Merlin 512-513: The Diamond of the Day, series finale

Why oh why did they have to air the end of the series during the holidays?! Don't they know we're über-busy at that time of the year and can't properly enjoy the show or have time to write about it after?! *sigh* Fortunately I took notes while watching, and am just going to combine both episodes together in this one post.

In brief: this is THE END. If you know anything about Arthurian Legend then you know exactly what that means. The epic Battle of Camlann. Morgana and Mordred and their Saxon army against Arthur and his knights. With Morgana finally knowing that Merlin a.k.a. Emrys is the real threat, and so she first takes drastic measures against him. Be prepared, things get very bloody. There will be lots of significant deaths and you will cry!

Be warned: major spoilers from here on down! Read only once you've seen the episodes. Then share your thoughts at the end please!

Let's do this in parts:

Merlin 511: The Drawing of the Dark

"There are some paths woven so deeply into the fabric of the world Merlin that nothing can be done to change them."

It finally happened: Mordred has broken with Arthur and Morgana knows who Emrys is!!! The end is nigh indeed! The only thing missing is for Arthur to find out about Merlin, and based on the previews for next week I'm afraid that won't be until the final episode. *sigh*

Excellent episode! A story featuring a Druid girl wounded during an attack against Camelot soldiers finally got the ball moving on bringing the season series to its end (sniff!). At last we have the answer to the puzzle that is Mordred: is he just faking it to be close to Arthur in Camelot? Or does he truly believe in Arthur's vision (and the king himself) but something happens to make him break away and become the enemy? 

Merlin 510: The Kindness of Strangers

Drat! I saw this late, I'm reviewing it even later and my brain is all fuzzy because of a nasty cold that's allowing me to give Rudolph a run for his money! :o(

 

So in this episode Arthur is all lovey-dovey with Gwen, they're both obviously super relieved she's no longer Morgana's evil puppet! This of course leads to some funny moments with Merlin trying to help Arthur be romantic... not very successful I might add! :p

Merlin 509: With All My Heart

Well, now that we know that this is the final season of Merlin *sob*, I was doubly relieved to see this episode addressing the issue of brainwashed-Gwen so we can (hopefully) move on to more interesting things, like Arthur finding out about Merlin! Unfortunately as of this episode he still has no clue... And this would have been the perfect occasion for Arthur to HAVE to accept Merlin's sorcery as it was the only way to save Gwen! *sigh* Well, at least we got some good laughs with both aged "Emrys" and a female version, the "Dolma"! :p

Merlin as the aged Emrys (or Dragoon the Great) and in drag as the Dolma! :p

Merlin 508: The Hollow Queen

Hmmm... Merlin seems to be alternating between really good episodes and "meh" episodes (last week's) lately, and this was another good one! 

Although she still doesn't know Merlin is "Emrys" (and thus her mortal enemy), Morgana does realise he has done a lot to protect Arthur and foil her plans on many occasions and so finally launches a direct assault on him as a prelude to a plan to assassinate Arthur. She knows him well enough to find the perfect lure for a trap and he falls for it hook, line and sinker! Took me a while to see it coming and there were some moments that truly surprised me and had me going "woah!". Merlin really had me worried there! 

 

Merlin 507: A Lesson In Veangeance

Aha! Finally an episode in which Angel Coulby (Gwen) has something to do! Plus it's always great fun seeing Emrys (i.e. "old" Merlin) again, speaking in riddles! :o)

Merlin 506: The Dark Tower

This week's episode follows the pattern of a traditional quest to rescue -as Gwaine says- "a maiden in a tower, a damsel in distress" (to which he adds: "I was born for this moment." cocky much? lol!). The maiden in question is Guinevere, taken by Morgana to the Dark Tower. Except Gwen is no longer a maiden now that she's married, right? ;o)

The Dark Tower is place to be feared, where many young knights have met their end. Even better, to get there Arthur and his knights (and Merlin) must find a way through the Impenetrable Forest  followed by the Dolorous Plains, a desert full of the remains of dead knights. Hmmm... a princess -well, queen- in a tower at the other side of a forest of thorns? Sleeping Beauty anyone? Although poor Gwen can't sleep in this tower... :p

Merlin 505: The Disir

Ahhh, now that's more like it! After last week's uninteresting outing, Merlin is back with an excellent episode that really gives Bradley James (Arthur) and especially Colin Morgan (Merlin) a chance to show us how good they are! But at the same time it's a very frustrating episode as we don't appear to be any closer to Merlin revealing his true nature to Arthur! If anything that moment has just been significantly pushed back. :o(

Merlin 504: Another's Sorrow

Morgana convinces Odin to attack Nemeth, an allied kingdom of Camelot's, capturing its king and the princess Mithian (to whom Arthur was briefly engaged in season 4).  She then coerces Mithian into "escaping" to Camelot for help and leading Arthur into a trap (to "rescue" her father) so Odin (who hates Arthur for having killed his son, but the sentiment is mutual since Odin is responsible for Uther's death). For a moment I thought Gwaine would finally be clued in to Merlin's secret, but no such luck. Poor Merlin needs more friends in the know! And how on earth has Morgana not figured it out yet?! Perhaps she will once she is strong enough to match him (something he mentions to Gaius at the end that has him worried)? It's hard to compare their magic because we always get to see a lot more of hers than his!

After last week's magnificent episode (Merlin confronting Uther's ghost!), this episode didn't inspire me too much, until Merlin stopped Arthur from killing Odin (in battle, not murder!) by telling him:

"Think about what you're doing. What good will this achieve? How many times have you talked about uniting this land? Will killing this man make that dream any closer?"

Merlin gives Arthur some good advice.

Yay! First mention (that I can remember) in this series of Arthur's dream to unite the kingdoms of Britain! So, is "High King" Arthur a possible future? ;o)

For a more detailed (and hopefully more inspired) review than mine, head on over to Billie Doux.

Elements from Arthurian Legend:

Not much this time other than the usual (Camelot, the Knights etc.), except for the possibility of a unified Britain and a High King Arthur.

Also, I seem to remember one of Morgan Le Fay's (here Morgana) magical abilities was that of altering her appearance, and here she did that by appearing to be "old".

Merlin 503: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon

Halloween must be just round the corner... Merlin gave us a truly spooky ghost story! ;o)

Glad as I was to see Uther gone and Arthur finally King of Camelot, I have missed seeing Anthony Head (Giles!!!)... so it was wonderful to have him rejoin the family in a ghostly form! Poor Arthur, missing his father and still desperate for his approval, only to be put down by Uther (ghost) because, well, he's not Uther's clone! Arthur is a much better man (and King) than Uther ever was -as Merlin keeps telling him- and believes in a more just Camelot and doesn't want to rule through fear. Uther accuses him of destroying his legacy by appearing weak, allowing commoners to become knights and marrying a serving girl.  

Uther is not happy with Arthur's rule in Camelot!

And then he finds out about Merlin!!! This has to be one of my favourite moments in the whole series, Merlin facing down Uther:

Merlin 501-2: Arthur's Bane

Merlin's back, YAY!!! They're starting with another bloody two-parter that leaves you hanging at the end of the first episode and you know all the good stuff was saved for the second part so boo! So I'm just going to group them as one for the blog! ;o)

still angry!

As a general impression, I'd say that wasn't a bad season opener... and yet I felt something was lacking. Can't quite put my finger on it. Three peaceful years have passed since Arthur's coronation and wedding to Guinevere, and suddenly Morgana's back (she spent 2 mysterious years "in darkness" with the young dragon... future flashbacks?) and causing trouble in the icy north! Several of Arthur's men have gone missing and of course he heads north to rescue them, only to get into trouble himself with the Saxon troupes guarding Morgana's new lair. She has all these captured men digging away beneath the castle searching for the "Diamair, the key to all knowledge" which will tell her what "Arthur's Bane" is. Merlin in the meantime is the recipient of a vision in which a grown Mordred pierces Arthur with a sword. Battle of Camlann anyone? And then kind of freaks out when he discovers Mordred among the Saxon captors!!!

Mordred killing Arthur?!