Aithusa (episode)

 Rate this episode!

"So, you are no longer the last of your kind."

- Merlin to Kilgharrah

Aithusa was the fourth episode in the fourth series of Merlin (2008-2012) which was first broadcast on the 22nd of October 2011.

Synopsis
The mysterious Julius Borden arrives in Camelot with the news of a magical secret that threatens to change the landscape of the kingdom for ever, as the fantasy drama continues. He has located the final part of the key to the Tomb of Ashkanar – an ancient mausoleum which holds a very special treasure: the last remaining dragon's egg.

Plot
A man named Julius Borden goes to a Druid camp at night, stealing two parts for a model and attaches them. When he is caught by the Druids, he escapes with the parts after threatening to kill one of the Druids. Borden later arrives in Camelot and goes to Gaius’ chambers. He asks Gaius to help him find the last part of the model which is in fact the Triskelion, the key to the tomb of Ashkanar which holds the last remaining Dragon's Egg.

As the last part is in the vaults of Camelot, a suspicious Gaius refuses to help him and tells Borden to leave. Gaius tells Merlin, who overheard their conversation, that Borden was once his pupil before the Great Purge separated them. When Merlin mentions the Dragon's egg, telling Gaius that it is the only way he can preserve the Dragons, Gaius warns Merlin that Borden is not a man to be trusted. Merlin later summons Kilgharrah, who tells him that he feared until now that the egg would never be found and that he worried that he would be the last remaining Dragon. Kilgharrah then tells Merlin to retrieve the egg and Merlin promises to do so.

The next day, Merlin visits Borden and promises to help him find the last part for the triskelion with Borden reluctantly agreeing. Merlin later steals a key to the vaults from Arthur and gives it to Borden during the night who knocks the guards out and finds the last part. After attaching the last part to the triskelion, Borden knocks Merlin unconscious and escapes. Merlin awakens in the morning to learn that the theft has been reported to Arthur, who knows of the tomb containing the last Dragon egg. Arthur plans to pursue Borden and destroy the egg so that magic is driven out of Camelot. Before Merlin leaves, Gaius angrily tells Merlin that his actions have cost the egg's safety within the tomb as Arthur plans to destroy it and that he is unsure what Borden will do with the egg.

Merlin then leaves Camelot with Arthur, Leon, Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine to pursue Borden. As they camp during the night, Merlin hears a voice inside his head calling to him and it leads him to the Druids. The Druids tell Merlin that Borden has stolen the triskelion parts from them and that the way to the tomb is at a place which appears to be a dead end. They also warn him that the key is also a trap, as is the tomb itself. As Merlin continues with Arthur and the others, they go through a cave which is the dead end the Druids mentioned and find the entrance to the tomb. However, Borden attacks them with a crossbow, wounding Percival, but Merlin disarms him with his magic, forcing him to flee.

Later, Borden secretly spikes their food with poison which Arthur and the others eat. Merlin soon discovers that all of them are unconscious due to the poison, forcing him to cure them and pursue Borden to the tomb alone while they are sleeping. As he reaches the tomb, he finds Borden opening the tomb with the triskelion, only to get knocked out by gas. Merlin continues the journey and discovers the egg. Borden, however, awakens and tells Merlin to give him the egg, promising that they will together have power and live like kings, but Merlin refuses, realizing that Borden only wants the egg for power.

Borden attacks Merlin with his torch but is blasted across the tomb by Merlin's magic, knocking him out or killing him. Merlin retrieves the egg but causes the chamber to collapse, forcing him to escape with the egg while Borden perishes as the tomb completely collapses. After escaping, Merlin finds that Arthur and the others are awake and when Arthur asks what happened, Merlin tells them that the tomb was also a trap and Borden set it off causing the tomb to collapse and kill him. Merlin also tells them that the egg was destroyed when the tomb collapsed so that it's protected from Arthur.

After returning to Camelot with Arthur and the others, Merlin tells Gaius that no treasure can compare to the egg and Gaius tells him that the egg's fate now rests within Merlin. Merlin takes the egg to Kilgharrah who tells him that a Dragons egg can only be opened by the Dragonlords if they give the Dragon a name. As Merlin is the last Dragonlord, he opens the egg by naming the new Dragon Aithusa. After Aithusa, who is a white Dragon, hatches, Kilgharrah tells Merlin that the white Dragon bears the sign of the new world which Merlin and Arthur will build together.

Main Cast

 * Colin Morgan as Merlin
 * Bradley James as King Arthur
 * Richard Wilson as Gaius
 * Nathaniel Parker as Agravaine
 * Rupert Young as Sir Leon
 * Eoin Macken as Sir Gwaine

Recurring Cast

 * John Hurt as the Voice of the Great Dragon
 * Adetomiwa Edun as Sir Elyan
 * Tom Hopper as Sir Percival
 * Trevor Sellers as Iseldir

Guest Cast

 * James Callis as Julius Borden

Release & Reception

 * 22 October 2011 at 8.15pm on BBC One and BBC One HD
 * In America- 27 January 2012 at 10:00pm on Sci-Fy

Behind the Scenes

 * Aithusa's name - given to it by Merlin when he summoned it from its egg - means "Light of the Sun" in Dragon Tongue.

Production Errors

 * Neither Merlin nor any of the Knights carry a pack big enough to contain the cauldron, plates, and spoons that they are seen using when they camp.

Trivia

 * A dragon egg - the last in existence - is revealed to have been hidden in the Tomb of Ashkanar. The Tomb contained many traps in order to ensure the egg's safety, with the Triskelion acting as both a trigger for those traps and a key to the tomb itself.
 * One third of the Triskelion was hidden in the vaults of Camelot and another third was in the possession of the Druids. It is unknown where the final third was hidden, as Julius Borden already had it in his possession when he stole the Druid's.
 * As of the hatching of the dragon Aithusa at the end of this episode, the Great Dragon (John Hurt) is no longer the last of his kind.
 * Aithusa would not appear again until the final episode of Series 4 (The Sword in the Stone, Part Two), when it found and healed the fatally injured Morgana.
 * Nathaniel Parker (Agravaine) replaces Anthony Head (Uther) in the opening titles as of this episode.
 * This is the first episode of the series not to feature Uther, who died in the previous episode (The Wicked Day).
 * No identified female characters appear in this episode.
 * This is the fourth episode not to feature Morgana (Katie McGrath), the others being 2x09, 2x13, and 3x09.
 * This is also the third episode not to feature Gwen (Angel Coulby), the others being 3x09 and (3x11.
 * This episode marks the third and final appearance of Iseldir (Trevor Sellers) in the series. His character previously appeared in 1x08 and 3x12.
 * This episode marks the first and only time that the Druids physically appear in Series 4.
 * The cave that Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights travel while searching for Julius Borden is the same appears to be the same cave (appearance-wise) as the one in which Merlin's father Balinor lived (The Last Dragonlord).