The last episode is not very exciting and it is not the best one in the series. Some storylines are closed while others open, as perhaps the showrunners had not known the show would be cancelled as they shot this season.
Arthur defends Bardon Pass on his own (I somehow missed the moment Leontes also left in the previous episode), inventing all kinds of clever traps for the attackers, he even manages to capture one of them and tortures him until he confesses that it was all on Morgana's orders. When the reinforcements come, he does not stand a chance, but Leontes appears out of the blue, saying he swore an oath to the king. A moment later, other knights appear, including Kay who had been recently wounded, and together they achieve victory, however Leontes is killed by a treacherous arrow from Morgana's champion. He actually takes the arrrow aimed at Arthur and sacrifices himself even though it was Arthur who seduced his wife. His death is quite a sad and a bit moving moment.
Morgana is very succesful from the very beginning, as she had already overtaken Camelot and begins to establish her rule there. She is sure that Arthur is dead when one of her man delivers her his sword, but little does she know that it is only the weapon which had been captured. She once again shows herself to be a clever and cunning politician, when she feigns that she is not interested in being the queen because she mourns her brother, and only when the people, under the nun's instigation, declare that they want her to be their ruler, she "graciously consents." She cruelly murders Igraine whom she had hated all her life, stabbing her so that she would bleed out slowly. She is almost crowned when Arthur with his knights return from Bardon Pass and naturally interrupt this coronation. The sword and crown is quickly restored to Arthur, it seems that the men and fighters that Morgana gathered do nothing in her defence. It seemed a bit too easy for me, I suspected there might be a fight between Morgana's men and those loyal to Arthur, or that Morgana would use her magic to keep what she had been fighting for, but she submitted rather quickly. The nun takes the blame for hiigh treason and usurping the throne when Arthur confronts Morgana with the man whom he captured, and she is executed, Morgana does not try to save her. Though she might have some attachement to the nun, as she lies on her grave crying (though mostly it was because she had lost the person who planned all her political moves). The episode ends with Morgana taking Guinevere's body so that she can sleep with Arthur and so the series' finale is the conception of Mordred, surely the showrunners hoped for more seasons. I wonder what happened with the real Guinevere, though. Is she imprisoned in some dungeon?
Merlin has little to do in the episode as he spends most of it in stocks or tied up, when he is released though, he finds Igraine and tries to save her life with his magic. She urges him to help Arthur and not sacrifice himself to save her life, and dies in Merlin's arms. It is quite a moving scene. Though I do not think Merlin could have done anything with magic that would heal Igraine's wounds anyway. It is strange that on the next day he announces to Arthur that he is leaving Camelot. He promises Arthur greatness which of course will never come in the show ;)
There is another interesting Arthurian allusion in the last episode, as the knights are building the Round Table out of some planks and they use the ones which served as a bier to carry Leontes' body to Camelot. These planks form the part of the Table which has to serve as a kind of Siege Perilous as they say that only a true and loyal man as Leontes may sit here. The scene is quite impressive and memorable.
Review by ladysherlockianBlockedParentSpoilers2020-10-06T17:11:28Z
The last episode is not very exciting and it is not the best one in the series. Some storylines are closed while others open, as perhaps the showrunners had not known the show would be cancelled as they shot this season.
Arthur defends Bardon Pass on his own (I somehow missed the moment Leontes also left in the previous episode), inventing all kinds of clever traps for the attackers, he even manages to capture one of them and tortures him until he confesses that it was all on Morgana's orders. When the reinforcements come, he does not stand a chance, but Leontes appears out of the blue, saying he swore an oath to the king. A moment later, other knights appear, including Kay who had been recently wounded, and together they achieve victory, however Leontes is killed by a treacherous arrow from Morgana's champion. He actually takes the arrrow aimed at Arthur and sacrifices himself even though it was Arthur who seduced his wife. His death is quite a sad and a bit moving moment.
Morgana is very succesful from the very beginning, as she had already overtaken Camelot and begins to establish her rule there. She is sure that Arthur is dead when one of her man delivers her his sword, but little does she know that it is only the weapon which had been captured. She once again shows herself to be a clever and cunning politician, when she feigns that she is not interested in being the queen because she mourns her brother, and only when the people, under the nun's instigation, declare that they want her to be their ruler, she "graciously consents." She cruelly murders Igraine whom she had hated all her life, stabbing her so that she would bleed out slowly. She is almost crowned when Arthur with his knights return from Bardon Pass and naturally interrupt this coronation. The sword and crown is quickly restored to Arthur, it seems that the men and fighters that Morgana gathered do nothing in her defence. It seemed a bit too easy for me, I suspected there might be a fight between Morgana's men and those loyal to Arthur, or that Morgana would use her magic to keep what she had been fighting for, but she submitted rather quickly. The nun takes the blame for hiigh treason and usurping the throne when Arthur confronts Morgana with the man whom he captured, and she is executed, Morgana does not try to save her. Though she might have some attachement to the nun, as she lies on her grave crying (though mostly it was because she had lost the person who planned all her political moves). The episode ends with Morgana taking Guinevere's body so that she can sleep with Arthur and so the series' finale is the conception of Mordred, surely the showrunners hoped for more seasons. I wonder what happened with the real Guinevere, though. Is she imprisoned in some dungeon?
Merlin has little to do in the episode as he spends most of it in stocks or tied up, when he is released though, he finds Igraine and tries to save her life with his magic. She urges him to help Arthur and not sacrifice himself to save her life, and dies in Merlin's arms. It is quite a moving scene. Though I do not think Merlin could have done anything with magic that would heal Igraine's wounds anyway. It is strange that on the next day he announces to Arthur that he is leaving Camelot. He promises Arthur greatness which of course will never come in the show ;)
There is another interesting Arthurian allusion in the last episode, as the knights are building the Round Table out of some planks and they use the ones which served as a bier to carry Leontes' body to Camelot. These planks form the part of the Table which has to serve as a kind of Siege Perilous as they say that only a true and loyal man as Leontes may sit here. The scene is quite impressive and memorable.