In The Bastard Executioner recap, Milus sends Wilkin on a mission and Lady Love has to prove her claims to the King’s favorite Piers Gaveston when he arrives in the shire….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
Through seven seasons on Sons of Anarchy, Kurt Sutter created an intricate world where the lines between good and evil often bled between each other and the multi-faceted characters that made up the show.
Villains weren’t always just mustache-twirling bad guys who didn’t have any redeemable qualities and an argument could be made that even the protagonist in the series, Jax Teller, committed some of the most heinous acts on the series.
But for most viewers who watched the show unfold over seven seasons, there was a common them when it came to the truly villainous characters that appeared on the canvas from season to season.
As bad as Agent June Stahl was, arguably Damon Pope was worse.
As bad as Clay Morrow was, in the end Gemma Teller was arguably worse.
On Sutter’s new show, The Bastard Executioner, Milus Corbett has certainly been painted as the most evil character currently dealing with the lead protagonist this time around, Wilkin Brattle. Milus is a smug, conniving man who ultimately only looks out for his greater good, but just like we should have learned on Sons of Anarchy — there’s always someone worse.
Enter Piers Gaveston to the conversation and by the end of this latest episode, he even has Milus looking like a sympathetic character.
With that said, let’s recap The Bastard Executioner titled ‘Piss Profit/Proffidwyr Troeth’….
A Little White Lie
Two weeks have passed since Lady Love Ventris and her handmaiden Isobel visited Windsor and informed the King via his No. 2 Piers Gaveston that she was with child and that would be the heir to inherit Ventrishire in the name of his fallen father, Erik Ventris. In reality, Love isn’t pregnant and based on previous hints, she may not even be able to carry a child but in the moment it was the only lie that could keep Gaveston from splitting up her shire and taking a big chunk (including the castle) for himself.
Matters are made worse when Gaveston charges into Ventrishire that day with his own ‘piss profit’ who will test Lady Love’s morning pee to find out if she’s truly pregnant or not. He doesn’t buy her convenient story told a moment after she was told her shire was being ripped apart and now Gaveston is looking for proof. To make matters worse, over the last two weeks since her return, Lady Love didn’t bother to tell Milus about her revelation that she was with child, which throws a potential monkey wrench into his plans to marry her off to Baron Pryce to not only save Ventrishire but make their kingdom that much more powerful by joining another shire in the same area.
With Gaveston in town and the need to provide a urine sample the next morning for testing, Lady Love is in deep and she’s not sure how to get out again. She doubles down on her lie, however, when Gaveston gives her the option to retract her statement and promises no harm will come to her for telling the king a false story about her alleged heir. Lady Love says no such luck — she’s with child and he will be the next king of Ventrishire just like his father.
A Particular Set of Skills
That morning Wilkin is enjoying a walk through the village with his faux son when he sees Annora is there selling her elixirs and potions to the townspeople. She explains why she’s come to town while also noticing that his supposed wife Jessamy is following him close behind. One look at the girl and Annora knows something is off.
“This one has a crippled heart from so many dreadful memories. Her angry ghosts push her close to madness.”
~ Annora
Wilkin doesn’t get to spend much time with his favorite healer because he’s attempting to sneak in food and water to his brothers currently being held captive in the castle’s dungeons after they were captured in last week’s episode. Wilkin is desperate to get them out and when Milus shows up asking for a favor, he’s also got an offer that will see the men released from prison where they can complete their sentences with servitude.
Milus: “I am in need of your skill and confidence.”
Wilkin: “We’ve learned that when you speak of serving the many, it’s only you that reaps the bounty.”
Milus tells Wilkin that Baron Pryce is trying to curry favor with the King so he’s sending a rare Bible to him as a gift to hopefully sway his decision when it comes to the future of Ventrishire. Milus needs Wilkin to ambush the caravan, burn the wagon with the book in it and leave everyone for dead like it was bandits out on the road looking to hit one of the local Barons.
Milus promises Wilkin’s friends will be set free but if he doesn’t comply, they will continue to suffer in the dungeons. Wilkin and Toran balk at the offer for a moment but knowing this could help their brothers break free of this prison, they agree to do the job. Wilkin does offer up one bit of warning to Milus, who has been pushing his weight around a lot in these past few months since Baron Ventris’ death.
“You should be mindful as well, Chamberlain. Since the Baron’s death you’ve guzzled this new power like sweet mead. Men never make sound choices while drunk.”
~ Wilkin
The Road to Hell
Wilkin and Toran head off to meet Baron Pryce’s caravan bound for Windsor and without much trouble they subdue and murder the guards before planting a flaming arrow into the wagon, which supposedly holds the valuable bible being sent to King Edward II.
A few moments later, Wilkin hears cries coming from inside the wagon and when he opens the door, he finds that there are two women inside burning alive. They are able to pull out one of the women, who dies shortly after they get her out of the burning wagon, and one look reveals that this is Baron Pryce’s wife.
Milus and Baron Pryce knew to make their arrangement work, his current wife has to be out of the picture so he could marry Lady Love instead. Milus knew Wilkin would never willingly kill an innocent woman so he told him what he needed to hear in order to get the job done.
After discovering that he just killed a woman, Wilkin storms back to the castle, walks into Milus’ chamber and the two proceed to beat the shit out of each other. Milus’ chamber boy calls for help but when the soldiers arrive, the Chamberlain tells them that it’s all a big misunderstanding and they were just practicing a few moves for the battlefield.
Wilkin is torn apart by guilt over what he’s done and later he even has a vision of his dead wife visiting him once again, this time telling him that he should follow her. After Petra removes her clothes and walks towards the sea, she turns and ends up falling into a cavernous hole, screaming for Wilkin to save her. When he finally reaches for her hand and pulls her to safety, it’s the charred remains of Baron Pryce’s wife.
He’s clearly haunted by what he’s done and this latest vision of his wife told her to join him — in death we can assume?
A Test of Faith
Milus tries his best to get in Gaveston’s good graces by sending the twins to his room for a romp where he hopes they can ply loose his lips for some information about his real intention for Ventrishire. When they return, the twins tell Milus that Gaveston was much more interested in him that he was in the two of them.
Milus arranges for a private dinner meeting with Gaveston where they begin to eat and share a few thoughts. Milus finally quizzes Gaveston about his real interest in this part of Wales, considering that he’s the King’s favorite, shouldn’t he want a better piece of land? Or maybe Gaveston is looking to hide away from something or somebody? Remember from the history lesson last week, the real Piers Gaveston was despised by almost every baron under King Edward II’s rule because he was basically a commoner that was elevated to royalty and held in high regard by his majesty.
Gaveston isn’t so quick to tell Milus anything without a little something for him first.
“My tongue seems to loosen when my cock rests in a handsome mouth.”
~ Piers Gaveston
Gaveston then tells Milus to get down on his knees because that position is more pleasurable but when the Chamberlain prepares to do the deed, he’s slapped away. Gaveston tells Milus that he would never allow the dirt-mouth of a common man to touch his rod, especially when he’s used to nothing but the finest oils in all of England and France.
Milus may be bad — but there’s always someone worse.
Milus slinks away in disgrace and after his embarrassment, he finds the chamber boy who waits on him and beats the kid within an inch of his life.
Meanwhile, Lady Love calls on Wilkin to introduce her to Annora to find out if maybe she can help solve this pregnancy issue because she has to take the test in a matter of hours and if she’s found to be lying, not only will Ventrishire get torn apart, but she’ll get beheaded for treason.
Annora is comforting to the poor girl, who is clearly overwhelmed by the responsibilities that have been thrust upon her at such a young age when she never really got the chance to live her own life before marrying Ventris. Annora counsels her and gives Lady Love some urine from a pregnant wolf and another potion that should be the right concoction to fool the test she will be forced to perform the next day.
Miraculously when Gaveston’s tester goes through the motions and tests Lady Love’s ‘urine’, he finds that she is actually pregnant. Gaveston is enraged but now he has no recourse but to leave Ventrishire alone until Lady Love gives birth and assuming it’s a male, he will be the heir to the kingdom. Of course the bigger problem is that Lady Love isn’t actually pregnant and her only choice is to find a way to get with child soon or this entire rouse is for nothing.
Later that night, Wilkin and Lady Love reconvene in the chapel where both of them have gone to pray. Wilkin is just about to leave so the baroness can enjoy some solitude when he slips and calls her ‘my love’.
He apologizes immediately, but Lady Love isn’t offended at all that the powerful punisher called her such a sweet name.
“I so enjoy your company. I do not want us to grow apart.”
~ Lady Love
Wilkin and Lady Love embrace but as they are holding each other, Toran looks in and sees the two of them together and wonders where his brother’s head is at currently. Lady Love signed the release forms for their friends in captivity to be released, but he’s concerned that Wilkin is getting too close to these royals, who could kill them all with one snap of their fingers. Not to mention these royals are the ones who ordered their village burnt to the ground and their families murdered and now Wilkin is saddling up next to them one by one.
On his way out of the chapel, Toran runs into Jessamy, who is bringing her ‘husband’ some lunch. He tells her he’s busy with his devotion and when’s he looks in and sees Wilkin embracing Lady Love, Jessamy is filled with scorn and anger.
Remember Annora’s warning — this woman is already tortured and on the brink of madness and now after seeing this latest vision of her ‘husband’ with another woman, there’s no telling what she’s capable of doing.
Tune into The Bastard Executioner next Tuesday night at 10pm ET to find out what happens!
