Merlin (TV Series) Review

Broadcast on the BBC from 2008 to 2012 and created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy, Merlin, written by Julian Jones, is based on the story of King Arthur before he was king. The show is set during the reign of Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, in a time where the use of all magic is banned under punishment of death, and Merlin, a young wizard whose destiny is to protect Arthur is sent to Camelot by his mother to stay with Gaius, the court physician, and work as Arthur’s manservant. Due to the harsh laws put in place by Uther, Merlin’s magical abilities must remain a secret, even from Arthur, who proves a loyal subordinate to his father, the only person in Camelot who knows about Merlin’s power is Gaius. While tending to Arthur’s every need (no, nothing sexual, this isn’t Game of Thrones) and helping Gaius tend to the sick, Merlin must use his powers to protect Arthur and ensure the safety of Camelot, but he must use them discreetly, and with each episode comes a new threat. Oh and there’s also a talking dragon voiced by John Hurt.

Colin Morgan as Merlin
The creators of the series wanted to show a ‘’Camelot that existed before its golden years’’, and if you’re familiar with the story (which I actually wasn't if you can believe that, I did however watch Excalibur in preparation for this review) it’s a new interesting take on it. The main differences are that 1. Merlin didn't raise Arthur and prior to this he never knew Uther at all, the storyline with Merlin raising Arthur doesn't happen in the show, they’re the same age here, and 2. Arthur is already next in line for the throne, he’s already royalty, to become king he just needs to outlive his father, they changed the whole sword from the stone aspect to it and I thought it worked perfectly! After watching them both, I consider the show a far superior interpretation of the story, I enjoyed it a lot more than the film and I thought their portrayal of Arthur specifically was much better, my fiancé tells me that I watched them the wrong way around, which is probably true but we’d already begun the show before this idea was posed to me, so it was too late!

Bradley James as Arthur Pendragon
This is a very light hearted show, there’s a warm feeling throughout it with each episode usually ending with Merlin and Gaius chuckling to each other after having saved the day, there’s no real darkness here, and that’s not a criticism, I loved the show! They captured a cosy feeling and throughout the series you’ll become more and more comfortable in the environment, from the chambers of the castle and the streets of Camelot to the forests surrounding the kingdom, it all feels very homely. The show was filmed mainly in Wales and France and the direction was perfect, you believe in this magical world and you believe in these characters! They set a very clear tone from the beginning what sort of show this is, and they’re consistent with it throughout the series, like I said, it’s light hearted, it’s an easy watch and it can be appreciated by young and old alike. It’s also an extremely funny show; there are moments that are absolutely hilarious in Merlin, tears in your eyes funny! The writing is fantastic, although it does contain dialogue such as, ‘’when he who kills a unicorn proves himself to be pure of heart, the unicorn will live again’’.

Richard Wilson as Gaius
There are many inconsistencies in the world of Merlin, only little things, but you’ll ask yourself questions such as, why would they do that? Why would that work here and not there? Does that matter then? Why wouldn't he believe him at this point? Just little things, but still oversights, there’s also a heavy reliance on ex machina, but honestly, it really doesn't matter, it doesn't take anything away from the show, and with Merlin’s tone being so, fluffy, if you will, it doesn't detract from the story or the characters. This is a magical fantasy world filled with fun and adventure and I really enjoyed it, is it a masterpiece, no, but it’s not trying to be, Merlin is like the Disney Game of Thrones. My only real complaints with the show are as follows, the lack of character development with Morgana, the introduction of Arthur’s uncle Agravain, played by Nathanial Parker, and the ending, that’s pretty much it, I will go into more detail about all this in my spoiler review.

 Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
Colin Morgan was born to play Merlin, his performance as the selfless young warlock was fantastic! Bradley James was also fantastic as Arthur, the playfully arrogant but loyal and righteous young prince; he was perfect for the role, and the relationship between Arthur and Merlin is the very heart of the show! I enjoyed both of their portrayals, and I loved the dynamic between them, without this, the quality of the show would decline significantly. I also loved Richard Wilson as Gaius, his relationship with Merlin is also very important to the show and they too share a comedic dynamic, although Gaius can be a bit too Scully-esque in his constant questioning of and doubt in Merlin’s concerns, which nine times out of ten, maybe even ten times out of ten are always right! I'm a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, so right away I loved seeing Anthony Head and he was great as Uther Pendragon, the tyrannical king, and although he often plays the antagonist to Merlin’s destiny, he’s still a lovable character with many conflicted moments.

Angel Coulby as Guinevere
Other memorable characters come in the form of Guinevere, played by Angel Coulby, a serving maid and Arthur’s forbidden true love, although honestly the chemistry between them is somewhat lacking the emotional depth you’d expect to be there, it works for the show though and I liked her character a lot, sweet, innocent, kind of boring. Katie McGrath as Morgana was okay I suppose, although as the show progressed I thought she became interminable, I’ll address this in more depth in my spoiler review. Both Asa Butterfield and Alexander Vlahos did a great job at portraying Mordred. Then there’s Rupert Young as Sir Leon, Eoin Macken as Sir Gwaine, Tomiwa Edun as Sir Elyan, Tom Hopper as Sir Percival and Santiago Cabrera as Sir Lancelot, and they were all good too, nothing spectacular, but no real complaints either, I thought everyone was cast well and they did a great job at portraying their respective characters! For any Game of Thrones fans out there, you’ll see appearances from Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), John Bradley (Samwell Tarley) and Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), just FYI.

Katie McGrath as Morgana
I've never bought into the idea of talking dragons, it just seems silly to me, but it works here, the dragon feels like a character too and John Hurt had the perfect voice for it. The CGI feels slightly dated but again, it works! I really enjoyed Merlin, I had a great time watching it and I laughed a lot, more than I expected! There’s great banter between Merlin and Arthur and lots of comedic moments involving all of the characters throughout the series, it’s a great watch and an easy watch as well, this is one for the whole family folks, a great British effort and an all-round well put together show with many enjoyable elements for everyone. If you’re looking for blood, sex and violence, look elsewhere, if you just want a magical adventure, Merlin is definitely worth your time, I loved it! But again, like I said up there, Merlin isn't trying to be some sort of profound masterpiece; it’s just a fun ride with some lovable characters, and now that it’s over, I'm going to miss it. If you haven’t seen Merlin yet, I definitely recommend it, and if you have, you can read my spoiler review here, anyway, thanks for reading, I'm off down the tavern.

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