The Winter King (Season 1) Episode 2: ‘The Winter King’, which premiered last week on MGM+, had a promising start. This historical fiction fantasy drama series introduces us to the story of Arthur, who was banished by the king after his ‘real’ son’s death. On his path away from the kingdom, Arthur saved a young boy from the pit of death and gave him a new life. Derfel, who was born a Saxon, grew up in another place and aspired to be as brave of a warrior as his saviour Arthur was. Gundleus, who killed his family, became the King of Siluria and joined hands with High King Uther of Avalon. Uther was delighted to see his male heir, whom he preferred as his heir to Arthur. So, in the end, Merlin approached Arthur to return to the kingdom to save it from the impending danger.
The second episode shows the decisions that the High King takes in the final hours of his life. With Avalon’s fate in shambles, Arthur returns to establish peace and protection from the threat of Gundleus.
*Spoilers ahead*
The Winter King (Season 1) Episode 2 Recap:
What happened at the end of Episode 1?
Previously, we saw the high king of Avalon, Uther (Eddie Marsan) banishing Arthur (Iain De Caestecker) in the wake of Mordred’s death. With a new prince’s birth, Uther believed that the kingdom had found a worthy heir. But Merlin (Nathaniel Martello-White) senses the dangers that the young prince would pose years down the line and advises Uther to bring Arthur back. Since the High King refused to do so, Merlin went ahead to meet Arthur and persuade him to return from banishment. Unfortunately, for Merlin, Arthur did not wish to return and had made peace with his new life.
High King Uther’s Death
Back in Avalon, King Uther suffers due to his ailments AND Lady Morgan (Valene Kane) tries to convince him to bring Arthur back considering his poor health would affect his governing decisions. Instead, Uther decides to choose three men to defend his son until he is ready to assume the kingship – Bishop Bedwin (Steven Elder), the leader of the Christian Church in Britain; Owain (Daniel Ings), champion of Dumnonia, and Gundleus (Simon Merrells), the king of Silures. For that to happen, Gundleus needs to break his alliance with his uncle Gorfydd. As a potential future husband of Queen Norwenna, he swears to break ties with Gorfydd.
In the past, Gundleus killed the entire family of Derfel (Stuart Campbell). So, he is justifiably furious that this unruly man will now be partly in charge of Avalon. He tries to kill the violent man, only to be stopped by Nimue (Ellie James) from acting upon this impulse. She reckons she has to choose a fate based on her responsibilities instead of her happiness. Despite the suffering, she proceeds with a life without her love. While the couple is in anguish for their distance, Uther takes his last breaths after worrying whether the gods will forgive him for turning his back on them.
Gundleus’s Cruelty
Three weeks after Uther’s funeral, Derfel learns how Uther’s victory at Caer Udarn gave him a reputation of ‘The Great Red Dragon’. The people lament how there will never be a king like Uther. Queen Norwenna returns to the kingdom with the prince but does not appreciate the idea of becoming the wife of Gundleus. While Nimue suffers from pain about an impending doom, Gundleus arrives with his men in Avalon with the promise of a union. He holds the young prince in his hands and looks at him with kind eyes. So, the people almost consider it as a promise of the king wishing to stay connected to his family. Moments later, Gungleus murders the baby.
Right after the baby’s sudden death, chaos ensues in the kingdom. Gundleus’s soldiers take an upper hand over the locals. Later, Gundleus walks up to find Nimue resisting his entry into their kingdom. She tells him to leave their sacred place. She threatens to make inflict him with undeniable pain and suffering for eternity. While Gundleus gets into a fight with her, Derfel runs inside from the battleground. He tries to choke Gundleus to death only to be attacked and being knocked unconscious. The evil creatures working with Gundleus subject Nimue to extreme torture. Derfel wakes up to witness this act of absolute cruelty.
Eventually, they find themselves inside a house on fire. They get out to find the locals being mercilessly killed by Gundleus’s soldiers. With Nimue, Derfel escapes this dreadful massacre. Back in Avalon, Gundleus makes Queen Norwenna beg him for mercy. He asks her to kiss his sword only to brutally murder her. He makes sure that the lords of Dumnonia know about the absolute travesty he created in this kingdom. Besides, he gets Ladwys (Tatjana Nardone) to be his queen. Meanwhile, Derfel hopes to save his Nimue’s life through this turmoil. Nimue struggles to find a purpose for her life past the trauma she was subjected to. Derfel still makes his best efforts to save her. She recalls how Merlin also took her to safety when she was just a child.
The Winter King (Season 1) Episode 2 Ending Explained:
After what Gundleus did to her, Nimue worries she cannot see the Gods. She feels lost and hopeless in this new life and wants to go to the Otherworld. But Derfel does not let her go risk her life. Lady Morgan and other Avalon dwellers walk toward them to find a safe life. A young woman walks with a baby that has deformed feet. This young woman sacrificed her own child for the safety of Prince Mordred. Back in the kingdom, Gundleus realises that the baby he killed isn’t the prince. So, Gundleus steers his army in their direction, hoping they would move toward Caer Cadarn. Out of nowhere, Arthur arrives there to save the Avalon dwellers from Gundleus’s evil. He and his men kill Gundleus’s soldiers and shine a light of hope for a safe kingdom.
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