‘The Winter King’ review: King Arthur channels ‘Game of Thrones’ in gritty drama

nypost.com:

“The Warlord Chronicles” novels by Bernard Cromwell. It’s a retelling of the famous King Arthur story set in Dark Ages Britain, where the land is divided into warring tribes who are constantly battling with the Saxons.

The show is gritty, bloody and sometimes campy, with bad wigs galore.It’s no masterpiece but, despite its flaws, there’s nonetheless enough in it to captivate fans of shows such as “Vikings” and its spinoff, and “House of the Dragon.” “The Winter King” begins with Arthur (Iain De Caestecker), the illegitimate son of the king who is a warrior on a battlefield. (Naturally, there are lots of closeups of his face looking grim and smeared with dirt and blood to establish what kind of show this is right off the bat.) When Arthur brings his slain brother’s body home to his abusive father, King Uther (Eddie Marsan), he’s furious and nearly kills Arthur.

But the king’s advisor, Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White), convinces the king to banish Arthur instead. From there, the show jumps around in time — with the screen often reading “3 months later” or “8 years later.” It follows several different characters and their plotlines, along with Arthur, including Merlin’s protégé, Nimue (Ellie James), a witchy woman who can communicate with the gods but struggles between her apparent destiny and her desire for a regular life with a family; and Derfel (Stuart Campbell), a boy whom Arthur rescues from a mass grave.

The eight-year time jump shows that Derfel grew up in the idyllic village of Avalon following his rescue, but he feels compelled towards life as a warrior instead of a quiet farm life. (He and Nimue also have a bit of a star-crossed love.)When the king has a new baby boy, Mordred, and names him as his heir, Merlin.