
Guinevere ratchets up her efforts to put an end to Arthur Pendragon’s reign this week, while Morgana sets her sights on Merlin. He is the thorn in her side who seems to be able to disrupt all of her plots against the King, and Morgana has had enough. There is no love lost between the two since it was Merlin who once poisoned her long ago. She still does not know of his power and, thus, continues to underestimate him.
Merlin encounters a druid teenage boy, Daegal, who seeks assistance for his sister at the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Merlin is unable to resist a plea for help and sets off on the half-day journey with him. Gaius advises him not to go, because the Valley is too dangerous, but he should have known that Merlin would not heed his warning. Meanwhile, Arthur is set to meet with Sarrum, a ruthless leader who has a reputation for brutality. Arthur wants a treaty with Sarrum, and also wants to hear how Sarrum once captured Morgana.
The journey with the boy highlights how much Merlin has changed since the beginning. He has gone from being an impetuous youth to a responsible, caring man. Merlin also is no fool, though. En route, he begins to suspect that he is not being led to a sick girl. It’s a trap. When Merlin learns that the boy does not share his druidic power of telepathy, he knows he’s been deceived. He doesn’t realize, though, that Morgana is behind the plot. She knocks him unconscious (again), pours a liquid in his mouth, and kicks him into a ditch.

Merlin awakens only to discover that he has been poisoned. Even his magic cannot help him. Luckily, the boy can’t stand the guilt of leaving Merlin to die. He returns and saves him, and also tells him of Morgana’s plot against Arthur. Though his leg is injured, Merlin rushes back to Camelot. Along the way, he and the boy encounter bandits and Merlin has no choice but to use his magic against them. The boy knows his secret and Merlin must now trust that he will do the right thing and keep it to himself. The boy has a reason to keep the secret; his mother also had magic and was killed by Uther because of it. It feels like Merlin wants to be more open with his magic. He knows that Arthur isn’t ready, though, and even tells the boy he thinks Arthur would hang him. Merlin does a discredit to his friendship with Arthur by having so little faith. Arthur would likely be shocked and feel betrayed by Merlin keeping his magic a secret. But, he loves Merlin like his brother. He would certainly move past it at some point.
This is not a good episode for Arthur. Needless to say, Arthur is not too pleased that his servant has disappeared. With Merlin gone, he demonstrates that he is ridiculously helpless. He refuses to put on his own clothes. When Gaius comes into his room, Arthur tasks Gaius with filling Merlin’s role. Arthur bends over with his arms outstretched, waiting for Gaius to slip the shirt onto him. The shock on Gaius’ face was hilarious and was only topped when he mistakes Gwen’s nightgown for Arthur’s shirt and tries to put that on him. Later in the episode, Arthur meets one of Sarrum’s men in a fighting demonstration. Arthur loses. Badly. He ends up on the ground with the man’s sword at the back of his neck. This is all combined with the fact that Arthur has no clue he is being manipulated by Gwen and only narrowly escapes assassination thanks to Merlin. All in all, Arthur comes off as helpless and completely reliant on the assistance of others. By contrast, Uther appeared to be a much stronger leader. Something needs to change with Arthur.
We finally learn who kept Morgana and Aithusa in the oubliette. Sarrum tells Arthur that he found Morgana’s weakness: her love for Aithusa. Sarrum threatened to kill Aithusa if Morgana used her magic, and then imprisoned them for 2 years. During this time, the growing dragon was crippled and twisted by being confined to the small space. This also likely explains why Aithusa can’t speak, as Merlin discovered earlier this season. It is encouraging that Morgana’s weakness involves love for another being. She is still too far gone to hope for redemption, but at least there is a scrap of compassion and humanity left in her.
Arthur starts to worry about Merlin’s absence and Gwen tells him that Merlin’s gone off with a girl. Gwen knows that Morgana plans to kill Merlin. Merlin’s fate is of little concern to her, though, as she has bigger plans. To further her scheme against Arthur and to secure some vengeance for Morgana, Gwen asks Sarrum to murder Arthur in exchange for some of Camelot’s land. After Arthur’s death, Gwen would then turn on Sarrum and ensure that he suffered an excruciating death. Of course, Merlin isn’t going to let that happen. He makes his way back to the castle and stops the assassination, but not before the boy takes a knife to the stomach and an errant arrow strikes Sarrum.
Merlin and Gaius know that they have to do something about Gwen. She is not going to stop trying to kill Arthur. Hopefully, in the next episode they will be able to release Gwen from Morgana’s control. While it has been great seeing the duplicity in Gwen’s character, it is time for Merlin to wipe that deceptive smile from her face. I am looking forward to the moment that Gwen realizes all that has passed and what she has done. It will likely be the best performance of the series for Angel Coulby.
Merlin airs Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy.
Related posts
Classics
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People, which US audiences still have not been able…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
Ricky He Talks From “The Way Things Are Now”
[Warning: Spoilers for episode 102 of EPIX’s From.] Epix’s new series From is two episodes in and it’s already laying the groundwork for a seriously spooky season. Tonight’s episode demonstrated the careful balance of relief and horror that the show hits, with our characters’ worst fears realized, just not when…
Catching Up with Ted Lasso and Previewing Season 2
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] The not so dirty little secret about how I approach a new series is that I sometimes make a call based on the headspace I’m in at the time. It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up a show after the first season and then binge…
Interview: Henri Esteve on Grown-ish Season 3
An interview with Henri Esteve, who plays Javi on Freeform’s Grown-ish. He talks about his season three experience.
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…