Continuing from last week's "The Fires Of Idirsholas", the Great Dragon has been unleashed from its subterranean prison by a guilt-ridden Merlin, who can only watch in anguish as the beast starts razing Camelot to the ground, with the king's knights powerless in the face of such awesome, scorching destruction. However, Gaius reminds Uther that the beast can be slayed by one of the supposedly extinct "Dragonlords", who were wiped out by Uther many years ago for their faith in the Old Religion -- but Gaius knows of one famous Dragonlord who survived: Balinor (John Lynch). Arthur and Merlin are summarily dispatched to find this potential saviour, who was last known to be living in a neighbouring enemy realm, but matters are complicated for Merlin when Gaius reveals that Balinor is the boy's long lost father...The beauty of this episode was its elegant simplicity. While this straightforwardness meant the story was content to tread a fairly familiar path (including a few clichés), it allowed room for some excellent action sequences and more emotionally-satisfying moments than I was expecting. I'm a sucker for a good father/son relationship in telefantasy, so watching Merlin finally track down his estranged father, living as a bearded hermit in a cave, created some legitimately tear-jerking scenes. Balinor is endowed with magic and has spent most of his life as a fugitive from intolerant Uther, having been tricked into allowing the king to make an example of the last dragon by imprisoning it. Merlin is hesitant to blurt out his knowledge of their relationship infront of Arthur, but it's not too long before the truth is revealed over a roaring nighttime campfire...
Colin Morgan has felt oddly sidelined this year, mainly because his character hasn't really developed as much as the other regulars. Sure, he's always present and has a vital role in the stories, but nothing significant has actually changed for him this year. Morgana's "awakening", Arthur's run-ins with Uther, and Gwen's (Angel Coulby) unspoken relationship with Arthur have all been more interesting than the scraps thrown Merlin's way (like his unconvincing romance in "The Lady Of The Lake"), but these last few episodes have given Morgan a chance to shine. And he was practically effervescent in his handling of the emotions Merlin was going through during this finale.Seeing Merlin reveal his identity to Balinor was a particularly wonderful, understated scene, later topped by the way Merlin's voice cracked when his father called him "son" and he responded with a heartfelt, overjoyed "sleep well, father." Guest star John Lynch was magnificent throughout, too; a very credible father for Merlin, who brought a lot of quiet, intense sobriety to the part. The death of Balinor, after an attack by enemy soldiers in a forest, was also well-handled –- as Merlin was overwhelmed with grief at losing the father he was only just getting to know, but had to hide his feelings infront of the oblivious Arthur.
I'm a little disappointed that Balinor was introduced and killed off so quickly, though, as I'd have liked to see his relationship with Merlin grow over the course of more episodes. It felt like a missed opportunity in many ways, although I can't deny the impact it had on this story, and how the death of a parent gives Merlin something else in common with Arthur. I just hope the series won't come to regret killing someone whose role in Merlin's life could have been quite fascinating if allowed to mature.
The episode climaxed excitingly, with Merlin aware that Balinor's ability to commune with dragons has been passed onto him as a result of his untimely death, before riding out with Arthur's men to fight the rampaging beast in a nearby clearing. I especially enjoyed the moment where Arthur was preparing for a battle he likely wouldn't return from, and being mightily impressed by Merlin's willingness to tag along. Morgan and James continue to have a very natural, brotherly rapport that works brilliantly and feels completely believable.
The special effects were a lot slicker than I was expecting for the airborne Dragon, too -- particularly in light of the fact Merlin often struggles to make its CGI monsters look convincing when they're required to interact with the cast. As an entity, the Dragon worked much better when it wasn't talking for once, and the sequence when Merlin was finally able to play "dragon whisperer" and defeat the beast by showing mercy in light of its species' rarity, was a fine ending that left the door open for the grateful creature's return. As the Dragon inferred in its parting words before flying to freedom, Merlin's leniency felt like a notable step forward in his evolution from gawky adolescent to sagacious young man.Overall, "The Last Dragonlord" was really quite wonderful and emotionally satisfying stuff, providing an excellent showcase for Morgan in a story that hit the right notes as this year's big conclusion. It's been great to see Merlin improve so immensely in series 2, apparently gaining more fans as people tuned in thanks to strong word-of-mouth, and I'm pleased that a third series has been commissioned by the BBC. In HD, too! Now that the wise Dragon's disappeared, I'm hoping we'll get stories where Merlin doesn't have all the answers given to him in the last ten minutes, so he can start acting more independently and has to use his own knowledge to defeat evildoers. More excitingly, I'm now fairly contented that Merlin's producers/writers have started to get a handle on their show, and things can only get better...
19 December 2009
BBC1, 5.45pm
written by: Julian Jones directed by: Jeremy Webb starring: Colin Morgan (Merlin), Richard Wilson (Gaius), Anthony Head (Uther), John Lynch (Balinor), John Hurt (Dragon, voice), Bradley James (Arthur), Angel Coulby (Gwen), Rupert Young (Sir Leon) & Jonathan Coyne (Asgerd)
