Author Ken Follet's massive book has been turned into an eight part miniseries. A period piece that is like Elizabeth and The Tudors all rolled into one. Taking place in the 12th century during the reign of King Henry I and the decades that follow. You get clashes, battles for power, scheming, plotting, tragic deaths, battles, bloodthirstiness, rape, incest, and profanity in this sometimes over-the-top televisions miniseries. A warning for fans of the book as the series sometimes deviates from it.
Episode 1: Anarchy: With the death of the heir of King Henry a fight for the throne erupts between Queen Maud (played by Alison Pill) and King Stephen (played by Tony Curran). Tom Builder (played by Rufus Sewell) is going through the countryside looking for employment.
Episode 2: Master Builder: Kingsbridge Church burns down and Tom makes designs for a new cathedral. Prior Philip (played by Matthew Macfadyen) goes around trying to gather funds for the new cathedral.
Episode 3: Redemption: Jack (played by Eddie Redmayne) demonstrates his artistic talent by carving a monument to St. Adolphus for the new cathedral. Philip and William (played by David Oakes) compete for the same rare stone.
Episode 4: Battlefield: William plots out his strategy to becoming an Earl but finds out he is not the only one with this aspiration. The battle between Maud and Stephen continues.
Episode 5: Legacy: William begins an attack on Kingsbridge in order to put a stop to Aliena's (played by Hayley Atwell) ride to the top. Jack and Alfred (played by Liam Garrigan) compete over the same woman.
Episode 6: Witchcraft: At the end of the battle, Richard returns home only to find his sister Aliena is without the money required to make him a knight. Aliena does not know whether to be true to her father (played by Donald Sutherland) or to the man she loves, Jack.
Episode 7: New Beginnings: Aliena figures out where Jack is using just her woman's intuition. Jack's travels provide him what he will need to build the cathedral.
Episode 8: The Work of Angels: It is eight years later and Jack is unable to think of anything but building the cathedral. Aliena is fixated on fulfilling the promise she made to her father.
Special Features: The Making of Pillars of the Earth, Visual Effects Progression, Main Titles Progression