Le Morte d'Arthur

“Go to the place that men call the Isle of the Blessed, where the power of the ancients can still be felt. There you will discover Arthur's salvation.”
— The Great Dragon to Merlin

Le Morte d'Arthur is the thirteenth and final episode in the first series of Merlin, which was first broadcast on the 13th of December, 2008.

It marks the final appearance and death of Nimueh.

Synopsis

When on a hunt, Arthur encounters a huge monstrous creature he has never seen before. Gaius realises it is a Questing Beast, a creature conjured from the nightmares of a long-dead king. The bite of the Questing Beast is always fatal.

When Arthur faces the creature again, Merlin kills it, but Arthur is bitten and his life hangs in the balance. Trying to find how to save Arthur's life, 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. For a life to be saved, another life must be forfeited.

Plot

Questing Beast2 — The Questing Beast appears to Arthur and his men.

While out hunting with the Knights, Merlin and 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, but 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 the Questing Beast which, according to ancient lore, appears before a time of great upheaval. Uther brushes off the warning and orders the beast to be hunted down. Gaius pleads with Uther not to take the creature's appearance lightly, stating it last appeared on the night Ygraine 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 to join Arthur on the hunt, 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 awakens from a horrible prophetic dream of Arthur's death at the hands of the monster. Gwen attempts to soothe her until dawn, but without success. Distraught, Morgana runs outside barefoot 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 a hesitant Morgana back into the castle, promising to keep Arthur safe. He then joins Arthur, leaving Morgana in her room in a catatonic state under the watch of a guard.

Merlin113 0373 — The Knights of Camelot bear Arthur to his chambers.

The group track the Questing Beast to a cave and split up to explore the many tunnels within. In their tunnel, Arthur and Merlin 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 enchant Arthur's sword, then telekinetically hurls it at the monster, killing it. He rushes to the unconscious Arthur, discovering he was bitten during the attack. Horrified, Merlin and the knights take the injured prince back to Camelot.

Gaius says Arthur will die and no magic can save him. Merlin tries several healing spells anyway, but to no avail. When Uther arrives and hears the news, he decides to carry Arthur to the prince's chambers. He collapses in despair in the middle of the courtyard and a group of knights gather to hide the grief-stricken king from the public eye and help bear Arthur the rest of the way.

Desperate, Merlin visits the Great Dragon and swears he will do anything to save Arthur's life. The Dragon says 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 whatever the cost, Arthur cannot die.

Merlin tells Gaius what the Dragon told him and Gaius cautions because the Questing Beast chose Arthur, this means the Old Religion has decided Arthur must die, and if Merlin tries to change this, another life will be demanded in return. Merlin's mind is made up; he is willing to give his life in exchange for Arthur's.

Merlin113 1008 — Nimueh gives Merlin water from the Cup of Life to save Arthur.

The next morning Merlin leaves for the Isle of the Blessed after asking Gaius to keep Arthur alive in the meantime. Arthur seems to sense Merlin is in imminent danger, and becomes very agitated in his sleep. Gwen relieves Gaius from his watch at Arthur's bedside. She tells Arthur 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 confronts Nimueh. He does not believe 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.

Nimueh gives Merlin water from the Cup of Life, a magical cup blessed by the Old Religion, and tells him that it will revive the prince, but that there must be a death in exchange. Merlin agrees 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 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 informs 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 embarrassed and pretends not to remember what she said, though Arthur teases her and tries to get her to say it again.

Merlin69 — The Great Dragon attacks Merlin.

Come morning, Merlin is surprised to find himself alive and his mother, Hunith, dying on Gaius' floor. He realizes that Nimueh has chosen to take her life rather than Merlin's and accuses the Great Dragon of sending him to sacrifice his own mother.

The Dragon tells him his destiny is to protect Arthur until Arthur becomes king, at which point magic can be be restored to Camelot and the Dragon will be free. Merlin resolves to ensure the Dragon is never released; outraged, the Dragon tries to attack Merlin, but the warlock repels his attack and vows never to return.

Hunith is close to death and Merlin decides to return to the Isle of the Blessed and restore her life by giving his in exchange. He visits Arthur and tries to say goodbye, promising to be Arthur's servant until the day he dies. He also tells him that he believes Arthur will one day be a great king. Arthur is puzzled but touched by this declaration.

Merlin returns to Gaius' and finds Gwen with his mother, as Gaius has gone on an errand. Thanking Gwen for her help, Merlin tells her she has a good heart and never to lose it. After she leaves, Merlin sits with his mother and promises to make her well again. Hunith tells him he's a good son and that she'll miss him, and Merlin replies that he'll miss her too.

Nimueh's Fireball — The duel between Merlin and Nimueh.

The next morning Merlin prepares to return to the Isle of the Blessed, but finds a letter from Gaius downstairs. In the letter, Gaius writes he has gone to the Isle in Merlin's place, as he is old and he does not believe his life held much purpose. He says Merlin will one day be the greatest warlock of all time if he follows Gaius' advice to be cautious with magic and concludes that Merlin has been like the son he never had. Horrified, Merlin immediately sets out after Gaius.

At the Isle of the Blessed, Nimueh expresses disbelief 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 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 else. Nimueh replies that the Old Religion does not care who lives or dies, only the natural balance of life and death is restored. However, Merlin retorts the choice is not that of the Old Religion, but rather of Nimueh abusing her power. Nimueh asks Merlin to join her as together they will be invincible, but Merlin refuses to unite with such evil magic.

They engage in a magical duel; Nimueh emerges victorious, having seemingly killed Merlin, and sadly muses that together they could have ruled the world. However, Merlin, merely injured, rises and emphatically tells Nimueh: "You should not have killed my friend!" She is struck by lightning summoned by Merlin and dies.

Merlin's Lightning Spell — Merlin strikes Nimueh with lightning.

Merlin rushes to Gaius' side and uses the power over life and death to trade Nimueh's life for Gaius'. Gaius is brought back to life and the balance of the world is restored.

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

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Continuity

This episode marks the final appearance and death of Nimueh.
This episode marks the first appearance of the Cup of Life.
This episode marks the first appearance of the Isle of the Blessed.
Morgana has a prophetic dream about Arthur being bitten by the Questing Beast.
Merlin uses the same enchantment he used to kill the Griffin to kill the Questing Beast.
Arthur is saved from the Questing Beast's bite by water from the Cup of Life.
The Great Dragon reveals that he's been helping Merlin so he would one day free him. However, because the Dragon tricked him into sacrificing Hunith, Merlin vows to make sure that he will never be released.
The Dragon also reveals that Merlin is a creature of the Old Religion and that he and Merlin are kin.
After killing Nimueh, Merlin masters the power over life and death and uses it to trade her life for Gaius'.

Release & Reception

Air date : 13 December 2008
6.27 million viewers.
Le Morte d'Arthur premiered on Syfy UK at 7pm on September 14th 2017, immediately followed by The Curse of Cornelius Sigan.
A rerun of this episode was shown on the CBBC Channel on the 8th October, 2011, the same day as the second episode of the Series 4, The Darkest Hour: Part Two.

Behind the Scenes

Portchester Castle serves as the location for the final duel between Merlin and Nimueh.
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 fortress.

Production Errors

When Merlin summons the lightning to kill Nimueh, his eyes don't change colour. This may have been a continuity error or Merlin may be able to perform magic without his eyes changing colour.

Trivia

This episode was originally supposed to be titled "The End Is Near".
Gaius claims to have seen the Questing Beast the night Ygraine died.
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. The title translates as "The Death of Arthur".
The title of this episode may also serve as a reference to Arthur's prophesied death at Mordred's hand in the show's final episode The Diamond of the Day.
The Isle of the Blessed makes a second and third appearance in The Darkest Hour. Interestingly, the area is larger and inhabited by Wyverns in these later appearances.

Gallery

To view the Le Morte d'Arthur gallery, click here.

Transcript

View the transcript here.