“Remember what saved your Queen. Magic and sorcery. There is no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men. My request is that you remember this.”
- The Dolma
Night has fallen in Camelot and black-clad figure moves through the castle. It’s pretty obvious it’s Gwen going off to meet Morgana. She’s waylaid briefly by Percival but when she pulls the Elyan card, he lets her on her way. Merlin has clearly shared his suspicions with Arthur because they tail the Queen to her rendezvous and learn she’s handing over the route for the levy collection. Arthur’s ready to fight but Merlin stops him. Morgana is too powerful (aka Merlin can’t use his own powers to stop her) but Merlin promises to help save Gwen. The next morning things between /Arthur and Gwen are awkward. He knows she’s not really the woman he married or loves and she’s still keeping up pretenses. As he races off for a training session she gets this look that shows she’s starting to wonder if maybe she’s been discovered.
Arthur’s not really going to a training session. He meets with Mordred and Leon in private and orders them to commit a new route to memory and then burns the map so there’s no evidence that can be revealed to Morgana. Meanwhile, Gaius fills Merlin in on what he believed happened to Gwen in the Dark Tower. Mandrakes really are evil. Seriously. But Gaius believes there may be a person that could shed light on how to save Gwen. She’s called The Dochraid and she’s not to be trusted. So Merlin goes off to her cave and takes some aging potion so he becomes Old Merlin. Despite being blind and decrepit, the Dochraid ID’s Merlin straight off and says she won’t help. Merlin draws Excalibur and cuts her arm (she bleeds green….weird) and she tells him he must take Gwen to a sacred spring, summon the White Goddess and ensure Gwen enters the spring willingly if she is to be saved.
Back in Camelot, Mordred stops by to see Arthur, just to assure him Mordred is there for him. Not really sure what the point of that scene was honestly. Things get a bit dicey when Gwen calls Arthur on his bluff about training. He dodges her questions by telling her he loves her and would do anything for her. Meanwhile, Merlin is fretting about getting Gwen where he needs to and summoning the White Goddess but Gaius assures him it is possible. They can drug Gwen and Arthur can tag along to reach the still-good part of her. Merlin is now freaking about using his magic in front of Arthur. But in a later meeting where Gaius explains the drug and that magic is required, he says that the sorcerer he has in mind is a woman. So now Merlin gets to be another character in this episode.
That evening, the plan is set in motion. Arthur proposes a toast after Gwen initially refuses wine (which Merlin has drugged). She passes out and Merlin and Gaius head out of the castle to meet Arthur in the woods. They’re stopped by Gwaine and Mordred and it is only thanks to Gaius making up a disease on the spot that they get past. But Mordred sees Gwen’s arm fall from beneath the linens as Merlin turns the corner. He really is more inquisitive than people think.
Merlin and Arthur head off on their journey but all is not well. The Dochraid is still alive and she sends Morgana a note about Arthur’s trip so she can try and intervene. Morgana gets the message and heads off with her dragon to try and stop the boys from succeeding. Speaking of, as they continue their journey, Merlin senses they are being followed. They get to a point where they have to go forward on foot and Merlin grumbles about being a pack mule, saying Gwen would be lighter. But Arthur insists on carrying her. Good thing, too, because Merlin dislodges some rocks and falls down a cliff. Arthur starts to climb down after him and loses his footing and falls, too. His arm is pinned between some rocks and it’s only Mordred showing up that saves his arm. Merlin isn’t thrilled to have Sorcerer Junior along for the ride but Arthur seems pleased. As Arthur checks on Gwen that night, Mordred tells Merlin he hopes one day they can be friends and that he can show Merlin that he is loyal to the King and Camelot.
The next morning, the quartet is nearly to the spring when Morgana launches her attack. Both Merlin and Mordred tell Arthur to get Gwen to the spring and they’ll do what they can to stop Morgana. Merlin handles the dragon as to be expected. He yells at her in Dragon Speak and she flies off. Unfortunately, Morgana knocks both he and Mordred down. Merlin must be used to it or something because he gets up and keeps going. Mordred is left behind. Morgana wakes him and he refuses to tell her where Emrys is. He professes that her hatred and dark heart will never win and that maybe one day she’ll find the love she once held in her heart. And for the first time since we saw him as a young boy, he uses magic to stop Morgana and joins Arthur down by the spring. Merlin has already gone off “in search” of the sorceress. There is a funny bit where the dress he’s going to wear falls out and he has to lie to Arthur about why he has it. Apparently the sorceress likes to be paid in clothing.
Merlin comes out as the Dolma and Arthur and Mordred poke a bit of fun, saying she looks familiar. Colin really is great at physical comedy. The magic gets underway soon enough. After triple checking Arthur understands the risks in what they’re doing, the Dolma wakes Gwen. It’s now up to Arthur to save her. And of course, because this is a family show, he does. He reminds her of what she said to him when he proposed (hence the name of the episode). He backs into the water, repeating the phrase until she says it back and joins him. Merlin works some serious mojo and saves Gwen. As Arthur, Gwen and Mordred are about to set out the Dolma makes Arthur promise that he won’t forget that magic saved Gwen and that it is the hearts of men (or women in Morgana’s case) that make it good or evil. And then she starts harping on him about being nicer to Merlin. As the gang heads back to Camelot, Mordred tells merlin he figured out it was Merlin’s magic that saved Gwen and he was impressed. He promises to keep Merlin’s secret as they both have a vested interest in Camelot’s future.
No comments:
Post a Comment