Contributor: Gregg Wright
Merlin has survived being attacked by the Dorocha, but only just barely. The fact that he’s the only one to survive coming into contact with the Dorocha doesn’t seem to surprise anyone, which seems just a bit odd. But Merlin is in bad enough shape that I suppose it’s acceptable that the knights would simply assume that he got lucky. (What’s weirder is that they later accept Merlin’s miraculous recovery.) Regardless, the situation results in Lancelot volunteering to take Merlin back to Camelot while Arthur and the rest of the knights press on to the Isle of the Blessed, where Arthur plans to sacrifice himself to seal the tear in the veil.
One interesting discovery is that both good spirits and bad spirits now roam freely. It’s still not clear whether the “Dorocha” term applies to all the spirits or just the bad ones that have been running around killing people. But this does make a lot more sense. So now that the tear in the veil has been closed, were the Dorocha all just sucked back to the spirit world? I think it would be pretty interesting if some (good or bad ones) were left behind.
I think the scenes with Merlin and Lancelot were among my favorite of the episode. It’s rather unique to see Merlin in a situation where he’s able to openly use his powers, so this allowed for the rather dramatic scene in which Merlin calls on the Dragon to take care of the Dorocha, to which Lancelot is appropriately surprised. And besides that, I just like the Merlin/Lancelot dynamic, and I liked how those scenes worked in the context of Lancelot’s sacrifice at the end of the episode. His sacrifice was probably the smartest, most impactful way for the episode to end, but it really would be disappointing for Lancelot to be gone for good (which I highly doubt is the case).
And on the topic of the Dragon, I enjoyed that scene for how it further expanded on the relationship between Merlin and the Dragon (once again marvelously-voiced by John Hurt). I like that the Dragon, by this point, has finally grown to respect and possibly even care about Merlin to a certain extent. He was noticeably saddened by the thought of Merlin dying; a far cry from his cold indifference to, and manipulation of, Merlin in previous seasons. It appears that the Dragon’s gift for prophecy remains intact, allowing for some good foreshadowing of Lancelot’s selfless act.
Meanwhile, back at Camelot, Agravaine has been left in charge of things. Before long, he ends up in conflict with Gaius and Guinevere over a humanitarian issue. It was a pretty smart move for Gwen to force Agravaine into a position where his only two options are to keep letting refugees into Camelot or admit that he thinks that Arthur will fail in his mission. At this point, Agravaine realizes that he’s going to need to be a little more cautious, and almost immediately switches on the charm. And this is something he’s scarily good at. Since Gwen is becoming a problem, Agravaine invites her to become his personal adviser.
Of course, this is all part of his plan to get rid of Gwen. I quite liked how he went about trying to kill Gwen. A lot of villains stupidly ignore the risks of outright assassinating people who trouble them. But if Gaius hadn’t found Gwen before the Dorocha, there would have been little reason to suspect foul play. The murder attempt really showcases just how far off the reservation Morgana has gone. She doesn’t even hesitate when faced with the prospect of plotting Gwen’s death.
Honestly (and I’ve said this before), as much as I like seeing Morgana become a force to be reckoned with, it’s a bit disappointing that the character has been so oversimplified. The fact that Morgana now casually causes the death of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of innocent villagers has never been made as believable as it should be. I can understand Gwen having a beef with Camelot, or at least Uther, for the ruthless murder of anyone who uses magic (like the Druids). She was a reasonably human, compassionate person back then, so it makes sense that this would upset her. But that year with Morgause seems to have magically turned her into a completely inhuman witch. The transition never really made sense to me. And it always bothered me that Merlin seemingly put so little effort into trying to pull her back from the darkness.
I have to mention the music yet again, because it was really quite good this episode. In fact, it seemed even better than what I heard in the first part. It’s unmistakably a sweeping, orchestral fantasy score with broad themes, and the sound editors make certain that it wasn’t drowned out by the dialog and sound effects. It’s very much a part of the overall experience, like Howard Shore’s music in “The Lord of the Rings”. Some might find it overbearing, but this is how I like my fantasy music: big, bold, and orchestral.
The conclusion of the two-part series premiere is about as good as expected, offering both a solid resolution to the current threat and ample set-up for the season arc. Overall, it’s not quite as strong as the first part, but it’s still a worthy follow-up. My main disappointment is that things were wrapped up to this extent seemingly so the show could deliver a regular stand-alone episode. It is a bit hard to tell just how stand-alone next episode will be, but I do have my worries.
Rating: 8/10