MERLIN CLUB: Gwaine

MERLIN CLUB: GWAINE

Or the One With All the Hair Swishing (Thanks, Gwaine!)

MERLIN CLUB IS BACK!!! After two weeks away for the Author After Dark convention and recovering from an epic road trip with Bron and Jen, I was so happy to jump back into Merlin Club. I missed my boys! :) So here we go...

RECAP – The episode opens with Arthur and Merlin arriving at a small village after a day of hunting and Arthur decides he needs some mead. So they go into the tavern, and no one knows that the prince is in their midst. 

The barmaid makes flirty eyes and when Arthur takes her aren’t-you-a-handsome-one comment as being directed at him, she quickly informs him that she is checking out Merlin (and who can blame her? ROWR). The look on Arthur’s face is priceless. Seriously.

Anyhoo, as they enjoy their tankards of mead, Arthur notices a burly guy taking money from the barmaid and demanding more—which she doesn’t have. Arthur orders the dude to give the money back , and a fight breaks out. An all out brawl between the thug and his friends and Merlin and Arthur. During the fight a stranger jumps in and helps prince and servant 

When they are victorious, Arthur has the men put in the stocks and reveals himself as the prince. They then bring the stranger, Gwaine, back to Camelot to recover from his injury.

While in Camelot, Gwaine causes some troubles with him womanizing ways (even flirting with Gwen *gasp* which ticks Arthur off), racking up big bills at the tavern by treating pretty much everyone to drinks—and Merlin saves his hide and has the tavern send the bill to the Arthur. Arthur is unhappy, of course, but Merlin points out the prince said Gwaine was to be given anything he wanted and offers to pay for the bill himself. And he and Gwaine end up polishing the boots of all the knights.  

Gwaine confesses that if he’d known Arthur was the prince, he wouldn’t have helped. He can’t stand the nobility.

Meanwhile, to of the jerks from the tavern brawl, are anxious for some revenge against Arthur. They plan to enter the melee and kill the prince—with the help of some magic crystals (which allow them to take on the appearance of two knights they’ve killed) and swords that look blunt but are actually quite sharp. They arrive in Camelot, and Arthur offers up Merlin’s services, as he seems friendly with the knights the guys are impersonating. They’re real jerks to Merlin, basically, ordering him around and being asses in general.

Later, Merlin asks Gwaine why he hates the nobility so much and the other man reveals he’s actual of noble birth. His father was a knight and was killed in battle. His king refused to help Gwaine’s mother afterwards. Gwaine sees nobles as only titles and thinks knights are arrogant jerks. Merlin says Arthur is different.

In the imposters’ chambers, Merlin cuts himself on one of the supposed blunted blades and goes back that night to investigate, but accidently wakes one of the guys up. He’s in quite a bind but Gwaine shows up and helps him. The thugs spin a different story to Uther though, saying Gwaine tried to kill them and call for his execution. Uther is all affronted and in arms because Gwaine dares to speak, against noble knights, no less. Yeah, I'm rolling my eyes right about now. Gwaine doesn't cower though. 

Arthur argues as Gwaine saved his life and Uther (still a douchcanoe….I know SHOCKER), banishes him from Camelot instead.

During the melee, Merlin does the best he can to protect Arthur without revealing his magic and soon only Arthur and the two jerks. But a knight who had been wounded earlier rejoins the fight and comes to Arthur’s aid. When the bad guys are defeated and dead, the knight is revealed to be Gwaine. Uther, of course, isn’t grateful Gwaine helped Arthur…oh no. He is furious and demands Gwaine’s execution for killing two knights. But Gaius shows him that they were not knights, exposing the crystals, and convinces Uther to reconsider Gwaine’s sentence.

Later, Arthur talks to Gwaine and apologizes as uther refuses to lift the banishment though Gwaine will no longer be killed, so yay for that. When he leaves, Gwaine tells Merlin that he believes Arthur to be different and there are strong hints that when Arthur is king, Gwaine just may return. Merlin and Arthur watch Gwaine leave, and Arthur gets upset when he sees the man flirting with Gwen. Merlin teases him, saying that Gwen couldn’t possibly set her sights higher as she’s just a servant. Arthur tells him to shut up and they push and chase each other around as they go back inside the castle.

If I wrote this episode, I would have changed… I guess the whole Gwaine flirting with Gwen thing… It’s not a huge thing but the whole every guy that comes long finds Gwen so freaking irresistible gets a bit old. And other than making Arthur jealous, which did we really need that?—it didn’t serve any purpose in the story at all. That was Gwen’s only role in the whole episode—being on the receiving end of Gwaine’s flirting. So I’d have just cut that out.

Thing(s) I loved about this episode—The Merlin/Arthur banter throughout. The look on Arthur’s face when he realizes the barmaid isn’t into him, the golden prince, but his servant. I like the budding friendship between Gwaine and Merlin. And just Gwaine, general. Hair swishing and all. :)

Thing(s) I hated about this episode—Hate that Gwaine is still banished at the end. Purely selfish on my part because I find him pretty and wish to gaze at him more. Hated the flirtation with Gwen as I mention above.

Something I never noticed about this episode before—Nothing here this week.

Proof of some head canon I’ve created—The connection between Arthur and Merlin. That they feel/sense when the other is in danger. During the bar fight, Arthur is getting pummeled but still yells out a warning to Merlin when he’s about to get hit from behind (yeah, yeah, he could just be that observant, but don’t burst my bubble. I chose to believe he sensed it because he had his own shit to be worrying about but still…saved Merlin’s hide.)

Also, I’m not wholly unconvinced something didn’t happen between Gwaine and Merlin. I’ll get into this more later in the series, but they got pretty close, pretty fast if you know what I mean.

Favorite costume—Merlin’s blanket. Yep, that is my favorite costume this week.

What would Bron steal from Camelot in this episode? The crystals. I think they’d catch the sun quite beautifully hanging in her windows, don’t you?

What made Jen lose her shit (in a good or bad way) in this episode? This was a hard one this week… The lack of Gwen and Morgana in this episode. They hardly feature at all and seem utterly superfluous.

Bron’s Merlin Club: Gwaine Post

Jen’s Merlin Club: Gwaine Post

Next week, 8/25 at 8pm EST, we’ll be watching S03E05:The Crystal Cave. We’ll be on Twitter with the hashtag #MerlinClub

MERLIN CLUB: Goblin's Gold

MERLIN CLUB: GOBLIN’S GOLD

Or the One With Gaius Licking Stuff and Making Bron Throw Up in Her Mouth a Little

RECAP—So Merlin’s down in the library – which is in dire need of a clean. Geoffrey needs to get on that – to get Gaius a book. While there, he finds a secret chamber where he finds a box. Noises are coming from the box, and despite my yelling at the screen for him NOT to do it, Merlin opens the box.  Out pops a goblin.

It causes mischief and, when Melin tries to get it back in the box, it transforms into a little light and escapes from the chamber. Merlin races after it, and finds that it’s made a HUGE mess of Arthur’s rooms. Arthur comes along and demands an explanation and Merlin – brilliant liar he is :-/  – says he’s spring cleaning. He  sees the goblin leave and chases after it. It goes after Morgana’s jewelry but makes a quick escape out the window when Merlin comes in. As he’s trying to put the jewelry away, Gwen walks in, who doesn’t even question what Merlin is doing on the floor with Morgana’s trinkets. WTF, Gwen?

Back in Gaius’ chambers, Merlin identifies the creature as a goblin and Gauis warns him that goblins are mischievous and dangerous and desire nothing more than gold. Arthur comes in and says they need to come to the king’s chambers for an urgent and delicate matter. They come in and we see poor Uther has lost all his hair. 

Bald as bald can be. And ASH pulls it off, the bastard.

Alone again, Gaius tells Merlin it has to be an enchantment from the goblin for Uther to lose his hair like that, and when Merlin giggles over bald Uther, the physician takes him to task, reminding him what Uther would do to whoever was responsible for releasing the goblin. They work out a plan to trap the creature, using gold as a lure.

That night, Merlin swipes a chest of gold coins from Arthur’s chambers. He breaks a dish on the way out and wakes the prince. Melrin uses magic to make the bed curtains fall on Arthur, giving him a chance to escape unseen. Using a trail of gold coins to lead the Goblin into their chambers, Merlin and Gaius try to capture the creature, but it again turns into the bit of light and enters Gaius. Merlin doesn’t notice, but the older man is clearly possessed by the goblin and sends the young man on a wild goose chase after the “escaped” goblin.

The goblin, as Gaius, tears the chambers apart, looking for gold. When Merlin returns, it orders Merlin to clean up and heads out to the tavern. Which confuses Merlin. At the tavern, Goblin!Gaius arm-wrestles and wins lots of gold. And there is lip licking and it’s kinda gross. The next morning, a hungover Goblin!Gaius sends Merlin out for his breakfast. Morgana comes in asking for a sleeping draught as her bracelet has been stolen. The goblin mocks and makes fun of Morgana then tells her he sees into her cold heart and knows how she really feels about Uther. He gives her an enchanted sleeping draught and she leaves.

Goblin!Gaius goes around town, lies about the severity of peoples conditions and making up sickness to get gold out of them – Gwen included. He also manages to slap Uther around on the head as he “treats” what has caused Uther’s hair loss. 

Back in Gaius’s chambers, Merlin catches him licking coins and finally realizes it’s the goblin. 

The goblin warns him that if he tries to hurt him, he’ll only hurt Gaius.

While Arthur gives Uther a report about vandalism around the castle, suddenly the king, Morgana and Gwen all start farting – a result of the goblin’s enchanted remedies.  There is much horror and Uther dismisses everyone. When Merlin later confronts the goblin, the creature realizes that Merlin has magic. The young warlock promises to free Gaius and goes to look for Arthur.

When he finds the princes, Arthur orders the guards to arrest him. Turns out the goblin has blamed Merlin for all the things going on and shows Uther a book of magic he claims to have found in Merlin’s room. Merlin tries to tell them Gaius is possessed but without proof, no one believes him. Uther orders his execution. But, wait! Arthur isn’t quite as convinced as the others and seems to suspect something.

Later in the tavern, Goblin!Gaius has a confrontation with Sir Leon (SIR LEON! How very DARE he??) but he apologizes. Then he serves the knights drinks he put some potion into…it causes ugly boil-y things to break out all over the knights’ faces.

In his cell, Merlin magically takes the keys off a sleeping guard. He flees, and when the warning bells sound, he hides at Gwen’s. The next morning, he asks her to talk to Arthur about Gaius being possessed. She’s embarrassed and hesitant…you know because of the farting…but agrees to do it. Arthur invites Gaius to his rooms and when the old man seems happy about Merlin’s upcoming death, Arthur’s suspicions are confirmed—because Gaius would never be happy about that no matter what Merlin had done. Arthur draws his sword but the goblin knocks him out.  When Gwen comes to him, she finds that Goblin!Gaius has given Arthur donkey ears and the prince can only bray like the animal.

Merlin finds out that if the host is dying, the goblin will be forced out of its body. He goes to get the box that once contained the goblin so they can trap it again. Then he puts poison on the gold coins the goblin has hidden. The pair hides in Merlin’s room and watch as Goblin!Gaius comes in. When it licks the coins, Gwen is once again the voice of we the people, saying it’s disgusting. Yes, Gwen, yes, it is! They come out as the goblin leaves Gaius’ body. It knocks into Gwen, who was holding the antidote to the poison—which was to be administered quickly. To bottle flies into a bunch of other bottles and now she doesn’t know which bottle is the antidote. Let this be a lesson to us all – label shit clearly.

The goblin tries to possess Merlin but he managed to spit it in the box and seal it closed. Merlin and Gwen search for the antidote and eventually try the one they think is it. After a couple long moments of thinking maybe they gave him the wrong one , Gaius wakes and is back to normal.

The physician tells Uther Merlin is innocent and that he was indeed possessed and the goblin was the one who did all those things. Merlin is pardoned and Uther orders the box be sealed in the vaults (because that always works, right?). When Uther asks who let the goblin out to begin with, Gauis says he has no idea.

Later Gwen and Arthur run into each other and there is an awkward moment. They agree to never speak of what happened the last few days. As Merlin and Gaius watch Arthur train, Arthur laughs but it sounds like a donkey’s bray. Merlin says it’s just too good and he’ll leave the spell, just a little, for one more day.

If I’d written this episode, I would have changed…While this isn't my favorite episode, there isn't really anything I'd change. Well, maybe less licking on Goblin!Gaius' part. (though Richard Wilson did a bang up job as Goblin!Gaius, IMO)

Thing(s) I loved about this episode—Donkey!Arthur. Hands down. Especially when Gwen scratches his ears...fave part of the episode. 

Thing(s) I hated about this episode—No shocker here, excessive licking. 

And also, how no one realizes Gaius is not himself. Especially Gwen who is normally so intuitive about these things. 

Something I never noticed about this episode before—It wasn't until Jen pointed it out and I was rewatching again...it really does look like ASH was trying not to laugh as Gaius/Richard Wilson was smacking his head. I think the whole episode must have been a hoot for the cast to film. 

Here is proof of some head canon I’ve created—None in this episode. :( 

Favorite costume—Because it delights me. FFS, Uther, you're the KING; you couln't have found a better hat? But I never tire of seeing it. 

What would Bron steal from Camelot in this episode? Hmmm I can't think of anything...WAIT! She'd steal all the gold from Camelot so Goblin!Gaius has nothing to slobber over!

What made Jen lose her shit (in a good or bad way) in this episode? That Morgana went to Gaius for a sleeping draught. And I agree. It did seem as though she at least suspected Gaius was on to her and Merlin clearly was. So why would she go to Merlin's mentor for a potion that could easily be poisoned? It doesn't make sense. 

Bron’s Merlin Club: Goblin’s Gold Post

Jen’s Merlin Club: Goblin’s Gold Post

NOTE: We won’t be Merlin Clubbing it next week (8/4). Jen, Bron and I will be attending the Authors After Dark convention so we are taking the week off of Merlin Club. But we’ll be back the next week….AND I’ll still be at Bron’s so we get to watch together…IN PERSON! YAY!!!!

So, until the next episode – Gwaine – which we’ll be watching in TWO WEEKS on 8/11 at 8pm EST. We’ll be on Twitter with the hashtag #MerlinClub

Wednesday Randomness: What Motivates Me

Happy Wednesday! 

Today, we're talking about what motivates us. Fairly broad topic, actually, but I decided I'd talk about what motivates me as far as writing is concerned. So here we go... What motivates me to write. 

Surrrounding myself by people who are supportive and understanding. 
There's a reason I listed this one first. It's SO important. I'm incredibly lucky in who I share my life with. My husband is pretty awesome--for many reasons, not the least of which is he is so supportive when it comes to my writing and my career. I'd be in a bad, bad place without him, let me tell you. 

Friends, certainly fall under this, as well. I have some pretty amazing friends. Talking with them--whether on IM, via email or the phone, or in person--is motivating. And none of them are afraid of giving me a kick in the ass when needed (which I'm ashamed to say is all too often)

Conferences and Retreat
Conferences are so much fun. Getting to connect with readers and other authors. Seeing friends, making new ones. There is something about the energy at conferences... Even though I come home exhausted, I'm pumped up too. I'm ready to sit town and WRITE. It's awesome. 

Retreat!!! I'm talking about the fabulous retreat I take every year to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with an amazing bunch of ladies. 

A weeks spent on Lake Superior, great company lots of wine, and WRITING. This year, I wrote over 15K words while there... and we did plenty of other things as well. Being there is so motivating and I get so much done. And like with conferences, I come home just as motivated to KEEP writing. 

Accountability

Some of this is just to myself, but let's face it, when you have to answer to someone else...that's strong motivation, yeah? While writing my last book, I found sending chapters to friends--Bronwyn and Kris and Gwen--kept me honest and on track. Nothing like getting an email or IM saying, hey, where's the next chapter? :-D 

Readers
There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, like having a reader emailing or tweeting me saying they liked one of my books and/or asking when the next one comes out. That defintiely gets the fingers moving quickly over the keyboard. :) 

Rewards
Yeah, it's totally self-bribery, no doubt about it. But it works. I make deals with myself. Write for an hour or write 1K words, then I can play on Tumblr and gaze at pics like this...

Come on...THAT'S motivating, yeah? 

Or I can read (usually a filthy fanfic or something) for a half hour or so. But I set a timer so that when my time is up, I get back to writing, working towards the reward. :-D 

And that's it. That's how I'm motivated to keep plugging away and getting the words on the page. Make sure to head on over and see what motivates the other ladies. 

Bronwyn Green

Gwendolyn Cease

Jenny Trout

Kellie St. James

Kris Norris

Leigh Jones

Until next week...
Hugs, 
~J

MERLIN CLUB: The Tears of Uther Pendragon Parts 1 & 2

MERLIN CLUB: THE TEARS OF UTHER PENDRAGON PARTS 1 & 2

Or the (First) One with the Copious Amounts of Morgana Smirking

RECAP—It’s been about a year since Morgana disappeared with Morgause, and the search continues for her. Arthur, Merlin and the knights come across a field filled with the bodies of Camelot’s patrol. Merlin tries to convince Arthur not to go after the bandits responsible for their deaths but Arthur is determined.

Back in Camelot, Gaius and Uther speak, and the physician tells the king it’s been a year and perhaps the search should be called off, but Uther refuses to give up.

Back in the forest, Merlin and the others come across a camp and attacked by the bandits. There’s a short battle—during which Merlin (hold on to your pants, folks; this is going to SHOCK you) uses magic several times to save Arthur and himself. In the end they are victories, but they see a lone figure approaching. Turns out to be Morgana—who looks a bit worse for the wear and confused.

Back in Camelot again, Gaius examines Morgana and deems her unharmed. When he returns to his chambers, he speaks with a worried Merlin, who wonders if Morgana will reveal that he tried to poison her and what Uther will do to him as a result. The next morning, Gaius wakes Merlin up with a summons from Arthur, who wants Merlin to meet him in Morgana’s chambers. When he gets there, Morgana and Arthur are talking about what happened over the past year, and when the conversation ends with a hug, Morgana notices Merlin standing there. Arthur leaves, and Morgana tells Merlin she understands why he did what he did, that she would have done the same in his position. Relieved, Merlin leaves to do his work.

Morgana goes to Uther. There is swelling music, them walking dramatically toward each other and hugging. 

Uther dries his tears with Morgan's handkerchief, 

 All seems happy and lovely until Morgan walks out, a decidedly evil smirk on her face.

That night, Morgana leaves the castle, going into the woods to a cave where she meets…yeah, you guessed it…Morgause. 

Morgana assures her sister that Uther doesn’t suspect anything and gives Morgause the handkerchief, with Uther’s tears, and the sorceress throws it into a cauldron containing a thick liquid. Honestly, it looked like they were making fudge. I got an awful craving for fudge while watching this, let me tell you. Anyhoo, she also throws in a mandrake root, and a piecing scream sounds. She explains to Morgana that only those with magic can hear the mandrake’s scream. Morgause pulls out the goo-covered root and hands it to Morgana, who returns to Camelot and hides it under Uther’s bed before attending a celebration of her return.

Uther, a bit tipsy, goes out side and hears a noise in the well. When he looks down it, he sees nothing and turns away. Suddenly an arm comes out of the well and grabs him. Looking back, he sees his dead wife in the well, begging him to help her. 

He falls back, screaming, and is found, terrified, by some guards. He is taken to his room to rest at Gauis’ order. After everyone leaves, Morgana smirks at Uther. (The smirking is something that is going to be happening, A LOT. You have been warned.)

With Morgause in the cave again, Morgana says that rumors of Uther’s condition has begun to spread and asks if her sister will go to Cenred. She says she will and he will do what they want. A fresh mandrake root is made and Morgana goes back to Camelot. A guard stops and questions her. Morgana stabs him and pushes him off the battlements. She gets back to her room and hide mandrake in a chest. As she hears Gwen approach, she realizes her cloths are filthy from her journey to the forest. She throws her cloak out of the way. Gwen asks if Morgana needs anything, and she says no. Her curt tone obviously makes the other woman suspicious.

Morgause goes to Cenred, explains the situation—Uther is weak and Camelot is vulnerable—but Cenred is unsure. She assures him they have an ally within the city. When Cendred doubts the loyalty of the traitor, she tells him Morgana can be counted on. He agrees to attach Camelot.

In a meeting with the council, Uther is told of the mercenaries Cenred is hiring and the fear that the man is amassing an army. Suddenly, Uther sees a small boy, soaking wet, in the room. No one else can see him. 

The king yells at the apparition to get out and eventually has to be dragged from the room from Arthur and Leon. 

Gauis explains to Merlin that Uther killed those who practiced sorcery, including children by drowning during the Great Purge.

The warning bells sounds—the body of the guard Morgana stabbed has been found. The knife used to injure the man has the sigil of the Blood Guard—an order of warriors that protected the High Priestesses of the Old Religion. Gaius tells Arthur he fears there is a traitor in Camelot. Also, the guard is still alive and can soon name his attacker. Morgana overhears this and secretly goes to Gaius’ chambers and poisons the guard.

Merlin checks on Uther and notices some of the goo on the floor. But he’s interrupted when someone comes into the chambers. He dives under the bed and discovers the mandrake root, which is quickly snatched. He sees that it’s Morgana as she exits the room. He follows her (ah, creeper Merlin, I’ve missed you.) out of Camelot into the words. Hiding, he watches her meet Morgause.  Morgana tells her sister that everything is in place but Merlin is getting suspicious of her. Morgause says he’ll need to be dealt with, and Morgana says that will be easy to do since he followed her. Realizing his hiding is useless, Merlin stands and tries to flee but is soon caught and knocked out.

When Merlin wakes, he’s in chains in front of Morgause. 

She questions him—why would he go through so much trouble to save Arthur and Camelot? He’s just a servant. Merlin says he believes Arthur will be a fair and just king, leaving out, of course, his magic and their destiny and all that jazz. Morgause believes there more, that Merlin is hiding something. She doesn’t spend too much time trying to figure out what, though, and says he can take his secrets to his grave. She leaves, and Merlin tries to break the chains, but they are enchanted. Serkets (big ass scary scorpion things) begin to come out of the forest to surround him. He blasts them with magic, but one still manages to wound him with its stinger. He succumbs to the poison but manages to call out to Kilgharrah (DRAGONSPEAK!) before passing out. As the serkets move in, the dragon arrives and drives them away with dragon fire. He then carries Merlin to safety.

Cenred’s thousands of men begin the march towards Camelot. Morgause watches smugly. In Camelot, Gauis is begging Arthur to take control, but the prince refuses to give up hope of his father’s recovery.

Kilgharrah has taken Merlin to a cave and used magic to heal his wound and break the chains. 

Merlin wakes but is still unable to move because of the serket poison still in his system. Merlin thanks the dragon for saving him and then says he should’ve listened to Kilgharrah’s advice about Morgana. The dragon is pretty damned gracious about the whole things. He says that Merlin's desire to see good in everyone will be downfall, and now Morgana and Merlin are forever joined. She is the dark to his light, the hate to his love.

Once Merlin has recovered, he catches a ride on Kilgharrah and is dropped off close to Camelot. 

As he flies off, he tells Merlin to be careful, the battle for Camelot is about to begin. Merlin immediately tells Gauis about Morgana and Morgause’s alliance and how they are responsible for the state Uther is in. They go to the king and find Uther crying in a corner, the visions of Ygraine and several children haunting him. Merlin takes the mandrake root from beneath the bed and throws it in the fire, breaking the enchantment. The king is put to bed to rest and recover. While Merlin thinks they should tell Uther of Morgana’s involvement, Gauis says Uther would never believe their word against Morgana’s.

The next day, Merlin goes to Arthur’s chambers—which are a huge mess. Arthur is pissed about Merlin’s absence. Merlin asks if he would be excused if he was dying...

Morgana discovers the mandrake has been destroyed and that Merlin is alive. She pulls him aside and warns him that if he says anything about her and Morgause’s plan, she’ll tell Uther Merlin tried to poison her. That night, she goes to Morgause and tells her what’s happened. Morgause assures her that all is well and gives Morgana a staff carved from the rowan tree on the Isle of the Blessed, telling her sister she must play her part. Morgana says she fears her magic isn’t strong enough, but Morgause isn’t worried.

Leon reports the impending attack of Cenred’s army to Arthur, saying the army outnumbers Camelot’s forces two to one. Gaius suggests they try to negotiate with Cenred, even if it only buys them more time. Arthur orders Camelot prepare for a siege, knowing negotiations with Cenred are useless, and also orders people from outlying villages take shelter within the city.

That night, as Cenred’s army surrounds the city, Merlin helps Arthur prepare for battle. He tells Arthur he will be Camelot’s greatest kind and that the victory he will win will be remembered forever. Arthur is clearly touched.

The battle begins, and Uther ignores all advice and puts on his armor and joins the fight. He is hit with an arrow in the leg and Cenred’s men break through the barricades—causing Arthur to order a retreat into the castle. When Cenred tells Morgause the castle will be more difficult to take than the lower town, she tells him Morgana will come through for them.

Inside the castle, Gaius is tending the wounded but also keeping a close eye on Morgana. She leaves and takes the staff Morgause gave her down into the crypts below the castle. She drives it into the stone floor and the resulting blast of magic is felt by both Merlin and Morgause—it looks like Merlin is bitchslapped while Morgause seems to have a magical orgasm as a result. Dozens of skeletal hands burst from the crypts, and suddenly Camelot’s forces are fighting two fronts—Cenred’s army on one side and the dead on the other. The problem with the dead army? The knights can’t kill what is already dead.

Merlin races down to confront Morgana. He begs her to stop, but she says she has no intention of showing Uther mercy; as he has hunted down anyone like her. Merlin doesn’t reveal his magic but says there must be another way and that magic could surely be used for good. Morgana doesn’t listen and they fight—with swords—until Merlin secretly uses his magic to cause part of the ceiling to collapse and Morgana is knocked out. He then magically destroys the staff and the army of the dead collapses.

As he sees the battle begin to turn in Camelot’s favor, Cenred orders his army to retreat, despite Morgause saying he’s failed her.

After the battle, Merlin tries to tell Arthur what has happened, but Morgana is too quick… She has taken all the credit for destroying the staff and stopping the undead army. Uther praises her and vows that the war against magic will be more vigilant. All the while Morgana and Merlin are glaring at each other quite intensely.

In Gaius’ chambers, Merlin complains that Uther doesn’t see who Morgana really si. Gauis says that Morgana will try to destroy Uther and Camelot again and warns Merlin to be careful when it comes to her. Merlin claims he feels nothing but sadness for her, that she is so twisted by hate now. The older man asks that Merlin never become like her, and Merlin says he never will. Then, Arthur bursts in, demanding Merlin for chores. So yeah, back to normal and that is the end of the episode(s).

If I’d written this episode, I would have changed… I would say I wish Merlin told Morgana about his magic, but honestly, it's too late for that, yeah? That should have happened before. Specific to this episode, I can't think of anything. :( 

Thing(s) I loved about this episode—A lot of things... there we some great moments between Arthur and Merlin. Particularly the scene when Merlin tells Arthur he is going to be Camelot's greatest king. 

DRAGONSPEAK. 

And a big one? Arthur being right in the battle. I mean, Cenred is off watching from a distance; Arthur is there with his men fighting. Love that. I guess he learned something really awesome from Uther after all. :) 

Thing(s) I hated about this episode—Constant smirking and no one notices. Seriously? It's maddening. 

Something I never noticed about this episode before—Arthur wears his mom's ring. 

Here is proof of some head canon I’ve created—The difference in Morgana is so great, I'm even more convinced Morgause mandraked her ass. The desire for revenge against Uther being so strong that it doesn't matter if hundreds or thousands of innocent people die...that does not fit the Morgana we know. The one who risked everything to save a boy, the one who went to Ealdor and fought for villagers she didn't know. It's too big of a turnaround, IMO, for it just to be she's pissed off at Uther. SOMETHING was done to her. 

Favorite costume—Morgana's outfit during the battle. I had a helluva time find an image. But here's a collage of images of her and Merlin fighting... Her outfit is kick ass. 

What would Bron steal from Camelot in this episode? The rowan staff. (Sorry for horrible pic)

What made Jen lose her shit (in a good or bad way) in this episode? In a good way? Uther in armor and fighting in the battle. 

I think she may have swooned. 

Bron's Merlin Club: The Tears of Uther Pendragon Parts 1 & 2 Post

Jen's Merlin Club: The Tears of Uther Pendragon Parts 1 & 2 Post

Next week, 7/28 at 8pm EST, we’ll be watching S03E03 Goblin’s Gold. We’ll be on Twitter with the hashtag #MerlinClub