Originally posted when this episode aired in the UK, October 30, 2010.
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Just knowing that Warwick Davis is in this episode, I am all excited!!
**Spoilers Below**
Well this episode is off to a nice start in the first moment...Bradley James without his shirt. It's happening in pretty much every episode now, and trust me, I am not complaining!
Apparently, in order to become king, Arthur (Bradley James) must get a vision of a quest that he must complete alone and unaided--Merlin (Colin Morgan) looks a little concerned by this, since he is usually the one that gets Arthur out of trouble. This storyline reminds me of something else...but I just can't put my finger on it. Arthur comes out of his trance, and states that he will go to the realm of the Fisher King and retrieve the golden trident.
We learn from Gaius (Richard Wilson) that the Fisher King was a sorcerer that lived hundreds of years ago, and he was supposedly killed in a battle. Yet his magic ran so deep, when he was killed, his lands died as well. They then became known as the Perilous Lands. Some still believe that the Fisher King is still alive.
Cut to the market down in the town. Gwen (Angel Coulby) and Morgana (Katie McGrath) are shopping. Here's my thought here, if Morgana is always seemingly sot after, wouldn't there be guards with her as she wanders the town? While shopping for fabrics, Morgana is stopped by an elderly woman...which is actually her evil sister, Morgause (Emilia Fox) under a spell. She gives Morgana a bracelet, and tells her to give it to Arthur as a token, for his quest. As she is walking away, Gwen sees the old woman's reflection in a mirror and instead of seeing the old woman, she sees her true form...Morgause. She is, understandably, concerned, as she had just seen Morgana wander off with her for a moment. When asked if she was okay, Morgana said that the woman needed money to feed her family. To me it seems that maybe, just maybe, Gwen is beginning to see that Morgana is EVIL! Man, I wish she would...this round and round about it is getting rather old, at times.
Gwen then goes to Arthur before he leaves, and asks him to be careful, for her. He agrees and then kisses her. Not too touching of a moment...but I love that they are beginning to really show how they feel for each other.
As he is leaving Camelot, Merlin notices the bracelet on Arthur's wrist. Arthur tells him it's from Morgana...he gets his angry/worried face and then goes straight to the books with Gaius, looking for clues as to what it is. They finally find it...it's the eye of the Phoenix--which consumes the life force of anything it comes in contact with. Well...that's not daunting at all! Arthur is off on his own, wearing something that will suck his life force! We know Merlin can't have that, and Gaius tells him that he can't do it alone, that he will need help. Who to call....Who to call? Merlin is off...
That night, while Arthur sleeps...Morgana is creating a voodoo doll of him, and setting it on fire within a box. The eye of the Phoenix on Arthur's wrist begins to glow, and Arthur looks like he is having a restless sleep. While Morgana is doing this, Gwen steps in her room...Morgana closes the box quicker than a fellow caught looking at the wrong things on his laptop, and screams for Gwen to get out--strike 2 against Morgana!
The next morning, Arthur is awaken by 2 guys trying to kill him. The usual sword fight ensues, and Arthur is noticeably weaker and more floppy than normal. Though he's clearly struggling, because his life force is being drained (we are shown the bracelet glowing in the midst of the fight) he is still able to take out both of his attackers.
We then see that Merlin isn't too far behind Arthur (as he is looking out at the same mountain range that Arthur did the day before. Yet, clearly, he has a detour in mind, to get that help that he needs. Who is it that he finds in a bar brawl?? Why, Gwaine (Eoin Macken) of course! Who seems very happy to see Merlin, but sucks Merlin into the brawl and the next thing we see is the both of them running from the tavern with some tough looking fellows after them. Oh Gwaine, you haven't changed a bit! While running, Merlin fills him in--Arthur needs his help. Gwaine agrees to help out.
Arthur, who is not looking too hot, gets to a bridge where the keeper of the bridge, Grettir (Warwick Davis) is waiting. Grettir tells him he will need 3 things on his journey: courage (which Grettir called him), strength, and magic. Arthur responds with something his father Uther (Anthony Head) would be proud of, "I do not condone the use of magic." Grettir tells him he would be wise not to dismiss magic so easily. As Arthur is walking passed him, Grettir grabs his wrist and looks at the bracelet. When he hears that someone dear to Arthur gave it to him for luck, he smiles, and says, "did she now..." He clearly knows what the bracelet really is. Arthur turns away, and when he looks back Grettir is gone. He crosses the bridge to the Perilous Lands.
Back in Camelot, Morgana apologizes to Gwen for shouting at her the night before, and opts to make it up to her by giving her the night off. Instead of spending the evening at home, Gwen hides out in Morgana's room to see what she's up to. Good on you, Gwen!! Though if she's caught, she's as good as dead! Gwen watches as Morgana lights the voodoo doll on fire again, with magic. At the same moment, we see that this drains Arthur even more of his energy, as he makes his way through the Perilous Lands. He finds himself stuck in a bog, and he doesn't have the strength to pull himself out. Then he passes out.
We then see that Merlin and Gwaine may soon find Arthur (hopefully very soon), as they have now reached Grettir's bridge. Gwaine goes to check out the other side, while Merlin approaches the bridge, and Grettir appears. He says, "Ahh...magic has arrived!" And tells Merlin that he must cross the bridge if Arthur is to complete his quest. He also states that they must succeed to restore the Fisher King's land to prosperity, which is something that he wants. When Gwaine comes running up, Grettir says, "Ahh...finally, strength has arrived the trio is complete." Clearly, the 3 of them are meant to go on this quest together. As they cross the bridge, Grettir reminds them that in the Perilous lands, nothing is as it seems.
Then Arthur gets a burst of energy and crawls out of the bog, on to the shore, and then passes out again, through the night. Poor guy, can barely move. Why doesn't he notice the glowing thing on his wrist??
Oh thank the Mighty Dragon!!! Gwen has figured out Morgana's secret, and she has run and told Gaius, who does not deny that Morgana means harm to those in Camelot!!!
The next morning, Arthur stumbles as he makes his way through the Perilous Lands. He finally gets close to the castle he's looking for, and sees that it's guarded by two large flying creatures--kind of dragon like (we find out that they are distant cousins of the dragon--could Merlin's dragonlord abilities work on these magical creatures too?!), which immediately go after him. Just a bit behind him, Merlin and Gwaine see that Arthur is being hunted by these creatures and run to try to get there in time to help. Arthur gets inside the castle walls and runs to find safety--though the creatures are right behind him, and the other 2 are not far behind. Once they reach the castle walls, Gwaine and Merlin split up to look for Arthur.
When Merlin finds him, Arthur is passed out, again, and the creatures are about to attack. He jumps in between them, and speaks in his dragonlord tongue...it worked!!! The creatures bow to him, and back off! Merlin removes the bracelet, and almost immediately, Arthur comes to, and then gets pissy with Merlin for being there--it was supposed to be his quest. He gets even more pissy when Gwaine saves them when one of the creatures sneaks up on them and almost kills them.
And now the quest for the trident continues...interestingly enough, Arthur seems back to 100%. Who would have thought it would have been that quick to restore your life force!
I'm thinking that this time, I shall leave the ending for you to watch yourselves...it's REALLY good, and we get a little glimpse of what may come...Lake of Avalon...the Once and Future King...and we see that everything that happened in that quest (the good and the bad) had a purpose. Just watch...it's bloody great!
I rather liked this episode. I like the character of Gwaine. He is friendly, loyal, and daring. He makes the episode fun and more interesting. You know he'll show up later, with Elyan and Lancelot, since they are known Knights of the Round Table. I am SOOOO happy that Gwen is now in the know about Morgana!! Now hopefully, Arthur will be as well...though that may be wishful thinking...
Torchline.com: Facebook Recap: Merlin 3.08 The Eye of the Phoenix
Here's a sneak peek at next week's episode--looking interesting, Gaius with a love interest??...though the last scene reminds me of the demons on Supernatural!
