Merlin Episode Review - 308: The Fisher King
Short review is short but packed with analysis, and very, very late.
The opening scene is epic, very Arthur-centric as you can see he is going through something deep an important. Washing his face (yay for the shirtlessness! :D) and getting dressed in a ceremonial-looking robe of some kind by Merlin. A very touching, intimate scene, here, before he wanders into the throne room barefoot, and kneels before his future throne in a trance, Merlin watching him carefully.
Moments later when Gwen asks, Merlin reveals that Arthur is seeking to find out his quest. This is apparently a long-standing tradition for princes to prove they are worthy of being king, and he will watch Arthur every step of the way to find the quest - because he can't go with Arthur on the quest itself. Adorably, he falls asleep outside the chambers, anyway, and is found snoring by Uther and the council as they talk to Arthur. All of them stand together as Arthur reveals his quest is to get the golden trident from the Fisher King.
While Merlin stuffs his face with food, Gaius reveals that the Fisher King was a sorcerer who lived centuries ago. When wounded and infected, he and his lands wasted away, and the kingdom became the Perilous Lands - this is, in fact, canonical in Arthurian legend, and regularly it's knights besides Arthur who help heal the king, though Arthur himself is rarely directly involved with the Fisher King.
Merlin is clearly worried, and amidst hiccups the next morning, he sneakily tries to convince Arthur to let Merlin go with him. But Arthur, in all his conviction to earn his father's pride and affection prove his worthiness of the throne, refuses. Yeah, because fighting off nearly an army of magic every few episodes and saving the kingdom from drastic destruction on a regular basis doesn't prove you're worthy of the crown. *eyeroll*
Down in the market, Gwen feels slightly suspicious when an old woman, a heavily aged Morgause, asks to speak to Morgana alone for a moment. When Morgana tells Morgause the quest Arthur has chosen, Morgause gives her a bracelet to give to Arthur to sabotage his quest. Gwen sees Morgause, the enchantment of old age to disguise her useless in the mirror, and Gwen whirls around in terror to see an old woman, who Morgana claims to have helped feed her family.
The next day, after assuring Gwen with a kiss that he'll return, he sets off. Merlin, however, feels magic coming from the bracelet Morgana gifted to Arthur, and as soon as Arthur is gone, he and Gaius look for what the hell it is. The Eye of the Phoenix - consuming the very life force of the person it comes in contact with. Merlin goes to get help and help Arthur. Later, Morgana sets the spell in motion by burning the likeness of Arthur, which Gwen nearly walks in on. We see a further disintegration of Gwen and Morgana's relationship as Morgana yells at Gwen to get out. Gwen is now deeply suspicious, and quite hurt. Poor Gwen. *hugs*
We see the spell in action the next morning when Arthur is attacked by two bandits, and is nearly overpowered by them, the bracelet draining his life-force. He only barely manages to overpower them himself. Meanwhile, Merlin rather predictably finds Gwaine in a barfight, and after a medieval hijinks-ridden city chase that ends with them stealing two horses, they set off towards the Perilous Lands, Merlin to help Arthur and Gwaine to help Merlin, as Merlin is his only friend. Aww, boys! *squishes cute Gwaine/Merlin borderline-angsty goodness*
And the guy guarding the bridge is clearly an OT3 Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin shipper! More accurately, he's a Courage/Strength/Magic shipper, which Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin represent. He says as much to Arthur, who claims he also has Strength and does not condone Magic, despite the Perilous Lands having slightly...different rules than the rest of Albion. Arthur goes forth, and later Merlin shows up, and talks of his magic with Brittea just enough so that when Gwaine pops up, his magic still isn't revealed. Brittea lets them through without a problem (once temporarily turning Gwaine's sword into a flower, when he threatened Brittea defending Merlin, and yes, this is a very slashy, shippy episode, isn't i? :D), but with a warning: nothing is as it seems.
Back on the farm, Gwen finally sees Morgana smirking evilly while doing some magic, hiding out in Morgana's room to watch the proceedings. In the Perilous Lands, Arthur is struggling through a landscape that looks suspiciously like rural east California after a heavy rainfall, nearly drowning in quicksand.
In the Perilous Lands, Gwaine and Merlin chat comfortably while pretending the dangerous beasts they keep hearing in the distance are pheasants. Gwen tells Gaius what she saw and how much Morgana has changed from the lovable lady she once knew, and Gaius, hands tied in secrecy, does his best to reassure her that even if Morgana doesn't mean them well, they will be all right.
Back in the perilous lands, Arthur is attacked by wyverns, cousins of dragons. He is cornered by them just as he falls unconscious from the bracelet, in time for Merlin to use his Dragonlord magic to get the wyverns to back off, and take the bracelet off Arthur.
Arthur is not happy to see Merlin when he wakes up. He was supposed to do this alone...and Gwaine is here? Is there a surprise party he's supposed to know about?! (Sadly, Arthur, no, there isn't).
At the very least, he doesn't try to immediately shove them away, perhaps feeling the now-completeness of the Epic Trio, and they head up together to the Fisher King's throne room. Unfortunately for them, Merlin is the one who gets trapped inside the throne room while Gwaine and Arthur are stuck outside, trying desperately to get inside before anything happens to their shared boyfriend Merlin. But, this turns out to be a good thing, as Merlin gets to meet with the Fisher King, who is still alive after all these years, frozen in time somehow but now awakened and apparently able to ignore all the cobwebs that have grown on him, his throne, his trident, and his room, which appears to be the only part of the kingdom that was frozen.
The Fisher King has been waiting a damn long time for "Emrys", apparently - apparently, he waited to talk to Merlin about the Once and Future King, so he could be allowed to die. His time is ending to Merlin's could begin. This isn't even Arthur's quest, but Merlin's. And the prize isn't the Golden Trident, but the water from the lake of Avalon - and Merlin is the one worthy of it. Albion's time of need is near, and in that hour of darkness, the water will show him the way, and Merlin will need to be strong in that time. Prophecies that Merlin's been hearing for ages.
In return for this gift, Merlin gives him the eye of the phoenix, draining the last of the energy and killing the king. (Why, hello there, euthanasia morality). Interestingly, Merlin kneels before the Fisher King to put the bracelet on his wrist, and remains that way until the king has completely vanished. And just in time for Strength and Courage Gwaine and Arthur to find their way in, quite surprised to see that Magic Merlin is all right. Arthur claps Merlin on the shoulder, while Gwaine outright hugs him with his free hand not holding the sword, and then looks at the other two boys oddly as Arthur celebrates finding the trident. Not that hard to find, as the Fisher King has basically just dropped it in its relative worthlessness. *shakes head*
Gwaine can't go into Camelot, and heads "south" instead. Merlin tells him not to keep living like this, but Gwaine rides off anyway, preferring the reckless life. Arthur tells Merlin to keep his mouth shut. And Merlin doesn't even get a day off for his trouble, no matter how much he tries to mock-blackmail Arthur for that day off so he can process everything that just happened.
Morgana is clearly not happy to see Arthur is alive back home, and Gwen can tell no matter what Morgana says. Likely Morgana suspects Merlin, but who knows. Uther proclaims his pride for Arthur in front of all the court (you can just see Arthur's struggle, reveling in his father's pride though knowing he didn't earn it, as he had the help of Merlin and Gwaine). Morgana, even as she claps, looks about ready to snap, the tension getting to her quite clearly.
As Merlin retells everything to Gaius, who explains they already know of one enemy within their walls (Morgana), they agree to listen to the Fisher King, who, if promos are anything to go by, was prophesying the last few episodes of the season. Oh, dear...
I love that we finally have a solidly Merlin-centric episode, this season. So far all the other episodes' plots had ultimately surrounded some other character, and Merlin's involvement with them. It's foreshadowing Merlin's role in legend - though he is involved in almost everyone else's story, he rarely has his own story to tell.
It appears that this quest wasn't for Arthur at all (hey, he's proven himself worthy of the throne at least a season ago, anyway). This quest was for Merlin, to prove his worth of taking up the mantle of magic in the new dawn, and inherit the throne of magic, if not the actual kingdom - he even kneels as the Fisher King dies! It would certainly be a nice contrast - Merlin and Arthur being two kings together, of Magic and Earth. This is absolutely my favorite episode thus far in the season.
Also, it seems Gwaine is turning out to be more central to the legend than Lancelot, even, and much closer to Merlin. While he still doesn't know about Merlin's magic, yet, he does know Merlin has secrets, and cares a lot for Arthur. He calls Merlin his only friend, and where Arthur merely claps Merlin on the shoulder in the Fisher King's throne room, Gwaine outright hugs him close, clearly needing to feel for himself. Is Arthur's distance due to his distance from Merlin in general, while Gwaine prefers closeness? Or is it that Arthur knows that Merlin is all right, while Gwaine, who doesn't get into these adventures nearly as often as the other two boys, needs to check for himself? Oooh, the character plays! This episode is packed with action plot and character plot, and I absolutely adore it!
The opening scene is epic, very Arthur-centric as you can see he is going through something deep an important. Washing his face (yay for the shirtlessness! :D) and getting dressed in a ceremonial-looking robe of some kind by Merlin. A very touching, intimate scene, here, before he wanders into the throne room barefoot, and kneels before his future throne in a trance, Merlin watching him carefully.
Moments later when Gwen asks, Merlin reveals that Arthur is seeking to find out his quest. This is apparently a long-standing tradition for princes to prove they are worthy of being king, and he will watch Arthur every step of the way to find the quest - because he can't go with Arthur on the quest itself. Adorably, he falls asleep outside the chambers, anyway, and is found snoring by Uther and the council as they talk to Arthur. All of them stand together as Arthur reveals his quest is to get the golden trident from the Fisher King.
While Merlin stuffs his face with food, Gaius reveals that the Fisher King was a sorcerer who lived centuries ago. When wounded and infected, he and his lands wasted away, and the kingdom became the Perilous Lands - this is, in fact, canonical in Arthurian legend, and regularly it's knights besides Arthur who help heal the king, though Arthur himself is rarely directly involved with the Fisher King.
Merlin is clearly worried, and amidst hiccups the next morning, he sneakily tries to convince Arthur to let Merlin go with him. But Arthur, in all his conviction to earn his father's pride and affection prove his worthiness of the throne, refuses. Yeah, because fighting off nearly an army of magic every few episodes and saving the kingdom from drastic destruction on a regular basis doesn't prove you're worthy of the crown. *eyeroll*
Down in the market, Gwen feels slightly suspicious when an old woman, a heavily aged Morgause, asks to speak to Morgana alone for a moment. When Morgana tells Morgause the quest Arthur has chosen, Morgause gives her a bracelet to give to Arthur to sabotage his quest. Gwen sees Morgause, the enchantment of old age to disguise her useless in the mirror, and Gwen whirls around in terror to see an old woman, who Morgana claims to have helped feed her family.
The next day, after assuring Gwen with a kiss that he'll return, he sets off. Merlin, however, feels magic coming from the bracelet Morgana gifted to Arthur, and as soon as Arthur is gone, he and Gaius look for what the hell it is. The Eye of the Phoenix - consuming the very life force of the person it comes in contact with. Merlin goes to get help and help Arthur. Later, Morgana sets the spell in motion by burning the likeness of Arthur, which Gwen nearly walks in on. We see a further disintegration of Gwen and Morgana's relationship as Morgana yells at Gwen to get out. Gwen is now deeply suspicious, and quite hurt. Poor Gwen. *hugs*
We see the spell in action the next morning when Arthur is attacked by two bandits, and is nearly overpowered by them, the bracelet draining his life-force. He only barely manages to overpower them himself. Meanwhile, Merlin rather predictably finds Gwaine in a barfight, and after a medieval hijinks-ridden city chase that ends with them stealing two horses, they set off towards the Perilous Lands, Merlin to help Arthur and Gwaine to help Merlin, as Merlin is his only friend. Aww, boys! *squishes cute Gwaine/Merlin borderline-angsty goodness*
And the guy guarding the bridge is clearly an OT3 Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin shipper! More accurately, he's a Courage/Strength/Magic shipper, which Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin represent. He says as much to Arthur, who claims he also has Strength and does not condone Magic, despite the Perilous Lands having slightly...different rules than the rest of Albion. Arthur goes forth, and later Merlin shows up, and talks of his magic with Brittea just enough so that when Gwaine pops up, his magic still isn't revealed. Brittea lets them through without a problem (once temporarily turning Gwaine's sword into a flower, when he threatened Brittea defending Merlin, and yes, this is a very slashy, shippy episode, isn't i? :D), but with a warning: nothing is as it seems.
Back on the farm, Gwen finally sees Morgana smirking evilly while doing some magic, hiding out in Morgana's room to watch the proceedings. In the Perilous Lands, Arthur is struggling through a landscape that looks suspiciously like rural east California after a heavy rainfall, nearly drowning in quicksand.
In the Perilous Lands, Gwaine and Merlin chat comfortably while pretending the dangerous beasts they keep hearing in the distance are pheasants. Gwen tells Gaius what she saw and how much Morgana has changed from the lovable lady she once knew, and Gaius, hands tied in secrecy, does his best to reassure her that even if Morgana doesn't mean them well, they will be all right.
Back in the perilous lands, Arthur is attacked by wyverns, cousins of dragons. He is cornered by them just as he falls unconscious from the bracelet, in time for Merlin to use his Dragonlord magic to get the wyverns to back off, and take the bracelet off Arthur.
Arthur is not happy to see Merlin when he wakes up. He was supposed to do this alone...and Gwaine is here? Is there a surprise party he's supposed to know about?! (Sadly, Arthur, no, there isn't).
At the very least, he doesn't try to immediately shove them away, perhaps feeling the now-completeness of the Epic Trio, and they head up together to the Fisher King's throne room. Unfortunately for them, Merlin is the one who gets trapped inside the throne room while Gwaine and Arthur are stuck outside, trying desperately to get inside before anything happens to their shared boyfriend Merlin. But, this turns out to be a good thing, as Merlin gets to meet with the Fisher King, who is still alive after all these years, frozen in time somehow but now awakened and apparently able to ignore all the cobwebs that have grown on him, his throne, his trident, and his room, which appears to be the only part of the kingdom that was frozen.
The Fisher King has been waiting a damn long time for "Emrys", apparently - apparently, he waited to talk to Merlin about the Once and Future King, so he could be allowed to die. His time is ending to Merlin's could begin. This isn't even Arthur's quest, but Merlin's. And the prize isn't the Golden Trident, but the water from the lake of Avalon - and Merlin is the one worthy of it. Albion's time of need is near, and in that hour of darkness, the water will show him the way, and Merlin will need to be strong in that time. Prophecies that Merlin's been hearing for ages.
In return for this gift, Merlin gives him the eye of the phoenix, draining the last of the energy and killing the king. (Why, hello there, euthanasia morality). Interestingly, Merlin kneels before the Fisher King to put the bracelet on his wrist, and remains that way until the king has completely vanished. And just in time for Strength and Courage Gwaine and Arthur to find their way in, quite surprised to see that Magic Merlin is all right. Arthur claps Merlin on the shoulder, while Gwaine outright hugs him with his free hand not holding the sword, and then looks at the other two boys oddly as Arthur celebrates finding the trident. Not that hard to find, as the Fisher King has basically just dropped it in its relative worthlessness. *shakes head*
Gwaine can't go into Camelot, and heads "south" instead. Merlin tells him not to keep living like this, but Gwaine rides off anyway, preferring the reckless life. Arthur tells Merlin to keep his mouth shut. And Merlin doesn't even get a day off for his trouble, no matter how much he tries to mock-blackmail Arthur for that day off so he can process everything that just happened.
Morgana is clearly not happy to see Arthur is alive back home, and Gwen can tell no matter what Morgana says. Likely Morgana suspects Merlin, but who knows. Uther proclaims his pride for Arthur in front of all the court (you can just see Arthur's struggle, reveling in his father's pride though knowing he didn't earn it, as he had the help of Merlin and Gwaine). Morgana, even as she claps, looks about ready to snap, the tension getting to her quite clearly.
As Merlin retells everything to Gaius, who explains they already know of one enemy within their walls (Morgana), they agree to listen to the Fisher King, who, if promos are anything to go by, was prophesying the last few episodes of the season. Oh, dear...
I love that we finally have a solidly Merlin-centric episode, this season. So far all the other episodes' plots had ultimately surrounded some other character, and Merlin's involvement with them. It's foreshadowing Merlin's role in legend - though he is involved in almost everyone else's story, he rarely has his own story to tell.
It appears that this quest wasn't for Arthur at all (hey, he's proven himself worthy of the throne at least a season ago, anyway). This quest was for Merlin, to prove his worth of taking up the mantle of magic in the new dawn, and inherit the throne of magic, if not the actual kingdom - he even kneels as the Fisher King dies! It would certainly be a nice contrast - Merlin and Arthur being two kings together, of Magic and Earth. This is absolutely my favorite episode thus far in the season.
Also, it seems Gwaine is turning out to be more central to the legend than Lancelot, even, and much closer to Merlin. While he still doesn't know about Merlin's magic, yet, he does know Merlin has secrets, and cares a lot for Arthur. He calls Merlin his only friend, and where Arthur merely claps Merlin on the shoulder in the Fisher King's throne room, Gwaine outright hugs him close, clearly needing to feel for himself. Is Arthur's distance due to his distance from Merlin in general, while Gwaine prefers closeness? Or is it that Arthur knows that Merlin is all right, while Gwaine, who doesn't get into these adventures nearly as often as the other two boys, needs to check for himself? Oooh, the character plays! This episode is packed with action plot and character plot, and I absolutely adore it!