There's no denying Merlin's been improving each week, but "The Moment Of Truth" is something of a big misstep – although it continues to solidify the Arthur (Bradley James) and Merlin (Colin Morgan) vaguely homoerotic friendship, while delivering some much-needed edge to its action sequences...This week, Merlin's mother Hunith (Caroline Faber) travels to Camelot, requesting King Uther's (Anthony Head) help to stop a raider called Kanan (Alexander Siddig) stealing her village's harvest, afraid that their children will starve. Uther is unable to risk involvement, for fear of igniting a war with his neighbour, but Merlin decides to return home to help – surprised to find that Morgana (Katie McGrath), Gwen (Angel Coulby) and even Prince Arthur are prepared to help him defeat Kanan...
If there's one thing that's slightly undercutting Merlin, it's the simplicity of the stories. While this is sometimes preferable to complex narratives, there have been too many storylines that walk predictable, clichéd paths. A humble village requiring protection from a ruthless band of aggressors is a common occurrence in medieval and fantasy drama, and "The Moment Of Truth" offered its audience nothing new.
That said, the chemistry between the young actors continues to entertain and amuse – with this episode really cementing the friendship between Arthur and Merlin, while making it clear that Morgana and Gwen both value Merlin, too. As a means to give the underused female characters something to do, the intention here was noble, but the outcome terribly disappointing. Katie McGrath looks wonderful in female warrior mode, but doesn't get much to do (beyond nearly ruin the climactic attack on Kanan's men), while Angel Coulby's presence is mostly forgotten. A scene between Gwen and Arthur was written to show us she can stand-up to Arthur (her future husband, remember), but it's so throwaway it carries no weight.
Luckily, despite a simple plot that doesn't take any interesting directions (and criminally wastes Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Alexander Siddig as a bland, corny villain), you can take solace in the added edge and slightly more adult attitude to everything. "The Moment Of Truth" contains a few on-screen deaths – the kind Merlin usually edits around, badly -- which was great to see. The atmosphere throughout was colder and grittier than usual. Clearly, this series will never achieve the tone and style of Excalibur, but it's great to see a bit of rough n' tumble that tests the show's family-friendly vibe.
The episode's moral dilemma for Merlin was nothing new (as most episodes have included a variation on Merlin risking death by using his magic to save the day), but it worked very well here. For once there was a real sense that Merlin will have to use his magic to save the villagers, and have his talents as a sorcerer discovered by his friends. Mind you, we know magic is outlawed in Camelot – but considering this was a different kingdom, why couldn't Merlin use his abilities without fear of recrimination? I guess the anti-magic attitude must have spread across the whole land. Anyway, the small twister he conjures to help defeat Kanan's gang was a nice special-effect, helped enormously by the simple use of slow-motion by director David Moore.
Overall, a disappointing episode as we enter the home-stretch towards the season finale in two weeks, but I'm still enjoying the camaraderie between Merlin, Arthur, Morgana and (to a lesser extent) Gwen, while this episode's grittier style was appreciated. It's just a shame the storyline was so formulaic and tedious, marking this out as filler material designed to give the adult actors a week's break.
22 November 2008
BBC1, 7.25pm
Writer: Brian Vanstone
Director: David Moore
Cast: Colin Morgan (Merlin), Joe Dempsie (William), Bradley James (Prince Arthur), Katie McGrath (Morgana), Angel Coulby (Gwen), Caroline Faber (Hunith), Alexander Siddig (Kanan), Anthony Head (King Uther) & Jonathan Aris (Matthew)
