Merlin- The Sword in the Stone Part 1 Review

Merlin and Arthur dressed as a simpleton.

The Sword in the Stone Part 1 wasted no time getting to the siege of Camelot. In this episode Merlin shows us again what makes it such an enjoyable show to watch. The Sword in the Stone Part 1 blends a nice mixture of humor, adventure, and drama throughout its plot. It shows us how Merlin and Arthur's relationship has developed to a point where Merlin is the one person Arthur can trust. This is show nicely in the scenes when Arthur and Merlin escape from Camelot.

With a nice humorous intro with a banter between Arthur and Merlin about the fact that Arthur has gained some weight. Last time Merlin made fun of Arthur's weight was in The Lady of the Lake. During a feast, Morgana begins her siege on Camelot. Arthur and the knights spring into action to defend Camelot. Arthur soon becomes injured in battle, and Merlin need to get Arthur out. Not before Arthur sees Agravaine's treachery. It's heartbreaking to see the betrayal on Arthur's face, but Merlin did try to warn him. That is where the plot point of, "my word is better than yours", played out in the previous episode.

So to get an injured, stubborn Arthur out of Camelot, Merlin and Gaius decide to enchant Arthur. Once enchanted, Arthur agrees to everything, and its quite amusing to watch. Merlin is a bit wary at first, but begins to enjoy it as he happily orders Arthur to do dishes. Whats even more funny is the obviously too small clothes that Arthur wears. It's thanks to this that Merlin is able to pass Arthur off as a simpleton. But entertaining nevertheless.

Now Morgana has easily accomplished what took her sister an immortal army to do. She captured Camelot with the help of Agravaine and Helios and his army. She is no longer that whiny ward of the king, but now one bad ass villain. The only thing Morgana cares about is being Queen, and nothing else. Which is the difference between her and Arthur other than being down right evil. There is also this strange relationship between Argavaine and Morgana. He clearly cares for her, while Morgana is only using him. My theory is that maybe he cares for her due to the gap that his sister left when she died giving birth to Arthur. So in theory, Argavaine wants to protect his "sister" this time. Morgana knows Argavaine is loyal to her, so she uses this to send him after Arthur.

This episode is clearly a stepping stone for the finale as it steps up a hopeless situation. Almost all the knights are captured. Arthur is injured, Morgana is in control of Camelot, and Argavaine ran them out of Elador. Merlin has to inspire Arthur to take action and reclaim Camelot. As the title states, this is only part 1 of the sword in the stone. Which means next episode, Excalibur will be making an appearance again. I am really looking forward the finale despite the fact that it means it will be over until Season 5. Trailer below.