Apart from one bonding scene between Merlin and Gwaine when they both talk of their dead fathers, there was little to no drama.

The plot seemed like a redraft of a previous episode. Uther has him seized and immediately wants to see him executed until Gaius conveniently reveals Sir Oswald and Sir Ethan are, of course, imposters! But Uther is stubborn, refusing to rescind his former ruling and Gwaine is still banished.Ī number of things about this episode bothered me. The rather dull event happens and, after all but Arthur is left standing and at the mercy of Dagr, another knight materialises and saves him (again). It transpires that only blunt swords can be used during the tournament, but Dagr’s swords are razor sharp, so Merlin must find a way (cue magic) to prevent them from skewering Arthur. Of course, Uther is unconvinced of Gwaine’s innocence and banishes him from Camelot (when will Uther ever learn?), but warns him, should he ever return, he will pay with his life. They nearly kill him before Gwaine intervenes and rescues the boy, and is shackled when Sir Oswald demands an audience with the king. Pretty soon they are subjecting Merlin to horrific servitude and humiliating him, when he discovers their secrets.

(Honestly, this episode looked and felt so much like last year’s The Once And Future Queen that I was nearly convinced I was watching a repeat.) Gwaine’s arrival coincides with a Knights’ Tournament, and Dagr and one of his goons also arrive to exact revenge on Arthur by murdering two other knights and taking on the form (with a little help from some magic crystals) of Sir Oswald and Sir Ethan. Gwaine is somewhat angered when he later discovers that he saved a knight and refuses to meet Uther, telling Merlin, “Once you’ve met one king, you’ve met them all.”

Merlin season 3 episode 4 full episode