Syfy has been calling Merlin a “Syfy Original Series” since they started airing it. It’s not, of course; not by any reasonable definition. It’s a BBC production, shot and originally aired in the United Kingdom, and only reaches the United States after each season has ended its run there; to be precise, the fourth season, which just ended tonight in the U.S., apparently ended in December 2011 in the U.K., so we’re about four months behind. And Syfy can’t even claim to be the first network in the U.S. to air the series (though they have it exclusively now), as during its first season it was aired as a summer program on Syfy’s parent network, NBC. None of that is particularly germane to the quality of the show or the season, I just felt like tweaking the nose of Syfy a little bit, since the “Syfy Original Series” bit feels a lot like the same pretentiousness that led to them no longer calling themselves the Sci-Fi Channel.
Obviously, since I’m aware of where its first season aired, I’ve been watching the show from the beginning. While the show takes an unprecedented amount of liberties with the legend of King Arthur, it manages to do so in a way that is not only entertaining and novel, but still plays it close enough that the viewer could see how the legends could match up with this particular telling, if a certain amount of narrative drift is allowed for. Since the fourth season just ended in the U.S., it’s time for a post-mortem review; spoilers, as usual, lurk within.
This season in particular seems to have been keeping some of the legends in mind, as it keeps giving little nods and winks to the old stories. Merlin (Colin Morgan), who is portrayed here as a contemporary of Arthur’s (Bradley James), finds himself often needing to take on the guise of an old man in order to practice his sorcery publicly without endangering his life and position as Arthur’s servant (magic being banned in Camelot under the edict of Arthur’s father, King Uther Pendragon). This gives several moments where Merlin is represented in the more traditional “long-bearded old man” form that is present in most versions of the myth. The make-up they use to make Colin Morgan look 60 years older isn’t perfect — it’s pretty clear it’s a young man with prosthetics and not an actual old man — but it’s good enough for a show where the budget is being stretched pretty thin as it is on the need for occasional special effects ranging from magic to the dragon.
Season four also brings in the love affair between Gwenevere (Angel Coulby) and Lancelot (Santiago Cabrera), doing so in a manner that not only avoids any actual adultery, but gives just enough reason for Arthur to feel betrayed and just enough room for him to eventually forgive her. (It also makes it not her fault, as Lancelot was in this case a resurrected shade whom Morgana bespelled for the purpose of ousting Gwenevere). The will they/won’t they nature of relationships in a TV drama can always get irritating, but this was a part of the Arthurian legend, so they had to bring it in. Fortunately, it was resolved within the course of the season.
The machinations of Morgana (Katie McGrath) to seize the throne were ramped up greatly in this season, making her the primary villain that anybody familiar with the legend knew she would be. Though I have to say it was actually pretty wise of the series writers to have it take so long (it was also wise to avoid the incest angle. Sometimes changes are a good thing.) Having her as a friendly member of the court of Camelot early on allows the audience to see her as more than just evil for the sake of being evil, and to have a more rounded character. It also let them bring her around gradually, and to use Morgause in the early seasons; considering how often the two are combined into a single character nowadays, it was nice to see. Morgause was written out early in this season, as Morgana’s character arc no longer needs her, but it was done well with her sacrifice leading to some true terrors being unleashed upon Camelot.
Also written out during the season was Uther Pendragon. During the first half of the season, he was a broken man, no longer the strong leader he had been. Part of this was due to injuries, but mostly it was a crushed spirit over his ward — revealed to have been his actual daughter — Morgana turning against him. And midway through, a sword wound and a curse killed him. On the one hand, it’s a shame to lose the acting of Anthony Head (who previously played the mentor Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer), as it was definitely one of the highlights of the series. It was easy to become engrossed by this extremely stern and strong ruler, who was both unjustly tyrannical and yet on the balance a good man. He was one of the most complex characters in the show, and the removal of the character runs the risk of removing some of the show’s depth. But at the same time, it’s a necessary action; we cannot have King Arthur until Uther is no longer on the throne. And at least he got to go out with a sword fight that reminded the viewers of how impressive he could be before his spirit was broken.
The fourth season finale hints that Merlin’s mentor and father-figure, Gaius (Richard Wilson), may also not be long for this world (his own exact words, in fact.) He’s still alive at the end of it, but has been ailing in prison under Morgana’s usurped rule. It wouldn’t surprise me much if he were to succumb to old age in the fifth season. This, too, would greatly change the dynamics of the show, as Merlin would lose not just his guidance, but the main confidant he has in Camelot. Gaius is one of only a few to know Merlin has magic, and as Arthur has yet to repeal Uther’s edict against it, Merlin can’t reveal it to any of his friends without jeopardizing his life. If Gaius does pass away, expect Gwaine (Eoin Macken) to become even more prominent, as the only other person in Camelot to know Merlin’s secret.
One problem I did have with the fourth season was with the introduction of Agravaine. Not with the character himself, mind you; his role helped to move the plot along in a lot of ways, and Nathaniel Parker delivered a very entertaining performance. No, my problem was with his introduction… or more precisely, the lack thereof. Because he wasn’t present in the first three seasons, the audience never met this uncle of Arthur’s before, nor had any reason to trust him or to expect any benevolent motivations. Coupled with his all-black all-the-time attire, and it wasn’t exactly a surprise to see him conspiring with Morgana. A little more time to build up to that may have been helpful.
The fourth season has brought about a lot of changes in the series, some of which have been surprises, and some haven’t. It is, of course, difficult to be too surprised by a lot of it, since any knowledge of the legends leads to certain names becoming an automatic case of foreshadowing; they may be smugglers in this telling, but I don’t think there’s ever been a version in which Tristan and Isolde got a happy ending, so I knew some tragedy was waiting in the wings for them. But by playing with the legends a bit here and there, and taking advantage of the room to tell additional stories not written before, the series manages to provide a few surprises and keep things interesting. It helps that even in its darkest episodes, it still manages to keep its sense of humor, which is part of what makes its characters seem more like real people.
This season may not have been as strong overall as the third season (I’m still weighing that in my mind a bit, though), but it was entertaining and it has me looking forward to the fifth season whenever it hits. Trouble’s not over yet, after all. Morgana’s still alive, and of course, Mordred is still out there somewhere.
Morgan on Media 
What a cheek, SyFy claiming a British series as their own!
Any chance of Lancelot’s good name being restored in the 5th season, do you think? I thought they used and abused his character dreadfully in S4!
I don’t expect we’ll see him again, since he appears to be deader than dead. But I don’t think his good name was tarnished as much as it might appear; if anything, he was treated kinder than the original legends, since in this case it was a shade — not really him — that had the affair with Gwenevere. The real Lancelot went out nobly, sacrificing himself for his king and the fiancee of the woman he loved, which is about as solidly in the “good guy” column as you can get.
Sorry, I can’t agree! BTW, I’m talking here purely about the way that the “Merlin” writers treated the character and I’m not making comparisons with other versions of the legend. Yes, the real Lancelot was very much a good guy, who sacrificed himself in Ep. 4.02 for the greater good, but because Merlin and Gaius refused to share their discovery that the “Lancelot” who came back in Ep.4.09 was not real, but merely a shade and totally under Morgana’s influence, Arthur, Gwen, the other knights and Camelot in general believe that the real Lancelot came back and cheated and his former good name was badly tarnished. This is why I would really like his name to be cleared, whether the character re-appears or not. The writers have strongly hinted that Freya is likely to return, saying she is “important to the legend” and that no-one really dies in “Merlin”, so I think there is certainly a chance that we will see Lancelot again at some point. As far as I am aware, there has been no official announcement to the effect that he is gone for good. But either way, it will leave a nasty taste if they don’t clear his name.
Ah, that’s a good point. I had forgotten that Merlin and Gaius never cleared up exactly what happened there. So although Lancelot’s reputation is unstained for the audience, the other characters think he and Gwen were on the verge of committing adultery. So yes, some kind of reparation would be nice for the character there… still don’t know that we’re likely to see him again, though.
I haven’t gotten around to watching this yet, but my wife found it a few months ago and devoured all four seasons in short order and now can’t wait for the fifth season. As for the “Original series”, I’ve noticed that Hulu does the exact same thing, re-airing BBC shows and other shows which I imagine had their run on some smaller or overseas network yet isn’t airing in the US at the moment so Hulu calls it “exclusively on Hulu”.
Oh, that’s even funnier. It’s one thing for Syfy to pretend its fans can’t find out the origins of a show, but for Hulu, which is on the internet, it’s just silly.
Nice overview of season 4. I particularly agree with your comments on Uther, the love triangle and lack of incest. However, I don’t believe Gwaine knows about Merlin’s magic. It would be tricky for him to know about Merlin’s magic and not tell Arthur, given that he must have sworn an oath of loyalty.
You might be right; I thought Gwaine knew from the way he acted in the Fisher King episode, but looking elsewhere it sounds as if most people agree with you that he doesn’t know yet.