Merlin Review: Series 1 Episode 10 "The Moment of Truth

           GAAAAAHHH! GAAAAAAAAHHHH! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

   In case you didn't know, that was me screaming in pain and venting my feelings (Ron being the stand-in representative of this episode) because I am in a lot of pain right now. Pain for the characters, pain for the emotions, pain for the special effects, and pain for the status quo. Curse that status quo! Curse the Magic Reveal teases. Sod it all. Why am I even still watching this show?!

 

Shut up, Jo. Thanks a lot!

     

       Anyway! The point I am trying to make is that Merlin can be an EXTREMELY frustrating show. It operates on one very simple premise: magic is outlawed, Merlin was born with magic, Merlin must protect Arthur, and one nebulous future day Arthur will be told all. That's pretty much all there is to it and all conflicts, hijinks, and characters stem from that one idea. As a result it has adopted a trope called Status Quo Is God. What is that, you may ask? It simply means that whatever the original status quo of the episode is (in this case: Merlin is a servant, Arthur is a prat, Uther is a jerk, and no one must know about Merlin's magic) untouchable. At the end of an episode and a season, things will automatically snap back to being the way they always were. There might be character growth and change, but the situation stays the same because the writers don't know what else to do. Merlin in a nutshell, right there.    

      Now bear in mind that I'm not saying I hate this episode. In fact, The Moment of Truth is one of the Series 1 stories that I find myself watching again and again. My only real issue with it is the status quo worshiping that starts here. Never before have we seen such a blatant fake-out magic reveal and then cop-out restoring the status quo. And I say that a lot of the issues with the lack-lustre dragging that the later show did can be traced right back to here. Does that make it a bad episode? No. Does that make it frustrating? GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! YES! So let's not waste another minute. Let's dive right in to The Moment of Truth.

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- This episode gives us Merlin in armor for the last time until Series 4.

- Ealdor is also apparently Anderson's vacation spot. He must have hitched a ride back to medieval times with The Doctor...

- I have to say that that bandit, at times, feels like a cartoon villain. Usually the bad guys are either adorably cheesy or surprisingly deep on this show, but he just rubs me the wrong way. And not in the way villains are supposed to either. He's too over-the-top and childish to be taken seriously. Reminds me of a slightly more menacing Prince John from Disney's Robin Hood, actually. NOT menacing in the LEAST!


- One thing done very well in this show is the casting of Hunith, Merlin's mother. Not only does Caroline Faber look enough like Colin Morgan to play the role, but she and Morgan also have excellent chemistry and their mother-son scenes together are just too adorable for words.

- Especially whenever Merlin sees the bruise on her face and goes into super-protective mode.

- Okay. So Uther is a jerk. We all know this. It's just a law of nature: Uther Pendragon from Merlin is a jerk...even if he IS played by Anthony Head. Still, I maintain that he's not an awful character. He's actually quite a good King, even if he's a bit stern and blind in places. He has a very good point about sending men to help Ealdor. Even though the village is on the borders of Camelot's lands, it still pays tribute to Cenred. If Uther sends soldiers into Ealdor it will, diplomatically and legally, be considered an act of war. He's not wrong to refuse help, and at least he seems genuinely regretful about it.

- I really want to know the story behind Merlin getting "...one whiff of a barmaid's apron and you're singing like a sailor!" 

- And oh Morgana...you're going to get Merlin into such trouble! Good job you brought Gwen along to play escort, otherwise it wouldn't have looked good.

- The fireside scene with Merlin and Hunith is so sweet. I wish the show had more of them.

- And does Merlin actually do some fighting with a sword? Yes he does! Guess all of those torture *cough* training sessions with Arthur actually did a bit of good!

- So the reason Merlin left home was because Will found out about his magic? When exactly did this happen? When they were kids? If so, why did he just leave whenever he did? What happened? Will this ever be explained?

- Another story I really want to hear is the one of Morgana beating Arthur in a duel.

- I have to say that the pacing in this episode is actually quite good. There are no plot holes, nothing is rushed or dragged, and we get a lot of lovely character development for our four heroes. Including a truly lovely scene where Gwen royally (ha!) chews Arthur out for turning up his nose at Hunith's cooking. Come on, Arthur, that gruel didn't look all that bad! At least it wasn't microwaved until half was burnt and the other half soggy...

- "I won't be able to teach you everything there is to know about fighting with a sword, but you can learn the basics: the stance, how to parry a blow, how to land your own. On my count! One! Two! Three! Four! Now, you may have to watch for the feint. So, keep your feet moving, and only stay in range long enough to land your blow. And again. One! Two! Three! Four!"

- Merlin and Arthur chatting as they bunk on the floor. Cuteness levels just went through the thatched roof again!

- I wonder if Arthur's feet are disgusting as Merlin seems to claim his socks would indicate. If they are...POOR MERLIN!

- The climax to this episode is a bit strange, with lots of confusion and screaming and shaky cam. I guess it simulates actually being in a fight of this nature well enough for what it is.

- Oh. And they killed Anderson. THEY KILLED ANDERSON!

- I'll say this about the story, the friendship between Merlin and Will and the tensions that causes with Merlin and Arthur work very well. It's a scenario that could feel a bit contrived, but once again the actors pull through and it sails with flying colors. You get a chance to connect to this young man and so it's genuinely upsetting whenever he dies.

- It's an ugly death scene too. Nothing particularly noble about it here, even though he did take an arrow for Arthur.

- Also...did anyone else catch a reference to The Matrix in there?

- Just kidding. I'm pretty sure that's not an intentional reference. Doesn't make it any less awesome to watch again and again, though.

- And the episode concludes with them burning Will's body (After he takes the rap for Merlin...gotta keep that status quo intact!) and Hunith echoing the dragon as she tells Merlin how much Arthur needs him, they're two sides of the same coin, blah blah blah. All you need to know about this part of the episode is that the status quo is reset and our four heroes ride back to Camelot, apparently without any consequences of their actions. Eh...whatever. Nobody ever said Merlin was good for continuity.

            This was a fun episode. It wasn't particularly deep and it does raise my ire because of being the beginning of the Status Quo Is God adherence I mentioned earlier, but on its own it is a perfectly serviceable story with a beginning, middle, and end and some surprisingly touching moments. I give The Moment of Truth a 3/5.



What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?