5x01 Arthur's Bane (1)

The first episode of the last season has a lot of Tolkien vibes, not only the iconic scene of Arthur and Merlin hiding from Morgana just like the hobbits hide from the Nazgul. The old fortress of Dol Guldur, or rather Ismere, has been reoccupied by a sorceress who captures the knights of Camelot to use them in a "down down to goblin town" digging expedition. I only hope they would not dig too deep and find a Balrog ;) And then there is the scene with the coneys - though inverted in this case since they coneys are never cooked in a stew, though just like Sam's cooking the coneys led Faramir's men to Sam and Frodo, the coneys resulted in Arthur and Merlin being captured by Morgana's men. Though they are likely screwed since Morgana is their enemy unlike Faramir to Sam and Frodo. Morgana's ice castle brings not only the witch Jadis from Narnia to mind, but also some Game of thrones episodes set in the North behind the Wall. So many fantasy references :)

Merlin is really depressed after seeing the vision of the battle of Camlann and he starts doubting his abilities to stop the events shown in the prophecy and the dragon does not help him either. Merlin is getting obsessed with discovering what is the Arthur's bane the seer mentioned, though when Mordred appears in thee last scene, the man from the vision, Merlin realises the bane may not be something as rather someone. Mordred saves both Merlin and Arthur's lives, though I do not think in good will, since he intends to take them to Morgana. She managed to gain new, strong allies again, such as Sefa's dad Ruedan (great role by Liam Cunningham, though I must confess I found it very hard to dislike him because of having seen his role as the loyal and wise Davos from Game of Thrones before watching Merlin). He seems to be fighting for the druid liberation front and that is why he is on the side of Morgana. He seems to love his daughter and care for her well-being, though at the same time he puts her in danger by making her a spy in Camelot. Sefa is a false traitress but it is also hard to dislike her, as she acts out of love for her father and is genuinely nice to Merlin and Gwen.

Gwen is great in her new role of the queen and turns out to be politically savvy as she gives Arthur valuable advice. When Sefa's treason is discovered, Gwen shows herself to be decisive, indomitable and a bit merciless as she sentences the girl to death without blinking an eye. However, the punishment for high treason, which is Sefa's crime, is death as it was the case in medieval times on which "Merlin" and most fantasy shows are based, so she really had no alternative. And what is more, Sefa's actions endangered Gwen's beloved Arthur, so this fact cannot make her more forgiving towards the maid.

Arthur's loyalty to his captured knights might have been commendable had he not been terribly stupid in trying to free them without any army, only with Merlin. The best thing that may happen to them both is to join Morgana's slaves in the mine. His actions are terrible idea strategically which Merlin points out many times. In such a configuration, Arthur and Merlin have no chance to rescue the knights, rather they would need to be rescued (maybe Gwen would lead a rescue expedition?) Anyway, I do not really understand why Merlin had not used his magic to free himself and Arthur from the net? And why Morgana's minions waited so long before capturing them?

I did not like the alien guy who revived Gawaine in the mine. It looks like an archetypal UFO creature, which certainly does not fit the fantasy atmosphere of "Merlin." Though of course it is great that Gawaine is alive :)