The Letter for the King (2020) s01e01 Episode Script

[voice whispering]
There is a darkness coming.
A darkness that will take
everything.
[narrator] For thousands of years,
the northern kingdoms
of Unauwen and Dagonaut
have waged war on the land to the south,
a land known only as Eviellan.
For thousands of years,
Eviellan has resisted
until now.
A ruthless conqueror
has brought the tribes to their knees
the youngest son of Unauwen's king
Prince Viridian.
[cheering]
[narrator] A prince whose appetite
for power is so great,
the whole world trembles
as he plans where to turn next.
The last hope:
an ancient prophecy that tells of a hero
who will rise
to defeat the coming darkness.
[screams]
[narrator] But of that hero,
there is still no sign.
[panting]
Ragnall?
Are you awake?
[chuckles]
- Good morning to you too.
- [Ragnall caws]
[Ragnall screeches]
Ragnall? [whistles]
[page] Master?
Master?
Master Tiuri, you're late again.
Bors is waiting.
[horn sounding]
[horse hooves pounding]
[men] Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
[men shouting]
These fools make such a racket.
We won't catch a pigeon, let alone a stag.
Fantumar, leave it.
[Sir Fantumar] This one's mine.
[crossbow fires]
[deer falls to the ground]
[Sir Fantumar] Arman?
Get the deer.
You're seriously entering your son
into the trials?
He's 15. It is time.
Arman there's 15 next week,
would you believe?
Strong as an ox.
I hear Tiuri's no stronger
than a jackrabbit.
Strength isn't everything, Fantumar.
What my son lacks in power,
he makes up for with skill and speed.
[laughing]
[laughing continues]
Side-on, Tiuri! Side-on!
[grunting]
Deflect the blow. Don't block it!
Counter!
Come on!
[panting]
He has the fighting instincts
of a stuffed duck.
[horse approaching]
[Bors] Sir Tiuri.
Well?
The boy does try, sire.
There has been some improvement.
Show me.
[sighs]
Come on, boy. We haven't got all day.
[exerts]
[Tiuri grunting]
[grunting]
[yells]
[grunting]
Tiuri!
Tiuri?
The boy has to learn.
- The world won't be easy on him, either.
- Father, I'm
Tiuri, you're bleeding.
I can't do this.
I'll never become a knight.
You can.
- Bors says
- Bors just wants to keep his job.
- I know this is difficult for you.
- No.
I don't belong here.
We don't belonged here.
That's not true.
Who was he?
Who was my real father?
- I told you.
- You never tell me anything.
'Cause the past is over.
Sir Tiuri is your father now.
But I can't be his son.
You can.
Look, if you set your mind to it
if you do what I know you can do,
you will succeed at the trials.
You will become a knight.
[birds chirping]
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[whispering continues]
[exclaims]
[bells tolling]
[crowd cheering]
[girl] Ignore Arman.
It's me you should worry about.
I'm Iona, by the way.
- Oh, I'm
- [Iona] Yeah.
We all know who you are.
[crowd cheering]
- [woman] My lady!
- [man] Queen Alianor!
[woman 2] Your majesty!
From the days of the first kings,
we have chosen the warriors
who will lead us,
not by birth
nor by wealth,
for this honor cannot be purchased.
Only the men and women
who emerge victorious from these trials
are worthy to call themselves
Knights of Dagonaut.
[crowd cheers]
[Queen Alianor] And tomorrow,
I will open the games
in the company of Crown Prince Iridian
son of Dagonaut's greatest ally,
the King of Unauwen.
[crowd cheers]
Your Majesty
is something amiss?
On the contrary.
You've all your limbs,
both your eyes, and
a refreshing lack of boils, warts,
and baldness.
I assume I'll be obliged
to marry you sooner or later.
At least I won't have
to hold my nose too much.
Oh, you're too kind, Madam.
Naturally, I wouldn't wish marriage to me
on my worst enemy.
[inhales] Is it true what they say?
That your brother has won
a great victory in Eviellan?
Prince Viridian has done what no general
in four generations has been able to.
The Eviellan war is over.
[inhales]
And how do you suppose he feels about you?
Reaping all the rewards
whilst he receives nothing but
slaughter, and bloodshed, and war.
Oh, his feelings are of no account.
When the time comes
he will honor me as his king.
Brave words.
[inhales]
It may take brave deeds to back them up.
What we've done here
is just the beginning.
The old world grows weak.
[metal clicks]
And the fire
that we are about to start
will destroy everything
that still remains.
Take these letters.
Choose five of my Red Riders
and crush
anyone
or anything
that lies in your way.
My lord.
[horse whinnies]
Vokia?
Get the horses.
Now.
[Novices grunting]
[man] Final practice rounds!
Final rounds for practice!
Very pleased to meet you.
My name's Foldo, and you are?
Whoops-a-daisy.
[sighs] I do apologize.
Jussipo's reaper grows hungry.
[grunts]
Come and feed her.
[grunts]
[yells]
Here, allow me.
[man] Oh, no, no. Again!
[crowd]
Whoa! [applauds]
[Bors] Tiuri!
Focus.
Attack.
[both grunting]
Shield!
[laughing and clapping]
Tiuri.
- What's the point?
- Did you see him?
He doesn't stand a chance.
You may be leaner and less strong
but that makes you quicker
and a harder target to hit.
[man] Spinning kick!
[man grunts]
However confident they look now,
tomorrow is different.
Do what I've told you,
and you will succeed.
[horse whinnies]
[Black Knight] That one's ours.
[twig snaps]
Don't mind me.
Seriously.
Not looking for trouble.
Your weapons.
All of them.
[exhales]
Oh, right.
Can't be too careful.
I know you.
They call me the Black Knight
with the White Shield.
I think it's because of the black armor
and the white shield
Shut up!
Do Do you mind?
- I've been freezing
- Step away from your weapons.
Friend, I told you.
You've been following me for two days now.
You're no friend of mine.
Move.
[sighs] So I'd hoped
we could have a civilized conversation
about this.
Conversation about what?
We both know
if Prince Viridian succeeds with his plan,
thousands will die.
So why don't you just give me
that letter
and help me stop him
before he destroys everything?
[both grunting]
[screams]
[panting]
Say goodbye friend.
[grunts]
[Vokia panting]
Where the hell have you been?
[breathlessly]
You said hide in a tree
and take him unawares.
Exactly. Hide for a minute or so,
not make a long weekend of it.
He almost took my head off.
Is it there?
[crowd cheering]
Let the games begin.
[crowd cheering]
[Novices grunting]
Counter! Counter!
Why doesn't the boy counter?
[Arman] Want some of this?
Come on! Loser! [grunts]
[both grunting]
[crowd cheers]
[straining]
Yes! [laughs]
[crowd groans]
[yells]
[cheering]
All right. Not pretty, but we'll take it.
[crowd cheers]
Is he winning?
He's just not losing.
There's a difference.
[man] Riders, take your positions!
[crowd cheers]
Yes!
That's my brother! That's my brother!
[exhales]
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[whispering continues]
[crowd cheers]
[coughs]
They're holding the Shaman
for you inside, sire.
The Shaman, my lord.
The chieftain you served is dead.
You now serve me.
[scoffs]
You find that amusing?
I will never serve you.
Do you know
how I conquered your country?
It seems to me
you didn't conquer it at all.
You merely destroyed it.
In a fight to the death
no place can keep its soul hidden.
That's how I conquered Eviellan.
Because I know Eviellan.
For a handful of harvests
you slash and burn
and think you understand us.
I'll never serve you.
And without me
you will learn nothing.
[wind rushing]
[tinkling]
[clinking]
[wind roaring]
And so it begins.
First, comes the darkness
sweeping all before it.
Then comes the warrior
with powers so great
they could shred your very soul.
I know the prophecy.
And you have set it in motion.
I have no choice now. None of us do.
I serve that warrior
not you.
My power will never be yours.
Really?
[winces]
You survived.
I know you hoped to do better.
You survived the first day.
Five Novices were eliminated,
and you weren't one of them.
You can still do this.
Is that what your husband thinks?
All he wants is for you to succeed.
And to protect his precious name.
Sir Tiuri is a good man.
He saved you
and protected me.
While other soldiers were bringing us home
from Eviellan in chains
no, he treated us as human beings.
He won my love
and he deserves yours.
It happened again.
It keeps happening.
The voices.
You have to stop it.
How?
- Focus on something else.
- It doesn't work.
It must.
What is that?
[mother] It was your father's.
He wore it every day of his life.
Maybe it will help you.
[indistinct chatter]
[laughing]
And what of our Eviellan Novice?
Oh, Sir Tiuri, the tiddler.
Why is he even allowed in the arena, eh?
It dishonors us all.
[crowd falls quiet]
Ignore it, Tiuri.
It's just the beer talking.
No one means any disrespect to you.
You saved a stray from a mass grave.
- And gave the whelp your name.
- Yeah. Yeah.
And that is an act of charity, I think
anyone can respect.
[laughing]
That whelp
was burned, beaten, starved,
and driven from his home
before he could even walk.
He's faced death more times
than any of you, and me, combined.
And he's done it without once
letting it harden his heart.
Not once has he turned his back
on anyone or anything
that needed his help!
So
whatever you may think of him,
know this
I would take that whelp
over the spoiled prigs
who bear your names any day of the week.
[wind rushing]
[inhales]
[gasps]
[pants]
[crowd cheering]
[rider yells]
[crowd cheers and applauds]
[shouts and laughs]
If he wins this, he'll go through.
Can he win it?
[breathing heavily]
[crowd cheers]
Yes!
[Tiuri] Are you okay?
[jouster] Shut up and finish the job.
Aren't you gonna fight?
[pants]
I'm gonna do exactly
what your father paid me to do.
Oh, don't tell me
you actually thought you could beat me.
No.
The only contest that you could win
is one where your father's paid
your opponent to lose.
That's not true.
[laughs]
That's not true!
Is it true?
- Tiuri.
- He said my father paid him.
- Look, you won. Who cares?
- I care.
I will not take my place with the others
if I didn't earn it.
Take my advice, Tiuri, and move on.
I want to know.
[Sir Tiuri] You want to know what?
Whether a member this family
will take his place in the knighthood
as they have without fail for 300 years.
Or whether I would sit by and watch
while the boy I saved
the boy who bears my name
humiliates me
in front of the entire court.
I did what I had to.
Now you will too.
I can't.
I haven't earned it.
Haven't earned it?
Whatever pangs of conscience
you think you're having, you can forget.
You haven't earned the right
to a conscience.
You haven't earned the right to anything.
And until you have, you can get out there
and stand with the others.
Because if you don't, I swear to you
by everything that is holy
I will not set eyes on you again.
[crowd cheering]
[Arman] How could he stand there with us
in front of the Queen?
[Jussipo] Has he no shame?
[Iona]
He's never gonna make it as a knight.
- All he'll be is a fraud.
- Should've been Tristan standing there.
Do you not think I know that?
Then why are you still here?
If you had the slightest shred
of self-respect, you'd walk away now.
Maybe I can't.
Maybe I'd like to but don't have a choice.
Has that occurred to you?
Lie to yourself all you want.
We know what you are,
and we'll make sure
everyone else knows it too.
Hey!
Have you brats no respect?
There isn't a man or a woman in Dagonaut
who wouldn't give their first-born
for a mere chance to be where you are now.
And what do you do with it?
You bicker
and squeal like a pack
of underfed piglets.
One more word
and I'll slice off your britches,
and you'll be the first Novice in history
to sit the vigil
with his backside hanging out.
Do you hear me?
And you
you have more to prove
than all of them put together.
So at least try and act
like a knight.
Welcome to your final challenge:
the Sepulchre
of the Lost.
If you're lucky
the next time you see this place
will be the day you're buried in it.
A thousand years
of Dagonaut knights rest here.
Tonight
[door slams closed]
you will join them.
For the next 12 hours
the spirits who possess this place
who have driven men so mad with fear
they've drowned themselves
in the nearest pit
will test each one of you.
No matter what happens
no matter what terrors
they visit upon you
you will not talk.
You will not
move.
And you will not
under any circumstances
leave this chapel.
Failure by any one of you
will mean failure for all.
Is that understood?
Then you will kneel.
[grunts]
In silent
contemplation.
Make sure that's how I find you
at sunrise tomorrow.
[crickets chirping]
[clanking]
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[whispering continues]
[horse whinnes in distance]
[swords clanking]
[whispering continues]
[whispering stops]
[quietly] What was that?
I don't know.
Shh!
- Can we light them?
- No, we can't light them.
Ristridin told us not to move.
Ristridin told us to shut up.
I'm lighting one.
[banging on door]
[banging on door]
[man] Open the door!
Please!
You have to help me!
[banging on door]
[man] Open the door!
What do we do?
[man] Please.
It could be a test.
They could be out there, the Grey Riders.
Watching us,
waiting to see if we break the vigil.
But supposing it isn't?
Supposing it's someone
who really needs help.
[banging on door]
Then he's come
to the wrong place, hasn't he?
Fail the vigil, and you know what we face.
- [Jussipo] Disgrace.
- Dishonor.
And an agonizing death.
So sit there. Do not move.
[banging on door]
[man] Please!
I beg you!
What are you doing? Stop him!
Oh, thank Thank god.
[panting] You have to come with me.
- No, I can't.
- [Vokia] He's dying!
My master, he's dying!
That's his problem, not ours.
He needs help. [panting]
Please.
- We can't just leave him.
- We can, and we will.
Put it away, you fool.
[panting]
How far is he?
Close, very close.
I'll show you! I'll show you!
Tiuri, don't do this.
[breathes heavily]
I'll be quick.
[Vokia]
The Red Riders, they caught up with us.
I'm here, master.
I'm dying, Vokia.
I'll be dead within the hour.
His men won't be far.
Come over here. Come.
Come. Come.
Seriously?
- This is the help you brought me?
- Um, I'll
[Black Knight] Take this letter. Take it.
You must deliver it to King Favian
in Unauwen.
Do you understand?
My ring too. [grunts]
As proof that you're bringing it from me.
The future,
the entire kingdom depends on it,
not just Unauwen.
Dagonaut too.
But I can't.
By the next full moon,
it will be too late.
That's in 14 days.
Unauwen's 1,000 miles from here.
It's not possible.
[Vokia] Yes, it is.
- On Ardanwen.
- [Ardanwen whinnies]
[Vokia] Here, give me the letter.
Come. Come.
[Tiuri]
I'll go to Dagonaut. I'll get help.
[Black Knight] You don't understand.
No one can be trusted.
Take the letter, get on Ardanwen, and go.
Why can't he do it?
What, that old fool?
He's even weaker than I am.
He wouldn't make it out of the forest.
It has to be you.
Swear to me
you will tell no one
and you will get it to the king.
Swear it.
[horse whinnies]
- [shouting in distance]
- It's them.
The Red Riders.
It is time. Give me my sword, please.
Get Get back!
Get back here!
- Master
- Go.
[groans]
[panting]
[Black Knight and Red Riders grunting]
- The letter's not here.
- [Red Rider] It must be.
Nothing.
There's another set of tracks.
[breathing shakily]
There's someone else.
[whinnies]
[gasps]
Over there.
[whinnies]
[Red Rider] Get back on the horses!
[Red Riders shouting]
[Red Rider]
He's getting away on a horse!
[Red Riders shouting]
[Red Riders] Hyah! Hyah!
Oh, god! No! Stop!
Stop!
Stop!
[Ardanwen whinnies]
[nickers]
[dramatic music playing]