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In Green’s excellent novel Nathan is tortured, but here showrunner Joe Barton, whose extraordinary sci-fi The Lazarus Project landed earlier this year, has opted to go a bit easier on him. It’s a wise choice that stops the show from getting bogged down in the utter horrors of his life. Instead the horrors are all around him. Shapeshifter Marcus attacks and slaughters a whole convoy of Fairborne. Cruel and ruthless Jessica gets great pleasure from torturing those she perceives as enemies. And Annalise – well let’s say Annalise’s special witchy power is a particularly gruesome and spectacular one.
So the stakes are high and lots of people get killed. But The Bastard Son stands above most of its peers by also being an incredibly joyful ride. Yes, Nathan and Annalise have been put through hell, and sure, he’ll die if he doesn’t get blood from a family member before his 17th birthday and they’re all dead bar one, and okay, she’s actually accidentally murdered someone, but it’s not all bad.
When the two travel to Paris on a mission to find blood witch Mercury, who might be able to solve Nathan’s problem, the action ramps up. Encountering sexy alchemist Gabriel (Emilien Vekemans), a blood witch who has promised to help Nathan, the three form a close bond. For a show about warring witches The Bastard Son is actually pretty sexy. The locations are cool, the cast is attractive, the soundtrack is banging and there’s a sexual tension between all three main leads, allowing for a bit more fluidity and ambiguity about who is into who.
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As well as our heroes, the supporting cast is excellent too. Motherland and Utopia’s Paul Ready as Annalise’s dad Soul is a cowardly wolf in sheep’s clothing, soaked in softly-spoken betrayal. Jesper Jones’ Jessica makes a terrific villain – like Nathan she also won’t accept her role as an outcast or a victim, though she delights in her role as Soul’s enforcer. On the other side is Celia (Karen Connell) , the Amazon-like Fairborne charged with training Nathan who becomes increasingly sympathetic as the show progresses. It’s not subtle about its message: You’re not your family. Don’t just accept what other people tell you is right and wrong. And try to enjoy yourself because you just don’t know if the next day might be your last – but it is consistent.
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself is a clever adaptation that takes the bones of the much loved book and adds its own flavour, while further marking Barton out as one of the best TV writers around. Bring on season two.
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself is available to stream now on Netflix.
