Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but a troll will always be a troll no matter what crown it wears
Fresh off his recent marriage to the Lady Catrina (Sarah Parish), Uther (Anthony Head) continued to be under the influence of her enchantment. So much so, that even when her true state is revealed, Uther was still blind to it. Love may blind one to the truth about one’s beloved, but, in this case, Uther was clearly not himself. His imposition of harsh taxes quickly alienated his one true supporter, Arthur (Bradley James); and, for the first time ever, Arthur openly defied his father’s will. Arthur is finally stepping out of his shell of obedience and slowly becoming the man who will one day rule Camelot. The journey from Prince to King has begun.
What Worked
In an episode focused on transformations and revealing the inner self, Arthur’s transformation was much more significant than Catrina’s. She was merely transformed back to her true physical form once Merlin (Colin Morgan) switched the potions. Arthur, on the other hand, transformed from unquestioning acquiescence of his father’s judgment to supplementing his own. When Arthur saw the populace being shaken-down for every penny they had, so much that they would not have survived, he intervened and returned their money. It was not only the people of Camelot who took notice of his display of leadership and defiance of Uther’s oppression, Gwen witnessed it first-hand. Whereas, when Gwen (Angel Coulby) was kidnapped, Arthur snuck away to rescue her under the pretense that Morgana (Katie McGrath) had asked him to; this time, Arthur did not hide behind such a ruse and openly declared his defiance to Uther’s tyranny. When Arthur declared to Uther, “We have their loyalty, their goodwill. Do not forsake that by making unreasonable demands,” it was a cheer-worthy moment. But, unfortunately, Uther, deep under the influence of the enchantment, would not hear of it and dismissively said, “Remember, these are your subjects, not your friends.” Arthur then naively asked, “Why can’t they be both?” and Uther harshly explained, “Because we rule the people, not the other way around.” But, provoked and demonstrating his own initiative, Arthur protested, “I think you’re wrong. . . Without the people there is no Camelot. We are as much their servant as they are ours.” It was great to see that Arthur is finally developing a backbone and was willing to express his own opinions about what he feels is right and just. He is finally standing up for what he believes in and has shown that he is willing to protect the people from unjust and tyrannical oppression.
It also did not go unnoticed, as Gwen took it upon herself to tell Arthur how much it meant to her. She reminded him that it was not for aught as, “[The people] know you tried and they won’t forget that.” To rule by love and devotion opposed to fear will one day build the strongest kingdom to rule across the world. But when Arthur expressed his doubt by sorrowfully saying, “One day I will be the king of Camelot and I cannot be a friend to the people as well as their ruler,” Gwen reassured him, “That’s not true and you will prove it when you become king! You have a kind heart, Arthur. Don’t ever change.” It was a revealing moment showing that Gwen’s affections have reawaked and, with such assurance, Arthur took heart and stood by his principles. It also foretells of the day that Gwen will stand by his side as he takes the stand against his father.
Another interesting revelation from this episode was the Dragon’s (John Hurt) reminder to Merlin that his help is not unconditional and that Merlin had promised to set him free. That promise, unfortunately, is coming back to haunt Merlin and Merlin was not happy to be reminded of it. It also foreshadows the pending doom that will be unleashed on Camelot. For your enemies are never truly your friend, even when they aid you in defeating another enemy.
Then, in one of the better comedic moments, at the end, when Arthur apologized to Merlin about not believing him when he first told Arthur about Catrina, Arthur observed that he did not believe Merlin because he has a shifty look about him — like Merlin has something to hide. Despite Merlin’s protestations that he has nothing to hide, Arthur looked dubious. So Arthur is not only standing up to his father and formulating his own opinions, he is starting to wonder about Merlin’s true motivations as well. But the crowning moment was when Merlin moved as if to hug Arthur and Arthur asked, “What are you doing?” Caught off guard, Merlin sheepishly replied, “I thought you were going in for a hug.” To which Arthur incredulously replied, “Noooo.” It was a funny moment which revealed that, while Arthur is beginning to see Merlin as a friend, he is still denying it to himself. Arthur is only willing to venture so far out of that protective royal shell. He may be willing to defy his father and admit that he has feelings for Gwen, but admitting that Merlin is a friend is a line he not yet willing to cross.
What Didn’t Work
After making such an elaborate display of how much humans and their cleanliness repulses her, it was inconceivable that Catrina would consent to share her bed with Uther. She would not have stayed in the bed in the first place and to be near Uther sickened her physically. So to suggest that she later consented to his touch and affection is not true to her character — particularly as she had the convenient ability to simply breathe on him and knock him out whenever she saw fit.
Again, precious time was wasted in reminding the viewers how revolting Catrina was with her personal habits and tastes. After spending nearly an entire hour the previous week to set up all those traits, it was needless to cover it again this week. Instead, the writers should have focused more on exploring Arthur’s determination to stand up for the people and perhaps given Morgana a chance to express her dismay at the recent acquisition of a new god-mother. For, as Morgana has also demonstrated as of late, she is also unwilling to watch oppression and tyranny imposed upon those who do not deserve it. So it would have behooved the writers to have utilized her more as well.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
‘Beauty and the Beast’ was written by Ben Vanstone and directed by Metin Huseyin. “Merlin” stars Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Richard Wilson and Anthony Head. “Merlin” airs Fridays at 10 pm on Syfy.
