User blog comment:Ḡwẵine Ḹٍٍkƨ Ĺiĸe Ͼềлȑềd/Arthur's Bane: Part One - episode review/@comment-4135736-20121007182035

I loved this episode, and I agree that it was better than The Darkest Hour, what I loved most about this episode was Mordred's return in the end, Alexander Vlahos impressed me with his performance - he delivered his lines perfectly and there was no annoying smirk in him (I love the way he just grinned at Merlin) like there was in Morgana and Agravaine. Also I loved that he didn't seem insane like the Series 3 smirking Morgana he is almost just like his character in Series 2 except that he is a bit more mature which shows that there is more consistency in his character (he has the potential to be a good character) and his return was handled much better than Morgana's return was back in Series 3.

There were however a few things I didn't like with this episode - I didn't like that blue creature which was saving Gwaine because it looked like an alien and resembled the Lamia a bit back in Series 4. There was also no mention of Aithusa from Merlin, Kilgharrah or Morgana, and the characters of Ruadan and Sefa were a bit random - there was no explanation as to why Ruadan was in league with Morgana or when they even met. For Sefa, I didn't like that she was another enemy within the walls of Camelot and there was no explanation on how long she served Gwen inside Camelot (I loved that she was caught though) and Gwen was a bit harsh as well when she sentenced her to death I never imagined Gwen to act like that.

Other than those points I enjoyed the episode, a good way to start Series 5.