WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Letter for the King, now streaming on Netflix.

The Letter for the King pushes a young band of burgeoning heroes into an increasingly difficult world. They are repeatedly targeted by many of the darker forces of the world around them, and they do a lot of impressive acts. However, they aren't the most impressive protagonist in the show.

While The Letter for the King's hero is nominally Tiuri the knight-in-training, the most valuable hero in the series turns out to be his horse Ardanwen -- who saves the day multiple times and keeps the heroes from being wiped out.

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The Letter for the King

The motivating crisis that sets off the plot of The Letter for the King comes when the young knight in training Tiuri is approached by a desperate man in the middle of his trials before being brought to the Black Knight. After being seriously wounded while trying to bring a letter revealing the truth of Prince Viridian's intentions to take the throne by force, he entrusts Tiuri with bringing the letter to King Favian so war can be averted. Although Tiuri initially doubts that he could make it that far quick enough to save the day, the Black Knight entrusts him with his black steed, Ardanwen. While the Black Knight is killed, Tiuri makes his escape, and Ardanwen proves that the Black Knight wasn't lying. Ardanwen turns out to be a more intelligent and fast horse than almost any normal animal.

It's far more daring than any other horse, leaping over a cliff to avoid capture and casually swimming back to the shore. The horse repeatedly keeps Tiuri alive across the course of the series. When Tiuri is cornered by Jaro, Ardanwen ends up being the one to save the young man by attacking Jaco and his men head-on before outracing the soldiers with relative ease. It does the same for Lavina when she's found by the other young knights-in-training, rescuing her with ease. When they reach Mistrinaut, the horse refuses to be used by anyone else, bucking Lavinia when she tries to steal him. Ardanwen even gets little moments of personality, not caring for the boat that the group is forced to use at one point and his eventual acceptance of Lavina -- so long as she helps Tiuri.

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Ardanwen even leads the group to the small village and to the Black Knight's widow when Tiuri is wounded and desperately in need of help. Tiuri develops a bond with the horse and even tries to let it stay home with the Black Knight's widow, but Ardawen saves Tiuri again when Sir Fantumar and his men arrive at the village. Ardawen has more effective fighting skills then pretty much anyone in the cast, taking down multiple enemies across the six-episode series. He almost even seems to have a kind of superpower, always arriving in the nick of time to save the lives. In a show with actual magical powers, it's maybe the most reality-defying moment of the show.

The heroes only lose one of their members when they engage in battle inside the castle and Ardanwen isn't able to ride in to save the day. When Tiuri and the rest of the knights-in-training are celebrated for their role in helping save the world, Ardawen deserved his own share of the accolades.

Streaming now on Netflix, The Letter for the King stars Amir Wilson, Islam Bouakkaz, Jack Barton, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Thaddea Graham, Jonah Lees, David Wenham, Tawfeek Barhom and Gijs Blom.

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