Merlin “Another’s Sorrow” 

Demonstrating that you can never keep a good witch down, Morgana returns this week with another plot to bring down Camelot.  This time, she joins up with Odin to capture the kingdom, Nemeth.  With the king and his daughter in her clutches, Morgana tells Odin that he can take whatever he wants – her only goal is to reclaim Camelot.  It is somewhat of a shame that her character is so one-dimensional.  She started out more emotionally complex.   It would be nice to see her feelings for Mordred resurface, since it was her affection for him that started her down a darker path.

Morgana disguises herself as Mithian’s elderly maid, Hilda, in order to sneak into Camelot.  This was surprisingly easy and made me wonder why she hadn’t tried it earlier.  It also made me wonder if the vision long ago of Emrys standing above an elderly Morgana might be something that can come to pass sooner rather than later.  At least Morgana’s old lady garb covered her rats nest hair.  She’s out of the forest hovel, so I don’t understand why she has to keep looking a mess.  It was actually ironic that Mithian replaced the key in Morgana’s hand with a comb.

Mithian begs Arthur to help rescue her father, and Arthur takes the bait.  Merlin has a feeling, though, that everything is not what it seems.  He knows that Mithian is holding something back, but he is unable to figure out what it is.  In Arthur’s mind, he does not seem entirely convinced that he’s made the best decision in leaving his kingdom, but he has a deep stubbornness that locks him into a strict moral code of right and wrong.  The right thing to do is help the king, so for Arthur, there is no other option.

On the road, Mithian manages to get a message to Merlin that Hilda is Morgana.  As Merlin runs to warn Arthur, Morgana lays him out.  I am tired of seeing Merlin beaten by her.  If he used his powers, he’d put Morgana flat on her back.

Even though Merlin is unconscious and suffered head trauma, Arthur decides that they should leave him behind.  It was a pretty heartless move.  It also showed that like Merlin, Arthur has a habit of getting fixated on one goal.  Luckily, Gaius was present and used his long dormant sorcerer powers to heal Merlin.  It was great to see Gaius in magic mode.  How sweet would it be to have some final battle with Gaius and Merlin at full magic?

Mithian leads Arthur and his men into Morgana’s trap while Merlin rushes to catch up with them.   Once Arthur is in position, Morgana’s forces move in.  In a moment of silence, Arthur realizes that he made a bad decision leaving Camelot.  Odin captures Arthur and is about to execute him, when Merlin comes in.  Merlin angrily slams his hands onto the ground and triggers a powerful earthquake.  As he is escaping, Merlin sends Morgana flying into a wall.  It’s about time!  This was a great appetizer, but I am so ready for Merlin to serve her with a full meal of whoop ass.

Arthur’s final battle with Odin is critical because it shows that Arthur can best his enemies without Merlin.  But, Merlin also prevents Arthur from killing Odin.  Arthur shows what kind of king he is when he offers Odin his hand.  Arthur puts the good of his people above his own interest in revenge for Odin having killed Uther Pendragon.  This episode definitely felt like it was more about moving Arthur forward in his evolution.  I am anxious to see more interactions between Arthur, Merlin and Mordred, so hopefully that is coming soon.

The final season of Merlin airs Fridays on Syfy at 10/9c.