World Without End (2012): Season 1, Episode 8 - Checkmate - full transcript

You can't do this! It's my livelihood!
You're not married. You cannot run a business without a husband in charge.
My husband is dead!
Thomas is coming.
Merthin, what are you doing?
We're leaving.
Then you have made your choice?
There's nothing for us here any more.
With Godwyn as Bishop, how could we ever be together?
Where will you go?
Away from Godwyn.
But what of the hospice?
Everything you've fought so hard for?
People like you are the soul of this town, of Kingsbridge.
If you leave, who will stand up to Godwyn?
You could have stood against him years ago, but chose not to.
I won't see Caris lose her life to him.
When will you leave?
Tomorrow, early.
I will see you again before you go.
You won't change our minds.
Ralph's going to be back soon with more soldiers.
It was worth it.
Maybe we should take to the woods.
No. I won't run any longer.
I ran all of my life until I met you.
Well, if we're going to stay, then we're going to have to fight.
And if we fight, then we are probably going to die.
I'd rather die fighting for something good than live my life running in fear.
You probably think I'm a fool
but I always wanted to change my life.
And yours.
Am I a fool?
Look, I'm only here today because you stood up for me
and I've never heard of anything like that before.
You showed me that if something means enough to you,
then it's worth standing up for.
And you're not a fool, Gwenda. You're a goddess.
Thomas?
Do you swear fealty and service to Kingsbridge,
remembering courtesy and kindness,
and prizing justice above personal gain,
and do you labour for the common good?
You know we do.
What is this?
Your borough charter.
Freeing Kingsbridge from the Priory forever.
I lettered it this afternoon.
And signed it "Edward II."
Thank you, brother, but I don't think it'll do us any good. It doesn't have a seal.
This is the seal of King Edward II.
I told you he lives.
Your Majesty.
No, please. Caris, stand up.
I'm Brother Thomas, now.
I never should have been King.
I love architecture, more than war.
And men more than my queen.
I gave her my crown but she had further plans.
She wanted me dead.
The knight who accepted my execution orders was a man named Thomas Langley.
I killed him, and with the help of the head guard, escaped.
Took Langley's name as my own.
All would have been well had they not wanted to kill Langley too.
Kingsbridge had always been loyal to me.
And the Priory was a place where I could repent and pray.
And now it's free.
This charter strips the Priory of all power over Kingsbridge in secular matters,
and therefore Godwyn of any hold he has over you.
Stay. Please.
And flourish under it.
Where did this come from?
The scriptorium. There were two copies, the other's in safe hands.
It's too well preserved.
It was locked, safely in a box hidden by Prior Anthony.
And no wonder.
Prior Anthony would have told me.
I could have you branded as a forger and a liar.
Check the seal, your Eminence,
I think you will find it authentic.
I don't understand it. A dead king's seal.
This is sorcery, Mother.
I can smell the Devil's sulphur.
And he works through that whore, Caris.
I don't know about the Devil, but this certainly changes everything.
I think the Queen will not be happy about this.
Merthin!
What do you want?
Caris Wooler, you're under arrest for practising witchcraft.
Those charges have been dismissed.
Only so long as she remained a nun.
-No! Let her go! You have no right! -Merthin, don't!
As Bishop I have every right.
You can't prove she's a witch.
She was tried and convicted. I'm simply carrying out the sentence.
No.
Don't, Merthin! Don't!
Let her go, Godwyn! You know you have no right!
-Leave him alone! Godwyn! -If you touch a hair on her head...
-Arrest him. -Yes, Your Grace.
And why should a borough charter concern me?
It's an obvious forgery, Your Majesty.
The wax on the seal is quite fresh.
But the seal itself belonged to your late husband
who's been dead these past years.
Where did you get this?
A monk. Brother Thomas of Kingsbridge claims to have found it.
Thomas Langley?
He was once your knight, yes.
Leave me alone. At once!
-Your majesty. -Your majesty.
Look at the seal.
It's just a good copy.
No copy ever existed.
This seal disappeared when your father died.
And look at this mark. You think I don't know it?
That is every bit your father's!
What are you saying?
My father's alive?
Yes. Living as Thomas Langley, monk of Kingsbridge.
Kingsbridge Priory. That Priory gave land to the peasants.
There has already been a revolt in Wigleigh! And now this charter!
I saw him.
Sire, what is it?
It seemed impossible.
All these years
you have suspected me,
but he is the one who was cunning,
he is the one who was plotting against you.
You cannot be King while he lives, you know that?
-Yes. -But now you have no choice.
Your throne or his life.
So what will you choose?
There has been, in the County of Shiring,
a bloody insurrection against manorial rule
and a threat to the very Crown of England and all its institutions.
I shall, myself, lead the army against it.
All traitors will be put to the sword!
We will destroy Wigleigh and Kingsbridge!
Leave not one stone standing nor one renegade breathing!
God save England! God save the King!
God save England! God save the King!
God save England! God save the King!
That's right, lads. Build her up!
Around the sides and the back as well! Thank you, Brother.
Come on, make it nice and thick. We're burning a witch, not a sparrow.
You've come to bargain, I suppose.
A borough charter for a life?
No. There will be no bargaining.
You'll be tied to the stake and burned, as befits a depraved Devil's Whore.
You're the one that's depraved, cousin.
You've hated me and yet you've wanted me since we were children.
You've tempted me, true, but, well, I never succumbed.
I've never succumbed until now.
Only a great witch can seduce God's servant on Earth.
You've been wanting me, haven't you? I'm the innocent victim.
And the Devil sent you.
He sent you to look on me.
To touch me. To touch me inside you.
Was it everything you dreamed of?
And over so soon.
Aunt! Thank God you're here.
Godwyn will listen to you. You're the only one that can influence him.
You flatter me, niece.
How can I possibly influence my son when he is doing God's work?
But I'm not a witch!
-You know that! -Do I?
Then why are you here?
The same reason as everyone else.
To watch a witch burn.
Goodbye, Caris.
People of Kingsbridge!
God, in his infinite wisdom, has elevated me to Bishop
specifically that I may, today, carry out the sentence passed ten years ago.
-Burn this witch at the stake! -She's not a witch.
Burn her, as surely she will continue to burn in hell.
You should burn up there, not her!
Aye!
She is sheltered in the guise of a nun.
Laughed at us all in her affectation as Prior.
But today. Oh, today I am the instrument.
The instrument of the Lord's justice...
This is not the Lord's justice! Nor is it God's will.
How dare you speak above your Bishop?
How dare you speak at all?
There are pigs in the field I would appoint Bishop before you.
You are an insult to the purple cloth! Caris is not a witch! And never was!
Just as Godwyn is not a Christian and never shall be!
She's innocent!
This is not justice! But the work of an evil man settling old scores!
I am the Holy Church!
Which counts as nothing! You have a charter now!
Kingsbridge is free of the Priory! And free of this man's madness!
You are free! Kingsbridge is free!
No!
Please!
Get out! Get out! They're right behind me!
Run! Run! They're right behind me!
Quiet! Let the boy be heard!
They attacked Wigleigh! They would have killed everyone!
Who?
Lord Ralph! The King's men! They're surrounding the town!
We have to run for our lives!
Citizens of Kingsbridge,
by order of His Majesty King Edward III, you are arrested!
Having been found guilty of fomenting revolt.
At dawn, when the King arrives,
this town will be razed to the ground and all of you will be put to the sword!
All are complicit and all will die.
Surely not the women and children!
-My son! -Go inside!
Get inside! Close the gate!
-Wulfric! -Get inside! Close the gates!
Get away from there now. Come on!
-Get over there! Get over there! -Wulfric!
Holger!
All the gates are covered. We're completely surrounded!
There must be something we can do.
We could barricade the marketplace.
The gate won't hold long and once they're through... God help us.
We'll need help.
Good people of Kingsbridge! Stop! I beg you.
Stop.
Our plight is grave.
The King's army stands at our walls and we are surrounded.
They say our only choice is to pray for forgiveness
for in the morning they shall show us no mercy.
They say that tomorrow they will raze this town,
our town, our Kingsbridge, to the ground.
They say the King himself seeks to make an example of us.
So shall we throw open our gates and kneel?
Trust in God's mercy?
Or shall we provide him an example?
Let us fight and die, if God wills it so, as free men and women!
Let him find an example
of fearless resistance in the face of tyranny!
An example of the matchless power when the righteous fight for good!
So that a hundred years from now people will cry, "Let us fight!"
Let's fight!
"Let us fight for good! Let us fight for honour!
"Let us fight for freedom!"
Freedom!
"Just as they did at Kingsbridge!"
For Kingsbridge!
For Kingsbridge!
For Kingsbridge!
Bring it over here. That right there.
That's it, boy. Hold on.
Come on.
We never did make it to Italy.
This is much better than Italy.
Seems cruel that we wasted so much time
being apart.
Now we are finally together and...
Whatever happens tomorrow, you and I, we will always be together.
I promise.
Holger.
Are we going to die?
Of course we are.
Don't you know that yet?
Nobody lives forever.
I mean tomorrow.
Are we going to die tomorrow?
Tomorrow, if we fight like lions,
we'll do better than die.
We'll be remembered forever.
Godwyn, calm yourself. Lord Ralph will not harm us.
-He will kill us. -Calm yourself! We'll be safe!
How do you know?
Because Ralph is your brother.
After your father died, I was still quite young.
And I fell in love again.
But I was incautious and I bore a child.
Loss can change any woman.
But to lose a child can blacken even the purest heart.
It doesn't mean I love you any the less.
It only means that he will love you too.
My magnificent sons!
You're a whore?
You're a whore! A whore!
God tests me with this tribulation and I shall not be found wanting.
And as you delight in your carnal pleasures so I shall revel in your downfall.
When this is over, I swear, I shall have you stripped and hanged.
You shouldn't have come.
I want to be sure he's dead this time.
You don't trust me to kill him?
You have the heart for it, I hope?
Of course I do.
I'm your son.
Will father be all right?
He'll be all right. Stay together.
Go into the cathedral and stay together.
-You'd best go in as well. -No.
I won't fight well if I have to worry about your safety.
And what if you don't come for me?
I promise. I will.
Villagers! Prepare!
Watch your backs. Move!
Get ready!
-Ready yourselves! -Hold.
Hold!
Come on!
Stay together!
Hold!
-Yeah! Come on! -Come on!
-Here they come, here they come! -Together!
Ready?
Now! Go now!
Kill everyone!
Spare no one! Burn it to the ground!
The King's mad!
What about father?
-It's all right, you're going to be safe. -I'm scared.
My book.
No! Get off me!
Gwenda!
Come on, I've got you. Run!
Out of my way!
He won't get to hang me.
Petranilla.
My sons are gone.
The one thinks me a whore,
the other storms these walls as we speak.
And Godwyn's right,
Ralph won't spare me.
If the King says, "Kill them all," he'll kill us all.
Godwyn too.
I can't watch that.
What have you taken?
Sleeping nightshade.
Aunt, listen to me.
Listen, we can save you. I can make you a purgative.
A Bishop and a lord.
I did that.
What?
I'm sorry I never got to see you burn.
You don't need to do this.
How would you ever know what I need?
Caris, Caris, the Holy Caris.
The detestable Caris.
I know you're angry, but we don't have much time.
I killed your parents.
Do you still want to save me now?
Lord, in Thy mercy, have pity on the soul of Thy handmaid.
Don't you dare.
-Free her from the perils of this mortal life. -Don't you dare! Don't you dare!
The path of everlasting salvation.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
I forgive you your sins.
Sam!
Get me some more.
Hurry!
Holger!
Holger! Holger!
You've come for me, I think.
My son.
Two kings and only one crown.
If I am to die today,
you must be the one to kill me.
She was a whore anyway.
Death is a blessed relief.
May God have mercy on your soul, Godwyn.
She was your mother.
Of course.
The Devil's fornicator
tests me one more time.
But I'm not afraid.
No! No!
Godwyn!
By all that is holy, protect me now, in my most sacred task.
Let me not flinch!
The blood of Christ. Let the blood of Christ flow and let...
I came back from the grave.
But if you are to rule, I must return there.
Do you understand me, my son?
I give you my life that you may be a better king than I ever was.
This fair town has treated me kindly.
I would have you treat it with respect.
I give you my word.
By the grace of God most mighty, I, Edward of Caernarvon,
son of Edward of England,
Prince of Wales, King of England,
Lord of Ireland, Duke of Aquitaine...
Cease fighting!
Cease the bloodshed!
-Stop! -Stop fighting!
-Hold your weapons! -Hold your weapons!
Sound the retreat!
Sire.
Your Majesty.
Mama! Mom! Mom!
Son! My little son!
Let me have a look at you. We did it!