Brought to you by OBS staff Member Karolina

Episode: Le Morte D’Arthur

Written By: Julian Jones

Directed by: David Moore

This is the last episode for the    1st      season    of Merlin

This episode begins with Arthur,  Merlin and some of Camelot’s knights hunting. They come across a beast with the body of a leopard and the head of a snake. As they are fleeing from it, Merlin trips and falls to the ground. The beast rears up, ready to strike, but Arthur and another knight grab Merlin and continue to run. The other knight falls to the ground. Arthur, Merlin and the remaining knights get to a safe distance and Arthur asks who they are missing, to which Merlin answers ‘Sir Bedivere’. They then hear a scream from where Sir Bedivere fell.

As Arthur is reporting the incident to his father, Gaius states that it sounds as if what they encountered was the Questing Beast. Arthur counters that that is a myth, but Gaius stays firm in his assessment. He tells those present that the Questing Beast only shows itself in times of great upheaval. Uther scoffs at this and orders Arthur to kill the beast. When they are alone, Gaius once again appeals to Uther, stating the last time the Questing Beast had appeared was just before Ygraine (Uther’s wife, and Arthur’s mother) had died. Uther angrily and arrogantly tells Gaius that he had defeated the old religion, therefore he no longer listened to it’s warnings. In private, Gaius again cautions Merlin against the Questing Beast, as it holds the power of life and death – one bite from this beast, and the victim dies, and there is no cure.

Morgana dreams of Arthur and the Questing Beast, and wakes in a frantic panic. Gwen tries to calm the inconsolable Morgana – but she runs out to the court yard, where Arthur has gathered his knights to prepare them to search for the beast. Morgana screams his name and tries to stop him from going, but is intercepted by Merlin, who tells Arthur he will see that the guards will take her to Gaius. As she is dragged away, Merlin watches with a worried look on his face.

As Arthur’s group are pursuing the beast, Merlin and Arthur become trapped by it in a cave. The beast once again moves to attack ,  Arthur pushes Merlin back and tries to fight it, and is bitten. Merlin uses his magic to lift Arthur’s sword, and spears the beast with it, and it dies. Merlin then rushes an unconscious Arthur back to Gaius.

Gaius states that there is nothing he can do for Arthur, and that no magic can save him. Uther runs to his son’s side, and both Merlin and Gaius try to reassure him that they will do anything to save him. Arthur’s knights carry Arthur through the courtyard to his room, as Morgana watches from her window. Merlin refuses to let Arthur’s fate be sealed, so he goes to the Great Dragon and tells him that he will do anything to save Arthur. The Great Dragon tells him that he (Merlin) does not know what to do, but that the dragon can possibly help him. He speaks to Merlin of the old religion, saying that it is the magic of the earth itself, and that it shall be around long after Man’s time. The Dragon tells Merlin that he must travel to the Isle of the Blessed – where he can bargain for Arthur’s life and that the young Pendragon must live – no matter what the cost.

Read the rest of the review HERE

Well, that’s it for Season 1 – Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed the recaps, and Merlin Season 1 will be shown on SyFy on Sunday 28th of March as a marathon, and Season 2 is set to air in April ,

Brought to you by OBS staff member Rose

Just like every other Lost Episode this season, ‘Dr Linus’ focuses mainly on, of course, Benjamin Linus’ character.

Recap
Ben is running through the jungle away from the temple after his encounter with Sayid and crosses paths with Ilena, Sun, Lapidis and Miles. He tells them Sayid killed The Leader and The interpreter. They all head to the beach.

Ben is teaching a history class about Napoleon, exile, and the loss of power in sideways world. The bell rings and after class, the Principal Reynolds tells Linus he has a schedule change and instead of his History Group he will instead supervise detention. Linus is against this and rather be there for his students academically than baby-sit.

In the teacher’s lounge, Ben is telling his woes to Leslie, a fellow teacher.
Locke overhears Ben talking and says maybe he should be the principal, since he cares about the school and the students more than Reynolds.

Trekking through the jungle, Ilena stops and wants Miles to sense how Jacob died from what is left of his body (the ashes).  Miles tells Ilena that Linus killed Jacob. Ben lies and says it’s not true. Ilena thanks Miles and she says Jacob was the closest thing she’s had to a father. They reach the beach. Ilena looks for tools for shelter. Ben asks if he could help and he is ignored.

Ben Linus is at home in sideways world and gives his father dinner. Linus complains he has a Doctorate in Modern European History and he’s babysitting detention and calls them ingrates.  He says he’s more a loser than any of them.  His father proclaims he wanted so much more for his son and that’s why he joined the Dharma Initiative and took him to the island. They would have been happier if they stayed. The doorbell rings. It is Alex (his daughter) who is a student member of his history club. She needs help with an AP test. They plan to meet the next day in the library.

Read the rest of Lost Recap and Review here…

Don’t forget to join in on the discussion questions. We want to hear your thoughts on this episode.

Brought to you by OBS staff member Karolina

Episode: To Kill the King
Written by: Jake Michie
Directed by: Stuart Orme

Tom (Gwen’s father) has been commissioned to do some work (melting lead) for a mysterious man in Camelot. Right in front of Tom, the man pulls out a large magical stone and proceeds (via chanting a spell) to turn the lead into gold. Just then, Arthur and the royal guards burst into Tom’s forge. They arrest Tom, but the other man gets away. In his room, Merlin is abruptly woken with the sense of powerful magic in Camelot.

Uther charges Tom with the crime of treason, stating that the man he had been doing work for was a man named Tauren – the leader of a band of sorcerers who were intent on destroying Uther. He states that he believes that Tom was making weapons for the group. Morgana comes to Tom’s aid and tries to reason with Uther, and does not believe him when he assures her that Tom will get a fair trail. Morgana tells Uther that if he kills Tom, she will never forgive him. Uther orders Arthur to hunt down Tauren, and punish whoever is harbouring the fugitive.

Meanwhile, Gwen visits her father in jail. Tom tells her that he did not know that Tauren was a sorcerer, and that all he had wanted was for her to have a better life. Gwen states that she doesn’t understand why Tom would turn to magic for money, but swears that she will get him out of the dungeons. She visits Merlin and Gaius and relays everything she and her father talked about, including Tom’s story about the stone turning the lead into gold, and that Tauren had stated that he had been conducting a scientific experiment. From Gwen’s information, and from the large gold nugget that had been found with Tom, Gaius deduces that Tauren was practicing alchemy.

Morgana visits Tom’s forge , in search of Gwen, and stumbles across the magic stone that Tauren had used. Morgana eventually finds Gwen resting in Gaius’ rooms. Morgana shares with Merlin that she believes that Uther is just proclaiming Tom will have a fair trail as a formality, and that he will be executed regardless. It is this belief that leads Morgana to visit Tom in the dungeons, and slip him the key to free himself. Tom manages to knock out a guard and make an escape, but unfortunately his escape is reported to the King. Uther, enraged, states that the trail is just a formality, and that Tom is now to be killed on sight. Eventually the guards catch up to Tom, and he is killed. Gwen screams in anguish as her father’s body is brought out.

Read the rest of this recap and disscus more HERE.

OBS RECAP & REVIEWS: LOST S6 EPISODE 6 ‘SUNDOWN’

Brought to you by OBS Staff Member Rose

This week a new character is highlighted.

Recap

Sayid exits a taxi in what we now know to be the flash sideways world. He knocks on the door of his destination and Nadia answers the door.  Nadia is married to Sayid’s brother Omar, and they have two children.  Over dinner Omar asks Sayid about all his travels and Sayid down plays his current work of translating oil contracts for a living, when Omar gets an important call and steps away from the dinner table.  Nadia has been writing to Sayid while he has been away and questions why Sayid hasn’t replied.  The kids find a picture of Nadia in Sayid’s bag and bring it over to their mother to see. Sayid and Nadia exchange glances as Omar stands across the kitchen, looking at them.

Sayid is at the temple and barges in on Dogen, demanding answers on why he wants him dead and what the device is that was used to torture him. Dogen explains that for every man, there is a scale. One side good, the other side evil and that is how the scale is balanced. Sayid tipped the scale the wrong way, which is why Dogen wanted to poison him. Dogen plainly states Sayid should be killed. A fight between the two ensues; Dogen gains the upper hand about to cut Sayid, when the baseball falls to the floor. The same one Dogen was playing with in his hand, in a previous episode.  The baseball falling stops Dogen from killing Sayid, and instead Dogen tells Sayid to leave and never come back.

Claire and the smoke monster aka Fake Locke, stand just outside the temple. Claire wants Locke to promise her son back if she agrees to enter the temple.  Claire in a matter of fact way states Locke will hurt them all. He answers only the ones that won’t listen.

In flash sideways world, his brother wakes Sayid who is staying at his home, at 2:30 in the morning.  Omar tells Sayid that he is in big trouble with a loan shark. He has borrowed money and the loan shark now wants continual interest. Omar try to guilt Sayid into helping him and to use his past experience as an interrogator in the Iraqi Republican guard and try to ‘influence’ the loan shark to leave him and his family alone. Sayid refuses.

Back at the temple, Sayid tells Miles he is leaving because he has been banished. Sayid is confused by this, because the Others saved him and now they want him dead. Miles informs Sayid he was dead for two hours and that whatever saved him was definitely not the Others.

Read the rest of Lost Recap and Review here…

Don’t forget to join in on the discussion questions. We want to hear your thoughts on this episode.

Brought to you by OBS staff member Karolina

Episode: The Labyrinth of Gedref
Written by: Howard Overman
Directed by: Stuart Orme

While Arthur is hunting, he and Merlin come across what is possibly a deer in the forest. Arthur sends Merlin to flush it out, however, instead of finding a deer, it’s a beautiful white unicorn. Merlin seems enchanted by it, and tries to shoo it away before Arthur can see it. But, Arthur, ever the hunter, ignores Merlin’s protests and shoots the Unicorn with his arrow. Merlin reprimands Arthur, and as he and Arthur are arguing, he see a man standing behind Arthur. The man disappears quickly, and Merlin says nothing about his presence.

Back in Camelot, Arthur proudly presents the unicorn horn to Uther, who is delighted – but Gaius has his reservations, just like Merlin did.

The next day, Uther and Arthur ride out to survey a crop field that has died – Arthur expresses disbelief as he had ridden through the field the day before. Gaius tries to find a scientific answer to the death of the crops – but cannot find one, but is reluctant to suggest that magic is involved.

Gwen, while questioning Merlin about the reason for the dead crop field, attempts to draw water from the well. A horrified Gwen and Merlin find that all comes out is sand. Gaius is forced to confirm that it was magic, and Uther agrees- and demands Arthur find the sorcerer. As a precaution, and in hopes to catch the sorcerer out, curfew is instigated in Camelot. Back in Gaius’ chambers, Gaius catches Merlin trying to change the sand back to water, to no avail. He tells Gaius that whatever did this, has far greater power than him. Uther orders Arthur to instigate an execution order if anyone is caught looting from the meager supplies that Camelot have left.

Later that night, Arthur catches Merlin out after curfew. As they are talking, they both see a figure walking through the deserted town, and chase after him. They lose him is the halls of the dungeons, then the man appears in front of them. He introduces himself as Anhora, keeper of the Unicorns. Arthur angrily confronts and blames him for the famine in Camelot, and demands that he lifts the curse. Anhora states that he cannot, for it is Arthur’s doing, not his. He states that a series of tests have been devised, and that if Arthur passes, the curse will lift. If he does not, Camelot will perish.

Read the rest of this recap and disscus more HERE.

Last episode left us off with Sawyer and Creepy Locke (my new name for him) crunching numbers: the infamous numbers written all over Jacob’s cave, where Sawyer agrees with Mr. Creepy, to get the eff off the island. This means Sawyer is now Locke’s first recruit. Lost skips following this story line on heads back to Jack, Hurley and Jacob.

OBS RECAP & REVIEWS: LOST S6 EPISODE 5 ‘LIGHTHOUSE’

Brought to you by OBS Staff Member Rose

Recap

Jack is home from the airport and is in his bathroom, shirt open and sees a scar on his stomach. His mother calls him and they discuss the fact that his father’s body has not be recovered just yet and the coffin might have been checked through Berlin. He then asks his mother when he had his appendix taken out. His mother tells him when he was seven and his father wanted to do it himself but wasn’t allowed. She questions his remembrance of it and he hesitantly agrees he remembers. He hangs up and drives to St. Mary’s Academy and picks up his son, David.

Jack is sitting looking out from the temple onto the water when Dogen comes over and questions whether his friends will be coming back to the temple and Jack tells him probably not. Hurley and Miles are playing tic-tac-toe when Hurley decides to search for some food. Hurley goes inside the temple by the Spring and Hurley sees a guy leaning over by the Spring and asks him where he can find some food. The guy turns around to face him and tells him down the hall. Hurley is surprised to see it is Jacob and questions what he is doing there. Jacob tells him he needs for Hurley to do something for him. Someone is coming to the island and Hurley needs to them find it.

In David’s room, Jack finds a book ‘The Annotated Alice’ by Lewis Carroll and starts a conversation with David about how he used to read to him and David walks out.  David is fed up with seeing his dad only once a month and makes it well known. Jack’s mother calls again and Jack leaves to go see her.

By the temple Sayid walks up to Jack and asks why is everyone staring at him and questions why people are saying he is poisoned. He asks Jack what is he hiding from him. Jack tells him the pill Dogen wanted him to take was poison and they wanted to kill him.  Jack tells him, his ‘poisoining’ happened to someone else too. Sayid asks who.

Claire helps Jin out of the trap he caught his leg in. Jin asks how long has Claire been out in the jungle. She tells him since they all left. She asks him how long has that been, he tells her three years. Jin then passes out from the pain.

Hurley is walking through the temple halls and searches the walls while looking at the directions given to him by Jacob, scribbled on his arm. Dogen stops sees him and suggests he head back to the courtyard for he is not suppose to be there. Jacob appears (only to Hurley) and instructs him to tell Dogen that ‘he is a candidate’.  When he does the leader is visable shocked by this asks him who told him that. Hurley doesn’t give an answer.  Jacob tells Hurley he should be in the temple with Jack and to go back and get him. Hurley is not optimistic Jack will follow him.  Outside the temple, Hurley approaches Jack and of course refuses to come with him. Hurley says the magic words Jacob instructed him to tell Jack “You have what it takes”. This snaps Jack into action and he agrees to follow Hurley and meet Jacob for himself.

Jin wakes up and calls out for Claire. He uses an oar to steady himself up and looks at his surroundings. Odds and ends are scattered everywhere and he sees a baby basinet in the make shift tent he is in. He removes the tulle covering it and finds a small animal head inside. Claire comes back with a prisoner (one of the Others) and plops him on the floor. She asks the man  where he is hiding her son. Claire suddenly leaves the makeshift camp to do something and when she does, The Other tells Jin if they don’t leave, Claire will kill them both.

Hurley and Jack trek through the forest and Jack sees Kate by a river. Kate tells Jack, Jin went back to the temple and Sawyer is on his own and she wants to look for Claire. Jack warns her something happen to Claire. Kate insists regardless and heads off to find her.

Jack is at his mother’s house and they are looking for his father’s will. They discuss his son and his lack of communication skills. His mother suggests he talk to his son and she finds the will and reads it over. After reading it over she asks Jack if his father ever mention a Claire Littleton.

Read the rest of the Lost Recap and Review on the OBS Forum. Then either discuss questions on the forum or come back here and comment. We want to hear your theories!

What has taken over or ‘poisoned’ Claire? What are your thoughts about the Lighthouse device? Who is coming to the island and how will they get there now that the device is broken?  Why does Jack not remember his appendix being taken out? Also, why point out Shannon’s inhaler? Is she returning this Season?

The hieroglyph that Hurley stopped at in the temple halls was a circle that was sitting on a ledge (line). I knew it looked familiar, so I searched high and low online for that symbol and finally came across the Greek alphabet letter ‘Omega’ whichs means “grow”. Do you agree that this is what the symbol was? The only problem is…how could Greek letters be mixed in with Egyptian hieroglyphs in the temple? What questions do you have for this episode?

Best Quotes from Hurley:

“I just lied to a samurai” – to Jacob about lying to Dogen.

“He turns up whenever he wants, kinda like Obi Wan Kenobi.” – to Jack in reference to Jacob.