success is not without injury or cost and one of our party pays with their life during the battle for freedom, whilst another realises the shocking truth of Herot’s traitor.
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Episode 4 (Click to expand)
Airs 24th January on ITV and 13th February on Esquire.
The day of the Gathering. The fate of the Shieldlands lies moments away, but having lost some of her closest allies, Rheda’s (Joanne Whalley) chances of becoming leader of these great realms and thus preventing civil war looks bleak and her worries escalate. With the odds against her, Rheda knows that if she loses, she must fight to the death.
Meanwhile, a furious Slean (Ed Speleers) must also make a sacrifice for his mother’s campaign and play his part, but in doing so, his loyalties become deeply conflicted.
Later, at Rheda’s request, Beowulf and his gang are tasked with a mission to help cement Rheda’s position as Jarl of the Shieldlands, and they must make a significant journey across the epic landscape.
En route, Beowulf’s party are ambushed, their mission is compromised and thus, Rheda’s leadership hangs in the balance.
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Episode 5 (click to expand)
Airs 31st January on ITV and 20th February on Esquire.
Our group continue their perilous journey to Mere to bolster the new treaty, but now without Roth to guide them, the dangers they face look far from over. As they tackle various assaults the group’s situation goes from bad to desperate. For Elvina (Laura Donnelly), this is a return to her homelands; she recalls her mother’s old tales of Mere as she guides them past the rivers and dunes towards the hidden tribe.
Anticipating a warm welcome, our Herot heroes are shocked to be met with hostility by aging Thane Gorrik (David Bradley). Eventually however, as his icy demeanour slowly melts away, they are introduced to the tribe and Gorrik’s daughters Mara (Olivia Chenery) and Kela (Holly Earl). Mara (Olivia Chenery), the eldest of the two and Slean’s (Ed Speleers) future bride, is taken ill and whilst Elvina tries to heal her, her attempts are redundant without the necessary cure. Only found within one of the Shieldlands’ most dangerous Mudborn creatures, retrieving the cure will take courage, stealth and no small amount of skill. With Gorrik unable and reluctant to risk his depleted warriors, even for his own daughter, Beowulf (Kieran Bew) sets out with Breca (Gisli Orn Gardarsson) to get the remedy on which Mara’s life depends.
Rowan, Gorrik’s Reeve (Sam Hoare) and Mara’s true love, joins them to help save her. But with Gorrik growing suspicious of the Herot party, fuelled by Rowan’s words of distrust, could his intensions in joining Beowulf and Breca be less than heroic, and will Mara get the antidote she desperately needs to save her life and to secure the marriage?
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Episode 6 (click to expand)
Airs 7th February on ITV and 27th February on Esquire.
Beowulf (Kieran Bew) gets to work re-building the town’s defences - a need that becomes even greater when iron-miner Greff (Joe Sims), is attacked by one of the most dangerous Mudborn creatures known to humans – a Troll. Usually able to keep these deadly creatures at bay, such an unprovoked attack spells unquantifiable danger for the people of the Shieldlands and must therefore be investigated immediately by Beowulf.
Elsewhere, Slean’s (Ed Speleers) frustrations and impotence about his impending marriage to Kela (Holly Earl) escalate further when he misconstrues a private conversation between Elvina (Laura Donnelly) and Beowulf; tensions spill over, leading the men to blows. It’s the last straw for Slean who leaves for Bregan to see Abrecan (Elliott Cowan) - marking an end to his loyalties to Rheda (Joanne Whalley).
With the threat of the Mudborn creature looming, Beowulf heads to the forest with Breca (Gisli Orn Gardarsson) and Greff to steer off any further attacks. Beowulf soon discovers that the Trolls, who are usually fed salt to keep them equable, have been deprived of it, in an act that reeks of treachery against Herot. First things first however, with the Trolls on the rampage thirsting for salt, they’ll soon come looking for human blood which means Beowulf must act now to placate the threat - and then unravel the traitor working against Rheda.
Unaware of Beowulf’s revelation, Slean arrives in Bregan to meet with his uncle Abrecan. Tensions are high but their deliberations are cut short as Bregan falls under attack leaving Slean forced to pick where his loyalties lie…
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Episode 7 (click to expand)
Airs 14th February on ITV and 5th March on Esquire.
With Slean (Ed Speleers) and his uncle Abrecan (Elliott Cowan) failing to warn Herot about the Wulfing Raider attack, the marauders arrive at the peripheries of an unsuspecting Herot and set their Barghest wolves free to terrorise the town. As Herot’s townspeople flea in all directions, Beowulf (Kieran Bew) rushes to action, but whilst he’s saving lives in the smelting pits, one of our characters is abducted from the bosom of Herot and, later, Rheda (Joanne Whalley) agrees to meet old enemy Jogan (Jefferson Hall) to negotiate an exchange for the hostage. With tensions at boiling point as the exchange takes place, an unexpected turn of events forces Beowulf and Varr (Edward Hogg) to join forces and face the threat head on before Rheda loses authority and control of her town.
Meanwhile, with Slean en route back to Herot, armed with his uncle’s treacherous plot against his mother, Abrecan begins to question his nephew’s nerve to do what must be done against Rheda…
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Episode 8 (click to expand)
Airs 21st February on ITV and 12th March on Esquire.
Herot, in the mirth and merriment of preparation, readies itself for Slean (Ed Speleers) and Kela’s (Holly Earl) wedding celebrations. Songs are sung, stories are told and mead is drunk, but will a deadly turn of events prove too much for Slean to bear and when some shocking secrets are revealed between the couple, they must decide if new loyalties are to be forged or irrevocably shattered.
Meanwhile, with Rheda’s (Joanne Whalley) new laws permeating the tribes, it’s time for Abrecan (Elliott Cowan) to make a choice, whether to step aside and accept his sister’s rule, or stand against her in a declaration of war, however, not before Abrecan sees his people through the most significant event of the year… The harvest season is upon them and the people of Bregan eagerly await the behemoth shoal of pandiri fish, soon to travel through their waters - an event on which their survival depends!
As Thane, the responsibility befalls Abrecan to call his tribe into action when he predicts the pandiri fish are within their grasp. But, having been distracted by events in Herot, many, including council member Harken, have sensed Abrecan’s growing distance from the tribe and doubt his ability and commitment. To avoid another hungry winter, Abrecan must deliver a successful harvest to maintain his position and influence as Thane. Under ever-increasing pressure after his misstep the previous year, Abrecan cannot consider failure and he faces an unexpected fight for leadership…
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Episode 9 (click to expand)
Airs 28th February on ITV and 19th March on Esquire.
Elvina and Beowulf try to keep their romance a secret, but when this puts their lives in danger, she is forced to reveal a terrible secret about herself to save their lives. Learning the truth puts Beowulf's feelings for her to the ultimate test.
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Episode 10 (click to expand)
Airs 6th March on ITV and 26th March on Esquire.
Rheda tries to discredit Beowulf's accusations as suspicion about her brother mounts, but is unprepared for the terrible truth that faces her both at home and in other lands.
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