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Please, listen to me. Camelot is in mortal danger. Sigan is using Cedric's body to take his revenge.
Merlin to Arthur

The Curse of Cornelius Sigan is the first episode of the second series of Merlin, which was first broadcast on the 19th of September 2009.

Synopsis

A new servant named Cedric tries to get Merlin's job as Arthur's manservant, claiming that he only desires to work in the royal household and to please Arthur. Merlin discovers that Cedric's real motive is to obtain a jewel from a newly discovered tomb beneath the castle. The tomb is final resting place of the legendary sorcerer Cornelius Sigan, who vowed to one day return to Camelot and take his revenge...

Plot

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Merlin's saves Gaius from a booby trap in Sigan's tomb.

An ancient tomb filled with treasure is discovered beneath Camelot. Merlin is sent to resolve the noise issue caused by the excavation, as it is keeping Arthur from sleeping. He is faced with panic as workers flee the site when one of their own is killed by a booby trap.

Gaius studies the tomb, in particular a large, blue, heart-shaped jewel set in a sarcophagus at the tomb's centre. He realises that the tomb belongs to an evil sorcerer named Cornelius Sigan, who had sworn to destroy Camelot upon his death. Sigan, fearful that his power and wealth would die with him, found a way to make himself immortal: he stored his soul inside the large jewel, which would then allow him to possess the person who removed the jewel from its setting.

Gaius' warning proves unfruitful when presented to Uther, as he is too taken with the treasure and too proud to believe in such a myth. The next night, Morgana is awakened by nightmares featuring a raven, which solidifies Gaius' hypothesis of the return of Sigan, as the raven was an emblem of his power.

Meanwhile, a thief named Cedric learns of the treasure by bribing one of the miners and works his way into the castle in order to gain access to the tomb. By muscling in on Merlin's position as Arthur's manservant, Cedric successfully turns Arthur against Merlin, leaving Merlin once more annoyed and depressed that the prince cannot see him for who he really is.

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Sigan's soul possesses Cedric's body.

After stealing Arthur's keys to the tomb, Cedric finds the jewel containing Sigan's soul. He removes it from its setting, and by doing so releases Sigan's soul and allows it to take possession of his body.

Gaius and Merlin realise the consequences of the jewel being removed the next day and Merlin deduces the only other person with access to the key would be Cedric. He runs to alert Arthur, but Arthur refuses to believe Merlin and after a scuffle with Cedric, Merlin is taken to the dungeons.

That night, Cornelius Sigan, possessing the body of Cedric, casts a powerful spell which animates the stone gargoyles positioned around the castle in his attempt to destroy Camelot. As Merlin remains locked in his cell, the creatures cause havoc in the city, killing many citizens. Arthur and his soldiers face off against them, many of them perishing.

Gaius, Gwen and Morgana tend to the wounded inside the castle while Merlin uses magic to break out of his cell. As Arthur faces one of the creatures alone in the square, Gwen saves his life twice before taking him inside to tend to his injuries. Arthur nervously compliments Gwen on her bravery before thanking her as she leaves to prepare a dressing for his wound.

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Arthur faces one of Sigan's gargoyles.

Merlin is told by Gaius that the only way he can stop Sigan is to consult the Great Dragon, to which Merlin is initially opposed. He relents however, and rushes to ask the Dragon for advice. The Great Dragon makes Merlin promise to release him one day in return for a powerful spell which would defeat Sigan, something Merlin reluctantly agrees to do.

Meanwhile, Arthur refuses Uther's proposal to shut off the citadel to protect those with a chance of surviving and rallies his men to leave the castle and face the creatures once more, as it is his duty to Camelot and to himself. Arthur and his men are pushed back inside the square by the creatures and he orders the soldiers to retreat, as he faces the creature on his own. Arthur's men retreat inside the castle, but Arthur is knocked unconscious by the creature. Before it can kill him, however, Merlin arrives and destroys the gargoyle with his magic.

Merlin finds Arthur's body and encounters Sigan, who tries to entice Merlin to join him and rule the land with their magic. Merlin is perplexed by the proposal, as he is still affected by the lack of respect he receives from Arthur, but yells at Sigan it is better to be a servant to a good man than to rule with an evil one. Sigan tells Merlin if he won't rule with him he, Sigan, will possess his body and align Merlin's magic with his own.

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Merlin successfully traps Sigan's soul back in his jewel.

The soul of Sigan leaves Cedric's body to inhabit Merlin's to join both magics into one superpower. However, Merlin casts a spell to force Sigan's soul back into the jewel, bringing safety upon Camelot once more.

The tomb of Sigan is resealed, with the jewel inside, never to be removed again. Uther comes away from the experience more passionate than ever to eradicate all forms of magic from the kingdom while Arthur, in his own way, apologises to Merlin - by giving Merlin his armour to clean.

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Guest Cast

Continuity

  • This episode marks the first appearance of the tavern The Rising Sun.
  • Morgana has a prophetic dream about Cornelius Sigan's return and begins to fear that her nightmares are returning; it is implied that her dreams had stopped for awhile.
  • Cornelius Sigan returns from the dead and attacks Camelot.
  • Merlin learns that Gaius knew about his visits to the Great Dragon.
  • Merlin breaks his previous vow and promises to one day free the Dragon in exchange for his help defeating Sigan.
  • After the attack, Uther vows to renew his efforts to eradicate magic from Camelot.

Release & Reception

  • The episode aired on BBC One at 18:40 on 19 September 2009. The episode received 5.77 million viewers on its Saturday premier and received 7.2 million viewers on its Sunday BBC3 repeat, bringing the weekend total to 6.49 million.
  • The Curse of Cornelius Sigan premiered on Syfy UK at 8pm on September 14th 2017, immediately following Le Morte d'Arthur.

Behind the Scenes

  • The scene of the horses released in the town by Cedric was coordinated by Mario Luraschi, head of the French Equestrian Stunt. (Cheval Magazine – Octobre 2010).[1]

Trivia

Gallery

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To view the The Curse of Cornelius Sigan gallery, click here.


Transcript

View the transcript here.

See Also

References

Series 2
The Curse of Cornelius Sigan  • The Once and Future Queen  • The Nightmare Begins  • Lancelot and Guinevere  • Beauty and the Beast  • The Witchfinder  • The Sins of the Father  • The Lady of the Lake  • Sweet Dreams  • The Witch's Quickening  • The Fires of Idirsholas  • The Last Dragonlord

Mini-episode: Children in Need special

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