A slow bleed
Don’t expect quick jolt from 14th-century Wales
IT'S GOING TO take a little longer to fall in love with “The Bastard Executioner” than it did with “Sons of Anarchy.” And no, that’s not a fair measure, since they’re way different shows.
“The Bastard Executioner” is set in 14th century Wales amid Catholics, pagans, ambitious English kings, outmanned Welsh rebels and ordinary
people just scrambling to live through another day. But the comparison is inevitable, because it’s Kurt Sutter’s followup to the California motorcycle drama “Sons,” and it also has Sutter stamps, including relentless tension and the specter of lethal violence.
Not to mention Sutter’s wife, Katey Sagal, who plays a medieval guru named Annora. She becomes a spiritual adviser to our hero, Wilkin Brattle (Lee Jones), a knight who tries to give up his sword but through a convoluted series of tragedies becomes the rulers’ executioner (or “punisher”).
Because there are so many characters, the show’s first essential task is establishing Brattle as a strong, identifiable center to the unfolding story.
Some viewers may not feel that kind of assertion in the two episodes with which the show debuts Tuesday. It’s not that Jones won’t get there, or can’t get there, but he’s not quite there yet. In the broader picture, happily, “The Bastard Executioner” doesn’t require any extensive knowledge of history. It may require some patience to understand where it’s going and start heading toward the payoff.