Merlin: The Grand Finale

To Kill the King

Gwen’s father, Tom, is in deep trouble. Another unwanted sorcerer has entered Camelot and is using Tom to help him with his evil deeds unbeknownst to Tom who just thinks he’s taking part in some sort of experiment and being paid a pretty penny for it. By the time Tom senses he’s in danger, it’s too late. He has already helped Tauren the sorcerer turn liquid into gold with the use of a powerful alchemy stone and the guards come to crash their party.

Tauren manages a quick getaway, but Tom is not as lucky and is arrested.

Meanwhile, Merlin wakes up in the night while all this is happening because he can feel powerful magic being used in Camelot. This boy’s powers know no bounds.

When word reaches Morgana over what has happened, she’s furious. It’s clear she’s very sensitive about Tom’s arrest, not only because of her friendship with Gwen, but also because it must be bringing back memories of what it was like to lose her own father. She pleads with Uther not to kill Tom, but he’s merciless.

Morgana then returns to the scene of the crime looking for Gwen, only to find the alchemy stone used by Tauren. She takes it back to her room and then goes to free Tom from prison by stealing the key. Tom manages to escape, but he doesn’t get very far before the guards catch up to him and Uther commands he is killed on the spot. Morgana is beside herself when she finds out and gets a smart mouth with Uther. So smart, in fact, that she gets thrown in the dungeons for the night.

Since last week’s episodes, we see that Morgana has really been coming into her own and is a force to be reckoned with. She is especially proving that in this episode. It only gets better!

We also see that Uther is executing anybody known to have aided Tauren while he was in Camelot. Even if they didn’t know he was a sorcerer or who he was, that automatically makes them guilty. It just goes to show the extent of Uther’s paranoia.

Gwen finally returns home after the death of her father, but is instead accosted by Tauren who wants his precious stone back. Poor Gwen has no idea what’s going on, but Morgana knows exactly what he’s talking about and she has a plan. Morgana goes to find Tauren in the forest and pledges her allegiance to his cause of bringing down Uther. Together they concoct a plan to kill the King.

Merlin saw Morgana leaving the Castle and followed her to her meeting with Tauren, overhearing everything. He goes to confer with the dragon about what he’s heard. The dragon tells Merlin to stay out of it and let Uther die. The dragon keeps getting weirder and weirder with each passing episode.

The plan is for Morgana to lure Uther to her father’s grave and, when he least expects it, Tauren will come out of hiding in the forest and kill the King. Uther is under the impression it will be a chance to reconnect with Morgana.

Merlin manages to convince himself that it’s best to let Uther die until he asks Gwen for her opinion. If she had the opportunity to kill Uther, would she? “No. What would that solve? That would make me a murderer. That would make me as bad as him,” she says. Leave it up to Gwen to speak words of common sense.

So then Merlin disobeys the dragon again and is off to stop Tauren and Morgana before Uther is killed. At the gravesite, Uther makes himself very open and vulnerable in front of Morgana. He speaks very highly of her father, about how much he cares for her like a daughter, and admits to regret for killing Tom. Morgana realizes she’s making a grave mistake and warns Uther before Tauren can strike. Tauren and Uther fight to kill each other until Morgana steps in, kills Tauren and saves Uther.

All together now: Awwwwwww!

Merlin’s help, meanwhile, was really not necessary. See Merlin? LISTEN TO THE DRAGON! Even if he is a little weird and creepy 99% of the time. I always hoped the dragon would be a wise and sage presence in Merlin’s life, but I guess that’s what Gaius is there for.

Le Morte d’Arthur

Another mythical creature has come into Camelot, but this time it’s not as nice as that unicorn. Gaius warns Uther of the danger of this beast – one bite has the ability to kill a person – and that it is a bad omen. Coincidentally, the Questing Beast, as it is called, was last seen the night Uther’s wife died. But Uther doesn’t follow superstitions anymore, so he sends Arthur off to go kill the creature.

Gaius isn’t the only one with a warning- Morgana has just had another one of her prophetic dreams and is in complete hysterics begging Arthur not to go. This warning goes on deaf ears, also.

Merlin and Arthur find the Beast and fight a battle which ends with Arthur fatally wounded and Merlin killing the beast by magic. Arthur’s already been knocked out by the beast at this point, so the secret is still safe.

Merlin is desperate to save Arthur, but nothing is working. No form of magic seems to do the trick, and Gauis’s medicines will not work either. The Questing Beast is from the Old Religion, and Merlin must travel to the Isle of the Blessed to speak with the sorcerer there who turns out to be our old friend Nimueh. It is not possible for Arthur to live without someone taking his place in death. Merlin is willing to sacrifice himself, of course.

And now begins the game of who lives and who dies.

Merlin makes a bargain with Nimueh for his own life so Arthur may be spared. Arthur must drink special water from a special cup, which he does upon Merlin’s return to Camelot, and huzzah! He’s alive! However, Merlin is not the one who death has come for…his mother shows up in Camelot deathly ill and Merlin is angry that Nimueh did not follow their bargain (she also realizes Merlin’s importance and does not want him dead).

Merlin is about to head back to the Isle of the Blessed, but Gaius beats him to the chase. Gaius is ready to sacrifice himself so both Merlin and his mother live. Nimueh obliges and Gaius is close to death when Merlin arrives and starts battling it out with Nimueh. Using his powers like he’s never done before, Merlin kills Nimueh and ta-da! Gaius is saved! Not to mention Arthur, Merlin, and Merlin’s mother.

Other small things to note from this episode: Gwen taking care of Arthur when he was unconscious and giving a cute little speech about how he has to live and that he’ll be a great King one day. When Arthur wakes up, he tells Gwen he remembers everything she said, but Gwen becomes incredibly flustered and denies saying those things. It’s really cute and hopefully there will be more interaction between these two next season! Aside from her prophetic dream, Morgana stayed much more in the sidelines compared to last episode. It’s definitely hinted at, though, that there’s something going on with her, but we’ll have to wait to find out what it is.

All in all, I’m so glad I discovered this show! It was great Sunday night entertainment with interesting characters and fun stories. I do hope, however, that the show’s production team is given a bigger budget for their CGI effects and that Gwen gets more screen time. I did feel that she was a very underused character. As for Merlin and his secret – I doubt Arthur will discover it anytime soon, but it was great this season to see Merlin become more confident in his magical powers, so there’s another thing that will be interesting to see continue to develop in season 2.

I’m very eagerly looking forward to the next season and I do hope that NBC airs it next summer. Rumor has it that season two will begin airing next month in England…where’s my plane ticket?!

For another take on this episode, check out You Won’t See Me Again by J.B. Perlow.

Season 1, Episodes 12 & 13: To Kill the King & Le Morte d’Arthur (aired August 23, 2009)

For more on Merlin, click here.

Sundays at 8/7c on NBC

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and Nick Briggs