Here we go again. We're only six episodes in and already we've got another 'vengeful sorcerer comes to Camelot' episode. That's makes four so far this season.
Meet Edwin Muirden. He might seem like a simple healer but he's really an evil sorcerer. You can tell because he's disfigured, and if there's one thing that Bond movies have taught us it's that disfigured people are inherently evil and want to destroy the world with giant space lasers. But Edwin isn't trying to get into the Secret Volcano Lair Club. His goals are a little less ambitious. He just wants to kill Uther to avenge all those who were butchered during the Great Purge, including his parents.
Actually, when you think about it, that is really quite noble. Dammit, now I'm confused. How am am supposed to boo and hiss the villain when I'm rooting for him to succeed? Although his methods are truly villainous, Edwin is not unjust in his vengeance. Along with being a bad father, Uther is a bastard and a tyrant. Uther killed his parents and slaughtered many like them. When you get right down to it, the Great Purge was basically a form of ethnic cleansing. Didn't matter if they never used their magic to hurt anyone. If they practice magic they were executed. He deserves to die for all the pain and misery he has caused.
Although he practised magic himself, Gaius chose to side with Uther during the Great Purge. Essentially he turned his back on his own kind and a became a collaborator. I'm was annoyed that the writers tried to let him off the hook by saying that Edwin's parents were practising dark magic. That may be the case, but that still doesn't excuse him and Uther for their sins. I'm sure many of those killed were no doubt innocent.
Familiar Faces
Edwin was played by Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing, The Hour)
Merthur Moments
Not much. But there was a cute scene of Merlin being nervous, making Arthur nervous.
Notes and Quotes
--The final fight between Merlin, Gaius and Edwin was rather lame. And the special effects of the flying axe just looked pathetic.
--For someone who is paranoid about magic 95% of the time, I'm surprised that Uther didn't find it a little suspicious when Edwin showed up claiming to have a cure for all illnesses at the exact same time Morgana fell gravely ill.
--What the hell, Gwen? You suspected he was up to no good. You caught him the act, you said so yourself. Why didn't she speak up sooner?
--In a change from the norm, Gaius is the one who goes to the Great Dragon for advice, not Merlin. He should seriously considering starting an advice column. “Dear Great Dragon, my sister has been kidnapped by trolls and my father turned into a cabbage. What should I do?”
Gaius: “It's all ridiculous. I didn't save Uther. You did.”
Merlin: “No, no. For once, I'm happy for someone else to take the credit. You were prepared to sacrifice your life to save me.”
Gaius: “Has anyone ever told you you're a genius?”
Merlin: “You certainly haven't.”
The Great Dragon: “How old a man can become and yet change so little.”
Gaius: “You have not changed either.”
The Great Dragon: “Twenty years. Almost a lifetime to make the short journey back to where you began.”
Two out of four Secret Volcano Lair Clubs.
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Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.
In the big dramatic scene in which Merlin saves Uther, I really wanted his "magic" words to be: "Here beetle beetle beetle."
ReplyDeleteGreat reviews. They are cracking me up!
I want to hate Uther. I really do. But…Giles. GILES. G-I-L-E-S.
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