User blog comment:Morganaforever/Episode Review: The Drawing of the Dark/@comment-5829707-20121216040824

I thought this episode was great! Here's why:

-Each character was true to themselves, which is leading each one of them to their fate

Arthur, who was quite dislikeable this episode, acted honestly and true to his beliefs by being a fair king upholding his own laws. Even though he cared very much for Mordred, he could not show favouritism by compromising the law to accommodate a knight of Camelot. This shows that he is not a hypocrite but fair and just (at least from his own point of view). Arthur firmly believes he is doing the right thing by outlawing magic and can only see it from his own perspective. When challenged with Kara's perspective - that people with magic have been oppressed and are fighting back for their own freedom - Arthur cannot understand this and only sees that those who ally themselves with Morgana must be evil. He believes that he is bringing justice and peace when actually he is increasing the hostility between the sides.

Merlin is doing everything he can to stop the prophecy from taking place, but instead his actions actually propel everyone toward their fate. The prophecy is self-fulfilling and it is frustrating to watch but very well played out.

Mordred's fall to the dark side is not only believable, but has us all empathizing with him. We can see his connection with Kara and how much she means to him and how heartbreaking it is for him to lose her. Alexander Vlahos did amazing with this ep.

Gaius, who this season seemed so out of the loop and ignorant about things, has shown again that he is wiser than Merlin (wisdom comes with age and Merlin is just not there yet).

-We now understand Arthur's Bane

Arthur is the one responsible for bringing about his own downfall. He is flawed in that while he is a just king with a good heart, he does not have the instinct and foresight to understand people who see things differently from himself. He trusts people too easily and wholeheartedly. It is not that he should not have trusted Mordred, but why make him a knight of Camelot so quickly when he hardly knew him? It made the sting of Arthur's betrayal of Mordred so much more painful.

-Finally a refreshing female character with brains

I really liked Kara in this episode. I thought she was a strong and intelligent female character. I didn't like that she cold-heartedly killed people for her cause, but it did make it intriguing and she made a pretty convincing case before Arthur.

-Magic reveal to Morgana

Enough said. Although I really didn't like how short it was and Morgana's reaction wasn't enough for me.