The Pillars of the Earth: Season 1

2010 · 8 episodes · ★ 6.7

Miniseries

What Season 1 of The Pillars of the Earth

Tom Builder is a poor builder whose greatest dream is to raise the cathedral of Kingsbridge. The titanic project ends up pulling him into the power struggle between royalty, nobility and clergy in 12th-century England.

8episodes

Jul 23, 2010premiered

Aug 27, 2010final episode

7 hrtotal runtime

Season 1 Episodes

1x01 Anarchy
Jul 23, 2010 · 56 min · ★ 6.7
The succession to the crown of England is in doubt and causes King Henry’s daughter and nephew to compete for the throne. The Hamleigh family’s hope for an advantageous marriage for their son William falls apart. Tom Builder and his family search for work and encounter Ellen and her mysterious son Jack. Church politics see Philip, a monk, elected the new prior, which leaves him indebted to Deacon Waleran.
Directing: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
1x02 Master Builder
Jul 23, 2010 · 52 min · ★ 6.7
A fire destroys Kingsbridge church, giving Tom, son Alfred and stepson Jack the chance to build a new cathedral. Prior Philip learns the power of politics when he gets caught between Bishop Waleran and the Hamleighs’ quest for Shiring Castle. Kingsbridge is rocked by the accusation of Ellen being a witch. William takes Aliena and Richard by surprise in a brutal attack. Aliena makes a promise to her father.
Directing: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
1x03 Redemption
Jul 30, 2010 · 52 min · ★ 6.9
Aliena protests her father’s imprisonment. Prior Philip and William find themselves in a standoff over access to stone in the Shiring quarry. Jack’s artistic talents take hold as he begins to carve a statue to honor the cathedral relic. King Stephen visits the cathedral work-site, but collapses in a fit of terror. Aliena starts a fleece business to help earn money for Richard’s chance to become a knight.
Directing: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
1x04 Battlefield
Aug 6, 2010 · 47 min · ★ 6.9
William applies to have his father’s title of Earl transferred to him, and discovers a mysterious knight is also a rival for the Earldom. King Stephen, frightened by Jack’s appearance, orders an assassin to kill him. The battle between King Stephen and Maud sees each side’s leader being taken hostage. Philip is tortured into a confession when Waleran tells Maud that he is the man who betrayed Earl Bartholomew.
Directing: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
1x05 Legacy
Aug 13, 2010 · 54 min · ★ 6.3
Waleran and Regan engineer the prisoner exchange so that they remain on the winning side of the war. Tom wants Jack and Alfred to be friends, but their rivalry over their work lives and Aliena is too intense. Meanwhile, William decides to attack Kingsbridge as a way to stop the fleece fair and Aliena’s success. The Hamleighs and Prior Philip are granted rights to Shiring land, but it comes with a price.
Directing: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
1x06 Witchcraft
Aug 20, 2010 · 51 min · ★ 6.8
Richard returns from war to find his sister penniless, with no more money to support his knighthood. Alfred offers himself to Prior Philip as master-builder. Aliena has to choose between her love for Jack and her oath to her father. Regan forces Waleran to speak to the King about William’s long-delayed Earldom. A disaster at Kingsbridge becomes a way for Waleran to remove Prior Philip from his position.
1x07 New Beginnings
Aug 27, 2010 · 53 min · ★ 7.1
As a result of his journeys, Jack has learned how to fulfill Tom Builder’s dream of a cathedral filled with light. Aliena tracks Jack by following the trail of his carvings. Waleran offers Philip a new position, but it means that Philip must always obey Waleran. Kingsbridge becomes prosperous again which infuriates Regan and William, who plan an attack that is met with resistance from Richard, Jack and Philip.
1x08 The Work of Angels Season Finale
Aug 27, 2010 · 54 min · ★ 6.1
Eight years later, Jack’s fixation with the cathedral leaves him little time or energy for anything else, while Aliena’s fixation with the distant Earldom of Shiring has married her to Alfred, a man she hates. Waleran and Alfred develop a plot to get rid of Jack for good and it seems to be working until evidence comes to light that makes all wrongs rectified.