The Letter For The King had something of an anticlimactic conclusion — but could that be because Prince Viridian (Gijs Blom) wasn't fully defeated and the real battle has yet to come? The coming-of-age fantasy began life as a 1962 novel by Dutch author Tonke Dragt. Adapted for television by Will Davies, a six-part adaptation premiered via Netflix on March 20 2020. The Letter For The King stars Amir Wilson as Tiuri, a novice who, after answering a plea for help, finds himself framed for the murder of a famous knight and tasked with a dangerous mission. Along the way, he teams up with Lavinia (Ruby Serkis) as they find themselves beset by several factions.
Their adventure comes to a head when Tiuri is finally able to breach Unauwen's castle walls and present the titular letter to King Favian (Yorick van Wageningen). Though it successfully exposes Prince Viridian's treachery, it comes too late to prevent his true machinations. With the blood moon at its peak, Viridian completes a step in the prophecy when he allows himself to be struck dead by his brother. Transforming into a shadowy monster, he prepares to consume the land and its people in a tyrannical pursuit of peace. Fortunately, newly revealed to be the Great Mage of the North, Lavinia emerges from the crowd just in time. Joining hands with Tiuri, she fulfills her destiny — channeling her magic into powerful light energy and seemingly vanquishing Viridian.
Unbeknownst to the heroes, however, a vestige of Viridian is revealed to still be lurking in The Letter For The King's closing moments. As Tiuri and his allies — Foldo, Arman, and Piak — are officially knighted for their efforts, a flock of birds sweep across the sky overhead. Similar to the first episode, the birds eventually position themselves to form the image of a face. This time, the face they depict is very much that of Viridian. The fact that the heroes might be celebrating too prematurely was also teased previously. Firstly, Viridian was able to resurrect a bird he had killed, revealing that death is no real obstacle for him. Secondly, such plot threads as Queen Alianor's eyes turning black in Viridian's presence (as though she was possessed) never actually came to anything. It's likely, however, that Viridian was putting in place a contingency plan not dissimilar to Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise.
Ordinarily, the source material would provide clues as to what general direction an adaptation will go next. Given that The Letter For The King differed greatly from the novel, what will occur in a potential second season will remain the subject of speculation. One of the main changes, however, was the introduction of the prophecy and the magic exhibited by Viridian and Lavinia. In Dragt's novel, Tiuri's journey is arduous but largely without mysticism. Instead, Viridian's scheme is simply one of a political nature — the kind of which Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister would be impressed. In the novel, Viridian's treachery is exposed, but simply leads to his father declaring war on him and his conquered nation of Eviellan. Dragt's follow-up book, The Secrets of the Wild Wood, meanwhile, contains a fraction more supernatural elements, but is largely a separate story following an older Tiuri and Piak.
Though the show's writers could potentially weave in elements from the second novel, it will likely continue following its own trajectory. It would also allow the more substantial fulfillment of its established prophecy. It stated that Lavinia would "bring light to the shadow, while the amaranth flowers and the fields lie fallow." It's safe to say that things never got that far, with Lavinia defeating Viridian only minutes after his transformation. It was a climax that failed to match up to season 1's most pivotal moments and let down a genuinely compelling villain. The seeming survival of Viridian and the final season 1 battle serving merely as a precursor, however, would certainly fix that. Equally, it sets up some interesting avenues for The Letter For The King season 2 should the show be renewed.