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Merlin

The Darkest Hour Part 1&2 : Season 4, Episode 1,Written by: Julian Jones

    This two-part episode of Merlin is the first episode of what I call the darker seasons. While the first three seasons definitely had a lighter tone, with this “two-parter,” it is apparent the show is taking a darker turn, and not just because the title has the word darkest in it.

    The episode begins with us seeing a lone traveller.  The traveller is revealed to be Morgana, Arthur's half-sister and the show’s main antagonist; and with her is her sickly half-sister, Morgause.  It is because of Morgause that Morgana turned as evil as she did -- Morgause revealed to Morgana the true extent of her power, and in the process fueled her hatred toward Uther and Arthur. Morgause shares with Morgana her final plan to open a portal to another dimension, and asks for her help. To open the portal, the two must travel to an abandoned temple and make a sacrifice.  The sacrifice will be Morgause. To be honest, I hate Morgana -- but I full-on hate Morgause, so when I heard this I was elated. Meanwhile in Camelot, Uther is a shadow of his old self, grief-stricken because he believes he turned Morgana evil. With Uther in this state, Arthur is running the kingdom with the help of his uncle, Sir Agravaine. When Morgana opens the portal, she and Merlin go unconscious and they both witness the portal opening. The gatekeeper tells Morgana that her enemy is also watching, but because she cannot see that enemy, she doesn’t realize the gatekeeper is referring to Merlin. After Merlin regains consciousness, a village girl tells Arthur and Merlin of a ghost-like creature she has seen, and Gaius, the court physician, assumes the portal has been open. Arthur, Merlin, and the knights go to the village and Merlin discovers his magic does not work on the ghost-like creature. Magic is his only defense, so I just felt so sad seeing Merlin so vulnerable. Gaius then tells Arthur, Agravaine, and Merlin that the only way to close the portal is to travel to the temple and make another sacrifice. When they hear this, Arthur automatically offers to be the sacrifice, and I'm just thinking, "No your not, you’re the main character!" Then it's revealed that Merlin plans to be the sacrifice in place Arthur, and again I'm thinking, "No, you’re also the main character!" Agravaine then betrays Arthur and tells Morgana of his plan. Part 1 then ends with Merlin and Arthur being attacked by a ghost-like creature.  Just when the creature charges for Arthur, Merlin shoves Arthur out of the way, taking the attack, and appears to be dead.

    Part two begins with Arthur insisting on taking Merlin back to Camelot. Arthur is told he cannot abandon his quest, so Sir Lancelot takes care of Merlin. Lancelot then stumbles upon river spirits who promise to shelter his group for the night and heal Merlin. The next morning Merlin has recovered and he and Lancelot hurry to catch up with Arthur. The following night, the creatures attack them, and not having any defense, Merlin calls on his dragon. Meanwhile, knowing Arthur is out of the kingdom, Morgana attacks Guinevere, knowing that if she marries Arthur, Morgana cannot become queen. I find this really cold of Morgana because Morgana and Guinevere used to be best friends, and now Morgana wants to kill Guinevere. This is the reason I hate Morgana so much by the end of this episode. Meanwhile, Lancelot and Merlin finally catch up with Arthur and, when they arrive at the temple, monsters ambush them. Arthur then finds the portal, but the gatekeeper tells him she cannot close it, only a sacrifice can do that.  When Arthur is about to sacrifice himself, Merlin runs to stop him. But suddenly Lancelot comes up and stops Merlin, knowing his plan, and jumps into the portal, sacrificing himself. This episode was so intense that, after I watched it, I literally needed to take ten minutes to process everything that happened.