Synopsis: Three soothsayers cast a dark curse upon the King of Camelot in the black depths of an ancient pool. Contrary to Merlin’s advice Arthur is stubborn and refuses to take the words of the Disir seriously.

My recap: Merlin is still having issues with the vision he had of Mordred slaying Arthur, but nothing works in his favor in his attempt to get rid of Mordred. But, he gets an opportunity when Mordred is severely wounded by some priestesses when he saves Arthur yet again… just biding his time until he can kill him.

Arthur turns to Merlin for help, but he acts as if he can do nothing for Mordred and tells Arthur that he has to take Mordred back to Gaius. But, Arthur is desperate and goes to the Disir who offer to help if he makes a stops the war on magic. Arthur turns to Merlin who mistakenly advises that he should continue to combat magic in hopes of Mordred dying from the wound.

Merlin has sealed Arthur’s fate and he knows it when he sees Mordred happy and healthy on the steps of Camelot.

At this point, why did this season go on for 13 episodes? They should have just made a two hour TV movie that would conclude such a wonderful series. It is like prolonging the inevitable.

Next week: Following Gwen’s disappearance from Camelot without a word, Merlin is certain that there can only be one person behind her kidnapping: Morgana. Arthur is determined to rescue his Queen; however, it’ll be all but an easy task since she is locked in the Dark Tower, a place that haunts the dreams of men. King Arthur and his Knights embark themselves on a quest without equal: battling their way through a landscape filled with hidden dangers, deadly obstacles and magical beings. As they reach their destination, Merlin’s sense of dread reaches its limit. What twisted plan has Morgana in mind? And more importantly, what is the final test that awaits them in the tower?

Network blurb: Morgana, together with King Odin, uses Princess Mithian as the perfect bait to lure Arthur to his death. She manages to come up with a deception so effective that everyone in Camelot, Merlin included, is taken in.

Will the young warlock be able to see through the trickery before it’s too late? Or will Morgana finally satisfy her thirst for revenge?

My Recap: Morgana is up to her old tricks again. This time she has decided to kidnap someone that we’ve met before, King Rodor, and with Princess Mithian’s (Rodor’s daughter) forced help and with the help of King Odin, she concocts another devious plot to overthrow Arthur and take Camelot.

This plan involved Morgana in disguise as an elderly woman that is accompanying Arthur’s ex-fiancé, Princess Mithian. At first, no one sees the ruse for what it is, but then Merlin sees the truth… but it is too late and Arthur goes off to rescue Rodor and thus falling into Morgana’s plot, which is basically handing over Arthur to King Odin and ultimately to his death. So, we see the final skirmish with Odin. Great sequence and this, coupled with the discussion that Arthur had with the ghost of his father before he banished him back to the afterlife, makes me feel like this show is truly wrapping up.

There were a couple of interesting moments and that involved with Gwen and Arthur having an issue and Gaius saving Merlin. But, this season is kind of lagging. I would have loved to see more of Mordred, especially with Morgana’s and Merlin’s issues with him. I know that the series ended, but I would love to see Mordred deal with all the trap doors that he has to avoid in order to get closer and closer to Arthur.

Promo of “The Disir”:

Network blurb: King Arthur finds himself torn between head and heart when a stranger gives him the power to summon the dead.
Unable to turn down such a tempting offer he seizes the opportunity to speak to the person that he misses the most: his father.

However, the spirit world is dark and dangerous and such a decision will come to a terrible price. Defying all odds, it’ll come to Merlin to put right Arthur’s mistake before everything they have fought for and built together is forever destroyed.

My Recap: Arthur is given a unique horn by a sorceress on her death bed. This horn enables the user to summon the dead. After the anniversary of the death of Uther Pendragon, Arthur summons the ability to see his father. But his decision comes at a terrible price and now everyone in Camelot is under fire by the ghost of Arthur’s father. This poltergeist resulted after Arthur made a huge mistake after seeing his father. A mistake even Merlin may not be able to fix.

We see Arthur start to question his ability as King and the decisions he has made since his father’s death after his father chastises him for marrying a servant girl and having commoners as knights. Yet, Arthur steps up to the plate and banishes his father, just as Uther learns that Merlin is a sorcerer. This infuriates Uther and just as he is about to off Merlin, Arthur shows up and as stated earlier… he banishes him.
This episode was pretty good because it harkened back to earlier episodes, where we see Arthur and Merlin playfully joke with one another and see Merlin and Arthur deal with an issue that threatens all those that they care about. However, seeing Mordred just makes the viewer remember that not all is right in Camelot.

I have to admit that I miss the insanity of Morgana, but I think she will have her sights set on Mordred as well as Arthur and that should be interesting.

Next episode: S5:Ep.4 – Another’s Sorrow
Morgana, together with Nemeth and King Odin, uses Princess Mithian as the perfect bait to lure Arthur to his death. She manages to come up with a deception so effective that everyone in Camelot, Merlin included, is taken in.

Will the young warlock be able to see through the trickery before it’s too late? Or will Morgana finally satisfy her thirst for revenge?

Synopsis: Merlin fears that the ancient prophecies about Mordred might come true as even he is not able to sway Arthur from his chosen path.
Alone and close to exhaustion, Merlin and Arthur struggle to carry on as dawn breaks across the icy tundra. With each tortured step bringing them ever nearer to the looming fortress of Ismere, Merlin’s fear intensifies. What are Mordred’s real intentions? And what powerful secrets are Morgana and the druid Ruadan interested in finding amongst its twisted catacombs? It might be that this time not even Merlin can prevent Arthur from stepping right into the lion’s den… for only one thing seems certain in such bleak and transient wilderness: the great trial for Albion has finally begun.

Recap: When the episode opens we see the course of the season split into 4 storylines:
1. Gwen’s issue with the treacherous handmaiden
2. Merlin’s fear of what’s to come
3. Morgana’s continued want to claim Camelot
4. The alien?

I am not even going to touch #4 until it fully makes sense to me and I know that Alien is the “key,” but why?

The highlight of the episode is the psychological warfare that Merlin is undergoing regarding the vision he had of Mordred and Arthur. Yet, he comes out trumps when he and Arthur find their chance to escape the clutches of Morgana’s henchmen, but when Arthur allowed Mordred to live for another day it drives Merlin batty. Of course, these two make it to their destination and attempt to save their knights… yet it is when they are separated the fun happens. Merlin finds the missing dragon and Arthur is attacked by Morgana.

In a predictable move, the handmaiden begs for her life, but Gwen is using this plight to force her father to come out into the open. Gwen is playing a dangerous game, but a smart one at that. Of course, when the handmaiden’s father learns of his daughter’s fate and then hears from Morgana that her death will be heralded because she died for the cause… that did not sit well with him. So, he goes to Camelot and rescues her, but dies in his attempt.

The moment Morgana sees Mordred was possible the best scene, this is a woman that is utterly alone and when she sees Morderd… there is someone she feels will help her. However, in a shocking turn of events, Mordred stabs Morgana and saves Arthur. Nice twist. But, we all know that this is just the first move in Mordred’s attempt to off Arthur. As the “key” stated, Arthur’s bane is not Mordred, but Arthur himself… meaning he started the events that will lead to his death.

The big question is how did Morgana survive? Was she not stabbed?

Next week: King Arthur finds himself torn between head and heart when a stranger gives him the power to summon the dead.
Unable to turn down such a tempting offer he seizes the opportunity to speak to the person that he misses the most: his father.

However, the spirit world is dark and dangerous and such a decision will come to a terrible price. Defying all odds, it’ll come to Merlin to put right Arthur’s mistake before everything they have fought for and built together is forever destroyed.

When we were first informed that Bradley James balked at a 6th season and that he felt the 5th season closed the series on a high note, we were both happy that the show was ending at an appropriate time (in lieu of fans being left hanging because the show ended earlier than anticipated) and saddened to see such a fun show end.

With Arthur’s Bane, we see that this season seems like it is going down a path that may mirror Le Morte d’Arthur and if you have read the book than you know what I mean.

Here is the summary of the episode: Camelot has flowered and basks in a new Golden Age but at the same time destruction is being sown in the frozen wastelands of the North where men are disappearing without a trace. King Arthur and his knights ride out in search of answers undertaking a dangerous mission into the unknown. As the sun sets on the icy plains it is Merlin who finds himself trapped in a battle unlike any he has fought before: a battle with Fate itself.

What moved this episode along was a vision from a druid that forces Merlin to once again be protector to Arthur. In this vision we see the inevitable end to both Arthur and to Camelot via the famous book that most kids read in a medieval literature class. Yes, we saw two of our favorite knights in danger and Gwen finally took a stand. However, seeing an alien come out of nowhere threw me for a loop. Is that why Bradley James balked at season 6? If it was… good.

Barring that last bit, the episode was classic Merlin with Merlin and Arthur hilariously getting at each other’s nerves. Did you watch Merlin’s juggling and catch Arthur’s reaction? Priceless!

Also, as I stated before Gwen acting like a queen is a nice step up in her evolution from a handmaiden to a regent.
What made my mouth hit the ground? The appearance of Mordred. Dun, dun, dun…

Overall, great episode and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

In the second episode we will see that Merlin fears that the ancient prophecies about Mordred might come true as even he is not able to sway Arthur from his chosen path.

Alone and close to exhaustion, Merlin and Arthur struggle to carry on as dawn breaks across the icy tundra. With each tortured step bringing them ever nearer to the looming fortress of Ismere, Merlin’s fear intensifies. What are Mordred’s real intentions? And what powerful secrets are Morgana and the druid Ruadan interested in finding amongst its twisted catacombs?

It might be that this time not even Merlin can prevent Arthur from stepping right into the lion’s den… for only one thing seems certain in such bleak and transient wilderness: the great trial for Albion has finally begun.

Remember to tweet @MerlinOfficial, @Syfy or #Merlin and follow me on Getglue so we can talk about tonight’s episode in real time.

~M.