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The opening episode of Merlin’s fourth series proved to be something of a puzzle. On the one hand, there seemed to be an awful lot going on, while, on the other, there didn’t. And it seemed a very different style of episode to what we’re used to, as well as one that seemed very familiar. Let’s try to fathom why.
First of all, the plot. Or lack of it. Basically, Morgana created an opening between worlds, by sacrificing her ailing sister, which conjured up another army of the undead (look Morgana, you’ve tried this about four times already, undefeatable armies of the undead just don’t work). Over in Camelot, a girl from a far off village arrived and told of how her folks had been ravaged. Of course, Arthur decided that, rather than send one of the extras to scout the area, he would go himself, taking all of the kingdom’s best knights with him. (“Camelot’ll be fine…”) Upon visiting the village, they took note of the undead… and went back to Camelot, where they worked out that in order to send the army back where they come from, they would have to sacrifice someone. But who to sacrifice, though? Well, of course, you can rule out Arthur… oh.
If the Knights of the All-too-Unseen Round Table were as noble as the writers would like us to believe, wouldn’t it have been gallant for one of them to say “hey Arthur don’t worry about it, one of us’ll do it instead. After all, there’s only Lancelot and Gwaine that actually have a personality, so one of us wouldn’t be missed.” Alas, as they are a bunch of characters who look like they’d be much happier on a bar crawl than protecting the realm, they didn’t say this. What they did instead, was to huddle together and do a very convincing impression of Mystery Inc.
Other than inadequacies with the plot, the episode also suffered from languid pacing, and the fact that it seemed like there was a chunk missing from the middle of the story: the knights left the village and returned to Camelot, where the undead were already causing havoc. It all felt a bit sudden, and prevented a sense of impending doom.
But despite its many many flaws, there is just something inherently watchable about Merlin. It’s also clear that a lot of effort goes into making it, and I welcomed all the changes that have been made since last time: the darker, more serious tone; the new opening credits; Morgana’s new look; and the introduction of Gemma Jones as the mysterious Cailleach, and Nathaniel Parker as… Nathaniel Parker. Seriously, he is the Ben Kingsley of British TV. Do not trust this man.
There was, therefore, plenty to enjoy, and all of the questions that were generated were surely enough to get anybody to tune in again next week: What battle is Morgana dreaming of when she sees old Merlin deliver his laughably overdone line? When will she make the connection between Emrys and he of the never-changing clothes? Is Uther on his last legs? If so, does this mean that Arthur will be getting the crown sooner rather than later? And, finally, when Merlin is inevitably defrosted, will Arthur finally put two and two together and work out that there’s something special about him?
(And I’m not talking about the fact that he has solved the eternal problem of how to remove red wine stains.)
Merlin continues Saturday 8.05pm.
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