Barkskins series premiere recap: An epic story begins
By Mads Lennon
The Barkskins series premiere begins with the story of two immigrants.
National Geographic’s new limited series Barkskins is based on the book of the same name by Annie Proulx. Condensing the epic novel into a miniseries format will be a challenging feat, especially as the book encompasses more than 300 years. The Barkskins series premiere does a decent job of setting up the key players, but the first hour captivated me, I wouldn’t mind it progressing beyond the initial eight episodes.
The cable channel has opted to air two episodes a week, which makes me think each chunk will detail a century, with at least one getting four episodes? It’s not yet clear. Nonetheless, I’m excited to see how this saga pans out.
How does the Barkskins series premiere begin?
To set the scene, the series begins with a simple text card to place the audience. Barkskins starts in the late 1600s under the rule of King Louis of France.
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The setting is primarily New France with a specific focus on the sweeping wilderness to the west that multiple hostile parties seek to control, including the Hudson Bay Fur Trading Company, the English, the French, and the Iroquois Indians who formerly resided peacefully in the area.
The opening scene is one of fire and destruction as a young girl sprints away from an ongoing slaughter and seeking refuge in the trees.
A member of the Iroquois tribe runs by with a bloody chest, making it appear like they were leading the massacre.
Later, we learn that Gus Lafarge (Matthew Lilliard) led an attack on the French settlers in the area and killed them all, setting it up to make it appear the Indians were the sole conspirators. As peace was recently brokered between the French and English within the nearby settlement of Wobik, Lafarge and Captain Bouchard (David Wilmot) ensured the Indians hanged as a punishment.
We learn all of this quickly as we’re introduced to Lafarge, reporting back to an Englishman named Elijah Cooke (Thomas M. Wright). Their next order of business is to get the Hudson Bay Fur Trading Company as allies.
The opening attack is essential to note as it serves as a catalyst for the majority of events in the Barkskins series premiere and likely the episodes to follow.