The episode was defintely emotional as the show draws to a close and we know that these are the last days of Arthur. Good that he finally appreciates Merlin for his courage, better late than never, even though in the next line he accuses him of cowardice of leaving him just now before the battle. But Merlin is only taking the Paths of the Dead (I could not resist from a Tolkien reference, which is particularly pervasive in an episode about the battle between good and evil). It is hard not to think about how happy Gimli son of Gloin would have been in the Crystal Cave. There are Tolkien references everywhere, even in the clothing of Morgana's army which resembles the dress code of the orcs and Easterlings. Before the main attack, an outpost falls to the enemy just like Osgiliath next to Minas Tirith in LotR.
Mordred is a sort of Grima Wormtongue to Morgana's Saruman, especially as he does have his doubts about joining her at the beginning of the episode when Morgana tries out the magic-eating slug on one of her followers (a bit like Grima crying when he sees the enormous army Saruman sends against Rohan). Though on the whole, Mordred seems to enjoy working together with Morgana, particularly as he is the one to get the magic sword forged in dragon's fire. He is definitely her right-hand man and the most important person in her army. They look really impressive when they make magic together. It may be that Morgana has something akin to a genuine affection for Mordred, though it may be that she uses him as a very effective tool which would be thrown away when he outlives his usefulness.
We got two pep talks: Balinor to Merlin making him believe in himself and his magic, and Arthur to his knights at Camlann. Sorry Arthur but as pep talks before a battle go, nothing beats Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate. Arthur is trying hard to say the speech and motivate his people, but it is clear that he is afraid of the outcome of the battle. Good that he has Gwen with him to console him and strengthen his spirit and self-confidence, as Gwen also has her own pep talk to Arthur before they go to bed. I really hope that Gwen would be with child as it would allow her to continue the Pendragon dynasty and strengthen her claim to the throne which would be tenuous as she was raised to royalty by the marriage to Arthur. If Morgana survives the battle, her claim to Camelot may be stronger than that of Guinevere, unless Gwen carries Arthur's child. It will give her right to rule that would not be easily undermined.
The scene with Morgana imprisoning Merlin in the cave is a callback to the story of Merlin from Arthurian legends, in which he is defeated in this way by Nimue, after she learns everything she wanted of his magic and has enough of his amorous advances. In the legends Merlin never leaves the cave and probably dies there, and the whole story happens long time before Camlann, but the time of which Merlin has already been dead for quite some time, so he can have no influence on the battle whatsoever. In the show, Merlin survives to the very end, as he is both the main protagonist and the point-of-view character.
Review by ladysherlockianBlockedParentSpoilers2020-09-20T12:08:43Z
The episode was defintely emotional as the show draws to a close and we know that these are the last days of Arthur. Good that he finally appreciates Merlin for his courage, better late than never, even though in the next line he accuses him of cowardice of leaving him just now before the battle. But Merlin is only taking the Paths of the Dead (I could not resist from a Tolkien reference, which is particularly pervasive in an episode about the battle between good and evil). It is hard not to think about how happy Gimli son of Gloin would have been in the Crystal Cave. There are Tolkien references everywhere, even in the clothing of Morgana's army which resembles the dress code of the orcs and Easterlings. Before the main attack, an outpost falls to the enemy just like Osgiliath next to Minas Tirith in LotR.
Mordred is a sort of Grima Wormtongue to Morgana's Saruman, especially as he does have his doubts about joining her at the beginning of the episode when Morgana tries out the magic-eating slug on one of her followers (a bit like Grima crying when he sees the enormous army Saruman sends against Rohan). Though on the whole, Mordred seems to enjoy working together with Morgana, particularly as he is the one to get the magic sword forged in dragon's fire. He is definitely her right-hand man and the most important person in her army. They look really impressive when they make magic together. It may be that Morgana has something akin to a genuine affection for Mordred, though it may be that she uses him as a very effective tool which would be thrown away when he outlives his usefulness.
We got two pep talks: Balinor to Merlin making him believe in himself and his magic, and Arthur to his knights at Camlann. Sorry Arthur but as pep talks before a battle go, nothing beats Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate. Arthur is trying hard to say the speech and motivate his people, but it is clear that he is afraid of the outcome of the battle. Good that he has Gwen with him to console him and strengthen his spirit and self-confidence, as Gwen also has her own pep talk to Arthur before they go to bed. I really hope that Gwen would be with child as it would allow her to continue the Pendragon dynasty and strengthen her claim to the throne which would be tenuous as she was raised to royalty by the marriage to Arthur. If Morgana survives the battle, her claim to Camelot may be stronger than that of Guinevere, unless Gwen carries Arthur's child. It will give her right to rule that would not be easily undermined.
The scene with Morgana imprisoning Merlin in the cave is a callback to the story of Merlin from Arthurian legends, in which he is defeated in this way by Nimue, after she learns everything she wanted of his magic and has enough of his amorous advances. In the legends Merlin never leaves the cave and probably dies there, and the whole story happens long time before Camlann, but the time of which Merlin has already been dead for quite some time, so he can have no influence on the battle whatsoever. In the show, Merlin survives to the very end, as he is both the main protagonist and the point-of-view character.