Merlin, 3.02 – The Tears of Uther Pendragon, Pt. 2

Previously, on Merlin… Shit went down. No, really: Morgana was found after a year’s absence and was found to be fine. She convinced everyone she was okay – but hid a secret: she’d spent that year under Morgause’s tutelage. She has officially crossed over into the dark side now, and was the purveyor of a mandragora-root spell that made Uther go mad. Meanwhile, Morgause has her boytoy King Russell Brand get his armies and a couple thousand mercenaries together, in preparation of taking over Camelot while Uther is down. Morgause tries to kill Merlin, while the Asshole Dragon saves him at the last minute by picking him up and flying him away.

Merlin wakes to find himself in a cave, being looked after by the Asshole Dragon, who says that he could not resist helping. Apparently the scorpions stung him, and the dragon has given him a healing enchantment for it.

Morgana’s up to her old (new) tricks; she makes the knights guarding the king think there’s a fire, and then goes into Uther’s chambers and twists the mandragora root, torturing him.

Merlin begs the dragon to take him back to Camelot, after they have a conversation about Morgana. Their destinies are now joined forever, and Merlin whines over how much he thought Morgana was like him. “She is the darkness to your light,” the dragon says, after explaining to him that he’s learned a valuable lesson: trust is a double-edged sword. (How about that – the Asshole Dragon isn’t even being an asshole this episode! Merlin must be pretty far down for that to happen.)

Merlin then begs the dragon to let him go back to Camelot, and the dragon says that it’s three days’ walk. Merlin says he has no intention of walking, and grins at the dragon.

Cut to: Merlin atop the dragon, arms spread, woo-hooing with everything he’s got in him.

The dragon drops him off, and reminds him that Camelot’s destiny lies in Merlin’s hands.

Merlin gets Gaius and gives him the Cliff’s Notes on the situation. He takes him to Uther’s chambers, where the king is huddled near a wall and whimpering, seeing nothing but his dead wife and the children he had drowned during the Great Purge. Merlin finds the root and throws it in the fire, breaking the enchantment.

Morgause is watching via crystal – but watching the armies amass, not watching her carefully-laid plans start to crumble.

Morgana sees Merlin walking with Arthur the next morning, and puts two and two together. She hurries to find the mandragora root, and Gaius catches her. Claiming she’s lost an earring, Gaius shows that he has balls of steel and tells her to her face that “Oh, isn’t it wonderful? We found the cause of the illness, and it was an enchantment. We ended it, and the king’s fine now!” I love that old man. She does her best to sputter out an “That’s fantastic” and leaves – bumping into Merlin.

She threatens him, saying that if he breathes a word, she will tell Uther that he tried to poison her. Merlin has no response; she’s got him by the short hairs there.

There’s talk in the Great Hall about King Russell Brand’s armies, but the real coversation is the epic staredown between Morgana and Merlin. Arthur talks set-up for the battle.

Merlin tries to give Arthur a cheer-up speech, which involves Merlin telling Arthur that he’ll be by Arthur’s side, like he always is, protecting him. Arthur looks at Merlin in mock horror and says “Dear God,” like the battle’s already been lost. If Arthur only knew… Well, if Arthur only knew, Merlin’s head would be off of his shoulders.

Gwen comes to see Arthur on the eve of battle, and reports that the people are glad he’s taking charge. She tries to show him that she loves him, and he returns it with a gentle hand on hers.

Morgana puts up her hood (like it makes her invisible or something) and meets with Morgause, reporting what Merlin has ruined. Morgause tells her that the armies are almost there, and gives Morgana a rod carved from the rowan tree that lies at the heart of the Isle of the Blessed. She says Morgana doesn’t need to know what to do; the staff will guide her.

Meanwhile, the low town villagers pack up their things and move inside the castle walls. Everyone is scurrying to prepare for the siege that is about to happen, and morale is low, because they’re outnumbered 2 to 1.

And it’s time. Arthur promises his sleeping father that he won’t let him down, and looks over the walls of Camelot to see the massive army camped outside. During all this, he keeps his cool, and is every inch a strong, confident battle leader looking over his troops.

Merlin tries to make Arthur feel better; he tells him that he believes in Arthur’s fate. (Arthur: “Have you been into the cider?”) Merlin tells him that someday, he will be the greatest king Britain will ever know, and no age will ever forget his tale. Just trust in yourself, he tells him.

Goddammit, I have something in my eye again.

Morgana watches the knights prepare further for the siege, which is expected any moment now. Arthur cries “For the love of Camelot!” and the knights rush out, the siege beginning. King Russell Brand orders the attack to begin.

Uther wakes during all this and decks himself out in chain mail. A knight tells him to go back, but he hurries toward his son in battle.

Catapults are throwing giant balls of fire into Camelot’s walls; Merlin is almost hit by one. Uther finds his son and fights alongside him, until he gets an arrow in the leg. A retreat is called. As the knights of Camelot fall back, Merlin uses his magic to throw a great flame across the invading army.

Morgana takes her chance and runs with the staff. She ducks Gaius and goes into the bowels of the castle. Gaius tells Merlin, and Merlin goes to find her. He can’t.

Morgana finds a spot and rams the staff into the ground there, crying out – and both Merlin and Morgause feel the recoil of the magic. The staff spits out beams of light to numerous coffins that we didn’t see in the room before, and before Morgana’s eyes, the dead rise.

Fan-freakin’-tastic. Now Morgause has a skeleton army… and they’re advancing upon Arthur. Arthur gets in what would have been a mortal blow, but these are skeletons. They lose an arm and keep on going. Their swords are useless.

Arthur orders the hospital sealed off – which includes Uther.

Merlin clues in that something must have been done in the crypts below; as the knights fight, he runs into the belly of the castle. He finally finds Morgana guarding the staff, and he begs Morgana to stop. Morgana tells him she has magic, and that he has no idea what it’s like – to have to hide who you are, to be ashamed of what you were born as.

Merlin begs her to harness her powers for good. This whole time, you think he’s on the brink of telling Morgana that he’s just like her – and yet, he doesn’t. Morgana threatens him, and a swordfight between the two of them commences over the rowan staff. Merlin’s learned a trick or two; he mostly keeps up with her. At the end, when she’s distracted, he makes the ceiling fall on her, and cuts down the rowan staff.

The skeleton army immediately falls apart, and the knights of Camelot take it as a sign that the battle’s tides are changing.

Morgause feels the loss of the magic, and King Russell Brand decides that he will not watch his men die. He calls a retreat.

The next morning, everyone assembles in the Great Hall. Merlin tries to pull Arthur aside, saying he has something he has to tell Arthur about Morgana. Arthur replies that he already knows. This stops Merlin dead in his tracks, and Arthur rushes up to Uther’s side.

Uther gives a speech, and begins to speak about the one person who outwitted the traitor inside the court and singlehandedly turned the tide of battle. Merlin’s breath catches, and for a split second, as Uther talks about how this person found the staff in the crypts and destroyed it, he dares to dream that Uther is talking about him.

He’s talking about Morgana, who smiles widely and takes her place next to the king. Merlin and Morgana have another “You BITCH”/”Take that, fucker” conversation without words.

There is, as there always is with this series, a sharp return to the status quo at the end, as Gaius is cautioning Merlin not to let hatred and anger overtake him – “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” (Wait – sorry. Wrong Hero’s Journey mentor, but the idea was the same.) This is interrupted by Arthur, who demands that Merlin get his lazy backside “out here”, probably because there’s a smudge on his bedroom floor or something equally stupid.

All is not well in Camelot; the traitor remains, and this will be far from the last that we see of her. But for now, it’s at least at rest.