THE SON
Season 1 AMC (*140) 21:00 & 21:50 Episodes 1 & 2
Pierce Brosnan stars as the patriarch of a Texas oil dynasty in this new Western.
The Son Season 1 Wednesdays (from 3 May) AMC (*140) 21:00 and 21:50
Pierce Brosnan (James Bond in 1997 action flick Tomorrow Never Dies) has traded tuxedos and his Irish accent for dirty britches and a Texas twist as Eli McCullough in Westernset action series The Son (2017- current). It’s based on the 2013 novel of the same name by exec producer Philipp Meyer and follows the impact fathers and sons have on each other, even though absence. “I know what it is like to bring up sons and it can be an arduous road,” says 63-year- old Pierce. “My fatherly instincts are my own. They relate back to no one, because there was no one.” [His father abandoned the family when Pierce was born]
THE FATHER AS THE SON
The series starts with teen Eli (Jacob Lofland) and his family ambushed by Comanche Indians – their dad isn’t there and Eli is the only one left alive. Fastforward 50-ish years and he’s now a cattle baron in Texas who’s trying to get into the oil industry. Business isn’t Eli’s only headache though – between Mexican neighbours who could be sabotaging him and the threat of cross-border war, Eli must deal with his heir Pete (Henry Garrett), who isn’t sure that Eli’s way of doing things – beating saboteurs and cutting off their ears to find out why they blew up his oil rig – is the right way.
GROWING PAINS
The present-day drama is mixed with flashbacks to Eli’s torture at the hands of American Indians. Between beatings from the women in the tribe who are skinning pelts with Eli, there’s also a moment of romance when an Indian maiden slips into his tent one night in episode 2. But at least Eli has a saviour – his tribal chief kidnapper Toshaway (Zahn McClarnon) adopts him after the teen stands up to a beating and he’s accepted into the tribe.