Summer DVR Dump: Merlin 5.07: "A Lesson in Vengeance"

“The law is the law, Merlin. Whether I like it or not.”
- Arthur
Kbr> Things are looking pretty good for Arthur. He’s having a nice ride through the fields with Gwen on their anniversary (which she reminded him of a month earlier…typical guy). It’s clear that whenever Arthur isn’t directly looking at Gwen, she’s rather miserable. Damn you, Morgana! As their ride continues, Arthur’s horse gets spooked and he’s thrown from the saddle and set upon by two armed men. He takes them out, only injuring his arm. Unfortunately, they die before any information can be gleaned. But Leon shows up to inform the King his saddle was tampered with. Apparently it takes three knights to arrest his stable boy (who is a big doughy guy named Tia). Another group of knights led by Percival and Leon search his home and find thread that was used to sabotage the saddle. Tia denies any involvement but Arthur can’t ignore the facts and sentences him to death.
Kbr> Merlin isn’t convinced of Tia’s guilt and bemoans it to Gaius over supper. Gwen tries to talk Arthur out of his morose musings by saying even a good King has enemies within his own walls. Merlin takes it upon himself to go see Tia and he gleans that Tia saw someone messing with the saddle earlier in the week but he won’t say who because they threatened to kill his mother. Merlin relays this to Arthur and the King is ready to race down to the cells to have a chat but Gwen talks him out of it, saying he’ll be there in the morning. This of course prompts Merlin to question Gwen’s demeanor of late. Gaius brushes it off as a mixture of grief and PTSD from her time with Morgana (which is partially true I suppose).
Kbr> Merlin’s suspicions are right. Gwen takes a trip down to the cells and when Tia promises he didn’t reveal her identity, she kills him anyway. She was definitely channeling Morgana at that point, with the way she spoke, the things she said and the look in her eyes. Have I mentioned I’m really not a fan of evil Gwen? I really don’t see what the whole point of this storyline was. Anyway, she reports to Morgana the semi-bad news (Arthur still lives) but Morgana promises that by the following evening, Arthur will be dead. Their conversation is cut short by the arrival of a patrol. They split up and Gwen is nearly caught by Gwaine but Morgana intervenes. Merlin admonishes her to be more careful when he spots her back in the castle. Luckily, Gwaine’s not seriously injured which is good. But Arthur is understandably worried if Morgana came so close to the citadel. Gwen listens in from a hiding place just out of view and overhears Merlin tell Gwaine to stick close to Arthur because the King may not actually be safe in Camelot.
Kbr> That afternoon, Morgana goes to purchase a tincture that can kill a victim slowly. The apothecary owner has such a mixture (a two-step process which brings about long and painful death) but it is very rare and hard to make. She tosses some coins at him and he remarks it’s enough to buy the product but not buy his silence. She tosses a few more coins on the floor and leaves. Yeah, that won’t end well for him. Back in Camelot, Arthur is sullen and musing about whether Merlin could be right that Morgana is working with someone within the castle. Gwen tries to convince him otherwise. You know, as much as I think it is a good thing that Arthur values Gwen’s opinion (I mean come on, in medieval times unless the woman was actually a ruling monarch, they didn’t have much say at all), he is rather too trusting of her opinion. Which I guess is what Morgana was counting on.
Kbr> Merlin and Gaius are out in the woods checking for clues when they happen upon a piece of torn fabric. It’s imported raw silk with expensive embroidery running through it. Merlin has a hunch about who it belongs to but as he’s rifling through Gwen’s dresses, Arthur catches him and insists 9after some physical comedy from Colin), that Merlin does Arthur’s washing. As Merlin heads down, Gwen is down in town to meet Morgana. Gwen promises that she’s got the perfect fall person lined up. So she accepts the potions and heads up to dinner with Arthur. She slips the first potion into Arthur’s drink and he passes out pretty promptly. While all this is going on, merlin finds Gwen’s torn dress and races to try and save Arthur. Too bad Gwen’s used the second potion by the time Merlin arrives.
Kbr> With the knights gathered at Arthur’s bedside, Gwen posits a new theory as to the would-be assassin’s identity. Not surprisingly she fingers Merlin as the culprit and he’s thrown in the cells. Gaius informs Gwen that there’s still a sliver of hope Arthur could recover and he then pays Merlin a visit. He concurs with Merlin’s earlier observation about the Queen. And so it’s up to Merlin’s magic to save the day (again). With the assist of the aging potion, old Merlin strolls out of the cells after hilariously messing with the guards on duty. I really enjoy him every time he shows up. He’s just so snarky. Merlin gets to say everything he really wants to people but can’t because of his station as a servant. He even smacks the cook with a pot. He makes it through the courtyard and into Arthur’s room after employing a little magic to douse all the torches and shimmying up the side of the castle.
Kbr> Before Merlin’s little acrobatic act, Leon consoles Gwen and promises that she has the knights’ loyalty after Arthur is dead and that she will make a great leader. If she weren’t subject to Morgana’s insane ramblings, it would be less creepy and sad (Leon is so getting duped by Gwen’s acting). Once Merlin successfully gets inside Arthur’s room, he heals the king without issue. Of course, he now has the challenge of getting back to his cell before anyone notices he’s missing. He manages it and the next morning, Arthur summons him for a chat. He apologizes for Merlin being accused (and then calls him too stupid to have planned such an elaborate attempt) before heading off to the council chambers to confront the apothecary owner. He promptly explains he sold the tincture that nearly killed the King and outs Morgana as the purchaser. Arthur, still believing in his virtuous wife, prompts the knights into a round of “long live the Queen”. Merlin stands silent, just glaring in Gwen’s general direction. He’s going to have work ten times harder to keep Arthur from biting it now.