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Inside the episode: The Pupil
Saturday, 18 November 1972 08:00 pmPlot
As Arthur rides towards his village, a young man, Corin, rides out of the stockade, brandishing a sword, and sets about him. Arthur effortlessly parries every attack, unseats Corin from his horse, and tells him he should take a few lessons. Corin says that’s why he’s here.
Arthur, Kai and Llud discuss Corin’s situation over a meal. Corin explains that he needs to learn how to fight, because his village is under constant attack from the Picts. Arthur tests Corin’s reactions, and decides to teach him.
We see Arthur, Kai and Llud giving Corin lessons in how to defend himself with – and against – many different weapons.
One evening, as they discuss Corin’s swift progress, they hear the clang of metal on metal. Llud goes out to the woods, and finds Corin practising, with terrible ferocity, on the target tree, and then on the wooden dummies.
Next morning, Llud tells Arthur he thinks there’s something wrong with Corin, but Arthur is so impressed by the boy’s enthusiasm, that he dismisses Llud’s concerns.
That day, as Arthur and Kai demonstrate some sparring techniques, Corin remembers seeing his father, Mordor, fighting a hooded swordsman. Mordor disarms the unknown warrior, who then uses a deft movement with his foot to retrieve his sword, runs Mordor through, and departs. Corin goes to his father. As Mordor dies, he charges Corin with avenging his death.
When Corin comes back to the present, Arthur engages him in a practice bout, but Corin seems distracted. To make him fight more fiercely, Arthur taunts him. Corin manages to knock Arthur’s sword to the ground, and Arthur uses the toe of his boot to retrieve his sword. Corin realises that it was Arthur who killed his father.
The following morning, when Arthur and Corin practise, Corin launches a surprise attack. Arthur defends himself, and tells Corin that he is too proficient to take such risks when sparring with a partner. But when they continue, Corin fights as if against a real enemy. Eventually, Arthur trips Corin, and he lands on his behind.
Corin asks Arthur to show him the trick he used yesterday, to retrieve his sword. When Arthur drops his weapon, Corin tries to bring his own blade down on Arthur’s head, but Arthur is too quick for him.
Arthur realises that Corin is Mordor’s son, but he refuses to send him away. He wants to persuade Corin that they don’t have to be enemies.
He tries to engage Corin in a discussion about the moral responsibilities of a warrior, but Corin is only interested in perfecting the trick with the sword. When Arthur lets him demonstrate his progress, Corin launches yet another – unsuccessful – attack on Arthur.
The next day, Arthur and Llud leave Kai in charge of Corin. Kai tells Corin he is to brush up on his defensive techniques against the axe. As they spar, Kai starts fighting more fiercely, then tells Corin he means to kill him, in revenge for the destruction Mordor wreaked, including the death in battle of a good friend of Kai’s.
While pleading for his life, Corin reasons that because Kai’s friend died in battle, it was a fair fight. When Kai replies that Mordor, too, was killed in a fair fight, Corin understands, and lets go of his quest for revenge.
As he leaves Arthur’s village, Corin asks his three mentors to consider what they would do, if one of them were to be killed. Arthur and Kai admit that they don’t know whether they would seek revenge. Llud remembers the day he found his homestead in flames, his son dead, and his wife dying, after a Saxon raid.
As his wife expires in his arms, Llud turns and sees a Saxon boy – young Kai – standing nearby. He cant bring himself to strike the boy down, and when he tries to send him away, Kai follows him. Llud then learns that both Kai’s parents are dead, so he adopts him.
As Corin is riding home, Arthur catches up with him, and mounts a mock-attack; Corin defends himself to Arthur’s satisfaction, and the two ride off together, Arthur intending to continue Corin’s lessons.
Timeline
"The Pupil" appears after "The Games" on the "Konig Arthur" DVDs and in the "Konig Arthur" book. Seasonal cues also suggest this order. The trees are relatively bare, and darkness fell early enough that artificial lighting was needed for the scene where Arthur tries to talk to Corin about the ethics of a warrior.
In 1972, the daughter of one of Michael's friends visited Woollard, and saw parts of two episodes being filmed. She says, “they were not filming it in proper order. We spent two days there, and they were finishing ‘The Pupil’ with Peter Firth, then leaping on to ‘The Wood People’, then going back to ‘The Pupil.’”
Suggested shooting order so far
Arthur is Dead
Daughter of the King
The Challenge
The Gift of Life
Enemies and Lovers
In Common Cause
The Penitent Invader
The Slaves
People of the Plough
Go Warily
The Prisoner
The Duel
Rowena
Some Saxon Women
The Marriage Feast
The Prize
Six Measures of Silver/Rolf the Preacher
The Games
The Pupil/The Wood People
Locations
Most of the sparring takes place outside the stockade on the south east side of the village at Woollard, though some was filmed in a nearby copse.
Camera operator Roger Pearce remembers filming Peter Firth "under a stone bridge or culvert ... very close to the weir" - the one across which Kai swims in "In Common Cause".
As to the fight in the Long House, Roger says, "I can’t remember why we remained inside. It may have been scripted that way or, indeed if the weather was poor, a decision would have been taken to do it there." More of Roger's memories can be found here.
The structures that make up Llud’s homestead, seen in flames during his flashback, appear to be the ones that made up Freya and Rulf's homestead in "People of the Plough."
Inside information
Michael Gothard's adopted sister, Wendy, recalls: “Arthur of the Britons does reveal a fair amount of the "real" Michael … In ‘The Pupil’, that lovely, lovely smile and laugh right at the beginning was typical Michael. You just had to smile with him when he smiled. It lit up a room.”
More of her memories can be found here.
When asked whether it was scary having Jack Watson yelling at him, Timothy Peverall, who played "Young Kai" in the flashback scene, replied, “Very much so - and he was a family friend! The scene with Jack Watson was one take, I'm sure! He was very convincing, I'll never forget that.”
More of Tim's memories can be found here.
Roger Pearce says that while waiting to film near the weir, he and Peter Firth "chatted about girls between takes"!
Cast notes
Peter Firth was already known to children’s TV, as Scooper, in comedy series, “Here Come the Double-Deckers.” His role as Corin must have been a bit of a change of pace!
In 1985, Peter Firth was to work with Michael Gothard again, on the cult sci-fi film “Lifeforce”. Peter is perhaps best known for his role as Harry Pearce in the spy drama series, “Spooks.”
Re-working the legend
In the Arthurian legend, only the infant Arthur is adopted; Merlin gives him to Ector, who raises him as a brother to Kay, who is Ector's own son. But like the Sir Kay of Arthurian tradition, Kai becomes one of Arthur’s stalwart allies.
According to Executive Producer, Patrick Dromgoole, “Corin was an echo of the evil Mordred, underlined by the choice of his father’s name.” More of Patrick Dromgoole’s memories can be found here.
Family Ties
The last insight we were given into Kai’s past came in “The Prisoner”, when, prompted by childhood friend, Roland, Kai remembered the times they shared in their home village. In “The Pupil”, the final piece of Kai’s – and Llud’s – backstory slots into place.
The flashback at the end of the episode reveals that Llud had a wife and son of his own, but both were killed during a raid by the Saxons. Llud asks a young lad, left standing in the burning ruins of his village, where his father is. Young Kai points to a body. His father must have taken him along on the raid, because – as young Kai reveals with a shake of his head – his mother is already dead.
Corin, too, is an orphan of war; his father, Mordor, was killed by Arthur, who is realistic enough to acknowledge that Corin will always see his father as a hero. Though Arthur and Kai know better, Corin insists that Mordor, “was no butcher.”
In fact, this episode is about a pair of very different fathers and sons: Mordor, who, with his dying words – “Avenge me” – lays a terrible burden upon his teenage son, and Llud, who, in the moments after the loss of his wife, resists the temptation to take out his pain on the son of his enemy, and chooses to care for him instead.
When Llud tousles young Kai’s hair, it harks back to Kai, tousling Krist’s hair, in “The Gift of Life.”
Back then, Kai had been reluctant to take on the temporary care of the “Saxon brats”, but Arthur had reminded him of how Llud looked after him as a child. In "The Pupil", we finally learn how that came about.
Arthur’s wisdom
Knowledge of Arthur’s strategy of forming a network of alliances has already spread far and wide. Corin demonstrates this when he suggests to Arthur, “Teach me to fight and I will return to my village and teach them what I have learnt. Then instead of being weak sisters, we will be a granite stone in the wall of your defences.”
Less well-known, but equally important to Arthur, is a philosophy based on honesty, and purity of motive: “Be clear in your heart that your cause is just. … Hate and malice are bad counsellors for the fighting man.” Later, he follows Corin with the aim of teaching him “when, and why” he should choose to fight.
The perfect lieutenant
None of Corin’s three tutors wants to kill him, but the young man’s determination to kill Arthur puts them in a difficult position.
As Mordor’s killer, Arthur will never be able to get through to Corin, but neither can he bring himself to despatch the son, as well as the father. And Llud probably couldn’t kill Corin, who is little more than a child, or stand by while it happened. So Arthur decides to take Llud away with him, and tells Kai, “… you stay here. We’ll be back by nightfall.”
No wonder Kai looks pensive; without being given the order, he knows exactly what is expected of him. In “Enemies and Lovers”, he executed Goda, with whom he had been in love; however much he might hate it, both he and Arthur know that he is capable of killing in cold blood. And if he can’t persuade Corin to give up his quest for vengeance, there might be no alternative.
Perhaps Mordor really did kill “a very dear friend” of Kai’s in battle, or perhaps Kai invented the story to make his point. What matters, is that Corin believes it, and makes the only argument he can in his defence: “it was a fair fight.” Kai is no doubt relieved that Corin’s epiphany regarding Mordor’s death spares him from getting blood on his hands again.
Dark Age Men
When Corin isn’t fighting very well, Arthur asks him, “What are you? A nursemaid?” and threatens to send him “to play with the girls.”
Oliver Tobias is actually reported to have encouraged his daughters, Anjelika and Celeste, to learn a martial art for self-defence.
Don’t call me old!
Llud's not afraid to admit that "Even the greatest warrior needs sleep", but he seems to have great fun teaching Corin, and he doesn’t pull his punches!
His famous nose twitches – he’s the first to realise, “there’s something wrong with the boy.”
Dressed to kill?
For most of the episode, Arthur is wearing his new dark brown studded tunic, with the circular designs on the chest; Llud is in his green shirt and studded tunic, and Kai wears the pale blue shirt, and the green jacket with the big furry sleeves. When Kai has to fight, he sheds the two jackets in favour of a light suede affair.
These are basically the same costumes they wear for two scenes in the concurrently-filmed episode, “The Wood People”: the hearing around the longhouse table, and the scene where they bid farewell to their guests.
Corin’s flashback is the first scene in which we see Arthur wearing a cloak with the hood up.
Great moments
The expression on Arthur’s face as he is incompetently attacked by Corin is priceless.
The blocking, and the interaction between the characters, during the initial discussion in the longhouse, is interesting. Arthur and Corin sit on either side of a low table, but Arthur’s status is emphasised by his big chair, compared to Corin’s three-legged stool. But Kai is sitting higher up, and Llud is standing. When considering Corin’s request, Arthur first looks up at Llud for his opinion, as though he were the most qualified to judge. Llud, apparently non-committal, defers to Kai; Arthur looks up at Kai, who very slightly shrugs one shoulder. Only then does Arthur make the final decision, by testing Corin’s reactions.
There are some great scenes where the actors show off their weapons skills in teaching Corin to fight, and a few nice domestic scenes, such as the one above, where Kai is fettling his axe.
Peter Firth – who was 19 at the time – was convincing as the recalcitrant teenager, looking angry and flustered when he can’t get the better of Arthur, and giving monosyllabic responses to Arthur’s discussion points.
In the fabulous scene where Kai brutally turns on Corin in an attempt to save his life, Corin looks absolutely terrified, as well he might.
The moment Llud lowers his sword, and ruffles young Kai’s hair, is very touching.
‘That is bloody dangerous!’
Arthur tips Corin off his horse, and later grabs his sword from behind his chair, and slams it down towards Corin’s head. Corin tips himself back off his stool onto the floor, to avoid the blow.
Kai’s axe-blade, even when wrapped in cloth, is still heavy and dangerous. Llud throws a spear and hits Corin in the stomach. On more than one occasion, Corin attacks Arthur.
Kai has a lot of axes to choose from!
His fight with Corin is quite brutal, and the furniture takes a bit of a beating.
Quote/unquote
Corin: Thought I should learn from the best.
Corin: I couldn’t hold my own against a new-born calf.
Llud: Even the greatest warrior needs sleep.
Arthur: Don’t draw back! That tells your enemy your mind.
Kai: Your shield arm should be as deft and quick as the one that holds the sword.
Arthur: Thought’s good in a warrior. Not if it keeps him awake.
Arthur: A fighting man in practice has a duty to be careful.
Arthur: Skill at arms brings a great responsibility with it – never to wield a sword slyly … or ignobly. Be clear in your heart that your cause is just. … Hate and malice are bad counsellors for the fighting man. In the end, they will destroy him … If a man has a quarrel, he must state it openly ... and not strike like a snake. His enemy may have things to be said on his side, too.
Kai: It’s different today, isn’t it? It’s always different when you’re fighting for your life.
Corin: I’m a man. You could have talked to me like a man.
Llud: … if men always thought as men, it would mean that we were already in paradise.
On the table
Chicken and pears.
“A man on a horse is worth ten on foot”
Arthur rides Bernie; reliable Trooper is entrusted with Corin.
See also: The Equine Stars of "Arthur of the Britons" and The horses of "Arthur of the Britons": quick reference ID pictures.
What’s going on here?
When Corin first attacks Arthur, he appears to have ridden out of the stockade to do so. What was he doing in there? Had he already introduced himself to Kai and Llud? If not, the sentries need a good talking to!
Corin claims he can’t defend himself, so he’s lucky to have made it safely from the land of the Picts, six or seven days’ ride away, on his own.
And if the Picts live so far away, they must have been very determined when they came all that way south, on foot, to attack Arthur’s people in “The Penitent Invader”; one wonders what he did to annoy them so much!
It’s hardly surprising Corin has difficulty when practising with the dummies; the sword Arthur gives him is almost as big as he is!
Arthur says he recognised Corin as Mordor’s son because Corin made the same mistake as his father. He never explains what that was.
Even when Corin has made several attempts on Arthur’s life, no one suggests that Arthur should kill him, even though Corin has left him with few options.
This episode is the first and only time we see anyone doing weapons drills indoors. Arthur and Llud were to be back by nightfall, so presumably, Kai’s final fight with Corin is supposed to have taken place during daylight hours, when one might expect them to do their sparring outside. Perhaps as the nights drew in, the cast and crew ran out of time to film the scene outdoors. However, the chosen setting certainly makes the scene claustrophobic and intense, so perhaps it was a deliberate choice.
If Corin’s father was such a brute as everyone (except Corin) thinks he was, it seems odd that the rest of the men of the village are such poor fighters.
Corin complains that his tutors should have talked to him like a man, instead of play-acting. But Arthur did try very hard to get through to him, to no avail.
The question Corin asks Arthur, Kai and Llud – what they would do, if one of them were slain – is pertinent. Llud says he “answered that question a long time ago”, but that’s not strictly true. Taking revenge by killing the person who was actually responsible for your friend or relative’s death is not the same as killing that person’s innocent child.
You would think that as Llud’s wife lay dying, he would have called her by name, instead of just addressing her as, “Wife … Wife!” Sadly, her identity - like that of the Saxon Leader, in “The Wood People” - remains a mystery!
Music
The whole suite of music, beautifully written and orchestrated for the series by Paul Lewis, is now available on CD. Oddly, the music used when Corin first attacks Arthur, and when Arthur and Mordor fight, does not seem to have been included on the CD.
Some of the music tracks used in this episode were:
Track 22, Revelry: Corin spars with Arthur.
Track 19, Celtic Dance: Corin learns the spear.
Track 4, Sentinels: Corin remembers.
Track 6, Infiltration and Treachery: Corin is serious; Kai and Llud express concern.
Track 30, Night Scene: Corin departs; Llud remembers.
Track 16, Danger Mounts: Llud spares Young Kai.
Track 27, Apotheosis: Arthur catches up with Corin.
Cast
Arthur ……………....... Oliver Tobias
Kai ……………….…... Michael Gothard
Llud ………………...... Jack Watson
Corin …………….….... Peter Firth
Llud’s wife …………... Trisha Mortimer
Mordor ……………...... Gerry Wain
Young Kai ……………. Tim Peverall
Crew
Director ………….…... Sidney Hayers
Writer .……………….. Terence Feely
Executive Producer ….. Patrick Dromgoole
Producer ……………... Peter Miller
Associate Producer ….. John Peverall
Production Manager … Keith Evans
Post-production ……... Barry Peters
Fight Arranger ………. Peter Brayham
Cameraman …………. Graham Edgar
Camera Operator …..... Roger Pearce
Editor ………………... Barry Peters
Sound recordist …….... Gordon Kethro
Art Director …………. Doug James
Assistant Director …... Stuart Freeman
Production Assistant ... Maggie Hayes
Costume Design .……. Audrey MacLeod
Make-up …………….. Christine Penwarden
Incidental music …….. Paul Lewis
Theme music ………... Elmer Bernstein
As Arthur rides towards his village, a young man, Corin, rides out of the stockade, brandishing a sword, and sets about him. Arthur effortlessly parries every attack, unseats Corin from his horse, and tells him he should take a few lessons. Corin says that’s why he’s here.
Arthur, Kai and Llud discuss Corin’s situation over a meal. Corin explains that he needs to learn how to fight, because his village is under constant attack from the Picts. Arthur tests Corin’s reactions, and decides to teach him.
We see Arthur, Kai and Llud giving Corin lessons in how to defend himself with – and against – many different weapons.
One evening, as they discuss Corin’s swift progress, they hear the clang of metal on metal. Llud goes out to the woods, and finds Corin practising, with terrible ferocity, on the target tree, and then on the wooden dummies.
Next morning, Llud tells Arthur he thinks there’s something wrong with Corin, but Arthur is so impressed by the boy’s enthusiasm, that he dismisses Llud’s concerns.
That day, as Arthur and Kai demonstrate some sparring techniques, Corin remembers seeing his father, Mordor, fighting a hooded swordsman. Mordor disarms the unknown warrior, who then uses a deft movement with his foot to retrieve his sword, runs Mordor through, and departs. Corin goes to his father. As Mordor dies, he charges Corin with avenging his death.
When Corin comes back to the present, Arthur engages him in a practice bout, but Corin seems distracted. To make him fight more fiercely, Arthur taunts him. Corin manages to knock Arthur’s sword to the ground, and Arthur uses the toe of his boot to retrieve his sword. Corin realises that it was Arthur who killed his father.
The following morning, when Arthur and Corin practise, Corin launches a surprise attack. Arthur defends himself, and tells Corin that he is too proficient to take such risks when sparring with a partner. But when they continue, Corin fights as if against a real enemy. Eventually, Arthur trips Corin, and he lands on his behind.
Corin asks Arthur to show him the trick he used yesterday, to retrieve his sword. When Arthur drops his weapon, Corin tries to bring his own blade down on Arthur’s head, but Arthur is too quick for him.
Arthur realises that Corin is Mordor’s son, but he refuses to send him away. He wants to persuade Corin that they don’t have to be enemies.
He tries to engage Corin in a discussion about the moral responsibilities of a warrior, but Corin is only interested in perfecting the trick with the sword. When Arthur lets him demonstrate his progress, Corin launches yet another – unsuccessful – attack on Arthur.
The next day, Arthur and Llud leave Kai in charge of Corin. Kai tells Corin he is to brush up on his defensive techniques against the axe. As they spar, Kai starts fighting more fiercely, then tells Corin he means to kill him, in revenge for the destruction Mordor wreaked, including the death in battle of a good friend of Kai’s.
While pleading for his life, Corin reasons that because Kai’s friend died in battle, it was a fair fight. When Kai replies that Mordor, too, was killed in a fair fight, Corin understands, and lets go of his quest for revenge.
As he leaves Arthur’s village, Corin asks his three mentors to consider what they would do, if one of them were to be killed. Arthur and Kai admit that they don’t know whether they would seek revenge. Llud remembers the day he found his homestead in flames, his son dead, and his wife dying, after a Saxon raid.
As his wife expires in his arms, Llud turns and sees a Saxon boy – young Kai – standing nearby. He cant bring himself to strike the boy down, and when he tries to send him away, Kai follows him. Llud then learns that both Kai’s parents are dead, so he adopts him.
As Corin is riding home, Arthur catches up with him, and mounts a mock-attack; Corin defends himself to Arthur’s satisfaction, and the two ride off together, Arthur intending to continue Corin’s lessons.
Timeline
"The Pupil" appears after "The Games" on the "Konig Arthur" DVDs and in the "Konig Arthur" book. Seasonal cues also suggest this order. The trees are relatively bare, and darkness fell early enough that artificial lighting was needed for the scene where Arthur tries to talk to Corin about the ethics of a warrior.
In 1972, the daughter of one of Michael's friends visited Woollard, and saw parts of two episodes being filmed. She says, “they were not filming it in proper order. We spent two days there, and they were finishing ‘The Pupil’ with Peter Firth, then leaping on to ‘The Wood People’, then going back to ‘The Pupil.’”
Suggested shooting order so far
Arthur is Dead
Daughter of the King
The Challenge
The Gift of Life
Enemies and Lovers
In Common Cause
The Penitent Invader
The Slaves
People of the Plough
Go Warily
The Prisoner
The Duel
Rowena
Some Saxon Women
The Marriage Feast
The Prize
Six Measures of Silver/Rolf the Preacher
The Games
The Pupil/The Wood People
Locations
Most of the sparring takes place outside the stockade on the south east side of the village at Woollard, though some was filmed in a nearby copse.
Camera operator Roger Pearce remembers filming Peter Firth "under a stone bridge or culvert ... very close to the weir" - the one across which Kai swims in "In Common Cause".
As to the fight in the Long House, Roger says, "I can’t remember why we remained inside. It may have been scripted that way or, indeed if the weather was poor, a decision would have been taken to do it there." More of Roger's memories can be found here.
The structures that make up Llud’s homestead, seen in flames during his flashback, appear to be the ones that made up Freya and Rulf's homestead in "People of the Plough."
Inside information
Michael Gothard's adopted sister, Wendy, recalls: “Arthur of the Britons does reveal a fair amount of the "real" Michael … In ‘The Pupil’, that lovely, lovely smile and laugh right at the beginning was typical Michael. You just had to smile with him when he smiled. It lit up a room.”
More of her memories can be found here.
When asked whether it was scary having Jack Watson yelling at him, Timothy Peverall, who played "Young Kai" in the flashback scene, replied, “Very much so - and he was a family friend! The scene with Jack Watson was one take, I'm sure! He was very convincing, I'll never forget that.”
More of Tim's memories can be found here.
Roger Pearce says that while waiting to film near the weir, he and Peter Firth "chatted about girls between takes"!
Cast notes
Peter Firth was already known to children’s TV, as Scooper, in comedy series, “Here Come the Double-Deckers.” His role as Corin must have been a bit of a change of pace!
In 1985, Peter Firth was to work with Michael Gothard again, on the cult sci-fi film “Lifeforce”. Peter is perhaps best known for his role as Harry Pearce in the spy drama series, “Spooks.”
Re-working the legend
In the Arthurian legend, only the infant Arthur is adopted; Merlin gives him to Ector, who raises him as a brother to Kay, who is Ector's own son. But like the Sir Kay of Arthurian tradition, Kai becomes one of Arthur’s stalwart allies.
According to Executive Producer, Patrick Dromgoole, “Corin was an echo of the evil Mordred, underlined by the choice of his father’s name.” More of Patrick Dromgoole’s memories can be found here.
Family Ties
The last insight we were given into Kai’s past came in “The Prisoner”, when, prompted by childhood friend, Roland, Kai remembered the times they shared in their home village. In “The Pupil”, the final piece of Kai’s – and Llud’s – backstory slots into place.
The flashback at the end of the episode reveals that Llud had a wife and son of his own, but both were killed during a raid by the Saxons. Llud asks a young lad, left standing in the burning ruins of his village, where his father is. Young Kai points to a body. His father must have taken him along on the raid, because – as young Kai reveals with a shake of his head – his mother is already dead.
Corin, too, is an orphan of war; his father, Mordor, was killed by Arthur, who is realistic enough to acknowledge that Corin will always see his father as a hero. Though Arthur and Kai know better, Corin insists that Mordor, “was no butcher.”
In fact, this episode is about a pair of very different fathers and sons: Mordor, who, with his dying words – “Avenge me” – lays a terrible burden upon his teenage son, and Llud, who, in the moments after the loss of his wife, resists the temptation to take out his pain on the son of his enemy, and chooses to care for him instead.
When Llud tousles young Kai’s hair, it harks back to Kai, tousling Krist’s hair, in “The Gift of Life.”
Back then, Kai had been reluctant to take on the temporary care of the “Saxon brats”, but Arthur had reminded him of how Llud looked after him as a child. In "The Pupil", we finally learn how that came about.
Arthur’s wisdom
Knowledge of Arthur’s strategy of forming a network of alliances has already spread far and wide. Corin demonstrates this when he suggests to Arthur, “Teach me to fight and I will return to my village and teach them what I have learnt. Then instead of being weak sisters, we will be a granite stone in the wall of your defences.”
Less well-known, but equally important to Arthur, is a philosophy based on honesty, and purity of motive: “Be clear in your heart that your cause is just. … Hate and malice are bad counsellors for the fighting man.” Later, he follows Corin with the aim of teaching him “when, and why” he should choose to fight.
The perfect lieutenant
None of Corin’s three tutors wants to kill him, but the young man’s determination to kill Arthur puts them in a difficult position.
As Mordor’s killer, Arthur will never be able to get through to Corin, but neither can he bring himself to despatch the son, as well as the father. And Llud probably couldn’t kill Corin, who is little more than a child, or stand by while it happened. So Arthur decides to take Llud away with him, and tells Kai, “… you stay here. We’ll be back by nightfall.”
No wonder Kai looks pensive; without being given the order, he knows exactly what is expected of him. In “Enemies and Lovers”, he executed Goda, with whom he had been in love; however much he might hate it, both he and Arthur know that he is capable of killing in cold blood. And if he can’t persuade Corin to give up his quest for vengeance, there might be no alternative.
Perhaps Mordor really did kill “a very dear friend” of Kai’s in battle, or perhaps Kai invented the story to make his point. What matters, is that Corin believes it, and makes the only argument he can in his defence: “it was a fair fight.” Kai is no doubt relieved that Corin’s epiphany regarding Mordor’s death spares him from getting blood on his hands again.
Dark Age Men
When Corin isn’t fighting very well, Arthur asks him, “What are you? A nursemaid?” and threatens to send him “to play with the girls.”
Oliver Tobias is actually reported to have encouraged his daughters, Anjelika and Celeste, to learn a martial art for self-defence.
Don’t call me old!
Llud's not afraid to admit that "Even the greatest warrior needs sleep", but he seems to have great fun teaching Corin, and he doesn’t pull his punches!
His famous nose twitches – he’s the first to realise, “there’s something wrong with the boy.”
Dressed to kill?
For most of the episode, Arthur is wearing his new dark brown studded tunic, with the circular designs on the chest; Llud is in his green shirt and studded tunic, and Kai wears the pale blue shirt, and the green jacket with the big furry sleeves. When Kai has to fight, he sheds the two jackets in favour of a light suede affair.
These are basically the same costumes they wear for two scenes in the concurrently-filmed episode, “The Wood People”: the hearing around the longhouse table, and the scene where they bid farewell to their guests.
Corin’s flashback is the first scene in which we see Arthur wearing a cloak with the hood up.
Great moments
The expression on Arthur’s face as he is incompetently attacked by Corin is priceless.
The blocking, and the interaction between the characters, during the initial discussion in the longhouse, is interesting. Arthur and Corin sit on either side of a low table, but Arthur’s status is emphasised by his big chair, compared to Corin’s three-legged stool. But Kai is sitting higher up, and Llud is standing. When considering Corin’s request, Arthur first looks up at Llud for his opinion, as though he were the most qualified to judge. Llud, apparently non-committal, defers to Kai; Arthur looks up at Kai, who very slightly shrugs one shoulder. Only then does Arthur make the final decision, by testing Corin’s reactions.
There are some great scenes where the actors show off their weapons skills in teaching Corin to fight, and a few nice domestic scenes, such as the one above, where Kai is fettling his axe.
Peter Firth – who was 19 at the time – was convincing as the recalcitrant teenager, looking angry and flustered when he can’t get the better of Arthur, and giving monosyllabic responses to Arthur’s discussion points.
In the fabulous scene where Kai brutally turns on Corin in an attempt to save his life, Corin looks absolutely terrified, as well he might.
The moment Llud lowers his sword, and ruffles young Kai’s hair, is very touching.
‘That is bloody dangerous!’
Arthur tips Corin off his horse, and later grabs his sword from behind his chair, and slams it down towards Corin’s head. Corin tips himself back off his stool onto the floor, to avoid the blow.
Kai’s axe-blade, even when wrapped in cloth, is still heavy and dangerous. Llud throws a spear and hits Corin in the stomach. On more than one occasion, Corin attacks Arthur.
Kai has a lot of axes to choose from!
His fight with Corin is quite brutal, and the furniture takes a bit of a beating.
Quote/unquote
Corin: Thought I should learn from the best.
Corin: I couldn’t hold my own against a new-born calf.
Llud: Even the greatest warrior needs sleep.
Arthur: Don’t draw back! That tells your enemy your mind.
Kai: Your shield arm should be as deft and quick as the one that holds the sword.
Arthur: Thought’s good in a warrior. Not if it keeps him awake.
Arthur: A fighting man in practice has a duty to be careful.
Arthur: Skill at arms brings a great responsibility with it – never to wield a sword slyly … or ignobly. Be clear in your heart that your cause is just. … Hate and malice are bad counsellors for the fighting man. In the end, they will destroy him … If a man has a quarrel, he must state it openly ... and not strike like a snake. His enemy may have things to be said on his side, too.
Kai: It’s different today, isn’t it? It’s always different when you’re fighting for your life.
Corin: I’m a man. You could have talked to me like a man.
Llud: … if men always thought as men, it would mean that we were already in paradise.
On the table
Chicken and pears.
“A man on a horse is worth ten on foot”
Arthur rides Bernie; reliable Trooper is entrusted with Corin.
See also: The Equine Stars of "Arthur of the Britons" and The horses of "Arthur of the Britons": quick reference ID pictures.
What’s going on here?
When Corin first attacks Arthur, he appears to have ridden out of the stockade to do so. What was he doing in there? Had he already introduced himself to Kai and Llud? If not, the sentries need a good talking to!
Corin claims he can’t defend himself, so he’s lucky to have made it safely from the land of the Picts, six or seven days’ ride away, on his own.
And if the Picts live so far away, they must have been very determined when they came all that way south, on foot, to attack Arthur’s people in “The Penitent Invader”; one wonders what he did to annoy them so much!
It’s hardly surprising Corin has difficulty when practising with the dummies; the sword Arthur gives him is almost as big as he is!
Arthur says he recognised Corin as Mordor’s son because Corin made the same mistake as his father. He never explains what that was.
Even when Corin has made several attempts on Arthur’s life, no one suggests that Arthur should kill him, even though Corin has left him with few options.
This episode is the first and only time we see anyone doing weapons drills indoors. Arthur and Llud were to be back by nightfall, so presumably, Kai’s final fight with Corin is supposed to have taken place during daylight hours, when one might expect them to do their sparring outside. Perhaps as the nights drew in, the cast and crew ran out of time to film the scene outdoors. However, the chosen setting certainly makes the scene claustrophobic and intense, so perhaps it was a deliberate choice.
If Corin’s father was such a brute as everyone (except Corin) thinks he was, it seems odd that the rest of the men of the village are such poor fighters.
Corin complains that his tutors should have talked to him like a man, instead of play-acting. But Arthur did try very hard to get through to him, to no avail.
The question Corin asks Arthur, Kai and Llud – what they would do, if one of them were slain – is pertinent. Llud says he “answered that question a long time ago”, but that’s not strictly true. Taking revenge by killing the person who was actually responsible for your friend or relative’s death is not the same as killing that person’s innocent child.
You would think that as Llud’s wife lay dying, he would have called her by name, instead of just addressing her as, “Wife … Wife!” Sadly, her identity - like that of the Saxon Leader, in “The Wood People” - remains a mystery!
Music
The whole suite of music, beautifully written and orchestrated for the series by Paul Lewis, is now available on CD. Oddly, the music used when Corin first attacks Arthur, and when Arthur and Mordor fight, does not seem to have been included on the CD.
Some of the music tracks used in this episode were:
Track 22, Revelry: Corin spars with Arthur.
Track 19, Celtic Dance: Corin learns the spear.
Track 4, Sentinels: Corin remembers.
Track 6, Infiltration and Treachery: Corin is serious; Kai and Llud express concern.
Track 30, Night Scene: Corin departs; Llud remembers.
Track 16, Danger Mounts: Llud spares Young Kai.
Track 27, Apotheosis: Arthur catches up with Corin.
Cast
Arthur ……………....... Oliver Tobias
Kai ……………….…... Michael Gothard
Llud ………………...... Jack Watson
Corin …………….….... Peter Firth
Llud’s wife …………... Trisha Mortimer
Mordor ……………...... Gerry Wain
Young Kai ……………. Tim Peverall
Crew
Director ………….…... Sidney Hayers
Writer .……………….. Terence Feely
Executive Producer ….. Patrick Dromgoole
Producer ……………... Peter Miller
Associate Producer ….. John Peverall
Production Manager … Keith Evans
Post-production ……... Barry Peters
Fight Arranger ………. Peter Brayham
Cameraman …………. Graham Edgar
Camera Operator …..... Roger Pearce
Editor ………………... Barry Peters
Sound recordist …….... Gordon Kethro
Art Director …………. Doug James
Assistant Director …... Stuart Freeman
Production Assistant ... Maggie Hayes
Costume Design .……. Audrey MacLeod
Make-up …………….. Christine Penwarden
Incidental music …….. Paul Lewis
Theme music ………... Elmer Bernstein