The final episode of season 4 was very emotional, with Arthur finally getting back Camelot from Morgana and marrying Gwen. It also featured an interesting turn on the story of the sword Excalibur, which in traditional Arthurian legends is pulled by teenage Arthur before his reign begins, here it is used by Merlin to restore Arthur's faith in himself which he lost after Morgana captured Camelot. He makes up the legend about the sword in the stone so that Arthur can feel more self-confident (as we know from earlier episodes, Merlin himself placed the sword in the stone after the dragon told him to hide it), yet it would not be possible for Arthur to take the sword out of the stone had Merlin not wiggled it out of there with his magic.
Merlin does a lot of magic in this episode, some very powerful magic, as when he finally uses the dragon as a weapon, summoning him to burn Agravaine's people with dragonfire. Maybe the dragon could have been used in this way before to prevent other attacks on Camelot by Morgana? Merlin finally sees sense how to use the dragon in combat. Later on, his confrontation with Agravaine is breathtaking, Merlin firmly stands his ground and it is clear that you do not mess with angry Merlin who is defending Arthur. The scene with Arthur looking for Merlin and finally calling Merlin his friend is rather moving, and it is clear that Arthur means it even though he tries to make it a joke a moment later.
The conversation in which Arthur rejects Gwen and tells her that the kiss and hug from the previous episode means nothing to him seemed a bit out of the character for Arthur, especially as we know that he does love Gwen. It takes Isolde's death to make him finally understand how much he cares for Gwen. Gwen's coronation was one of the most moving scenes in the episode, another one was Isolde's death, I never thought I would be crying because of a character who was so short on the show but it was truly touching how she sacrificed herself to save Arthur's life even though she knew him only for a couple of days. Her death was very sad but necessary for Arthur to discover what it means to lose someone you love and that he should not push his feelings for Gwen away, as he would be as devastated as Tristan was, had something happened to Guinevere. I wonder what happens to Tristan now, would he become one of the Knights of the Round Table as it is the case in the Arthurian legends? It is a pity Isolde will not be in the show anymore but maybe Tristan will become a fixture?
Seriously wounded Morgana escapes from Camelot without any allies or supporters, yet she is saved by the white dragon which Merlin had rescued. It is quite ironic that the cute little dragon that owes his life to Merlin helps Morgana, as without this dragon she would have probably died. So in this way Merlin indirectly made it possible for her to survive and probably cause Arthur and Camelot further trouble.
Shout by sarahBlockedParentSpoilers2020-09-20T20:02:58Z
The season started with Arthur saving Camelot, and it ends the same. Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone is probably one of my favorite moments of the show so far. Again, the fact that Gwen doesn’t know Merlin has magic and Morgana doesn’t know he’s Emerys is absolutely killing me, but I guess patience is a virtue. Very excited, and sad, for the last season.