The Letter For the King: A live-action fantasy adventure for the whole family!
In today’s time of increasingly fractured media audiences, finding a live-action fantasy such as The Letter for the King can be a hard nut to crack. The reason is, that this show can be enjoyed by more than one generation of viewers. As there are countless options and platforms available these days, and there are various media playing devices, it is rare for a series to count an entire family. Adapted from Tonke Dragt’s 1962 Dutch novel De brief Voor de Koning, this six-episode Netflix series fits perfectly into the family adventure show category.
Something different from other shows
Completely different from other shows in the same category, passable CGI, impressive horse work, and some of the most beautiful scenery, broadens the story’s sense of scope. It’s a beautiful story of Tiuri, a young squire who lives in the kingdom of Dagonaut, living as a noble with his mom and stepfather. His stepfather desperately wants him to follow all the family traditions, but Tiuri has no ambition of glory, and he doesn’t even want to take part in the trials to become a Novice.
Then, a dying king asks Tiuri to send a letter to a king of the neighboring kingdom Unauwen, and this needs to be sent within 14 days of time, Tiuri runs in a completely different direction which is a pleasure to watch and it;s also relatable. Tiuri is somewhat forced to accept these tasks, surely destiny has some other plans for him. He is caught in such circumstances that are going to bring him some enemies, allies, and also an opportunity to become a hero. So, should he go ahead and choose it?
The journey continues…
On the way on his journey, he comes across Lavinia (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis), she is an aspiring choreographer and the one who is desperately trying to escape from marrying for money rewards waiting for her on the way. What drives much of the thematic tension of the plot is Lavinia’s street-smart nihilism, and this acts as the right foil to Tiuri’s amiable idealism.
Now, you can meet one of the best-developed characters in the entire series, Ardanwen the horse is now on the screen. Of course, there are some other exciting characters, but Ardanwen the Horse stands out from the rest being a focused, and problem-solving character. If this sounds like something that you have seen before, maybe, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have something better.
There are some similar shows such as Merlin, the one that got amazing momentum from playing within the same “reset’ episodic structure. But, this specific series has only six episodes to tell the story, and it means that this series is more serialized as compared to others. With Tiuri having a very clear target and a specific deadline to finish it, it literally helps the story to move forward, and the season is long enough to explore all those amazing characters this series flirts with.
On the way to his journey, Tiuri is asked by someone- Do you think just because you have reached here, you’re a hero? take this from me- The last thing that the world wants is to have another hero. And, then comes the best moment of the series- The way The Letter for the King finished the job. The series is well aware of the fact that media literate viewers are all speaking about the seemingly derivative plot to zig instead of zag. Hence, you must not think that the series is lacking surprises.In the climax of the season, there is an exciting and interesting twist, the one that turns the entire story on its head, the potential of the story can be completely realized in its conclusion.
Here, how you feel about Game of Thrones can be a way to understand how you are going to feel about this series. For some people Game of Thrones can be overly-nihilistic while some can find The Letter for the King very far from into the noblebright tradition.
What do we know about season 2 so far?
Tiuri wasn’t really happy in the beginning to start this journey, but as soon as he realized that he has no other option, he decided to move forward with this journey. Thankfully, he found allies along the way to help him, but by the end of the day, he finds himself caught in a prophecy that a hero is going to protect peace in Dagonaut while defeating a ruthless prince.
The six episodes of the first season have been a little cliffhanger by the end of the season, giving a clear hint that the season is going to leave some doors open for a new season and amazing episodes. Here is what we know about the potential season 2:
For now, the decision is pending whether there will be a season 2. It’s been so long since the first season came, the COvid-19 pandemic has affected plenty of films and productions. One of the stars who has worked in this show, Thaddea Graham, who has played Iona, spoke to Digital Spy to know the status of the upcoming season. There is no yes or no in the answer at the moment. Graham adds- there’s a lot to explore and we may hear some good news soon.
Who’s going to be there in season 2?
If there will be a second season, then you can expect all the major players to return. Yes, there can be a couple of exceptions. The ruthless prince, and a major antagonist Prince Viridian (Gijs Blom) can not be present in the season as he has already been defeated by Lavinia. Apart from the disappointing death of Jussipo and the cathartic downfall of Viridian, all of the key characters can be seen in the second season. And, this also includes our protagonist Tiuri. During the journey to deliver the letter, Tiuri works along with Lavinia as an aspiring cartographer, she and Tiuri become allies.
Soon, they get joined by Iona (Thaddea Graham) who cheats later in the quest by joining their enemies- the Red Riders. Taking a look at the final 6th episode of season 1, Tiuri and his allies deliver the letter safely and then make knights upon their return to Dagonaut. Before Queen Alianor (Emilie Cocquerel) knights the group in the final scene of the 1st season, she gives a message that the darkness is now in the past, and gives a special thanks to all the hard work done by Novices. And, suddenly, you can see But then, a large flock of Starlings flies overhead, giving a message that darkness may not be gone completely, and even it can become a threat.
You can call it the final twist of season 1, the second season can be expected to have a very well pick-up from here. On the other hand, the book on which this series is based has a sequel. In this one, the knight goes missing, and Tiuri has been assigned a new task, he is on a journey into the Wild Wood, and his task is to locate the missing knight. Let’s see how it goes in the next season, and when it arrives!
