Lancelot

Sir Lancelot was a friend of Merlin and a knight of Camelot.

Arrival in Camelot
Lancelot first met Merlin when he saved him from a Griffin and Merlin took him back to Camelot. When it was revealed only noblemen can join the Knights of Camelot, Merlin used his magic to create a seal of nobility. Merlin asks Gwen to provide clothes and armour so Lancelot looked like he was a nobleman. Lancelot became attracted to Gwen as soon as he met her and insisted on calling her 'My Lady' despite her telling him she wasn't a noble so shouldn't be addressed that way. He asked Merlin what kind of relationship he has with Gwen and seemed pleased when Merlin said they were just friends. He later told Arthur that he thought she was beautiful. Lancelot tried out for the knights and, although at first Arthur is unimpressed, he quickly identified that Lancelot has potential and accepted him into the knights of Camelot.

However when Uther asked Geoffrey of Monmouth to check the seal of nobility, it was revealed to be a forgery and Lancelot was thrown in prison. Arthur, however, let him out and told him to leave Camelot and never return. Lancelot decided to fight the Griffin as he felt he had a duty to do so.

Before leaving to fight the Griffin he visited Gwen's home as he needed armour. She asked him not to leave but he insisted it was his duty, knight or not.

When the Griffin attacked again Arthur and the other knights were nearly all killed. Lancelot tried to kill the Griffin but it was only when Merlin enchanted his lance that the Griffin was killed. Arthur then appealed to Uther to reinstate Lancelot as a knight, thinking it was Lancelot who killed the Griffin.

Lancelot revealed to Merlin that he knew he was a magician and promised to keep his secret, however he also said he could not stay and take credit for killing the Griffin when it was really Merlin. He announce to Uther and Arthur that he intended to leave in order to redeem himself for lying to them. (Lancelot)

Travelling Abroad
Lancelot traveled around after leaving Camelot and eventually started to earn a living by fighting for others entertainment, believing his life had become meaningless. He was working in a fighting ring run by a group of bandits when he saw Gwen had been kidnapped. The bandits had mistaken her for Morgana and were holding her for ransom. Realizing Gwen's life would be in danger if her true identity was discovered, Lancelot worked to free her, giving Lancelot a reason to live again. They shared a kiss and their feelings for each other were rekindled. However, when they tried to escape, they were captured and set to be executed. But they were saved by Arthur and Merlin, who had come to rescue Gwen.

While returning to Camelot, both Arthur and Gwen went out of their way to appear indifferent to each other. Lancelot was not fooled by this and quickly realised that they had strong unspoken feelings for each other, Merlin later confirmed this and although he had realised his own feelings for Gwen, Lancelot decided he wouldn't risk coming between her and Arthur. He left once again, asking Merlin to tell Gwen that while they weren't meant to be, she had changed his life. (Lancelot and Guinevere)

The Fall of Camelot


After Camelot fell to Morgana, Merlin sent word to him for help. Along with his friend Percival he saved them from Morgana's knights, and went with them to an ancient Castle. Within the Castle he was knighted by Arthur. Together with Merlin, they snuck into the tower, to break the enchantment, while the other's went to save the other knights and Uther. Although he was wounded during the final fight, he survived, and later went with the other new knights to get Guinevere. (The Coming of Arthur: Part Two )

The Future
In "The Darkest Hour (Part 2)", Lancelot sacrifices himself to save both Merlin and Arthur from having to die to save camelot. Tihs causes mourning among Merlin, Arthur, the knights and especially Gwen. Despite this, the Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot love triangle will be a major plot line, due to the fact in the series four trailer (first shown at comic-con), a part shows Lancelot and Gwen kissing, which Arthur is unhappy about. As this has not happened yet, it will occur in an upcoming episode (how Lancelot returns is a different matter). Gwen and Lancelot may be under a love enchantment, causing a fight between Lancelot and Arthur. In the official trailer, Guinevere is shown to be wearing a suspicious bracelet, while kissing Lancelot. What's more Lancelot shows suspicious behavior, since he attacks Arthur. The most likely possibility is that Agravaine has put a spell on them with Gilli's help or Morgana causing a fight and trouble.

Death
Lancelot was given permission to aid Merlin and make sure he returns to Camelot so Gaius can aid him, Merlin recovered and managed to continue on with Lancelot at his side. As they all met together, they travelled to The Isle Of The Blessed where they all knew one will never be seen again. As they see the veil, Arthur approaches The Cailleach and prepares to die. Merlin however prevents this and hurls him back with his magic and knocking him out. The Cailleach says that he would give up his life to save the prince, Merlin is then about to head towards the veil but instead he sees Lancelot ready to accept death, Lancelot turns to see his friend one final time before disappearing into the veil, ending the world and becoming two separate worlds once again. Arthur holds a fire for him with his robes and sword as respect for him. Arthur announces that he was one of the most bravest and noble knights he had ever had the chance to be served by, he also explains he gave his life for the people he loved and proved to be a very unselfish person. Guinevere mourns over the loss and explains he gave his life to see the world happy once more and to give her a future she could never imagine before which in actual fact (she becomes Queen once Arthur is King and makes her his Queen which she accepts). Lancelot proved to be a Knight Of Camelot and a dear friend to all those in the kingdom.

Personality
Lancelot has a very strong sense of right and wrong. He was never comfortable with the idea of lying about his social status in order to qualify for knighthood. He also refused to take the credit for another's work, as he refused to do so when Merlin killed the Griffin and everyone thought he had. Lancelot was polite and respectful towards people higher ranked than himself even if they treated him unfairly.

During his duel with Arthur, Lancelot defeated the prince through trickery rather than skill. However in a real battle a warrior would need every advantage they could get and earlier in the episode Arthur believed that Lancelot was not ready for a real battle. Therefore Arthur accepted his defeat and allowed Lancelot to join the Knights of Camelot.

Lancelot is willing to risk his own life to save the people he cares about. He developed feelings for Guinevere as soon as he met her but despite his feelings for her he left so he wouldn't come between her and Arthur. This showed that he was very selfless. Eventually, he sacrificed his life to keep to a promise he had made to Gwen; to protect Arthur with his life.

Abilities
Lancelot was a highly skilled swordsman and one of the very few who was able to fight Arthur as an equal and defeated him during their duel. It should be noted however that he defeated Arthur through trickery rather than skill. (Lancelot) Like Arthur he was capable of defending himself against numerous opponents at once defeating several of Hengist's bandits before finally being subdued. When he and Merlin went to search for the Cup of Life he fought against numerous immortal knights and drove them into the path of Excalibur, which was being weilded by Merlin, resulting in the knights defeat. Hengist was impressed by Lancelot's combat prowess noting that he was a skilful warrior. (Lancelot and Guinevere)

In addition to being a formidable opponent with a sword, Lancelot was skilled with a lance using it to slay a griffin that attacked Camelot. However his lance was made more powerful by Merlin's magic and Lancelot claimed that it was Merlin, not he, that had killed the griffin.

Appearances
Series 1:

Lancelot (first appearance)

Series 2:

Lancelot and Guinevere

The Last Dragonlord (mentioned only)

Series 3:

The Coming of Arthur: Part Two

Series 4:

The Darkest Hour: Part One

The Darkest Hour: Part Two