Verushka
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« on: October 22, 2011, 07:42:23 PM » |
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Written By: Julian Jones
Directed By: Alex Pillai
A man sneaks into a cave – not to be mixed up with Kanen from Season 1 who I thought was back for a repeat performance, but instead is actually Dr – wait for it – GAIUS Baltar from AKA James Callis from Battlestar Galactica. Now we know where that name came from. Anyway, he sneaks into a cave of sleeping people, and finds a swirly thing (yes, that’s a technical term) in gold that is joined magically to a swirly thing he has in gold. As soon as he does he realizes the people – the Druids - around him are awake, and in a very Children of the Corn way are staring at him. As he flees the cave – and I have to question how and why they let him shimmy back up a rope to do so, they are essentially all around him watching him run. This is where things get implausible – they are powerful enough to be everywhere as he tries to flee, to ask him to return the joined swirly things because he doesn’t have the third part so these two are of no use to him, but they can’t stop him jumping across a baby-ravine to the other side and escaping? Druids, your Children of the Corn-creepiness has been revoked, you actually need to be able to stop the bad guy. Who makes his way to Camelot, naturally.
Surprisingly, the thief, Borden makes his way directly to Gaius’ chambers where we see that Gaius and he have some sort of past, which included Borden leaving Gaius in trouble behind him as he fled an execution. My first thought is he that he has magic. He reveals he has the Triskellion of Ashakanar and that is enough to gain Gaius’ attention. He examines it quickly noting the runes on it are of a Druid nature. And all the while, Merlin who had been awoken from sleep with Borden’s arrival watches them.
I like this hint at more of Gaius’ past; he’s been a character that hasn’t had that depth of fleshing out in a long while. I am guessing Borden was his apprentice at some point, a magically inclined one, much like Merlin is.
Borden goes on to explain that he wants to find the last dragon egg that is hidden there, which reveals he has no idea of Kilgarah’s existence. He glances at the door through which Merlin is watching, almost as if he knows he is there. Gaius though, surprisingly at this point, wants nothing to do with his plan, and we see the difference in the man he is now for when Borden reminds him that Gaius was the one that taught him of the Old Ways, Gaius replies he no longer feels that way and that he’d rather believe in the King Arthur is to become. Who currently hates magic. As much as grief propelled Arthur to make that statement last episode, sometimes those are the statements that stick around the most. Despite Gaius’ advice that he leave Camelot, Borden replies that he is staying at a tavern in the lower town, and expects Gaius to help him. He says he is a changed man, but is delivered so creepily that neither the audience or Gaius believes him.
Merlin comes out and asks after Borden; Gaius explains that he was a dishonest pupil and refuses again to help find the last dragon egg. It feels as much as Gaius’ story is straightforward, he isn’t telling Merlin enough for his reasoning not to help Kilgarah. It makes him seem very cold and leaves Merlin very thrown.
Merlin sneaks out to meet Kilgarah after Gaius goes to bed, and that conversation breaks my heart for Kilgarah is filled with this shocked disbelief that the egg exists and that he could no longer be the last of his kind. He notices Merlin’s hesitance and Merlin admits that Gaius has forbidden it…when has Gaius forbidding anything stopped Merlin from doing what he thinks is right? Kilgarah reminds him that Balinor gave up everything to save Kilgarah and asks him what he thinks Balinor would say to this?
Excuse me while I do a happy dance that the show remembered Balinor and who he was *G* I’m surprised Merlin didn’t bring up being a dragonlord to Gaius earlier though.
Merlin eventually promises to rescue the egg for Kilgarah.
He goes to the tavern, and manages to get a knife at his throat for sneaking into Borden’s room. But he weaves a tale about wanting to see a dragon’s egg because he’s read everything about them, making himself out into a dragon!fanboy in essence, much to Borden’s disgust. However, when he explains he is the personal servant of King Arthur, he gets Borden’s attention.
Merlin goes to Arthur’s chambers next, and as he is deeply asleep in the bed next to the key rack, starts searching for the vault keys. Arthur wakes up and Merlin explains he is looking for woodworm at which point a disbelieving Arthur tells him to get out. AS he is leaving, he notices a key on Arthur’s belt, the vault key, but cannot get his hands on it, unfortunately.
Oh Dear Lord. Merlin magicks Arthur’s pants into falling down while he is discussing Camelot business with Agravaine and the rest of the court. At which point Merlin runs over and tries to help Arthur pull his pants off.
…is this the season where instead of Arthur going shirtless every episode, we have him go pants-less?
He gets the keys, but Oh God. Arthur’s face *ROFLMAO*
For all the darkness of this season thus far, I can appreciate some over-the-top humour.
That night, Merlin lets Borden into the castle, and leads the way to the vaults. Confusingly, he gives Borden the key and tells him where to go, but that he cannot go with him – not sure why though. Borden successfully finds the third part and remakes the Triskellion. Merlin leads him out of the castle, which is when Borden pulls his double cross and knocks him out at the door through which he entered the castle.
The next morning, Merlin awakes in time before he is discovered and just about manages to return the key to Arthur, by explaining he’s still looking for woodworm.
Unfortunately the alarm sounds about then, and we realize the theft has been discovered.
In the vault, it is Agravaine that points out someone has to have had a key, and Gaius plods around like a disappointed father, looking at Merlin pointedly when he begins to explain to Arthur about the triskellion and the tomb. This is about where I start losing respect for Gaius – he is Merlin’s closest confidant, who knows about Balinor …and he can’t see the importance of helping Merlin do this? I feel like there’s no reason for Gaius to be miffed when he knows what type of person Merlin is, and instead of explaining what Borden is really like, he pouted and stomped off.
Agravaine points out that the egg should hatch, and with that, Arthur says, all his father’s work ridding the world of these monsters will be undone. Unfortunately, Arthur seems to be canonising Uther and what he’s done destroying magic and wiping out dragons essentially.
Unfortunately, we see then see the reason for Gaius’ keeping his cards close to his chest finally – he gets to be self-righteous and yell at Merlin for believing someone wanted to help the dragons, and for not believing that Gaius being silent was in the best interests of the dragon’s egg. And how was Merlin supposed to know what Borden was like if you don’t tell him, Gaius?
I’m severely disappointed in Gaius this episode, he seems to be nothing but the worst of the “parent-cliches” this episode, and I usually love his interactions with Merlin.
Anyway, Arthur, the knights and Merlin head off to go find Borden and stop him. They track him until dark, at which point they make camp and Merlin gets to serve everyone dinner. And instead of letting him have dinner and then feed the horses, Arthur orders him to feed the horses now. While everyone else is eating. Excuse me, while I roll my eyes at the stupidity of this season 1, pratly-Arthur.
While he is deeding the horses, he suspects/hears there’s someone out in the woods and we see/hear a shape moving through the trees. He returns to the camp, and after a painful joke, discovers that the knights saved dinner for him.
Later, something wakes Merlin from sleep and he hears someone calling his name – Emrys. He follows the sound through the woods, to the Druids. They tell him that Borden is heading east, but also they warn him that the Triskellion is a key and a trap and tell him of a suitably mysterious phrase only the druids know: Only when the way ahead seems impossible you have found it .
The next morning, the knights find another of Borden’s camps, but are frustrated to discover he must have left during the night, and that he covered his tracks. A angry Merlin admits, without thinking about how he knows, the Borden is heading east and covers that he can “sense” it despite Arthur’s disbelief, but when Elyan does find evidence of Borden heading east, erlin’s slip is forgotten as they resume the chase.
It leads them to a cave, or in Arthur’s opinion a dead-end. Merlin suggests going in, as he knows what the druids said (though I imagined something more than a cave as the way being “impossible”). Luckily, Percival finds a footprint leading into the cave, supporting Merlin’s suggestion they go in. It leads to a waterfall, and through it they finally reach the tomb. Which reminds me of something out of the Fisher King episode actually. Anyway, they head for this tall, tomb – aren’t they usually underground or something – and on the way Borden attacks. Percival is injured, and while Arthur tries to get to Borden, Merlin disarms him with magic as Arthur pretty much makes a target of himself in doing so. Borden runs off, and Arthur is too late to find him. Merlin is determined to continue to follow him, but Arthur rightly points out that Borden knows they’re coming and could have laid traps for them. He says they will continue at dawn, but Merlin is very obviously frustrated and increasingly anxious to continue to get to Borden now.
As Merlin is preparing dinner, Borden appears in the trees, and slingshots what I’m guessing is a sedative of some sort into the pot of dinner. Later, when Merlin tries to sneak some dinner before everyone else, Prat!Arthur appears and takes his food, though I can’t say I didn’t laugh when Merlin, returning from collecting firewood, finds them all passed out. He doesn’t see anything strange about it, but a glance into the dinner pot shows him Borden’s drug, and he realize that Arthur and the knights are having difficulty breathing. He saves them with magic before rushing to the tomb. Merlin arrives in time to see Borden open the tomb…
…and promptly get gassed, the medieval way. Some magical wind helps Merlin sneak past an unconscious Borden and gets rid of the gas…and then finds a very pointy egg. At which point, Borden appears behind him and offers Merlin half-a-share of the dragon in the eggs for he believes with it, he can be a king, get riches and so forth. Merlin refuses, and warns Borden, as the last dragonlord, to leave the egg alone. At that, he finally uses his magic to knock Borden unconscious. But the minute he picks up the egg, the place begins to collapse. He makes it outside in time for Arthur and the knights to find him, and interestingly enough, like before, a knight backs up his story – Merlin says Borden set off the trap and that he and the egg were destroyed, before Leon proclaims that nothing would have survived under the crumbling tomb.
Back in Camelot, Merlin confesses he saved the egg, but apparently, this somehow all translates, for Gaius, into it nearly being lost because of Merlin’s actions. Dear Gaius, you and your self-righteousness suck. I also am not so sure Merlin needs someone around to blame him for doing something YOU wouldn’t tell him about. I’m not going to mention the rest of his horrible speech, because I’ve never been so irritated with him before like this.
Merlin takes the egg to Kilgarah that night, who tells him only Dragonlords could hatch a dragon’s egg by naming the dragon inside. Merlin does so, and calls forth: Aithusa, who turns out to the the cutest little white dragon. The name means “Light of the Sun” in the dragon tongue, and Kilgarah believes his birth will bode well for Albion, Merlin and Arthur.
Aside, from the ridiculousness of Gaius this episode, and the lack of insight into his past that would have explained his motivations more, I like that with Uther’s death comes life from that which he spent his destroying – a dragon birth, and one that bodes well for his kingdom. It’s a symmetry I can appreciate.
What did you think of it? Aside from some clunky scenes here and there, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable episode, with a focus on that part of Merlin that doesn’t get much attention – his birthright as a Dragon Lord. After the focus on Arthur these past couple of episodes, I didn’t find I minded that this was such a Merlin episode in the end. Their banter was there, some lovely slap-stick humour which was enough for me.
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