A gang of bandits led by magical outlaw Alvarr (Joseph Mawle) break into Camelot, intending to steal a relic of the Old Religion that King Uther (Anthony Head) has kept hidden in his castle vault: the Crystal of Neahtid. The disquieting boy Mordred has come under Alvarr's guardianship since he was last seen with Druids, too, and is supposedly capable of wielding the crystal to unlock its precognitive powers. But, rather than steal the crystal themselves, they instead intend to make an ally of Morgana (who has a close bond with orphan Mordred, whom she rescued) and have her deliver the artifact to their forest hideout instead. Of course, Merlin (Colin Morgan) is telepathically alerted to Mordred's presence, but after leading Arthur (Bradley James) to Morgana's chamber in pursuit of the intruders, he finds she willingly covers for Alvarr's gang.
Again, this episode found Merlin snooping on Morgana, whom he believes has agreed to help Alvarr get his hands on the powerful crystal, and our sympathies and loyalties were nicely tested. Morgana has never been an obvious villainess, and McGrath plays the role in such a conflicted manner that it's easy to understand why she'd help those she has an affinity for. Indeed, one of Merlin's strengths is the greyness that exists in characters (particularly Uther and Morgana), so that we're constantly being asked to reevaluate our feelings towards them. When Morgana does eventually become an enemy of Camelot some day, it's likey she'll be complex enough that that we'll understand (and partly approve) of her actions. It's Mordred who works as the show's cherubic face of pure evil on the show, forever given Omen-like stares into the middle-distance and Hobbit-like slo-mo sequences of running through the woods in his green cloak."The Witch's Quickening" didn't manage contain enough surprises to win me over entirely, as it was instead an exercise in getting Morgana's loyalties straighter in our minds. After Alvarr's camp was discovered and he was sentenced to death by Uther, there was a great scene where Morgana laid into the king over his zero tolerance for sorcerors whose only crime are defying his prejudicial law, and after she later helped Alvarr escape it was obvious Uther suspected (and maybe even knows) his favoured ward was responsible.
The episode also set in motion some good stuff for Merlin, as he was compelled to use the crystal (which he's powerful enough to wield, it seems) and saw a frightening future of the kingdom being raized to the ground by the Dragon (John Hurt) he's promised to release from captivity. Will Merlin keep his word but condemn Camelot to destruction in the finale? Or, as Gaius (Richard Wilson) suggested, was his vision just one possible outcome he can therefore avert? As much as I dislike the way this series continues to lean on the Dragon as a handy way for Merlin to get information and guidance about matters of the Old Religion (often to defeat the week's baddie), I have to admit I like the way the Dragon's at least being written as a creature to be wary of. But if the beast is so keen for Arthur and Merlin to usher in a new and enlightened age, does it make sense that it would go on a killing spree if released?Overall, "The Witch's Quickening" was a strong return to the style of episode I'm more interested in seeing from this series, but it didn't quite provide the significant developments I think we're due now –- although having Morgana voice her disgust in front of Uther, and seeing Mordred apparently turn on Merlin for ruining his plans was good setup for events I hope the finale follows through on.
5 December 2009
BBC1, 5.55pm
written by: Jake Michie directed by: Alice Troughton starring: Colin Morgan (Merlin), Richard Wilson (Gaius), Anthony Head (King Uther), Joseph Mawle (Alvarr), John Hurt (Dragon, voice), Bradley James (Arthur), Katie McGrath (Morgana), Angel Coulby (Gwen), Asa Butterfield (Mordred), Emily Beecham (Enmyria), Jonathan Bryan (Sir Radnor) & Chris McGill (Guard)
