Changes: The Dragon's Call

Latest revision as of 21:17, 7 April 2024

“No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny. He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, he must live and learn. And so it will be for the young warlock arriving at the gates of Camelot. A boy that will, in time, father the legend. His name: Merlin.”
— The Great Dragon, narrating

The Dragon's Call is the pilot episode of the first series of Merlin, which was first broadcast on the 20th of September 2008.

This episode features the start of Merlin's adventures in Camelot, as well as the first appearances of Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, Gaius, Uther, Hunith, and Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon.

Synopsis

Merlin's mother sends him to start a new life in Camelot in order to learn about the mystery of his own powerful magic. Things change when he discovers that the King, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic and that anyone caught using it faces death.

Later on, Merlin steps in to defend a manservant from the King's heir, Arthur, and encounters Kilgharrah, upon which the young sorcerer begins an adventure in which he will realise his destiny...

Plot

Evil Mary — Mary Collins swears to kill the King's son.

Merlin, a boy on the cusp of adulthood, arrives in Camelot hoping to find a use for the strange metaphysical powers he has possessed before he could even talk. Instead, he learns that King Uther Pendragon, ruler of Camelot, despises magic and has instituted a kingdom-wide ban on any practice of sorcery under penalty of death.

Merlin witnesses the execution of Thomas Collins, who has been accused of using magic by Uther. His mother Mary swears vengeance on Uther for the murder of her son before vanishing into thin air to avoid arrest.

Uther ignores the event and carries on as if nothing happened. He then orders a festival in to celebrate twenty years without magic in Camelot, though his ward Morgana warns that he will only make enemies by continuing to persecute those who use sorcery.

Soon after, Merlin meets Uther's Court Physician Gaius and saves the elderly man's life when he falls from a balcony. Although Merlin denies it, Gaius believes that he has magical powers, but swears not to tell the king. Merlin is given a room and Gaius realises that his mother has sent him to Camelot to be protected.

Meanwhile, Mary intercepts the convoy of Lady Helen of Mora, a famed singer scheduled to perform at Uther's festival, and murders her using a poppet. Mary uses a glamour to assume Helen's appearance, but the enchantment is incomplete as Mary's true form can be seen in mirrors. As Merlin sleeps, he hears an ominous voice repeating his name, and he soon awakes.

Arthurmerlin1 — Arthur challenges Merlin to a duel.

At breakfast, Gaius knocks a bucket of water off the table, causing Merlin to inadvertently use his abilities to prevent it from falling. Gaius, having confirmed Merlin's secret, warns the boy never to use his powers lest he risks being killed.

Later, Merlin witnesses a knight bullying his servant. He steps in to stop and defend him, only to discover that the knight is actually Arthur Pendragon, son of the King and heir to the throne of Camelot.

Merlin spends the night in prison, and Gaius arranges his release the next morning. Merlin is sentenced to a day in the stocks, where he meets Morgana's maidservant, Guinevere, who compliments him for standing up to Arthur and shyly flirts with him.

After being released, Merlin confronts Arthur again, and is baited by Arthur into a fight using maces. Merlin uses his abilities in order to prevent Arthur from striking him, but winds up losing when he sees Gaius watching. Arthur spares Merlin more time in jail, citing his bravery and some indefinable quality about the boy.

Meanwhile, Mary returns to Camelot in the guise of Helen and dines with King Uther; she comments on the difficulty of Arthur growing up without a mother, and remarks that the bond between mother and son is nearly impossible to replace.

Merlin1-2 — Mary casts a sleeping enchantment over the court.

That night, Merlin is again awoken by the same voice and sets out to find its source, winding up in a cave beneath the citadel where the Great Dragon is imprisoned. The dragon insists that Merlin is destined to use his gifts to protect Arthur, though Merlin remains skeptical.

The next morning, Merlin is awoken by Gaius, who instructs him to deliver several concoctions. One is for Morgana, who is suffering from nightmares. Merlin arrives to find Morgana changing clothes behind a screen. Morgana mistakes him for Gwen, and he helps Morgana around the screen until Gwen arrives, saving Merlin the embarrassment of being discovered. Morgana asks Gwen for her opinion on whether to wear a purple gown or a revealing red dress and "Give them a night they'll really remember."

Merlin delivers another elixir to Lady Helen. He discovers Mary's poppet in the singer's private quarters, but convinces Mary that he had not seen anything when she returns as he is leaving. That evening, Mary's true form is discovered by a maidservant who sees Mary's reflection in a mirror. Mary kills her.

At the feast, Morgana appears wearing the revealing red dress which makes every man and especially Arthur get to their plate. Then, Mary appears before Uther's court in the guise of Helen and sings, weaving an enchantment that puts the court to sleep and rapidly ages the castle. Merlin protects himself from the spell by covering his ears. He sees Mary prepare to throw a dagger at Arthur and intervenes by using magic to drop a chandelier on her.

When the song stops the enchantment is lifted, but Mary makes one last attempt to kill Arthur by throwing the dagger at him. Merlin intervenes again, slowing time in order to pull Arthur from the weapon's path, and is rewarded by Uther for saving the heir's life by being made Arthur's manservant. Neither seems thrilled by the prospect.

The next day, Gaius gives Merlin a book of magic to study in secret, but the boy is called away by a message from Arthur for his first day of duty.^[1]

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

John Hurt as the voice of the Great Dragon
Ed Coleman as Morris
Caroline Faber as Hunith
Gary Oliver as Sir Gregory

Guest Cast

Eve Myles as Mary Collins/Lady Helen
Louise Dylan as Bronwen
Rick English as Thomas Collins (uncredited)

Continuity

Merlin moves to Camelot at the behest of his mother and becomes the ward and apprentice of Gaius, the Court Physician.
Gaius tells Merlin about the Great Purge and that magic is illegal in Camelot under penalty of death.
Merlin is revealed to be a warlock and to have a unique relationship with magic; unlike other sorcerers, he has been able to use magic instinctively from birth with no instruction or knowledge of spells.
The Lady Morgana is introduced as the ward of King Uther, with whom she shares a difficult relationship due to their conflicting views on magic.
Merlin meets Prince Arthur and takes an immediate dislike to his arrogant, bullying nature.
Merlin meets and befriends Guinevere, Morgana's personal maidservant who shares his dislike of Arthur.
Merlin meets the Great Dragon, who is imprisoned in a cave beneath the citadel and who informs Merlin of his and Arthur's shared destiny.
Morgana is revealed to suffer from frequent nightmares for which Gaius prescribes her sleeping draughts.
Uther appoints Merlin as Arthur's personal manservant as a reward for saving Arthur's life.
Gaius gives Merlin a book of magic to study in secret.

Release & Reception

The Dragon's Call premiered on Syfy UK at 7pm on September 6th 2017, immediately followed by Valiant.
The Dragon's Call, over 45 minutes, garnered 6.65 million viewers and a 30% viewing share according to overnight ratings despite going up against The X Factor in its first episode on September 20. The viewing audience was the third highest of the day only beaten by The X Factor and a new series of Strictly Come Dancing, which aired directly after Merlin on BBC One. The final figure was 7.15 million.

Behind the Scenes

Bradley James had to throw knives at a distance of 20 feet, and many missed the target. Those that we see reaching the target were launched by a machine.^[2]
Straw and a powerful fan were used for the scene where Mary Collins vanishes.^[2]
The dagger Lady Helen throws towards Arthur was added in computer graphics, while the one stuck on the back of the chair was a real one.^[2]
The chandelier used by Merlin to kill Mary Collins was created in computer graphics, although a rubber one was made to fell on actress Eve Myles.^[2]
According to actress Eve Myles, it took six hours to put on the makeup that turned her into the old Mary Collins. (Digital Spy - 19th September 2008).

Trivia

According to Bradley James, it was difficult filming Merlin in the stocks because Colin Morgan is allergic to tomatoes.
Merlin is asked by Gaius to give some medicine to Lady Percival. This name also applies to the knight of the round table Percival.
In the episode, when Mary Collins alias Lady Helen receives a fruit basket, the first fruit she has is a red apple. This could be a reference to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as the witch gave Snow White a red apple. Instead, she is given more than one. Also, the servant that gave her the basket dies by a spell, where in the fairy tale, Snow White is poisoned.
The scene in which Gaius chides Merlin for fighting with Arthur is the first scene that Colin Morgan shot.^[2]
When this episode was broadcast, The Moment of Truth was still shooting.^[2]
Computer graphics on this episode were finished three days before the first release.^[2]
The song Mary Collins, disguised as Lady Helen, sings ("The Witch's Aria", as it's called in the official soundtrack) is performed by soprano soloist Emma Brain-Gabbott (as credited on the Official Soundtrack leaflet).
- "The Witch's Aria" is the first piece Rob Lane, the author of the show soundtrack, composed.

Inaccuracies

When Merlin is in the stocks the spectators throw tomatoes at him. However, tomatoes were not introduced to Britain (Albion) until the 16th century.
Morgana is seen wearing high-heeled shoes, which were not invented until the 15th century.

Gallery

To view the The Dragon's Call gallery, click here.

Transcript

View the transcript here.

References

↑ BBC Merlin - The Dragon's Call
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 Merlin Hypnoweb - Les anecdotes du tournage

External Links

BBC Programmes listing

Series 1
The Dragon's Call • Valiant • The Mark of Nimueh • The Poisoned Chalice • Lancelot • A Remedy to Cure All Ills • The Gates of Avalon • The Beginning of the End • Excalibur • The Moment of Truth • The Labyrinth of Gedref • To Kill the King • Le Morte d'Arthur Mini-episode: Merlin in Need

Rate this episode!

[1] BBC Merlin - The Dragon's Call

[anecdotes-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 Merlin Hypnoweb - Les anecdotes du tournage

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