With All My Heart

"Do you remember when I asked you to marry me? Do you remember what you said? You said with all my heart. That's what you said Guinevere. No subterfuge, no trickery."

- Arthur to Guinevere

With All My Heart is the ninth episode of the fifth series of Merlin.

Synopsis
The warlock is determined to break Morgana's twisted control over Gwen. But it will be no easy task, even for Merlin, as only the most powerful magic can save the Queen - and the high priestess will not give up her puppet without a fight.

Plot
Gwen is leaving the castle to meet Morgana, however she is stopped by Percival who asks her where she is going. She lies by saying she is leaving to visit the lower town, as she misses it sometimes and it reminds her of Elyan. Percival believes her story and allows her to leave. She meets Morgana in the forest, gives her the plans for the levy collection and asks how she can further their cause. Unbeknownst to Guinevere and Morgana, Arthur and Merlin overhear their conversation. Arthur is shocked and horrified by Gwen's betrayal and is ready to attack, however Merlin stops him saying they need to find a way to free Gwen from Morgana's control and Arthur agrees.

Merlin and Gaius discuss the issue, with Merlin lamenting that he promised to help Guinevere when he has no idea what is wrong with her. Gaius speculates that Guinevere is under an enchantment called the Teine Diaga, an ancient ritual which used the mandrake root to bring unimaginable terror to a victim and bind their will to the High Priestess. Gaius has only heard rumours about the ritual and suggests that Merlin travel to the Dochraid to find an answer. However, he warns him that the Dochraid must not learn his true identity.

Merlin travels to the Dochraid's cave. Before entering, he takes an ageing potion to disguise himself as Dragoon the Great. The Dochraid recognizes Merlin by smelling his hand and knows of his intentions since the earth spoke to her, and refuses to help the warlock, for Emrys is no friend of the Old Religion or of Morgana. Merlin threatens her with Excalibur, the only weapon which could kill a creature of the earth such as the Dochraid. She thinks that he doesn't have the power to harm her, but he proves per wrong by wounding her arm. With the sword at her throat, the hag tells Merlin that Guinevere is doomed, her spirit consumed by the Teine Diaga and bound to the Silver Wheel for all eternity. Her body is nothing but an empty vessel, filled by Morgana's will.

Back in Camelot, Gaius talks to Arthur and convinces him to use magic to restore Gwen. He claims the sorcerer is a woman, forcing Merlin to disguise himself as a woman.

To free the Queen's spirit, a thing that only the most powerful sorcerers could hope to attempt, Merlin would have had to travel to the Cauldron of Arianrhod and there use all his powers to summon the The Triple Goddess herself. The waters of the Cauldron held the Goddess' powers and only their touch could heal her, but Gwen would have had to enter the lake willingly; if she were tricked, forced or beguiled, she would fall into the abyss and be lost forever. After having obtained this information, Old Merlin is ready to depart, but the Dochraid casts a spell on a dagger and sends it flying towards him. Merlin deflects it with magic and stabs the creature with Excalibur severely wounding her. Some time later, the Dochraid recovers and cast a spell to take strength from the earth, curing herself. She then sends a raven to Morgana, informing her that Emrys is going to thwart her plan.

Merlin relays this information to Gaius, who says that they must tell Arthur. The three conspire to drug Gwen using Belladonna, which Merlin and Arthur are forced to taste, then while Gwen and Arthur are dining, they slip the belladona into Gwen's drink and knock her out.

They then leave Camelot to go to the Lake to free Gwen. On the way, Merlin falls off a cliff and Arthur falls while trying to reach him. They are saved by Mordred, who joins them for the rest of the journey. However, they are ambushed by Morgana and Aithusa attacks. Merlin uses his powers as a dragonlord to get Aithusa to flee.

Merlin leaves Mordred behind and catches up with Arthur, who says they must go back. Merlin convinces him not to and they leave. Morgana gently strokes Mordred's head and he wakes up. She demands the identity of Emrys, but Mordred refuses to tell her and says he willingly supports Arthur, then knocks her out using magic.

Merlin leaves Arthur and uses magic to disguise himself as an old woman called Dolma. Mordred returns, surprising Arthur, who believed they'd lost him. Arthur and Mordred are taken by surprise when they first met Dolma due to her interesting clothes and 'familiar face'. To cover up Merlin's disappearance she says that "the gangly boy" is her surety and will be returned when the ceremony has concluded.

Dolma then uses Magic to awaken Gwen and begins the ceremony. As Gwen wakes, she is taken aback and demands to know where she is. Arthur tries to bring her into the Lake forcefully, however, Merlin/Dolma reminds him she must enter of her own will. Arthur convinces her to enter the lake willingly and is purged.

After the ceremony has finished and Gwen returns to her original state, the King and Queen thanks Dolma for her help. In return she asks that Arthur remember that it was magic which saved Gwen, pointing out the nature of magic was determined by the wielder and not magic itself. As they began to walk away, she reminds them that they had forgotten Merlin. She finally tells Arthur that one day, he will recognise the true worth of those around him and, with a small wave, Dolma runs away to change back into Merlin.

While riding back to Camelot, Mordred tells Merlin that he knew that Merlin had been the one disguised as Dolma.

Main Cast

 * Merlin/Dolma - Colin Morgan
 * Arthur - Bradley James
 * Morgana - Katie McGrath
 * Guinevere - Angel Coulby
 * Gaius - Richard Wilson
 * Mordred - Alexander Vlahos
 * Sir Leon - Rupert Young
 * Sir Gwaine - Eoin Macken
 * Sir Percival - Tom Hopper

Recurring Cast

 * Dochraid - Maureen Carr

Trivia

 * Aithusa appears in this episode and attacks Merlin, Arthur and Mordred using fire.
 * The Dochraid reappears in this episode after her appearance in Lancelot du Lac. Merlin stabs her with Excalibur twice.
 * Merlin uses both the disguises of Dragoon the Great and the old woman Dolma in this episode.
 * Morgana's control over Gwen is broken.
 * Mordred stands up to Morgana and later knocks her out using magic.
 * With All My Heart is the only episode in Series 5 which doesn't have a guest star.

Broadcast
With All My Heart December 1, 2012 - 8.00pm BBC One.

Reception
6.76 million views

Transcript
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