Title: The Castle of Fyrien
Written By: Jake Michie
Directed By: David Moore
Special Guests: Adetomiwa Edun as Elyan, Tom Ellis as Cenred, Emilia Fox as Morgause

Picture from Merlin BBC website

Brought to you by OBS Staff Member Karolina

The episode opens with Morgana sleeping in her room , with Gwen pottering around. She extinguishes a candle, and looks down at her lady with a fond look on her face. She leaves Morgana’s quarters and makes her way to her house. As she enters, she sees a man waiting for her. She gasps and grabs what looks like a fire poker and brandishes it at him, asking what he’s doing there. Suddenly, she’s grabbed from behind, and another man, with a bandana around the lower part of his face muffles her scream with a medieval form of chloroform covered cloth. The two men carry Gwen, now unconscious, to their horses and ride out of Camelot, as Morgana stands at her window, watching and smirking.

It’s the next morning, and Merlin is pulling open Arthur’s curtains, telling him to rise and shine – to which a grumpy and half asleep Arthur asks if he can’t think of something else to say. Merlin proceeds to try out several alternatives (“Shake a leg!” “Up and at ‘em!” and the hilarious “Let’s have you, Lazy Daisy!”) only to have Arthur throw a cup at him as he runs from the room.

Merlin is then serving breakfast to Arthur and Uther as they discuss matters of Camelot. Morgana joins them, in a rushed manner. Merlin moves to pour her a drink, only to have Morgana cover her goblet with a hand and decline a drink (which, to be honest – makes sense, as the last time she accepted a drink from Merlin – it had hemlock in it [Merlin s2 ep 12, Fires of Idirsholas]. But, it also proves that Morgana is completely blinded by hatred, and quite petty) Merlin gets the message, as he steps back with a tight lipped grimace on his face. The conversation turns to Gwen, as Morgana tells them that she did not turn up that morning. Both Arthur and Merlin look concerned, and Arthur states that it’s not like Gwen to not turn up. Uther tells Morgana that if her maid is no longer reliable, they could easily get her a new one, which Arthur looks upset with and quickly tells Morgana that she will turn up. As Arthur looks to Merlin, Morgana smirks.

Arthur and Merlin leave the dining hall, and Arthur grasps Merlin’s shoulder, asking him to check on Gwen, as quick as he can. Merlin, concerned, runs into her home, to find her bed unmade, food scraps on the table (along with the fire poker) and the cloth on the floor. He sniffs the cloth, and coughs, looking around the room again.

In Cenred’s kingdom, a boy sits chained in a dungeon, as Cenred and Morgause look on. Morgause comments that Cenred found the boy, and Cenred answers that it was easy, as he was exactly where Morgana had said he would be.

Horses charge towards where Cenred is, and the two men from the beginning throw Gwen at his feet as Morgause looks on. Cenred calls Gwen ‘Guinevere’ and tells her there is someone there he thought she’d like to see. The boy from the dungeons is brought out, and Gwen squeaks out his name ‘Elyan’, and they embrace. Cenred reveals that they are brother and sister – but when asked why they are there, Cenred refuses to answer. He leaves them alone, and Gwen asks Elyan what he’s done. Elyan swears that he hasn’t done anything; that he had been working in his forge and had been grabbed. They ponder what a man like Cenred could want from them. Elyan tries to say something else – But Gwen pulls away from him. From her hiding place, Morgause gleefully tells Cenred that he is a cruel man, Cenred counters that the more Gwen feels for her brother’s plight, the more she’ll help them.

Merlin returns to Arthur’s room, cloth in hand. Arthur ridicules Merlin for bringing back a piece of cloth, as Gwen is a seamstress, but Merlin challenges Arthur to smell it. Instead of just smelling it, he pretty much inhales it, only to partially pass out, and Merlin magic a seat to him, preventing him collapsing on the ground. Arthur groggily asks what is it, and Merlin tells him it’s a compound of hogs wart and valerian. Arthur states that it could knock a man out, to which Merlin counters ‘or a woman.’

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW HERE

This was a very plotty episode – with a lot to do with sibling love, loyalty to family, and, of course, betrayal. Before this episode aired, I jokingly told Verushka that I may give it the subtitle of “BETRAAAAAYYYED! ;The Morgana Le Fay story” and, in a way, that is fitting. Morgana was a favourite character (in fact I loved all four of the young cast in S1) but the way she has been acting lately has frustrated me. She feels betrayed by Uther, by Merlin and, for some reason is seeking revenge via Gwen and Arthur – but trusts Morgause- who used her as a vessel to kill everyone in Camelot? I have loved the way Colin Morgan has played Merlin around Morgana these days – how he tries to reason wth her, but also makes sure she knows that he will not let harm come to those he loves.

Arthur was gallant and noble here – to every one, but the A/G scenes were still a little clunky (I do wish he’d get a clue, though, about Morgana/Magic/Gwen etc!) But, for an episode where I thought the focus would be on Gwen -there wasn’t much of her. I did like Elyan, and wish there was more of him. Cenred is always awesome.

What did you think of this episode?