Le Morte d'Arthur

Le Morte d'Arthur was the thirteenth and final episode in the first series of Merlin. It marked the final appearance of Nimueh, concluding the arc that had passed through the series. The title was taken from that of Le Morte Darthur, a fifteenth century compilation of Arthurian tales.

Synopsis
When out on a hunt, Arthur encounters a huge monstrous creature never before seen. Gaius realises it is a Questing Beast, a creature conjured from the nightmares of a long-dead king, whose bite is always fatal. When Arthur faces the creature again, it is vanquished... but Arthur is bitten and his life hangs in the balance. Merlin is told by the Great Dragon to seek the Isle of the Blessed, where members of the old religion have the power to save the future king. However, there is a price to pay. In order for a life to be saved, another life must be taken...

Plot
While out hunting with the knights, Merlin and Prince Arthur are attacked by a giant scaled creature with the body of a leopard and the head of a cobra. The terrified group runs and in a panic, Merlin trips and is almost killed. Luckily, Arthur saves him and they manage to escape (however, one knight, Sir Bedivere, is killed by the beast).

Back at Camelot, Gaius informs them the monster is most likely a Questing Beast which, according to ancient lore, appears before a time of great upheaval. Uther brushes off the warning and orders for the beast to be hunted down. Gaius pleads with Uther not to take the creature's appearance lightly, stating that it last appeared on the night Igraine passed away. At the mention of this, Uther quickly becomes angry and warns Gaius to never speak of that night again. Later on, as Merlin packs, Gaius warns him about the dangers of the Questing Beast: one bite from the creature is instantly fatal and there is no cure.

That night, Morgana has a horrible vision of Arthur's death at the hands of the monster. Distaught, she runs outside as the hunting party prepares to leave. She begs Arthur not to face the Questing Beast and though he tries to calm her down, Morgana becomes more hysterical. Merlin escorts her back into the castle, promising to keep Arthur safe.

The group trace the Questing Beast to a cave and split up to explore the many tunnels within the cave. In their tunnel, the boys are cornered by the monster and it lunges for Merlin, who is closer. Arthur grabs him and pulls him out of harm's way, but is knocked out by the beast as it attacks him. Merlin uses magic to animate Arthur's sword, engulfing it in blue fire. He then telekinetically hurls it at the monster, killing it. He rushes to the unconscious Arthur, discovering that he was bitten during the attack. A horrified Merlin and the knights quickly take the injured prince back to Camelot.

Gaius says Arthur will die and no magic can save him. A desperate Merlin visits the Great Dragon and swears he will do anything to save Arthur's life. The Great Dragon states that the Questing Beast was produced from the "old religion", which is "the magic of the earth itself". Merlin must go to a place called the "Isle of the Blessed", where he will find a way to save Arthur - and is warned that whatever the cost, Arthur cannot die.

Merlin repeats to Gaius what he has been told about the Isle of the Blessed. Gaius cautions that because the Questing Beast chose Arthur, this means the Old Religion has decided Arthur must die, and if Merlin tries to change that, another life will be demanded in return. Merlin's mind is made up; he is willing to give his own life in exchange for Arthur's. The next morning he leaves for the Isle of the Blessed after asking Gaius to keep Arthur alive in the meantime. Arthur seems to sense that Merlin is in imminent danger, and becomes very agitated in his sleep, like Merlin did in the The Poisoned Chalice, again suggesting a magical link between them. Gwen relieves Gaius from his watch at Arthur's bedside. She tells Arthur that he can't die because she knows he is destined to be a great and wise king who will bring true peace to Camelot.

At the Isle of the Blessed, Merlin is confronted by Nimueh. He does not believe that the Great Dragon would have sent him to her but she says she would not have tried to kill Merlin had she known his importance and asserts as she did before it is not Arthur's fate to die at her hand. She produces a magical cup blessed by the Old Religion; water from the cup must be brought to Arthur and he will be revived, but there must be a death in exchange. Merlin promises to give his own life for Arthur's, and fills the cup with rain from the sky. He brings the water back to Camelot and Gaius wants to know who will die so that Arthur may live, but Merlin does not answer.

Gaius gives Arthur the water from the cup. As he and Merlin leave, Merlin is intercepted by a trance-like Morgana, who says "this is only the beginning." Later, Arthur awakes and Uther goes to inform the court that their prince will live. As Gwen changes linens in Arthur's room, he says he heard her talking to him when he was unconscious. She becomes very embarrassed and pretends not to remember what she said, though Arthur teases her and tries to get her to say it again. Merlin wakes the next morning to find his mother (Hunith) dying on Gaius's floor - Nimueh has taken her life rather than Merlin's. He visits the Great Dragon and



angrily accuses the Dragon of sending him to "murder" his own mother. The Dragon tells him that his destiny is to protect Arthur until Arthur becomes king, at which point magic will be restored to Camelot and the Dragon will be free. Merlin resolves to ensure that the Dragon is never released; outraged, the Dragon tries to attack Merlin. Merlin tells the Dragon "you won't see me again".

Hunith is close to death and Merlin decides he must return to the Isle of the Blessed and restore her life by giving his. He visits Arthur and tries to say goodbye, promising to be Arthur's servant "until the day I die" also telling him that he believes that one day, Arthur will be a great king, Arthur is puzzled but touched by this declaration. At Hunith's bedside he says he will make her well again, in the absence of Gaius, who has gone out on an errand. Come morning, Gaius has not returned and Merlin finds a letter from him downstairs. In the letter Gaius writes that he has gone to the Isle of the Blessed in Merlin's place, as he is old and he does not believe his life held much purpose. He advises that Merlin will one day be the greatest wizard of all time if he follows Gaius's advice to be cautious with magic and concludes that Merlin has been like the son he never had. Horrified, Merlin sets out after Gaius at once.

At the Isle of the Blessed, Nimueh expresses disbelief that Gaius would sacrifice himself for Merlin. She calls him a traitor who did nothing to stop Uther expelling sorcery from Camelot. He explains his belief that Merlin is the only one who can return magic to the kingdom and will, with Arthur, make a better world. Merlin arrives just as Gaius has died. Merlin angrily shouts that he bargained his life for Arthur's, not Hunith, Gaius or anyone elese. Nimueh says the Old Religion does not care who lives or dies, only that the natural balance of life and death is restored; however, Merlin retorts the choice is not that of the Old Religion, but rather that of Nimueh abusing her power. She wants Merlin to join her but he refuses to unite with such evil magic. They engage in a magical battle; Nimueh emerges victorious, having seemingly killed Merlin, and sadly muses that together they could have ruled the world. However, Merlin, who is still alive, rises and emphatically tells Nimueh: "You should not have killed my friend!" She is struck by lightning conjured by Merlin, and dies. Gaius awakens because her death has compensated for his own.

In Camelot, the Great Dragon rages against Merlin as Morgana wakes panic-stricken from another dream.

Cast

 * Colin Morgan as Merlin
 * Bradley James as Prince Arthur
 * Richard Wilson as Gaius
 * Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
 * Angel Coulby as Gwen
 * Katie McGrath as Morgana
 * John Hurt as the voice of The Great Dragon
 * Michelle Ryan as Nimueh

Views

 * 6.27 million

Trivia
The altar that was shown in the middle of the stone ring on the Isle of the Blessed was used again in the episode The Sins of the Father in Morgause's castle.

Story notes

 * The title of the episode Le Morte d'Arthur is the title of one of the most famous works in Arthurian literature by Sir Thomas Malory. It translates as "The Death of Arthur".
 * This episode was originally supposed to be titled "The End Is Near".
 * A rerun of this episode was shown on the CBBC Channel on the 8th October, 2011, the same day as the second episode Series 4, The Darkest Hour: Part Two.