El Cid and World Without End

Two series set in medieval times.

El Cid

This Spanish series follows Ruy (Jaime Lorente, who you might better know as Denver on La Casa de Papel/Money Heist), who despite losing his father to King Ferdinand, works to become the very skilled squire of Prince Sanchio, Ferdinand's son. Mixed with sword fighting, back stabbing and politics is a healthy dose of drama where Ruy must often chose between what he wants and what is right. Good and entertaining story. There are two seasons of this thus far and I'm hoping there are more to come.

Just because he talks to birds doesn't make him crazy.

World Without End

This mini series is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set mostly in Kingsbridge once more, but don't worry if you haven't seen Pillars yet (though you should, it's very good) because this takes place 157 years later. In it the town is made to suffer by royalty and resident scum bags who are happy to be irredeemable "black hat" wearing villains and make the good characters, the people you root for, suffer ever episode. Excellent story telling, though my the same "people don't age" criticism I leveled at Pillars is the same here as principal characters don't change much appearance wise despite this story spanning several years. Still worth a watch though!

The Pillars of the Earth (PC Game)

"The most expensive part of building is the mistakes."

Based on the book of the same name (which also spawned a very cool mini-series) this point and click adventure follows the stories of multiple characters across many years during the times of the destruction and reconstruction of the Kingsbridge Cathedral. I found the art style and voice acting to be very good which only helped the already great plot. There are a number of QTE's that might turn off some people but for the most part they are easy too.

Sir Catface is a funny guy.

My main gripe is the "find the spot" aspect of the game. Especially in particular areas where you can see said spots, but cannot interact with them until you've unlocked the correct dialogue line which "officially" tells you to look for them, despite many other dialogue lines already hinting to keep an eye out for them. That aside, I found this to be a really fun game and do recommend it to those who enjoy point and click adventures. I give it three master builders out of five.

Insight: Double clicking lets you move faster.

The Pillars of the Earth

Wait, this isn't a movie...

I'm bucking the trend today be reviewing a mini-series which basically follows the construction of a cathedral and quite rightfully spans many, many years. At first it might feel a little bit involved (unless you are a Game of Thrones fan) with following the stories of the builder's family,  the priory monks, the noble families fighting for the crown, the lesser nobles vying for Shiring Castle, and one masterfully manipulative and ambitious priest played by Ian McShane. He does a really fantastic job and every scene he is in is great, which is pretty good for the villain! It's also the first time I recall seeing Eddie Redmayne, who also does a decent job in his role.

All the people. :)

There are a few "weaker" actors but for the most part they can be overlooked, and I can't really complain about the wonderful sets they had there despite some "stones" seemingly being made of lighter material. Really the only two negatives for me were some of the very plain names for main characters (such as "Tom Builder" and "Jack Jackson") and that some characters age and some don't.

Also "aging" to some of the cast also just involves putting on a ludicrous looking wig so they get a little funny to look at but all in all it's a decent story which manages to tie up all the threads a little too cleanly at the end. Regardless I highly recommend it and give it four stones out of five. I also wouldn't mind seeing it again.