Merlin Episode 7: Deception For Dummies
Now we're rocking again.
Remember what I said about events taking certain shapes in Episode 4? Go back and reread it if you like, because in the second episode by The Poisoned Chalice writer Ben Vanstone it's starting to happen.
Just as The Poisoned Chalice was about innocence, The Gates of Avalon is about deception. There are the deceptions of Aulfric and Sophie, which begin before we even see them. While their tale is a good story by itself, it's also a plot device to showcase deception at Camelot. For a story that takes place in a royal court, there hasn't been much court intrigue. This episode feels like the point where that changes.
Aulfric and Sophie deceive Arthur into thinking he's saved them from bandits. Immediately upon touching Sophie, Arthur begins acting different. He appears hesitant and indecisive, which has never happened before. Arthur has been trained since birth not only in war but in politics. As we've seen since Episode 2, Arthur withdraws into himself when he doesn't know what to do and he's in a public place. He would no more appear indecisive before strangers than he would appear half-dressed before his father's Court.
Arthur nearly surfaces from Sophie's spell twice, both times while talking to Merlin. The first time he tries to send Sophie and her father to the far side of the castle while declaring that his intentions to her are purely honorable. Notice what he's doing in this scene. He's taking off his casual leather jacket and putting on his formal red jacket, even though we know of no formal events that are planned. Formality = distance. He's trying in more than one way to put distance between himself and Sophie. But Merlin is too innocent to realize what's happened to Arthur, and pushes him in Sophie's direction. At that point Arthur sheds the formal jacket and goes back to his leather one. By the second time Merlin has realized what's gone wrong, and succeeds in talking Arthur out of his daze. But by then the more experienced Sophie and Aulfric are there to set things wrong again.
(I must not fangasm over how fetching Bradley looks in his costumes. If I do that I'll never finish this review, and if I don't finish I'll never get to see Episode 8. Hear that brain? Pay attention!)
Under Sophie's influence Arthur does a lot of things we've never seen him do before, like shirk his duty. We've never seen Arthur shirk his duty, even when he thought it meant going to his death. Another is to openly cross his father in a stupid manner by announcing his intention beforehand. We saw Arthur cross Uther in Episodes 4 and 5, both times he made sure his father didn't find out until after Arthur had already accomplished what he wanted to do. We see him being cruel to Merlin in front of Sophie and Aulfric, even though he stopped being cruel to Merlin immediately after Merlin saved his life the first time and was placed in his service. But the most astonishing thing he does is to stop protecting Merlin. Instead he deliberately places Merlin in a dangerous position, crossing Uther.
First, Arthur wheedles, whines, bargains, and begs Merlin for help getting his morning free. Arthur never wheedles. He never whines. He never bargains. He never asks anyone to help him do something. The only time we ever see him beg is in Episode 4 when Merlin's life is at stake. And what is the purpose? To shirk his morning duty. Leaving aside that Arthur never shirks his duty, why can't he wait until the afternoon when his father will be busy elsewhere? It's not like Sophie's schedule is packed. And what does he ask Merlin to do? Oh, just lie through his teeth to a bloodthirsty Dark Ages warlord who's already shown a willingness to watch Merlin die!
And he does it twice.
Uther is a tyrant. I'm absolutely shocked at how restrained his behavior is here towards Merlin repeatedly getting in his way three mornings in a row. The first time warranted the stocks. The second time deserved a flogging. For the third offense Merlin should have lost his tongue. Why didn't he?
Uther wouldn't have survived 20 years on the throne if he couldn't read his opponents. Notice Uther's assessment of Arthur's boundaries. Uther threatens to have the woman Arthur claims to love thrown in jail and executed at dawn, but in spite of repeated provocation at no point does he do anything to harm Merlin. Humiliate yes, but not harm. By the standards of the Dark Ages, that is a display of weakness on Uther's part. He is no longer the absolute master of his house. His blood is in the water, and if the Camelot Four were experienced predators they would have noticed it.
Uther is an experienced predator. I fear this will lead to more extreme behavior on his part in the future.
But through this experience Arthur has discovered he can ask others for help. He can conspire. He didn't know that before. It's not something he would ever think of doing if he hadn't been possessed. I wonder where this discovery will lead?
Meanwhile Morgana is revealed to be a seeress. Gaius knows, and has been deceiving both her and Uther in order to protect her. Morgana begins to figure it out though. Now she has a reason to do something she has never done before, which is to deceive Uther. Morgana has always been honest with Uther. She may have kept her counsel on occasion, such as when Arthur rode out in Episode 4, but she has never lied to Uther. This honesty is a key element of the close bond that they share. But to be honest with Uther about this part of her could cost Morgana her life. She begins to deceive Uther, and so lose a bit of her own innocence.
Merlin learns of Morgana's prophetic dreams, and immediately wonders if she has magic as well. Maybe he isn't alone. Gaius, as he so often does, refuses to answer that question. In various versions of the legend, Morgana is Merlin's student, teacher, colleague, opponent, and (briefly) lover. I wonder how many of those they will use in this retelling.
Meanwhile the best deceivers in Camelot are revealed to be (dun dun dun!) Gaius and Merlin. Gaius gets the reward for Longest Deceptions, having been lying about Morgana (and as we saw in Episodes 4 and 6, his own magic) for decades. Merlin gets the reward for Most Deceptions with by my count five successful lies in this episode. First he lies to Arthur that he can't lie. Then he lies to Uther three mornings in a row. (Yes, he does time in the stocks, but his lie -- that he is too stupid to carry out orders -- is believed.) Then he lies a fifth lie to Arthur about knocking him out with a block of wood.
On top of that, he's convinced everyone he's the worst liar in Camelot. That's incredibly impressive.
Conspiracies are starting to form. Our young protagonists are not good at them yet, but they'll get better with practice. And now that they've discovered them, they will practice.
Some people are upset by the casual attitude Merlin shows towards killing the bad guys. There's two things to remember. First, it's the Dark Ages. Respect for life was not very high, and even those who held life in general dear didn't extend the same feelings towards their enemies. The second is that in the early versions of the Merlin legends he appears to come down with PTSD. If that's the case he'll bury his reactions for a long time, possibly decades. PTSD is all too often like that. (I know. I've got it.)
I wonder if Merlin's complete lack of woodcraft (almost unheard of in a country boy of that time), his innocence, the fact that nothing has permanently damaged him yet, and his sheer goofiness all stem from the same source. If somewhere in the back of his subconscious mind he knows he's the biggest predator around, like a tiger cub playing with a litter of kittens. Yes, I'm still pushing the "Merlin is half-Dragon" theory. It's the most elegant reading of the evidence.
I have maintained that Arthur figured out Merlin's secret as early as Episode 2 or 3. So why didn't he give it away while under Sophie's spell? Well, there's a lot of things Arthur "forgot" then, starting with how to handle Uther. I think she must have put all but the very top layer of his mind to sleep. That would explain both why he "forgot" both Merlin's secret and how to act like himself.
Now it's time to watch Episode 8 before my family snatches the computer out of my hands.
Episodes 1 - 3
Episode 4 Review: Innocence at Camelot
Episode 5: (The Once and Future) Lancelot
Episode 6: (Death Is) A Remedy to Cure All Ills.
Episode 8: Deception for Non-Dummies
Episode 9: What Color is Your Fairy Tale?
Episode 10: The Practical Exam
Episode 11: Today is a Good Day to Die