The way Mordred has been portrayed so far is that he is good and trying to prove his loyalty so Merlin leaving him behind seems like an awful thing to do. He lies to Arthur by telling them that Mordred has given them an opportunity that they cannot waste. Doesn’t look like anyone but Gaius knows that Merlin is a Dragonlord. It works but Morgana blasts them from behind but only manages to knock out Mordred while Merlin runs to safety, leaving Mordred behind. To distract Arthur, both Mordred & Merlin demand he take Gwen to safety but Merlin makes Mordred stay behind so he can use his dragonlord powers to stop the young dragon. They make their way to the Cauldron and are attacked by Aithusa. Merlin isn’t pleased that Mordred is there and Arthur realizes that Merlin’s funny feeling about being watched as right once more. Arthur goes after him but falls and his arm ends up stuck under a rock which he’s about to cut off when Mordred yells down to them. As they talk and walk, Merlin falls and is rendered unconscious. As Merlin and Arthur make their way through the fields, Merlin says they’re being watched and Arthur believes his manservant’s “funny feelings” this time, agreeing to go a different way. In the caves, the Dochraid isn’t dead after all and chants out a spell to warn Morgana. Gwen’s arm falls as they leave though, making Mordred do a double-take but he doesn’t say anything. Merlin and Gaius encounter Gwaine & Mordred, the latter of which makes an excuse that they’re carrying infected linens. Hefting an unconscious Gwen in a wheelbarrow and getting out unnoticed proves to be harder than it looks. The way that they go about slipping her the tampered wine is great – Angel Coulby’s slapstick fall into her pie is spot on while Bradley James, Colin Morgan and Richard Wilson’s comedic timing is pretty perfect as they all stare at her and wait for it to take effect. A tincture of Belladonna serves to knock Gwen out cold. The look on Merlin’s face when he realizes that he has to turn into a woman is priceless. SHE will be waiting by the Cauldron of Ariandra that they must have Gwen willingly enter for the spell to be broken. Once Gaius sells Arthur on this new plan – he tells him he’s chosen a new sorcerer. The need to protect Arthur and their destiny is driving Merlin down paths I didn’t think we’d see him take. We always tend to see Old Merlin as the comic relief and this stark ruthlessness was a bit unnerving. As he leaves, the Dochraid sees a sword and tries to kill Dragoon – only for him to stop it in midair and strike her down. Merlin turns into Dragoon and goes to the Dochraid to get the details and when she refuses, he wields Excalibur and injures her to get the information.
Gaius has the answers to everything and tells Merlin of the ritual that would free Gwen – but only Morgana & the Dochraid would know the details as it was only told to female magic users. He’s not taking chances and won’t tell them why he’s doing this, just that they trust him.
Way to be more obvious that the jig is up! After he makes a hasty exit, he gathers Mordred & Leon in a secret locked room to set a new levy collection route that must be committed to memory.
Oh well!īack in Camelot, Arthur and Gwen are dining in his rooms and he’s just staring at her, not eating the food that’s there, or agreeing to go out with her. Another surprise – I guess Gwen wasn’t brainwashed it would’ve made this entire tired storyline for her more interesting. I was pleasantly surprised that this wouldn’t necessarily be a “Merlin-must-do-this-on-his-own” type of “quest”.Īrthur, enraged by this latest betrayal pulls his sword out of it’s scabbard but his hand is stayed by Merlin, who says they’ll find a way to free Gwen from the dark magic she is under. What they don’t know is that Arthur is watching the entire thing from behind a tree, with Merlin by his side. Oh how wrong she is! In the woods, we see her give Morgana a map outlining levy collection trails and other details. To get him off her trail, she invokes Elyan’s name and believes that sympathy for her fallen brother and his friend are enough to let her go without alerting Arthur. Gwen tries sneaking out of the castle but is caught by Sir Percival before she can make a clean getaway. Merlin must act fast and will need help but only the most powerful magic can save the Queen and this will not be easy, even for Merlin.
And boy was I glad because this storyline dragged on far too long, especially with the series ending for good later this month. Enough is enough – Merlin has had it with Gwen (and Morgana’s) scheming and is ready to put an end to it.