The Winter King Season 1 Episode 10 Recap

The episode opens with Prince Tristan (Gabriel Tierney) dropping a load of tin off at Caer Cadarn. Lanval (Matt Mella) voices concern about meeting with the Saxons with so few warriors. Arthur Pendragon (Iain De Caestecker) assures him that they only want to talk to the Saxons, not fight them. Sagramor (Ken Nwosu) hopes the Saxons only want to talk as well. Arthur leads his men out of the kingdom. Derfel (Stuart Campbell) looks out across the sea at the Isle of The Dead. Guinevere (Jordan Alexandra) approaches announcing she will join him. Derfel watches two men throw a man into a well. The scar on his palm burns.

Caer Cadarn – Morgan Pendragon (Valene Kane) finds Sansum (Andrew Gower) baptizing a woman. His followers applaud when he dunks the woman into the water. Morgan orders the Christians to leave. Sansum asks if their Lord concerns her. She points out that no one has ever seen their invisible God, unlike their Gods, whom Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White) talks to. She says their Gods visit them in their dreams. He questions why their Gods do not comfort her. She denies the need for comfort. He convinces her to take the “Song of Songs” book.

Arthur and Tristan look at the Saxon camp in the distance. He tells his men that they will camp there overnight and cross the border in the morning. Lanval warns that the Saxons will see them. Arthur says that is his plan. Sagramor reminds him that there is no interpreter available. Guinevere speaks in the Saxon tongue.

Isle Of The Dead – Derfel drops down into the abandoned well. Injured, he crawls through rubble and skeletons.

Arthur and his men find themselves surrounded by Saxons. Holding up a ball of tin, Arthur asks to speak with Bretwalda Aelle (Craig Parkinson).

Noden’s Vale Eastern Border of Dumnonia – Saxon warriors escort Arthur and his men to a Saxon camp. Bowen (Angus Salisbury) tells him that Aelle requests to see their tin. Arthur asks Aelle to show his face. Aelle recognizes Guinevere. He says word is King Gorfydd (Aneirin Hughes) “roared like a wounded bull” when she fled Powys. Guinevere asks what does he know about Arthur. He tells her that Arthur is King Uther Pendragon’s (Eddie Marsan) bastard who was banished from Dumnonia. Arthur calls him King Cedric’s “whipping boy”. He suggests Cedric resents Aelle and his ideas.

Isle Of The Dead – Derfel calls Nimue’s (Ellie James) name while making his way through a cave.

Arthur informs Aelle that Gorfydd will be there soon to talk to him. Aelle tells him that Gorfydd brings gold. Arthur warns that Gorfydd will betray him. Aelle claims to have been offered Princess Ceinwyn (Emily John). Arthur explains how Gorfydd planned to kill Mordred, the Edling King, by wedding him to Ceinwyn. He says Gorfydd’s war plan is to join the Silurians and Black-Shield Irish to attack the Saxons while the Saxons battle with them. Aelle questions his claim. Arthur admits the war plan was his, not Gorfydd’s. He assures Aelle that tin is more valuable to him than Gold. Arthur vows to deliver three loads of tin to his border every new moon for one year of peace. Tristan tells him that their tin can be mixed with copper to repair their weapons. Aelle says the Saxons need grain and land more than tin. He orders his men to apprehend Guinevere. Arthur offers himself in exchange for Guinevere’s freedom. When Aelle threatens to kill Arthur, Guinevere offers him Ratae. Aelle says King Cedric’s attempts to capture Ratae have failed. Guinevere tells him that she knows an entrance into the fortress. Aelle orders his men to release her.

Isle Of The Dead – Derfel offers the People of Utter Darkness (Robert Strange, Benedict Stewardson, Gethin Alderman) a bone. Sylvia (Charlotte Workman) explains how her Lord banished her there while she was pregnant. She says her twins were born there. Wenhaver (Miranda Shamiso) assures him that God will save them. Derfel offers to take them if they help them find Nimue. Sylvia says after Nimue arrived this morning, she left the safety of the caves. She tells him about the people living in the black tunnels before urging him to stay away from them. He says it is important that he find her.

Guinevere tells Aelle about a secret passage leading to Ratae. She offers to show him the secret passage on her hand-drawn map if he accepts the terms of Arthur’s peace treaty. Aelle vows to keep peace with Dumnonia for 12 months. Later, Arthur admits to being wrong about Nimue before announcing his departure to the Isle Of The Dead. Sagramor goes with him.

Isle Of The Dead – Nimue attacks Derfel. He identifies himself before she releases him. She confesses to loving him so much. He confesses to loving her and refuses to let her die. Arthur and Sagramor find Derfel’s horse. Arthur says the Romans constructed the caves which was once a mine before Uther turned it into a prison. In the prison hut, they encounter Malldyn (Ned Dennehy). Picking up a cup of alcohol, Arthur says he is failing King Mordred by drinking and sleeping. Malldyn boasts of drinking to celebrate the arrival of a new offender. Grabbing him by the throat, Arthur says he is a good man. Malldyn warns that he is dead. Inside the caves, Derfel and Nimue follow a stream of seawater.

Malldyn claims Uther approved of the prisoners being fed every three days. He says Uther ordered them to seal the last cave mouth. Arthur accuses him of lying. Malldyn says Uther told them to stop releasing prisoners. Arthur demands the prisoners to be released. Malldyn warns it is not possible. Arthur vows to make it possible. Inside the caves, Nimue and Derfel work to knock down the wall while Arthur and Sagramor work from the outside. A group of men attack Derfel and Nimue. Pulling Excalibur from the sheath, Arthur jabs it into the wall. It crashes to the ground. They enter the cave to find Derfel and Nimue still alive. They walk through the cave to find Wenhaver, Sylvia, and her children. Arthur identifies himself as a “son of no one” before pleading for their forgiveness. He condemns Uther’s orders to never release them and escorts them to the entrance. He holds out his hand to Nimue. She says Derfel saved her, not him. He admits to being wrong about sending her there. Nimue refuses to return to Dumnonia. Arthur assures her that loneliness is not enough because it is not for him. He claims to see that the Gods appointed her as Dumnonia’s druidess.

Kneeling, Arthur refuses to get up unless she agrees to return to Dumnonia with them. She holds out her hand and he accepts it.

Caer Cadarn – Morgan reads from the “Song of Songs” when she sees Sansum watching her.

Strathclota – Merlin finds the Horn of “Bran in a cave”. Holding the Horn of Bran, he sees the most recent events in Dumnonia. He learns about Arthur and Aelle’s peace treaty. Blood spills out of the “Horn of Bran” onto the ground while he continues to learn Arthur’s recent activities. Arthur vows to avenge the people killed at Ratae by killing Aelle and forcing the Saxons back to where they came from. The episode ends.

 

The Winter King Finale Review

Arthur approaches Aelle, with a peace treaty offer. Intending to offer three loads of tin monthly, Arthur is forced to give the Saxons Ratae. Guinevere tells Aelle about a secret passage into the fortress. The Saxons slaughter the people of Ratae. Arthur vows to avenge their deaths by killing Aelle and forcing the Saxons out of Britain.

Derfel accesses the Roman caves, once a mine and now a prison. He finds women and their children living in the caves. He follows the cave to the black tunnels where he finds Nimue starving and delirious. She attacks him until he convinces her that he is Derfel. They follow a saltwater trail to the mouth of the cave. In the meantime, a long-time prison guard, Malldyn tells Arthur that King Uther ordered the last mouth of the caves sealed and the prisoners never released back into society. Uther approved of the prisoners being fed every three days. Arthur finds Derfel and Nimue on the other side of the sealed cave mouth. He utilizes Excalibur to bring down the wall. He apologizes to the surviving prisoners and condemns Uther’s orders.

Nimue refuses to return to Dumnonia until Arthur tells her the importance of friends. She accepts his apology but not without a lot of effort on Arthur’s part.

Sansum gives Morgan a Christian book, “Song of Songs”. He finds her later reading it to King Mordred.

Merlin finds the “Horn of Bran” in a cave at Strathclota. He learns Arthur’s latest activities, including his peace treaty with the Saxons.

 

The finale was a complete letdown. The other key members of the cast didn’t even make an appearance. Arthur and Aelle’s meeting was uneventful. Although there was way too much focus on Derfel roaming aimlessly inside the caves, it was the highlight of the episode.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Ned Dennehy, one my favorite Irish actors. Would have been nice if he had been introduced at the beginning of the series.

What happens could have been easily summed up in a 30-minute episode. As much as I would like to know more about Arthur’s Dumnonia, I will wait to read Bernie Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles. MGM+ and Amazon Studios butchered Cornwell’s iconic trilogy. I couldn’t imagine the series will be renewed for a second season.

The finale deserves a 4.5. Get more The Winter King recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite adverting builds brand awareness, click the link to learn more. Join our forum to discuss the latest TV series, movies, and celebrity news.