The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself episode 6 review: A boat affair with some vision

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself premiered on Netflix on October 28, 2022, fulfilling Joe Barton's vision of a unique and twisted take on Young Adult fantasy novels.

The brilliantly written and developed show did not shy away from the occasional darkly comic interpretations of violent fantasy scenes. It managed to do so especially well in the sixth episode of the show.

The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself dove headfirst into the politics of the two groups, focusing especially on the Fairborn witches this time. Their interpretations have quietly changed into one of hate and distaste over the last few episodes.

Coming to the two episodes before the finale, this episode had some exciting revelations, some important plot points, and a constant emphasis on the pace that makes this series special.

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The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself episode 6 tells the tale of two sides

One of the things different about the sixth episode from its predecessor is that it spread its focus evenly among the two groups of Witches. The two groups are the Fairborn Witches led by Soul O’Brien (Paul Ready) and the Blood Witches, which currently comprises Nathan (Jay Lycurgo).

The episode starts off on a pacy note and holds that over the next 40 minutes, which is a remarkable feat in itself.

This episode begins after the attack on the Ozanne family in the previous episode. The ending saw Nathan, Annalise (Nadia Parkes), Ceelia (Karen Connell) and Gabriel (Emilien Vekemans) escape on a boat with an Ozzanne family member.

Episode 6 majorly follows their boat journey. It also follows the other end of the spectrum where Soul and his compatriots try to locate them and put an end to the Blood Witches.

One of the more interesting characters in this episode of The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself is Nathan's half-sister Jessica (Isobel Jesper Jones). Jessica seems to have ideally inherited every trait of a Fairborn witch and displays them with massive curiosity and brutality. She is one of the characters who traversed an untraceable path in this episode and only looks to cause more havoc in the future.

This episode is also remarkably brutal with death scenes, some of which can truly affect a viewer. The death, violence, and rage embodied within a few characters make for some good television in the final third of the episode. However, nothing beats the "vision" that questions how we look at the world of witches.

When Nathan falls unconscious, he enters a vision where he presumably sees his father who wants to strike a deal with Soul for peace between the two sides. This is one of the most important parts of the show where viewers are posed with the question - are the Blood Witches the good ones?

This is a debate that the show is perhaps saving up for some more important bits in its eight-episode runtime. Whenever it does try to answer this, it would be an interesting challenge.

All the episodes of The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself are now streaming on Netflix.