Merlin Season One, Episode One : The Dragon's Call

When anomalous village boy Merlin arrives in Camelot, he is immediately forced to face dragons, executions, and witches. The most unpleasant aspect of his new life, however, is soon made apparent: the existence of an insufferable young man who is apparently Merlin's inescapable destiny.


Grade: A-

First of all, I hadn't realized exactly how much I've missed this show. I got a goofy, nostalgic grin on my face the minute the opening credits started rolling, and it stayed there for most of the episode. All of the occurrences in this installment take place long before the darker events of Season 3, and the background music is irrepressibly bouncy, everything is cheerful, and the cast are obviously having fun together.

The story opens with Merlin, a young man from one of the outlying villages of Camelot's domain, arriving at the city itself. Almost as soon as he does so, he witnesses a man's execution for the crime of sorcery on the orders of King Uther. Merlin then inquires after Gaius, the court physician, and, as soon at he meets the old man, is forced to save his life when a flimsy balcony railing gives way. To do so he reflexively uses magic to slow down time, startling and disturbing Gaius. Merlin explains that he was born with an inherent, outlawed ability to use sorcery, but has no training and little ability to control when it happens. Gaius, himself a sorcerer before the practice of magic was banned, takes Merlin in on the word of his mother, who explains in a letter that her son's unusual abilities have begun endangering him at home.

Meanwhile, the mother of the executed man, herself a witch, has begun concocting a plan of revenge against Uther, the king. She kills and assumes the form of Lady Helen, a young noblewoman on her way to Camelot.

Merlin begins helping Gaius with odd jobs around the workshop, and is repeatedly disturbed by dreams of a voice calling his name. About the castle, he has a tense run-in with a young man revealed to be Uther's son, Arthur. Tossed into jail for the night and the stocks the next day, Merlin meets Guinevere, the friendly young servant of Morgana, Uther's ward. Gaius recovers Merlin and warns him to keep a low profile in the future. Lady Helen, set to sing at a upcoming feast, arrives in Camelot and is welcomed by Uther. Merlin and Arthur have another confrontation, this time escalating to a brawl in the courtyards. No match for Arthur, Merlin begins to make subtle, imperceptible use of magic to throw his opponent off, getting the upper hand for a time. Impressed, Arthur lets Merlin off another stint in jail.

Later that night, Merlin is once again disturbed by a faraway voice calling his name. Getting up, he follows it down into the bowels of the castle, eventually arriving in an underground cavern. There he encounters the Great Dragon, one of the last in existence, kept imprisoned by Uther as an example to all users of magic. The Dragon, having sensed Merlin's arrival in Camelot, informs him that he and his magic have a greater purpose: to protect Arthur and the future he is destined to bring to Camelot. Merlin protests the idea of being bound to a young man he already despises, but the Dragon counters that perhaps Merlin is destined to help bring Arthur to maturity.

That night Lady Helen kills a servant girl who catches a glimpse of her true form, that of an old witch, and proceeds to the feast at which she is to sing. Merlin, also present, enjoys his first glimpse of royal life, which is quickly thrown askew when Lady Helen starts to perform a song. The royal hall ages years in a few moments, and all of the guests fall into a deep sleep. Merlin, waiting in the wings, has time to press his hands over his ears before he is affected, and manages to use magic to drop a heavy lamp on the witch before she carries out her plan to take Arthur's life in revenge for that of her son. The sleeping enchantment wears off, but the witch, still alive, makes one last attempt to kill Arthur by throwing a knife. Merlin, once again subtly employing his magical abilities, manages to reach Arthur before the knife does and pull the prince out of its way. Uther, overcome with gratitude, magnanimously grants Merlin a position in the royal household as Arthur's personal servant, eliciting disgust from both young men.

That night, however, as Merlin talks to Gaius, the physician suggests that caring for Arthur may be Merlin's destiny. Having heard the same thing from the Great Dragon, Merlin resigns himself to the idea and leaves to assume his new position as Arthur's servant.

All things considered, this is quite a decent series opener. The entire main cast, remaining virtually unchanged for the remainder of the series, is showcased pretty well. Of course, it doesn't hurt that half of the lead roles in this episode are filled by actors from other sci-fi/fantasy shows and movies; the crossover in the business is quite remarkable. Watching Gwen Cooper and Rupert Giles flirt away is quite amusing, and John Hurt's distinctive voice pervades the entire episode. Even Colin Morgan as Merlin once had a small role in Doctor Who. The remainder of the cast, all young, fairly unknown actors from the UK, rounds out well.

The effects in this first episode are also stunning, in a very understated way; the spilling water bucket in suspended animation is one of the nicest effects I've seen on TV. Low-budget programs can usually produce some amazing effects when it comes to small details; the words of black magic running up Dark Willow's skin in Buffy is likewise one of the prettiest effects I remember seeing on television, and only took three or four seconds of screen-time. However, Merlin also pulled out all the stops in creating the show's most prominent effect, the Great Dragon, which is unbelievably convincing and lifelike for a BBC program.

Some of the relationships and dynamics of the series are already falling into place in this installment; Gaius' fatherly feelings for Merlin are there from the start, and Merlin's friendship with Gwen (presented here as a possible future romance... that didn't last) is immediate. Most obvious, though, is Merlin and Arthur's relationship. Despite their initial and continuing (I resist saying "once and future") hostility toward each other, their chemistry lights up the screen the moment they meet, and afterward they really don't seem to be able to stay away from each other. Merlin, having spoken to the Dragon, perhaps has some vague preemptive understanding of their situation, but Arthur's still entirely in the dark (his permanent state of being when it comes to Merlin, I might add.) The two of them are destined to share their entire lives and bring about a legend, and at the moment they're just two irritated boys who think they can't stand each other. The fact that Merlin has to slip under Uther's radar and use an illegal ability in order to protect the king's son obviously makes the situation that much worse.

Morgana, the character destined to change the most drastically, is presented here merely as a slightly spoiled young royal, her relationship with her guardian strained and uncomfortable. [ I like that the very first glimpse we have of Morgana is her being absolutely disgusted and sad about the execution. It shows how much she really does change. She goes from not being able to see innocent people being killed (which is actually a one of the things that helped turn her against Uther), to being the one to do it. She became what she hated. - Caylee ] In her briefly stated defense of sorcery, though, we do catch a glimpse of what she is to become.

Overall, a very good introductory episode, and definitely one of the better series pilots I've seen.

Complaints:

• Why does all of the CGI associated with the witch's true form look so fake? The puddle, the mirror shots... of all the effects to have trouble producing, those seem like the simplest.
• That overused establishing shot of Camelot in the morning will never stop annoying me. Never. I just wish that sentry would stop twitching around on the edge of the screen.
• Can I just say that I adore the opening credits up until the final shot? The highly saturated green/blue/gold video game-esque title card clashes horribly with the muted, authentically medieval appearance of the rest of the sequence. They appear to have been created separately, and don't merge at all. But the music is admittedly gorgeous.

Thoughts:

• The Great Dragon in Merlin is one of my favorite uses of the dragon trope in fiction. Kept contained, he's infrequently used and morally ambiguous, a nice change from the deluge of dragon-revering, dragon-centric literature and film in recent years.