Reviews for Episode 4.11 - The Hunter's Heart
Warning: Full reviews contain spoilers for those who have not yet seen the episode. Updates will be made as more reviews come in.
(* = newly added)
*Simply TV "Bear with me while we take a journey to Pantoland, which today will be a version of Cinderella and King Arthur, with Merlin also slipping into the mischievous Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on occasion. Will Prince Charming (now King Arthur) find the owner of the glass slipper (Gwen's ring) before the ugly sisters (Agravaine and Morgana, who are not in any way ugly but it fits the story) destroy Cinders (Gwen) and her Prince (King) Arthur?"
*Geek Syndicate "Tonight was the setup episode for the 2-part finale coming in the next couple of weeks. It was nice to see Arthur excited and nervous about someone but still turning to Merlin for advice; enjoyed Janet Montgomery’s Princess Mithian and wished they had brought her on board ages ago."
*Dork Adore "This week in the happy-go-lucky medieval bromance festival of Merlin, things start to go serious in advance of the upcoming finale. Marvel as Arthur falls for a woman who isn’t Gwen! Yes, again! Although at least he wasn’t brainwashed like I cynically predicted last week. And, after a whole series of circling, things are starting to come to a head. Are we excited?"
*Dan's Media Digest "The show has definitely matured, stylistically, but its humour remains aimed at the under-10s [...] It feels like an imbalance at times, but it's hard to see how they ever put it right at this stage. Merlin started as a particular kind of kid-friendly tea-time show and, as much as it's evolved and darkened, it still has to cater for the younger crowd who originally made it a hit. A part of me wonders if the producers would craft a different show in hindsight."
*Cultbox "Despite being out of the story for merely a single episode, Gwen’s return was a welcome one. There are precious few female characters in Camelot and even less that are on the side of good, but we couldn’t help but think that one of the other non-arc heavy episodes from earlier in the run could have lengthened the gap as she had barely had time to be missed."
*Sci-Fi Bulletin "The start of what’s clearly going to be an epic three part end to the fourth season, this episode starts a lot of plotlines in motion, as well as being a decent standalone in its own right."
Daemon's TV "There’s a strange dichotomy with Merlin. On the one hand are fun episodes that more or less disregard everything that came before. On the other are stronger, darker episodes that link back to the overall canon and push the plot forward. I’m happy that ‘The Hunter’s Heart’ is one of the latter, an episode that goes some way towards reuniting Arthur and Gwen, and more importantly gives us a taste of what is to come, not only over the next two weeks, but next series too."
Radio Times "If there is a quibble with this escapist yarn, and season four in particular, it’s the repetition, as well as a lack of flow. Hermetically sealed episodes were fine 20 years ago, but viewers want continuing storylines now."
Den of Geek "Save for the belching scene and magic tomfoolery, this week's Merlin was an emotional rollercoaster, with love and loyalty playing at the heart and Morgana's storyline seemingly building up to an epic conclusion in the final two episodes."
SFX "Look at that description of the plot above. That’s the flaw in this episode: too much is happening. It’s entertaining and exciting but fragmented, as it tries to tie up the loose ends of Gwen’s exile and establish the people who’ll participate in the series two-part finale and have some fun with a bit of soap-opera romance, all at the same time. It introduces two important new characters (Mithian and Helios) and as a result sidelines most of the usual supporting knights."
(* = newly added)
*Simply TV "Bear with me while we take a journey to Pantoland, which today will be a version of Cinderella and King Arthur, with Merlin also slipping into the mischievous Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on occasion. Will Prince Charming (now King Arthur) find the owner of the glass slipper (Gwen's ring) before the ugly sisters (Agravaine and Morgana, who are not in any way ugly but it fits the story) destroy Cinders (Gwen) and her Prince (King) Arthur?"
*Geek Syndicate "Tonight was the setup episode for the 2-part finale coming in the next couple of weeks. It was nice to see Arthur excited and nervous about someone but still turning to Merlin for advice; enjoyed Janet Montgomery’s Princess Mithian and wished they had brought her on board ages ago."
*Dork Adore "This week in the happy-go-lucky medieval bromance festival of Merlin, things start to go serious in advance of the upcoming finale. Marvel as Arthur falls for a woman who isn’t Gwen! Yes, again! Although at least he wasn’t brainwashed like I cynically predicted last week. And, after a whole series of circling, things are starting to come to a head. Are we excited?"
*Dan's Media Digest "The show has definitely matured, stylistically, but its humour remains aimed at the under-10s [...] It feels like an imbalance at times, but it's hard to see how they ever put it right at this stage. Merlin started as a particular kind of kid-friendly tea-time show and, as much as it's evolved and darkened, it still has to cater for the younger crowd who originally made it a hit. A part of me wonders if the producers would craft a different show in hindsight."
*Cultbox "Despite being out of the story for merely a single episode, Gwen’s return was a welcome one. There are precious few female characters in Camelot and even less that are on the side of good, but we couldn’t help but think that one of the other non-arc heavy episodes from earlier in the run could have lengthened the gap as she had barely had time to be missed."
*Sci-Fi Bulletin "The start of what’s clearly going to be an epic three part end to the fourth season, this episode starts a lot of plotlines in motion, as well as being a decent standalone in its own right."
Daemon's TV "There’s a strange dichotomy with Merlin. On the one hand are fun episodes that more or less disregard everything that came before. On the other are stronger, darker episodes that link back to the overall canon and push the plot forward. I’m happy that ‘The Hunter’s Heart’ is one of the latter, an episode that goes some way towards reuniting Arthur and Gwen, and more importantly gives us a taste of what is to come, not only over the next two weeks, but next series too."
Radio Times "If there is a quibble with this escapist yarn, and season four in particular, it’s the repetition, as well as a lack of flow. Hermetically sealed episodes were fine 20 years ago, but viewers want continuing storylines now."
Den of Geek "Save for the belching scene and magic tomfoolery, this week's Merlin was an emotional rollercoaster, with love and loyalty playing at the heart and Morgana's storyline seemingly building up to an epic conclusion in the final two episodes."
SFX "Look at that description of the plot above. That’s the flaw in this episode: too much is happening. It’s entertaining and exciting but fragmented, as it tries to tie up the loose ends of Gwen’s exile and establish the people who’ll participate in the series two-part finale and have some fun with a bit of soap-opera romance, all at the same time. It introduces two important new characters (Mithian and Helios) and as a result sidelines most of the usual supporting knights."