Summary
Adding drama, romantic elements, and thirsty battles, the series services the legend as well as possible.
This review of Amazon’s El Cid season 1 contains no spoilers. The historical drama was released on the streaming service on the 18th December 2020.
Apart from the hyped The Mandalorian season 2 finale, streaming services are relatively quiet today. If you decide not to binge through the popular K-Drama series Sweet Home, you may want to feast your eyes on historical drama El Cid.
In case you are unaware, Amazon’s El Cid is based on a true story about the legend Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (also known as El Cid), a nobleman and war hero in medieval Spain. In five episodes, the drama follows Rodrigo as he vows to lurch on to a monarchy that is attempting to control him.
With mid-11th Century vibes, the series lunges at the usual tropes, with the script and cast doing their utmost best to capture the language. The costume department has done well to capture the essence of the time, and it can be applauded for evoking the settings. El Cid is predictable in style, and audiences will need the time and concentration to commit themselves to it.
With a satisfactory script, revolving characters, and a sense of wondrous heroic history, audiences can rest assured that El Cid is entertaining. However, our recommendation would be to opt for subtitles. Amazon has decided that the default is dubbed, but it doesn’t land. There’s something not quite right with British voiceovers for a landmark moment in Spanish history. Also, the dubs are not exactly great, and it reduces the story somewhat.
I’ll leave history commentators to discuss whether or not it’s tied strongly to real events, but as the trailer promised, El Cid brings some well-sketched out medieval battles for those expecting some old age action. The Amazon series tries its earnest best to platform The Legend of El Cid, so while it could fall down at the wayside on accuracies, it at least attempts to honor Spain’s celebrated figure.
El Cid season 1 comes recommended. Adding drama, romantic elements, and thirsty battles, the series services the legend as best as possible.
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Cheap version of GOT. Poor casting, writing and a lot of embarrasing historic mistakes but good shoot locations and fights. Another Amazon lost chance for a great historic character.
you ovbiously dont know what you are talking about . this was a great show much better than GOT wich is fantasy and bit exaggerated. the cast was great . is not like Spartacus but it was one of the best I have seen so far
As a European History professor, I was looking at El Cid on those terms and was pleasantly surprised I was just as interested in the plots and drama. What it must have been like for a low level nobleman’s son to rise through the ranks to a position of importance. The series shows personal and political rivalries, the struggle of women for recognition and power and the hard decisions kings must make even at the risk of sacrificing their own families. The dynamic between the Muslim and Christian kingdoms amidst competition for trade routes, land and armies was well done. They really had a lot in common and the open prejudices against each other were only displayed by those with political/financial agendas. For the most part, the two religions lived together peacefully in medieval Spain. I’m sure everybody will find fault with this rendition in some form, but it’s much better than the obviousness of Charleton Heston’s version of the Spanish hero…….