Merlin Review: Welcome Back to Camelot

Season four of Merlin premiered Sunday night on SyFy, and we were thrown right back into the mystery and magic that Merlin is known for without wasting a moment.

The scene is set up rather quickly: the Knights of Camelot encounter Morgana (Katie McGrath), who is on her way to the Isle of the Blessed with her dying half-sister Morgause (guest star Emilia Fox). When we last saw Morgana, she had openly betrayed King Uther (Anthony Head), who was revealed to be her biological father. This still blows my mind, by the way. It’s been a year since Morgause and Morgana tried to topple Camelot, and Morgana’s powers have grown stronger, we’re told.

Back in Camelot, Uther is a shell of his former self. Gwen (Angel Coulby), formerly Morgana’s servant, is now looking after the ailing king. Merlin (Colin Morgan) remains Prince Arthur’s butt boy (get your mind out of the gutter!) while the Prince has had to take on more responsibilities given his father’s absence. In light of his growing role in the kingdom, we’re introduced to Arthur’s uncle, Agravaine, who seems to have the young Prince’s best intentions at heart and acts as an adviser. Agravaine (Nathaniel Parker) is Arthur’s uncle on his mother’s side; already we can deduce he must have an animosity toward Uther for the death of his sister.

The story this episode focuses on the holiday to honor the dead. Morgause and Morgana capitalize on this by performing a ritual from the Old Religion that tears the veil between the spirit and living worlds. The rip releases the doroka – voices of the dead that look like ghostly shadows. The doroka come out to play at night, screeching and soaring all over the place. They claim lives by passing directly through people and freezing them to death. What’s worse about the doroka: they wipe Merlin clean of his powers. They can only be repelled by light.

The doroka were released by Morgana sacrificing her sister – and in that moment, you can’t help but feel sorry for the sorceress. She’s lost her closest ally, the person who’s taught her everything she knows about magic. In order to seal the torn veil, Gaius says another blood sacrifice must be made. The noble Arthur (Bradley James) decides it must be him, but of course Merlin says it’s his destiny to protect Arthur, so he must sacrifice himself instead. Then again, Gwen asks newly knighted Lancelot to look after Arthur as a favor to her. “I will protect him with my life, you have my promise,” he tells her.

The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Arthur, Merlin and the Knights having reached the Isle of the Blessed to seal the veil. Yet when Arthur’s life is threatened, Merlin jumps in front of the doroka. But will he survive? (Obviously. This is only the first episode!)

Other points worth mentioning is that Morgana has a vision of her doom involving Emrys (old Merlin). She doesn’t know it’s Merlin, however, she just knows him as Emrys. We also get confirmation that Agravaine is a double agent working for Morgana.

It was a great season opener, and brought back our favorite characters and the camaraderie between Arthur and Merlin (“There aren’t too many servants who get to write a prince’s speech. It wouldn’t hurt to say thank you,” jokes Arthur.) Morgana has proven herself to be a real threat, but she now has a weakness: her fear of Emrys. I like the introduction of Agravaine, who plays his part as the concerned adviser very well. He seems like a sleaze ball that will bring about some real trouble this season.

If the previews and this Q&A with Colin Morgan are anything to go by, we’re in for a great season of Merlin unlike anything we’ve previously seen on the show. What did you think of the premiere? Are you excited for this season and what are you most looking forward to? Or were you disappointed by anything?

Season 4, Episode 1: “The Darkest Hour: Part 1″ (originally aired January 6, 2012)

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Merlin airs Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy.