'MERLIN' 3.2 - "The Tears Of Uther Pendragon" (Part Two)

After a fun premiere that sadly didn't exploit the promise of last year's finale, the concluding half of "The Tears Of Uther Pendragon" was a superior hour of thrilling medieval action. There wasn't enough going on between the characters to give this episode real emotional heft, and it wasted guest stars Emilia Fox and Tom Ellis entirely, but as a piece of telefantasy spectacle it was very enjoyable...

Continuing from last week, Merlin (Colin Morgan) found himself plucked from certain death by the Great Dragon (John Hurt), before he was returned to Camelot to thwart Morgana's (Katie McGrath) plan to incapacitate King Uther (Anthony Head), as Cenred's (Ellis) 20,000-strong army descended on the supposedly impregnable Camelot to seize power. Prince Arthur (Bradley James) took charge of defending the citadel in his father's absence, as everyone prepared for a lengthy siege, allowing Merlin to try and stop Morgana reanimating dead skeletons from Camelot's crypt using a magical staff.

There wasn't much Part Two did badly, it just missed some opportunities and didn't make satisfying use of a few characters. The tone was surprisingly bleak and alarming at times, certainly pushing the envelope during scenes with Uther hallucinating drowned victims of his magical purge. In fact, at the risk of sounding hypocritical as someone who's been demanding a darker tone from day one, I think it may even have overstepped the mark at times. Maybe it's because this episode's tone hasn't been consistent, so when the shocks come they feel sharper because they're surrounded by a blasé vibe.

Elsewhere, it was great to see another small breakthrough with Merlin and Arthur's relationship, in the scene where Merlin was preparing his master for battle and took the time to boost Arthur's self-belief with a considered speech about his destiny as a "great king". The show desperately needs to keep progressing Arthur and Merlin's dynamic away from the egotistical prince/dogsbody manservant stance, and this was a step in the right direction. The fact Arthur burst the atmosphere with a quip actually earned a laugh, too -- because, while it showed Arthur's still not going to treat Merlin with too much veneration, it was enough to see them make a deeper connection. Even Gwen (Angel Coulby) had a cute scene with Arthur, her future husband, which likewise worked well.

However, there was one aspect of this episode that was most unconvincing: how the writers have chosen to keep Morgana's wickedness a secret from everyone, except Merlin and Gaius (Richard Wilson). There's simply no good reason to keep King Uther in the dark about his trusted ward's turn to sorcery, as a collaborator with sister Morgause (Fox). Morgana was responsible for Uther's sickness and will undoubtedly put his life in danger again, so why are they biting their tongues about her? Apparently, they both don't think Uther would believe their story, and it would be harmful if his relationship with his favourite courtier was ruined. Really? Uther would ignore Gaius, an old friend he's ignored at his peril before? And wise Gaius would allow Morgana to keep her cover, putting the king's life at continued risk? I don't buy any of it, sorry.

Obviously, for a number of production reasons, the show needs to keep Morgana inside Camelot as a snake in the grass for Merlin and Gaius to protect Camelot from. It would be cumbersome if Morgana was banished to an outlying town or forest, particularly if you want to keep that character around during most episodes. I do sympathize with the dilemma over how the writers move forward, but it's unfortunate the circumstances aren't more plausible, or the makeup of the show more amenable to dividing its characters. The BBC's recent Robin Hood update benefited from having half the cast as forest-dwelling outlaws, with the remainder in Nottingham Castle, but Merlin has all its eggs in one basket. On the positive side, I guess it'll be fun whenever Morgana and Merlin are in close proximity, giving each other withering looks -- well, for awhile.

Asides

• The special effects for Cenred's swarm of soldiers wasn't entirely convincing, looking more like wobbling grey sludge, but for a shoestring version of Lord Of The Rings it could have been a lot worse. It certainly got the job done and, for the most part, didn't look too embarassing. At times the castle siege reminded me of Army Of Darkness, mixed with Jason & The Argonauts when the animated skeletons arrives. All good touchstones for a show like Merlin.
• The duel between Merlin and Morgana in the crypt was a little underwhelming. I think it's because there's not enough bad blood between them yet, with Merlin still certain that Morgana's not beyond salvation. Certainly it would have been nice if they had both used more magic in their fight, but obviously Morgana's still something of a novice and Merlin's abilities have never been very thrilling. Considering a year's passed between series 2 and 3, I'm disappointed the writers didn't decide to send Moragana back with magic comparable to Merlin's, at the very least.

WRITER: Julian Jones
DIRECTOR: Jeremy Webb
CAST: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Emilia Fox, Tom Ellis, Rupert Young, Alice Patten, Jake Phillips & John Hurt (voice)
TRANSMISSION: 18 September 2010 – BBC1, 7.30PM

Next week: decidedly childish fun with a CGI goblin, flatulence, boils, belching, spitting, baldness, and a very... interesting performance from Richard Wilson.