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The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself is a remarkably bold and brutal series based on Half Bad, a young adult novel by Sally Green. The show is not quite what you would expect out of fantasy stories featuring witches and magic. While it is delightfully stuffed in that region too, what it really cares about is a reckless touch of adult television shows, which sets it apart from others in the genre.
Joe Barton's eight-part exploration of a world divided between Blood Witches and Fairborn Witches follows 16-year-old Nathan's (Jay Lycurgo) journey across the beautiful suburbs of Europe as the two aforementioned sides clash due to their differing agendas.
Disclaimer: This article is subjective and reflects the author's views.
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The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself review: Brave storytelling with fantasy at its heart
Half an hour into the first episode of The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, it becomes evident that the series challenges the conventions set by the numerous similar-minded shows and films that came before it. One of the bravest aspects of this is the way it leans into the 'A' aspect of YA novels.
Halfway through the series, it is clear that s*x, drugs, and gore are just essential parts of the plotline, which does not shy away from depicting the reality of the teenage years in all their blasphemous glory. This does not mean that the show starts being realistic about all aspects. It is still very much a story of Witches and their warring clans, just seen through a more adult perspective.
The large body count and the surfaces stained with gore add a subtle hint of dark comedy under the very serious premise of a boy caught in a war. All the episodes are politically rich, with allegories and gray characters that hold out a mirror to humankind itself. An important aspect that the series also focuses on is shattering binaries - there are no completely right or wrong sides on this show.
The layering of the characters may be the only little issue that The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself suffers from. This is especially true for Nathan, who for the most part fails to be a likable protagonist. But that does not take away much from the premise.
A big win for The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself is the perfect pace. With perfectly-staged revelations, the series manages to hold attention better than most shows do. The twists are extremely calculated and the story bends at the exact right moments.
On the technical side too, there is nothing to complain about. The actors are good in their roles, the locations are lush and beautiful, the sound is extremely fitting and the cinematography by Nick Remy Matthews as well as Nicola Daley is impressive, significantly surpassing other similar shows in the genre.
Overall, The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself is an extremely enjoyable series that has much to offer with very little to dislike.
All episodes of The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself are now streaming on Netflix.
