Arthur (Bradley James) and Merlin (Colin Morgan) are being pursued by bandits in the forest, in a scene reminiscent of the BBC's other successful drama, Robin Hood, as fans of this will recall.
Arthur tells Merlin they'll outrun them before asking why Merlin never trusts him. Of course they don't outrun them and Arthur leads Merlin into a cave, and tells him he should trust him and that's coming from a future king.
It's actually called The Valley of the Fallen Kings. Merlin tells him it's cursed but Arthur says it's only a myth. They'll be safe from the bandits and Merlin should, "trust me." Arthur is shot in the back by an arrow, as expected whenever he says to trust him, that's when things go awry.
Merlin sees no possible way out for them and attempts to provide comfort to Arthur. He believes Arthur is dying. In this time of need he is forsaken by his magic, the one thing he could rely on. Merlin wishes Arthur would wake. Merlin cries for Arthur.
He is then approached by an old man, named Taliesm (Karl Johnson), who tells Merlin not to waste his tears on Arthur, as his time has not yet come. He knows who Merlin is and their meeting has been predestined, calling him by his name, Emris. Their meeting has been written about for years. Taliesm cures Arthur of his wound and saves his life. Finally taking Merlin to a Crystal cave. Merlin refuses to look into the cave; at the visions he is shown. The future is apparent to him and Taliesm tells him there's a reason why he's here now, because of "secrets and futures not yet born" and they only show him secrets which are unique to Merlin himself. He has to use these visions for good.
Merlin sees Morgana (Katie McGrath) with a dagger, dripping blood, a horse neighing, Morgana cloaked, stabbing Uther, Merlin screaming out. This sets Merlin on a path where he believes he has to change the future and ensure these visions do not manifest themselves in reality.
With Arthur now conscious and recovered, he doesn't feel the wound in his back, Merlin comments that Arthur doesn't look like a toad and may magically transform into a handsome prince. In their usual jokey banter. Arthur tells Merlin he gives the orders and wonders what Merlin is hiding as he isn't his usual self. He compliments Merlin on doing an excellent job with the bandits and gives him some credit in front of Uther.
As fate would have it, it's Morgana's birthday. Gaius (Richard Wilson) tells Merlin he's lucky to have seen the cave as it has been mentioned by wizards in the past. He also informs Merlin that Taliesm died over 300 years ago. He was a seer to the old kings and the cave formed a part of his prophecies; stressing the urgency of Merlin's visions. Gaius tries to explain it doesn't mean the events will happen now, if at all. I said that even the name Taliesm is similar to "talisman."
There are more scenes in Arthur's bed chamber: he's getting a dagger for Morgana's gift. Not exactly a gift for a lady, but then some would say she's far from a lady. (There's a joke here between critics, that Arthur and Merlin have more than a prince/servant relationship and even more than a friendship as they are always in Arthur's chamber and Arthur is usually shirtless!)
Merlin spies Morgana with the horse as in his vision and believes the future he foresaw has begun, but Gaius still doesn't believe this signifies any impending doom. Arthur shows Merlin Morgana's gift, which turns out to be nothing more than an ugly looking dagger. But Merlin doesn't keep his mouth shut and has to tell Arthur that he should get her jewelry instead!
At the feast, Arthur now presents Morgana with a bejewelled dagger, as ornate as the one in Merlin's vision.
Merlin now takes the first shift outside Morgana's chamber spying her every move, believing his visions were shown to him for a reason. Morgana is given a mirror for her birthday and as she breathes on it, a message is revealed from Morgause, asking her to meet in the woods.
Merlin mistakenly believes Morgana is on her way to kill Uther (Anthony Head) and tries to stop her with a magic spell, this backfires on Merlin and Morgana falls down the stairs. Morgana is having problems breathing and the bleeding in her head needs to be stopped. She suffers from a broken cranium. Merlin needed to prevent the future but he had no intention of hurting her.
Later, Merlin finds Arthur comforting Gwen (Angel Coulby) and feels guilty. Arthur tells Merlin that he holds Morgana to be a sister to him and just as Arthur utters this comment, you know there's got to be something more to it. Uther pleads for Gaius to use magic to cure Morgana. He must "cure her, I don't care what remedy you use." Referring to the old religion and sorcery. Signifying the hypocrisy within the king. Now that he needs her to be saved magic can be resorted to, but he's killed many for doing exactly that which is outlawed, i.e. using magic!
Uther reveals that Morgana is really his daughter. So there it is, as soon as Arthur mentions the "sister" word, it's revealed that she is his sister. The common people mustn't know who she is or there will be uproar. Obviously Morgana could hear him when he said this, even though she was unconscious. Thus setting in motion a new theme to the show: now Morgana will not only strife to kill Uther, but also to remove Arthur form the throne and to have it for herself and Morgause (Emilia Fox), or "Mongoose" as we prefer to call her.
This explains why Morgana could do no wrong in Uther's eyes, but what about the episode when he locked her up and almost had her killed. Uther comments that Merlin is like a son to Gaius and he'll do anything to see children happy and not suffer.
Merlin, unable to bear the pain of everyone's suffering, summons the Dragon to cure her. Poor dragon, even when he's been freed, he still can't be left alone to enjoy his freedom, with Merlin using blackmail on him, that he is the Dragon Lord and must be obeyed. Even to the point of ignoring his warning that Morgana should not be saved, that "the witch must die." The Dragon, knowing all along that Morgana was Uther's daughter.
The Dragon tells him that whatever evil follows will be a result of Merlin's doing. Merlin saves Morgana leaving Uther to believe that Gaius came through with a magic remedy. Merlin admits he had to save her, as watching their suffering was too much and Gaius warns Merlin he's playing with things that are beyond him and he has no control over.
Morgana urges Uther to admit she is his daughter, but he doesn't and he tells her feelings are more important than what people know. Margeuse kills a servant boy to gain entry to the castle and she tells Morgana she now has a legitimate claim to the throne, whereas Morgana can only seek revenge for all of Uther's lies.
Gaius says Morgana knows the truth and so Arthur must be careful: she's of Royal blood, if Uther died, then Arthur is the only one standing between her and the throne.
Why did Morgause have to kill the servant anyway, alerting everyone to the presence of an intruder? So that Merlin's visions can be fulfilled, as the vision of the blood dripping from a hand now comes true. Merlin attempts to stop Morgana from killing Arthur, but she throws him against the wall, starting a fire in her chamber. This is the real vision Merlin saw, the one where she stands over Uther, not the one when he saw her leaving before. Merlin uses magic to break the window in Uther's chamber, causing Uther to wake up. Morgana can only say she was afraid of the intruder and kicks the dagger under the bed.
Merlin is convinced he caused the future to occur: he didn't stop it.
An episode that shows Merlin's infallibility, that he can't do things because they seem right for him, that he can't save everybody and still be able to use his powers for good. That evil will prevail no matter how hard he tries to make the right choice. Sometimes there isn't a right decision to be made.
Also showing how Merlin, the boy, must now become Merlin the man.
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