Aredian swept into Camelot with a bundle of clichés in tow (giant black horses, a portable cage, omenous soundtrack), but what made his character work perfectly was seeing him exhibit such flair for sniffing out sorcery. Within moments he had interviewed Merlin and had denounced him as a warlock, although suspicion quickly shifted to Gaius (Richard Wilson) when a magical amulet was found in a powder jar he kept, and the physician was forced to take the blame for its existence to protect Merlin. Aredian even had cause to worry Morgana (Katie McGrath), who likewise fears exposure for her magical abilities, upon hearing about the nightmares she's been having.Somewhat inevitably, Aredian was exposed as a charlatan who travels from kingdom to kingdom framing innocent peasants for witchcraft (it's an old trope, expected from the start), but I think Jake Michie's script did a good job dissuading us from this initial expectation for awhile -- at least until the Witchfinder was seen blackmailing Gaius into giving a false confession. Like many Merlin scripts, they struggle to plough fresh ground or rise above a formula ingrained in its family-friendly nature, but they're doing a far better job disgusing its failings this year. A part of me wished the script hadn't gone down the route of making Aredian a callous charlatan, but admittedly this was a twist younger viewers probably won't have seen before.
It also helps that Merlin's casting is so precise, and Charles Dance was clearly having great fun playing a slimy, malicious conman. This episode even afforded Richard Wilson a rare opportunity in the spotlight, as Gaius offered himself as sacrifice to protect Merlin, showing just how much he loves the boy who's essentially his adopted son. Also memorable was a late scene between the acquitted Gaius and a repentant, embarrassed Uther -- a good example of the series occasional maturity in how it handles its characters, and a barbed reminder that Uther's prejudice has been responsible for many less fortunate innocents being burnt at the stake in the past.
With hindsight, "The Witchfinder" was content to do exactly what you expected of it, but thankfully in a way that didn't feel totally predictable and obvious, somehow. I think it helped that we were genuinely rattled by how quickly Aredian got down to business and flukily targeted people with magical secrets to hide. Perhaps more could have been done to explain why he wanted to frame Gaius in particular (as there appeared to be bad blood between the pair it would have been nice to get an insight into), but maybe there just wasn't time.The episode was a strong showcase for Dance and Wilson, and it was nice to see the Dragon (John Hurt) proving itself entirely useless for once -- as my heart sinks whenever Merlin wanders down into that cave to be given all the answers. I'm hoping series 2's overall plan is to release the dragon in the finale and make him a less prominent facet of the show, as it's become too much of a lazy shortcut for the writers.
So yes, a very enjoyable episode that managed the difficult trick of making a clichéd storyline feel rather fresh and unpredictable for a long stretch, while offering a few of its actors a chance to shine.
7 November 2009
BBC1, 5.40pm
written by: Jake Michie directed by: Jeremy Webb starring: Charles Dance (Aredian), Anthony Head (King Uther), Colin Morgan (Merlin), Richard Wilson (Gaius), John Hurt (Dragon, voice), Bradley James (Arthur), Katie McGrath (Morgana), Angel Coulby (Gwen), Rupert Young (Sir Leon), David Sterne (The Apothecary), Victoria Finney (Cathryn), Katie Foster-Barnes (Beatrice), Fairbank Hynes (Annis Amanda) & Samara MacLaren (Rowena)
