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Merlin: S4: Ep 2
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The end was so sad. Love your side note. That is so cool you were there.
The end was so sad. Love your side note. That is so cool you were there.
The Darkest Hour Part 2
Brought to you by OBS staff member Karolina
Written By: Julian Jones
Directed by: Alice Troughton
We begin this episode where we left off - the knights (well, primarily Lancelot) are tending to a half dead Merlin , after his (literal) run -in with the dorocha. Leon and Arthur stand a little further away, both watching on somberly. Arthur states that they have to get Merlin back to Gaius - and Leon argues that that they cannot abandon the quest, that hundreds would die - not just Merlin- if they did. Lancelot states that he will take Merlin back to Camelot, cutting through the valley of the Fallen Kings to save time. Arthur looks conflicted, but agrees. As Arthur and Gwaine secure Merlin to his horse, Arthur quietly tells Merlin that this is his fault, and that he is sorry. Merlin, barely conscious, begs Arthur to let him go with Arthur, to which Arthur resolutely tells him that he is dying, and makes it clear that he is not sacrificing Merlin’s life. As Merlin and Lancelot ride off, Arthur watches them sadly.
As Merlin and Lancelot ride into the valley of the Fallen Kings, Arthur and he rest of his knights ride to the Isle of the Blessed. They begin some of their journey on foot, to give the horses a bit of a rest, and Gwaine gets distracted by the buzzing of bees, deducing that; bees = food. Leon, in the meantime, tries to reassure Arthur that letting Merlin go with Lancelot was the right thing to do. He tells Arthur (as the bees take out their revenge on Gwaine in the background) that if anyone can get Merlin back to Camelot safely, it’s Lancelot.
To read more of the summary of the episode: http://forum.openbooksociety.com/merl...
Karolina's Thoughts: Once again - I was completely blown away by this episode. I have to admit - I’m not a “fangirl for life” type person. I get bored or put off by many things in tv shows, either by over done story lines, boring subplots, or out of character moments with no plot or character development very, very easily. I’ve dropped shows I wish I hadn’t. And yet - with Merlin, even after four years ; same story, same lead cast, same setting - I’m more in love with this show than ever. The character development in this was great - Arthur being man enough to apologise to Merlin and care about his well being (and yet still make the decision that Lancelot should go off with Merlin, even though it was a hard one). The knights being so loyal to Arthur and being overjoyed when Lancelot and Merlin made it back to them . I loved Merlin’s continuing dedication to Arthur and I love that Merlin isn’t the comic relief (well, at least in these two episodes - and at the expense of Gwaine - but Eion Macken pulls it off beautifully). My beautiful, outspoken Gwen of season 1 seems to be back too. I love this evil Morgana, who really is a lot more toned down than the Morgana of Season 3. I loved the throw backs to earlier seasons. I loved the vilia (even though I’m not quite sure what slavic water spirits are doing in the region of the valley of the fallen kings, but, hey) and the proof once again that not all magic is evil. Lancelot was noble, but not over the top. I loved his confusion on where he fit in to this story. Merlin and Arthur resting near each other and chatting about who will be the sacrifice was BEAUTIFUL. I love, love love love , how far those two characters have come. It’s what I always wanted to see.
I have to put a little side note in here - earlier this year,a close friend of mine and I were lucky enough to be in Pierrefonds and witnessed the shooting of the funeral scene seen in this episode. Bradley James - before they actually started filming - called out “We’ll miss you, Gaius” to a shocked crowd of fans (yes, I gasped and grabbed my friends’ arm). One thing was off though - the fact there was a sword in the fire. My friend and I discussed the scene on the trip back to Paris, and for days on end after - we concluded that if it was not Gaius - then it had to be Uther - due to the sword. So, well played, Mr James - you completely got us.
I loved these two eps because they had an amazing action /adventure feel, wrapped in pure fantasy and major hint of a legend that I have always loved.
What did you thing of the darkest hour parts one and two? We’d love to hear from you!