Game of Thrones opens up with a beheading. The Bastard Executioner ends with one and therein lies the difference between both shows. I waited a long time for TBE, especially today and it didn't deliver in the way I had hoped it would. From the outset, it's clear that this show is trying to capture the fan base that worships GoT. But this series is no GoT, nor is it trying to be. What makes GoT work is that we get four separate story-lines to engage us, as well as fairly quick pace between each one, keeping us on the edge of our seats. This 2 hour premiere was sluggish and crawls at a snails pace not giving us much to latch onto with any character, good or bad.

Another thing was I wasn't impressed with the fight scenes at all and I think a lot of the problems there is a direct result of how the scenes were edited together. They went the cheap route to cover up the lazy choreography.  Story-wise, the only interesting thing comes near the end of the Pilot when we see how and why the main character assumes the role of the Executioner. Throw in the fact that he is a man of faith and has tried his best to choose a religious and quiet path and you have yourself a pretty interesting conundrum. He has to defy God and himself in order to stay alive and seek revenge on those that slaughter his wife and unborn child. I know that it's going to take a few episodes for TBE to find itself  and I'm willing to give the series a chance. But they are going to have to step it up a bit or they are going to lose viewers that are impatient as I was tonight.