Finally, after years of waiting in anticipation for The Pendragon Cycle to be released, it is finally available on Dailywire+, with the first two episodes out now.
About time, too, given the fact that this show was supposed to be released in the fall of 2024 but was pushed out until now. Surely the wait was worth it. Surely there was good reason why they waited so long to release the most ambitious project the Dailywire has ever undertaken, the fantasy show that is meant to rival Hollywood and show that we conservatives can make high-quality films and shows, too.
Unfortunately, after watching the first two episodes, the only reason I can figure that this show was delayed for so long was that the original shoot was garbage and they needed to change things. That’s the only reason I can think of for why delaying this show was necessary, because even as it is now, it is terrible. Buckle up, tanukis, because we’re sadly going to be doing a takedown of this show, a-la my reviews of Rings of Power.
#1: The Pros
To be fair the show isn’t entirely without merit. You can tell that the people behind it were invested in what they were doing and really wanted it to be a good show. The casting is great, the score is awesome, and the scenery, for the most part, is pleasing. The show tries to stick to the original story as much as they can. However, this is sadly where the pros of this show end.
#2: No Exposition
The first episode is easily the most important episode of the show, as it’s the one that draws the viewers in and is where they determine whether or not they want to keep watching the show. Essentially, it is your show’s hook. You mess that up, you lose people.
The Pendragon Cycle messed up the first episode.
While Taliesin’s origin story and motivations are somewhat well worked (though you really must suspend your disbelief that he somehow survived floating a down a river over rocky rapids and what I can only imagine is just-above-freezing water in a small bundle tied to some wood as a baby), Charis’ origin story is terribly done. Most of the scenes she appears in are her in the bull ring jumping over bulls. We have no explanation as to why the princess of Atlantis – a generally important political figure – is doing this, what her motivations are, who her gods are…nothing. She’s just bouncing around getting gored. (I have questions as to how the puncture wounds from the bull are so clean and not raggedy).
Then when we’re done with her jumping over bulls, she and her family are suddenly somewhere in Southern Wales. Why is she in Wales? How did she get there from the Mediterranean? Why is she settling in Wales when there are plenty of other islands in the Mediterranean that could be suitable for a kingdom? None of these questions are truly answered. The only “answers” we get are very vague. If you want solid answers, you’re left having to read the books.
There’s another scene in the first episode in which the Cymru (Taliesin’s people; the Welsh) are going to battle alongside the Romans against some invaders who are attacking a Roman fort. We get an idea that Taliesin’s adopted father, Elfin, knows the Roman leader, Maximus, but we have no idea how they know each other or why this is a big deal. It’s also a mystery as to if they ever defeat the invaders as the only shot implying this is when fog falls over the fort. Literally nothing is explained.
Yet another plot hole is why the Cymru have to move from the North into the South. In the show, they go to King Avallach, Charis’ father, to ask for land to live on. Why do they need land to live on? Why must they move? Don’t they have the Romans to help them? Why can’t they find a different place elsewhere in Wales?
Once again, these are questions where the answer is vaguely implied, but never totally answered.
#3: Really Bad Costumes
For the Romans and the Cymru, the costumes are okay. They tried with them. But with the Atlanteans…oh boy.
For one thing, while the flowy white garments would work in the scenes where they’re in Atlantis because of the warm Mediterranean climate, they don’t work when they’re in Ynys Avallach. Wales, in case no one noticed, has a very cool, humid, cloudy climate. According to Google, it rarely gets to 86 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, and the average temperature is 23 degrees during the winter.
Because of this, wearing very loose clothing that would provide no protection against the cold whatsoever is a really bad idea, and while it’s meant to make the Atlanteans stand out and look ethereal, it actually pulls you out of the story. Clothing in film and T.V. should be reflective of both the characters and their culture while also being practical. It should be realistic enough to pull you into the story. For example, in the show Game of Thrones, the costume designers made costumes that reflected not only different character’s personal styles and family houses, but also made them reflect the parts of the world they were in. A character may dress differently in a warmer, southern climate than in a colder area, while still keeping their unique style.
The Lord of the Rings also did this, both in the official artwork by Alan Lee and in the movies. While the armor and various clothing styles look practical for the lands the people live in, they are distinguishable from each other. You can tell by someone’s clothing where they’re from. Short trousers, fancy waistcoat, loose, almost blousy undershirt? That’s a hobbit’s clothes. Rough material that looks like a peasant outfit from medieval days? You’re most likely looking at the clothing of an average person from Rohan. Richer, better-quality material that looks nicer and less suitable for travel? That’s probably from Gondor. I could go on.
The creators of The Pendragon Cycle should have taken notes from this and done the same. The Atlanteans could have still looked unique without compromising on practicality.
Another issue with the costuming is the Atlantean’s armor. Not only does it look extremely plasticky, but the helmets are impractical to the nth degree. If they’re strapped on, you can hardly move your head, and if not, your helmet will be falling off if you look down.
Then there’s the Avallach Sword. I have already written a blog post about it, so you can go read that, but it is the worst sword I’ve ever seen. It even comes with a warning: “Cast me aside.” While that means something more profound in the larger context, because of how stupid that sword is, it’s just a hysterical warning to anyone forced to wield that crappy hunk of metal.
#4: What is This CGI?
The CGI in The Pendragon Cycle is a time capsule to the 1980s. It’s that bad. Some scenes are better than others, but overall, you can tell it was done on a low budget, especially in the scene where the volcano that destroys Atlantis explodes.
#5: Abysmal Pacing
Many of the biggest issues with this show could have been solved if the pacing was better. I could even overlook the terrible costuming and CGI if the pacing was good. But unfortunately, it seems as though this show is trying to fit five books into one, seven-episode season.
Now, back when I was reacting to some of the first looks at The Pendragon Cycle, I kind-of figured Dailywire would try to fit at least two of the books into one season. That, while not optimal, would have been doable. But fitting five of the books that cover a span of several decades into one short season doesn’t work, especially when the episodes that are supposed to build up important characters are instead spent showcasing your producer’s ego trip. The scenes that should have been about who Charis is and what Atlantis was are instead spent on a very expensive bull-jumping sequence that does hardly anything to advance the plot but takes up a good quarter of the first episode. The relationship between Charis and Taliesin is then very rushed, very little time is taken to build it up, and when he dies at the end of Episode 2, the most accurate term to describe his death is, “nerfed.” It had very little emotional impact because we barely got to know him. The only thing that made it emotional is the fact that Baby Merlin was right in front of him.
This is not how you pace a T.V. show or book. There needed to be at least one season dedicated to the first book of The Pendragon Cycle to establish why the Atlanteans are important, who the characters are, what the Cymru are and what they’re dealing with, etc. Then, at the end of the season, the death of Taliesin would be an emotionally hard-hitting scene because we’ve gotten to know him by that point. It would have been, perhaps, comparable to the death of Eddard Stark at the end of Season 1 of Game of Thrones. That’s how the pacing needed to go. As it is, it’s terrible.
#6: Religious Overtones
This was a problem I had with the original books, so this isn’t necessarily the show’s fault, though it did try to make the Christian themes more obvious. In the books and in the show, Christianity plays a big role though it’s mixed quite a bit with druidism. Because of this, it becomes syncretistic. It also opens up a huge plot hole because though Taliesin basically downloads the entire Bible when he converts, he virtually nothing with it that we can see. He just brings Charis to the faith (supposedly, as the show kind-of conflates baptism with salvation though baptism isn’t what saves and never explains if Charis is truly a Christian) and does nothing else with his newfound knowledge.
Overall, The Pendragon Cycle needed either a bigger budget or better budgeters to be a good adaptation. Dailywire tried, but sadly, they have failed so far at making a show that’s even close to anything good that Hollywood has made.
Until next time,
M.J.
The Tanuki Corner 
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