Review – Merlin: The Dragon’s Call (1.1)

NBC via the BBC brings American viewers a new fantasy television show, Merlin. A show that follows the adventures of a young Merlin and his destiny to protect Prince Arthur, the future king of Camelot. The series begins with Merlin’s arrival in Camelot by request of his mother and he is seeking the help of the court physician named Gaius, who agrees to take Merlin in. Gaius soon discovers the young man’s magical secret; he warns Merlin that the use of magic is forbidden in Camelot, under penalty of death. Merlin had witnessed such an execution upon his arrival at Camelot. Merlin tries to begin his new life in Camelot without causing trouble, but it soon finds it in the form of Prince Arthur. The two characters do not warm up to each other, and they test each other throughout the episode. Merlin meets a few other familliar named characters in this episode and some may be quite a shock to loyal Arthurian fans. Merlin meets Lady Morgana, the king’s ward and her loyal servant Guinevere; he also encounters The Great Dragon, last of his kind and King Uther’s prisoner held in a cave underneath the castle.

Merlin soon learns his destiny lies with the young Arthur from The Great Dragon, and Merlin is not pleased about this scenario. While Merlin is accepting his fate, a magic wielding old woman named Mary Collins, begins her plot to seek revenge for the death of her son, who was executed for the use of sorcery, by Uther at the episode’s start. She takes the guise of a singer named Lady Helen, slated to perform for King himself, and almost succeeds in killing Prince Arthur, if not for Merlin and his use of magic. King Uther rewards Merlin for saving his son, by making him Arthur’s manservant, despite disagreement from both young men, and Merlin’s magical secret remains hidden.

It is clear the writers of this show will stray from previous Arthurian cannon and I for one applaud their imaginative new spin of old legends. Those familiar with the myths of Merlin and Arthur expect to see the youthful and impetuous behavior of Arthur, but now we see it in Merlin as well. I believe we will get to see a new relationship between Merlin and Arthur never illustrated before. The writers also choose to have Guinevere as servant to Lady Morgana; this could make for interesting plot lines later. The presence of the wise Gaius and the cruel King Uther, is also a great addition to this already myth breaking show.

I am quite please to have a fantasy themed show on prime time television, but the real question is the rest of America ready for this type of show. The BBC does a great job with show selection and production and there is no doubt in my mind that NBC has chosen a great television show to air stateside. However the American audience can be a bit fickle and sometimes finds shows like Merlin to be campy and even a bit childish. Most might expect a show like Merlin to air on a cable channel like the SciFi Channel or even the network channel The CW, where shows like Supernatural and Smallville currently air. Placing Merlin on NBC in a prime time spot is quite a magic trick; let us hope it keeps the viewers full of wonder and the desire to keep tuning in. I certainly have fallen under Merlin and its spell, and hope to see more adventures of a young Merlin and Arthur.

About PLMII

Philip Lee McCall II or “PLMII” to his legions of manuscript minions has authored several dark fantasy collections. Through the use of poetry and prose, PLMII takes readers on excursions into a dark fantasy realm filled with vampires, werewolves, exorcism, and a lot of other creepy things guaranteed to make you lose sleep. For more information on PLMII visit his website by clicking here.