Grade: A-
As a magical curse falls upon Camelot, we see for the first time Arthur's response to finding himself guilty of a mistake which brings about drastic consequences for his people, as he struggles between arrogant denial and horror at his own responsibility. Once again, Merlin's quiet actions and advice guide Arthur down the proper road, and their friendship is cemented once and for all as Arthur eventually chooses to sacrifice his life for Merlin.
We open with Merlin and Arthur hunting in the woods. The creature they're tracking has yet to show itself, and, venturing deeper into the forest, Merlin eventually encounters a unicorn. Despite his efforts to warn the magical creature of the danger it's in, he is unable to get it out of the location before Arthur arrives, shooting the unicorn in the heart. As it dies, Merlin, upset and disturbed by the slaying, catches a split-second glimpse of a white-clothed man standing behind Arthur.
Back in Camelot, Arthur and a still-subdued Merlin deliver the unicorn's horn to Uther, who is pleased to have such a rare artifact in the court; however, Gaius, also unsettled, warns the king of an ancient legend stating that whoever kills a unicorn will bring bad fortune upon themselves. Arthur and his father merely laugh it off, however, much to indignation of Merlin, who can't understand Arthur's pleasure in the slaughter of harmless creatures. The next morning he directly confronts Arthur over the killing, to Arthur's amused annoyance; however, at that moment, an urgent summons from Uther arrives. Joining his father in a field outside the city, Arthur is horrified and bewildered to discover that all the crops have died overnight, a blight apparently shared by the entire kingdom. Gaius, assigned to the investigation of the matter, notes to Merlin that only edible plants have died, suggesting that the sudden food shortage is a deliberate blow against the people of the kingdom; Merlin immediately notes that magic is the most likely cause.
In the castle cellars, Uther inspects the meager stores of grain which were already reserved when the plague struck, subsequently telling Arthur to keep order among the frightened people at all costs. In the streets of the city, Gwen inquires of Merlin whether the rumors regarding the grain are true; at that moment, as she attempts to collect water from the pump, she realizes that her bucket is filling with sand rather than water. When it is discovered that, once again, the pestilence has affected the entire kingdom, Gaius informs Uther that sorcery is the only explanation for the phenomenon; having reached the same conclusion, Merlin takes a bucket of the sand and attempt to employ magic to turn it back into water. However, he has no luck, and the city continues without sustenance of any kind. That night, out in the castle courtyard, Arthur catches a glimpse of a robed figure stealthily entering a castle corridor; he and Merlin follow the man, attempting without success to corner him in the various passageways running through the castle dungeons. Eventually, the man appears to them and introduces himself as Anhora, keeper of the unicorns. He informs Arthur that in killing the unicorn in the forest he called down a curse upon Camelot; the curse cannot be lifted by anyone besides Arthur, who must pass tests of merit in order to prove worthy of forgiveness. Enraged by the implication that he is responsible for the suffering of his people, Arthur attempts to put Anhora under arrest. However, the man easily evades him by reappearing in another part of the room, informing Arthur that if he fails the test, Camelot will remain stricken.
The next day, Merlin reports the incident to Gaius, who tells Merlin that if they wish to have food and water again, Arthur must be convinced of the truth of the man's words. However, Arthur is determined to arrest Anhora, believing him to be the sorcerer truly responsible for the plague. Merlin quietly informs Arthur that he caught a glimpse of Anhora on the site of the unicorn's death; however, the revelation does not change Arthur's mind. Telling Merlin that no sorcerer can be trusted and that he has a plan to trap Anhora, he brings Merlin to the dungeons again that night, waiting for the man to make another appearance. Instead, however, they catch a townsman stealing from the castle grain-stores; confronted by Arthur, he explains that he is only taking what he needs for his starving children, and begs to be shown mercy. Although Uther has laid the death penalty on thieves, Arthur softens at the man's pleas and allows him to go without penalty, giving him enough food to feed his family. The next morning, the city's water supply returns, and Merlin suggests to Arthur that the situation with the man in the cellars may have been the first of the tests Anhora spoke of, and that the curse has begun to lift. He advises that they should seek Anhora out and consult him without informing Uther of the situation. However, Arthur merely asks Merlin to find him some food and departs. With no supplies available, Merlin kills and cooks a rat for Arthur's dinner.
Villagers from around Camelot begin coming to the city in search of food, but there is very little to distribute. Merlin serves Arthur a rat stew; disgusted by this and worried over his people, Arthur determines to take Merlin's advice and seek Anhora out. The next morning the two go into the woods, where Arthur eventually spots the man and follows him deep into the forest, becoming separated from Merlin. Alone and unable to find Anhora, Arthur instead stumbles upon the thief from the cellars, outfitted with a tent containing a large supply of food. Manifestly having lied about his starving children, the man is a habitual thief who has been stealing food whenever possible and hoarding his gains. Although angry at the man's actions, Arthur initially makes to pass him by; just then, however, the man begins taunting him for his weakness and stupidity in allowing a thief to steal freely from the palace. Becoming increasing angry at the man's taunts, Arthur eventually lashes out in rage; he lands a killing blow with his swords, but just as he does so the man vanishes and reappears as Anhora in another part of the glade. Berating Arthur for his pride and anger, Anhora confirms that both encounters with the supposed thief were tests of character, and that Arthur has failed, for which Camelot will pay dearly. Terrified, Arthur demands that Arhora lift the curse himself; however, the man claims to be unable to do so, and vanishes before Merlin arrives in the glade to find a bewildered, frightened Arthur.
They return to Camelot to find that the remaining supplies of grain have rotted away. Merlin confides to Gaius that he is fearful of what Arthur will attempt to do next; meanwhile, Uther tells his son that, left with no other choice, they are terminating all distributions of food to the people and reserving what little remains in the palace kitchens for Camelot's army. Horrified by such a step, Arthur advocates asking the neighboring kingdoms for aid, but Uther refuses to become a beggar, believing that Camelot's weakness would merely be taken advantage of. He orders Arthur to remember their pride, but Arthur, recalling the test in the forest, refuses to think of his pride when the people of Camelot are suffering. Unwilling to give the order to cease to distribution of rations to the people, Arthur goes to Merlin in despair, blaming himself for everything that has transpired. Returning to the forest alone, Merlin calls desperately for Anhora. The man appears, and Merlin begs for Arthur to be given one more chance to prove himself, insisting that Arthur has admitted his responsibility for the curse and cannot bear to see his people suffer any longer. Anhora inquires whether Merlin truly trusts Arthur, and with tears in his eyes, Merlin claims that he would entrust the prince with his life. Agreeing to grant Arthur a final chance to lift the curse, Anhora gives Merlin directions for Arthur to follow, and, that night, Merlin prepares Arthur for travel. He begs to be allowed to accompany Arthur to his destination, but is refused, as Arthur claims the matter to be his own responsibility. However, as he rides out of the city under cover of darkness, Merlin determinedly follows some distance behind him.
Eventually, following the directions given by Anhora, Arthur arrives at a misty, magical labyrinth located in a valley between two mountains. He cautiously enters it and is followed some minutes later by Merlin. The two wander through the elaborate maze, becoming increasingly confused and disoriented; eventually, Merlin encounters Anhora and accused him of leading Arthur into a trap. However, Anhora reveals that it is, in fact, Merlin who has been entrapped, and uses magic to bind him. Eventually emerging from the maze onto a bright, abandoned beach, Arthur finds Anhora, who has seated Merlin at a low wooden table containing two identical goblets. Merlin apologizes for coming, but Anhora informs them that Merlin has been a part of the test all along. He sits Arthur at the table as well, and explains that one of the two goblets contains poison; both must be entirely drained, but neither of them is allowed to drink from more than one. Arthur protests the nonsensical nature of the test, but Anhora informs him that he can give it meaning if he so chooses. Arthur and Merlin debate which of them should drink from which goblet, and which should be the one to die if they are able to identify the poisoned one. Arthur insists that the curse was his responsibility and that he should be the one to perish over it, but Merlin claims that Arthur's life is more important than his. Eventually they decide to pour the contents of both goblets into one, ensuring that it will then be poisoned, and only one of them will have to drink. Arthur distracts Merlin and drains the draft himself, to Merlin's dismay; almost immediately, Arthur collapses from his chair onto the ground, dead to Merlin's touch. However, Anhora informs the distraught Merlin that when Arthur sacrificed his life to save Merlin's, he passed the final test, and that the potion he has consumed will not kill him.
Later, Merlin and a revived Arthur return to Camelot to find the curse lifted; Arthur tells Uther a cover story about disposing of the sorcerer who caused the plague, and Uther congratulates his son on a job well done. That day, Merlin and Arthur take the unicorn's horn to the site of its killing and give the horn a reverent burial, with Arthur apologizing for taking the creature's life. Just then, the unicorn appears, living again, and an unseen Anhora explains that when the killer of a unicorn proves himself pure of heart, the killing may be undone and the unicorn brought back to life.
In yet another episode centered around Merlin and Arthur's relationship, we are clearly shown the quiet ways in which Merlin is able to affect and guide Arthur's decisions, distantly foreshadowing the roles they are destined to play in one another's lives for decades to come. Likewise, we witness Arthur's actions when confronted with the repercussions of his own arrogance and thoughtlessness; in an episode without a villain to defeat, Arthur is forced to come to terms with the fact that this time the misfortunes of Camelot cannot be written off as the product of malicious sorcery, but are in fact his own doing. As he passes through stages of anger, denial, humiliation and finally acceptance, we get a glimpse of how much he is truly willing to do and to sacrifice for the things and people he cares about.
The overall plot of the episode is a bit sparse; without a subplot to add another dimension to the main story, the installment can seem somewhat simplistic and overly straightforward. The character-undergoes-a-series-of-tests is a plot which has undoubtedly been done before, and there is very little in the way of original storytelling here. However, it is a solid, engaging installment which offers up several crucial moments of character development.
Complaints:
- Why does this show have trouble with the simplest effects? The CGI-ropes/vines in the labyrinth look like they were haphazardly drawn onto the screen with a crayon; odd for a series with general success in the area of major computer generation. Also, the effects team seems unable to produce convincing slow-motion; they should really stop trying to use it.
- The end of the episode would have been more powerful if the bit about the unicorn coming back to life had been left off. As it stands, everything wraps up too perfectly, and Arthur faces no lasting consequences for his actions.
Thoughts:
- This marks yet another occasion (thinking back to the bubble of light in The Poisoned Chalice) when Arthur has witnessed or experienced something manifestly magical, but not evil. Surely, at this point, his belief in the threatening nature of any and all magic must be growing somewhat shaky, a theme further expanded on in Sins of the Father.
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