The Siege

The Siege is the fourth and series finale of the miniseries. It aired on 23 December 2018.

Synopsis[]

Hazel and the others finally find a place to settle. But General Woundwort and his Efrafa rabbit army launch a costly full-scale attack on the new warren.

Plot[]

A flashback revealing the origins of General Woundwort opens the episode. As a kitten, Woundwort and his two brothers are taken by their father to raid a garden. Woundwort keeps watch while the others feast on cabbages, but goes tharn (freezes in fear) when he sees a fox stalking them. The fox kills Woundwort's father and brothers, and when Woundwort tries to escape, he inadvertently attracts the fox to his warren, leading to the deaths of several other rabbits. During the slaughter, the fox claws Woundwort in the face, scarring and blinding his left eye.

Back in the present, General Woundwort faces Bigwig and the Watership Down rabbits escaping from Efrafa, shortly before Kehaar then comes to the rescue. In the confusion, Hazel and the group make a run for it and manage to hide in a nearby human village.

The next morning, the rabbits thank Kehaar for his bravery, who counts the debt paid from his recovery before flying off, promising to return in the future. The rabbits then return to Watership Down, though their victory is short-lived after coming across an Efrafa scouting party some time later. Hazel meets with Woundwort to strike a deal, but Woundwort shrugs him off, thinking he is dealing with a lame rabbit rather than with Bigwig, whom he believes to be Chief Rabbit. Watership Down prepares to fight Woundwort, who means to starve them into submission with a siege. However, Woundwort grows impatient as his soldiers begin to question his motives and orders them to attack the warren.

The warren is stormed, both sides clash and many are wounded, with Holly being killed in the struggle, much to Hyzenthlay's distraught. The tunnels are collapsed and most of the rabbits retreat to the middle of the warren, with Hazel and Bigwig meaning to pull off a final stand in order to buy the others more time. After Fiver has another vision, he and Hazel head to the farm, where they mean to free Bob the Rottweiler and lead him back to the warren. When the Efrafans finally break into the main burrow, Woundwort prepares to go in with Campion, but the latter refuses, having had enough of Woundwort's bloodthirsty ways. Angered, Woundwort orders Captain Orchis to execute Campion and goes into the warren with Sainfoin instead. Orchis, however, reluctantly allows Campion and several other soldiers who have sided with the latter to leave, heeding Campion's warning of being no match for his combat skills.

Inside the warren, Bigwig ambushes Woundwort, and the two big rabbits fight to the point of exhaustion. Arriving at the farm, Fiver manages to free Bob, but is captured by the farm cat. Hazel is forced to abandon Fiver and lead Bob back to the warren. The mere sight of the big dog causes most of the Efrafans to flee the down in terror, although Orchis fails to run away in time due to briefly going tharn and is killed by Bob as a result. However, Woundwort, refusing to flee or give into fear, holds his ground until Bob notices him. Rabbit and Rottweiler lunge for each other though Woundwort's fate is left unknown.

Many days later, the farmer's daughter returns Fiver to the wild, allowing him to come home and reunite with his friends. This event convinces Hazel of humanity's capacity for good. Years pass and the warren is shown to be prospering, with families made among the rabbits. One evening, an elderly Hazel enjoys some silence by a nearby creek. An aged Fiver comes and says goodbye to his brother, sensing Hazel's upcoming death. Hazel is then visited by the Black Rabbit of Inlé, who invites him to join her Owsla, assuring him of Watership Down's perpetual safety and future. Reassured, Hazel accepts and dies peacefully. Outside the warren, Bluebell tells members of the warren Hazel's story (starting with the opening paragraph of the novel). Nearby, Fiver listens to the story before looking up at the sky, where a rabbit-shaped cloud floats on, symbolizing Hazel's spirit running forever.

Characters[]

Cast[]

James McAvoy as Hazel
Nicholas Hoult as Fiver
John Boyega as Bigwig
Ben Kingsley as General Woundwort
Tom Wilkinson as Threarah
Gemma Arterton as Clover
Peter Capaldi as Kehaar
Olivia Colman as Strawberry
Mackenzie Crook as Hawkbit
Anne-Marie Duff as Hyzenthlay
Taron Egerton as El-Ahrairah
Freddie Fox as Captain Holly
James Faulkner as Frith
Lee Ingleby as Captain Campion
Miles Jupp as Blackberry
Daniel Kaluuya as Bluebell
Rory Kinnear as Cowslip
Rosamund Pike as the Black Rabbit of Inlé
Craig Parkinson as Sergeant Sainfoin
Daniel Rigby as Dandelion
Jason Watkins as Captain Orchis
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Captain Vervain
Lorraine Bruce as Farmer's Wife
Gemma Chan as Dewdrop
Lizzie Clarke as Haystack
Rosie Day as Thethuthinnang
Henry Goodman as Blackavar
Peter Guinness as Silverweed
Murray McArthur as Farmer
Sam Redford as Man
Charlotte Spencer as Nettle
Christabel Abdy Collins as Doe
Michelle Rodda as Doe
Barry Aird as Owsla
Tom Bidwell as Owsla
Nick Brimble as Owsla
Steve Cannon as Owsla
Rod Chisholm as Owsla
Mark Ebulué as Owsla
Luke Neal as Owsla
Nicholas Tennant as Owsla
Andrew Walton as Owsla
Beatrice Aitken as Kit
Eloise Aitken as Kit
Walter Beaumont as Kit
Wenty Beaumont as Kit
Lola Rose Lawson Johnston as Kit
Grace Lawson Johnston as Kit
Arun Kapoor-Parsons as Kit
Raul Kapoor-Parsons as Kit
James Alexander as Scabious / Additional Characters
Jake Francis as Owsla

Trivia[]

Bluebell tells the starting of the Watership Down novel to the kits who want Hazel's story.

Mistakes[]

Like in the previous episode, the "mark" on Clover's right hind-leg repeatedly disappears and reappears.
Bigwig and Woundwort's injuries appear on their bodies before they actually start fighting.
When Woundwort begins to charge at Bob, he is a considerably greater distance away than when he was several seconds ago.