Summary
- The Winter King episode offers a new, grounded take on the origin of Arthur’s sword Excalibur, stripping away fantastical elements.
- Arthur finds Excalibur at his mother’s grave, making it his own by sharpening it and using it in battle.
- The Winter King’s Excalibur is not portrayed as magical, lacking special abilities seen in other legends, but it is a finely crafted sword with a unique handle.
Warning: Major spoilers below for The Winter King season 1 episode 4!The Winter King episode offers a devastating new take on the origins of Arthur’s sword Excalibur. There are many iconic elements from the King Arthur legend, and his sword Excalibur is one of the most well-known. From Disney’s Sword in the Sword to 1981’s fantasy epic Excalibur, the story of how Arthur receives his trademark weapon has been told far and wide. That said, there are so many renditions of the myth that several offer up completely different takes on Excalibur’s origin.
Case in point would be The Winter King’s fourth episode. MGM+’s new fantasy series is based on Bernard Cornwell’s novel of the same name, which attempted to ground Arthurian legend by merging it with historical fact. Thus, the show offers a stripped-down, grittier take that ditches the more fantastical elements. Still, most of the key characters and story beats still take place, and it would be difficult to make a King Arthur series where he didn’t receive his signature weapon.
Arthur Finds Excalibur At His Mother’s Grave
During the fourth episode, Arthur (Iain De Caestecker) and his sister Morgan (Valene Kane) visit their mother’s grave. Their mother worked as a blacksmith, and Arthur warmly reminisces about how clever and beautiful she was, and how she would tell them stories. This includes the myth of Excalibur, and as Arthur is searching through a pile of rusty swords, he spots one with a distinctive handle. There’s something about this blade that speaks to him, so he takes it back to the castle and sharpens it. Later, he decides to make it his primary weapon and during a fight, its blade splits an opposing sword in two.
So in essence, this sword becomes his very own Excalibur. This is a far more down-to-earth origin for the weapon. In Arthurian myth, there are a couple of differing tales of how he got the sword. There’s the sword in the stone myth, wherein warriors from around the isle gathered to try and pull the mythical weapon out. Whoever is able to pull the weapon free will be crowned King, and young Arthur – unaware of his Pendragon heritage – is the one to fully do it.
The other version of Excalibur’s origin is that when the original sword breaks, Merlin takes Arthur out to a lake. This is where Nimue/the Lady of the Lake bestows Excalibur on him, which is said to be imbued with magical properties. Some versions of the legend make the sword Arthur pulls from the stone and the Lady of the Lake sword one and the same, with the latter essentially being an upgraded version. However, most scholars tend to agree that they are two different weapons, with the sword in the stone not being Excalibur.
Who Made Excalibur In The Winter King?
When Arthur is talking to Morgan about their mother and the story of Excalibur, she eventually interrupts him, revealing she was the one who told him that story. Morgan states their mother never told them any stories, and the version of her in his memory didn’t exist. Morgan tells Arthur their mother used to blame him for everything and his birth caused King Uther (Eddie Marsan) to reject her because while he didn’t mind having a “bastard” daughter, Uther didn’t want their mother to bear a son. Despite this, Arthur sought to be the best at everything, including riding and fighting to win her approval.
The somewhat devastating reveal that his mother never really loved him aside, Arthur still thinks of her fondly. He also talks about how his mother promised to make him a sword someday when he picks up the blade with the cool handle from the pile of discarded swords near his mother’s grave. Arthur’s mother made Winter King’s version of Excalibur, and he didn’t have to pull it from a sword or travel into the middle of a lake to retrieve it.
Is The Winter King’s Excalibur Magical?
As previously mentioned, The Winter King pulls back on the fantastical elements. Even so, Nathaniel Martello-White’s Merlin or priestess Nimue (Ellie James) – who worship the “Old Gods” – are shown to have limited magical powers, including foresight. Some legends of Excalibur also give the weapon special powers, such as being so bright that it could literally blind Arthur’s enemies.
Winter King’s Excalibur doesn’t appear to have any special abilities, however. The weapon is impressively sharp for one that spent years rusting on some rocks, but aside from that and its unique handle, there’s nothing to suggest it isn’t anything other than a finely crafted sword. Despite the different takes on the myth, nearly every version of the story ends with Excalibur being cast back into the lake – where the Lady of the Lake is waiting to retrieve it – so if the series makes it to the end of Arthur’s life, it will be interesting to see if the show riffs on this too.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
