Good Things Come To Those Who Wait: Merlin

A month ago, I found myself falling prey to a condition I castigate other for, because it often leads to the cancellation of a worthwhile production: judging a show based on its first handful of episodes. Sometimes, I forget that most shows need at least a season to find their legs.

In this case, the show in question is Merlin, an interesting take on the Camelot legend that has actually claimed the distinction of adding something new to the story. It's set before Uther Pendragon's death, with him on the throne and Arthur as crown prince, and young peasant Merlin as Arthur's servant and friend. An orphan, Merlin has been raised and educated by a now-elderly man named Gaius, who serves as court physician and is doing his best to tutor Merlin as the boy begins to manifest his magical powers. In an intriguing reversal of the "religion persecuting science" chestnut, Uther outlawed the use of magic early in his reign when the dangers of any random peasant possessing and using virtually unlimited power became clear. The practice of magic is a capital crime, but the series doesn't present Uther as a hotheaded villain who carelessly persecutes people "just born that way", for which I thank the writers - Merlin could so easily have been a cheap gay lobby allegory. Thankfully, it's more profound than that, giving Uther's decision a logic that's hard to accuse of being irrational or cruel.

By far the most interesting thing about this series is how it contrasts Uther and Arthur, and by doing so foreshadows the latter's doom. Where Uther is willing to make hard decisions for the greater good, Arthur makes his choices with all the passion, folly, and utter lack of regard for the future that one would expect from a teenage boy. Whether the series will have Arthur die young, never flinching from these decisions, or live to middle-age to witness the fullness of the destruction they'll cause, it'll be an interesting journey. Especially interesting is Arthur's definition of responsibility, as demonstrated in last week's episode when he berated Uther for not curtailing someone else's decision. One of the court knights, conducting his knightly duty, accepted a certain-death challenge thrown down to Uther, and Arthur regarded it as Uther's responsibility to overrule the knight's decision - and violate his dignity, and adherence to the Knight's code - and forbid him to fight. The rest of that episode made this scenario even more intriguing. Uther, with his years of experience, is a steady character who makes understandable decisions for the greater good; Arthur is an overemotional, textbook case of living in the moment.

Decision-making is at the heart of this series; an unexpected and engaging quality for a show whose main plot revolves around the persecution of people for possessing something they cannot choose to possess. Every episode to date deals with the choices people make when they convince themselves that they have no such freedom in order to justify actions that are typically dangerous or foolhardy. On top of that, the primary focus is on the choices parents make raising their children, and the choices their children make in response. If one were to make a drinking game for Merlin - and, as Canada's a year behind on airing this U.K. production, someone probably already has - the target phrase would be "I have/had no choice", uttered by Arthur and Merlin far more than by any other characters. Arthur in particular blurs the lines between compassionate choices and foolish ones with gusto, all the while provoking the audience to ask which sort of decision he's made, and what the consequences may be. The fact that the end of Arthur's story is common knowledge adds to the interest, as every week we see Arthur make and justify the choices that will ultimately lead to the fall of Camelot, and his death.

The big reason I've been so hard on this series, and had such a hard time being willing to sit through long enough to let it find its legs, is just that - I know how it will end. I expect much higher standards of storytelling and execution from productions whose endings are known; their journies needs to be very good in order to give me a reason to reach their foregone conclusions. Merlin certainly did not start out this way - the first six or seven episodes don't even get the "awesome crap" seal of approval, at least not where dialogue and drama are concerned. However, it's improved quickly and vastly. The talent in front of the camera played a large role (no pun intended) in keeping me watching. The core cast - Uther, Arthur, Merlin, and Gaius - is outstanding, with veteran TV actors Anthony Head and Richard Wilson anchoring the production as Uther and Gaius, respectively, and a pair of solid newcomers as Arthur and Merlin. Behind the camera, the production design is nice period work - even the castle's large luxury spaces, like Uther's throne room and Arthur's apartments, are quite small by other period's standards - and the writing has improved in leaps and bounds.

One thing Merlin is absolutely not, though, is standard Arthurian myth; if such a thing as an Arthurian purist exists, they will likely be offended by this show. For example, Guinevere is not nobility but a maidservant to Morgana (Morgan la Fay), here an orphan of noble blood who lives at Camelot as Uther's ward. Then there's Gaius, Merlin's mentor, a character new to the story. The origin of Excalibur is neither of the myth standards (but very interesting), and it would appear that unless Mordred is part fae, or conceived of magic, he is not Arthur and Morgan's bastard son. Though he could be, because speaking of strange conceptions, the circumstances of Arthur's birth are also not to standard. There's a surprisingly intriguing plotline involving the last living dragon. And, of course, there's the big kicker: that Arthur and Merlin are more or less the same age, growing up as boyhood friends instead of one being older mentor to the other. I think this is a great foundation to build the Camelot story on, because of the new dimension and direction it creates. And that is, at the end of the day, where Merlin finds its success. It holds the rare distinction of adding something new and good to and old story. The episode "Excalibur" actually managed to put a new take on the Black Knight story without evoking any ridiculous memories of Monty Python and the Holy Grail - now that, my friends, is impressive good TV.

I've you've missed the episodes up to now, CTV is airing them for Canada so you can probably stream them off their website. I support giving Merlin a chance. Here's to a second season.