Merlin | |
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Series 3 | |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Release | |
Original network | BBC |
Original release | 11 September – 4 December 2010 |
Series chronology | |
The third series of Merlin began on 11 September 2010. Series three regular cast members include Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Anthony Head, and Richard Wilson, as well as Emilia Fox joining the regular cast. John Hurt took his previous role as the voice of the Great Dragon but was no longer one of the regular cast (though he continued to provide the opening narration for the series). Series three consists of 13 episodes. The series three premiere was watched by 6.49 million viewers.
Series 3 introduced the format of a two-part opener and two-part finale, this format was retained for Series 4 and Series 5. The series was notable for the change in character of Morgana from the sympathetic heroine in the first two series to the villain in series 3, keeping with the historical concept of Morgana as Merlin's nemesis in the legends of King Arthur. BBC officially renewed the show for series 4 on 10 October 2010. [1]
Camelot rejoices as the Lady Morgana is found and returned home, however not all is at it seems for Merlin, as he soon learns that Morgana has changed for the worse. Now in league with Morgause, Morgana's powers begin to grow and she becomes a deadly enemy within the walls of Camelot, but with Uther and the kingdom blind to her treachery, can Merlin thwart her plans before she can destroy Camelot?
Loyalties are tested to the limit as a dangerous game is played for the throne. Old friends return to the kingdom, and new enemies grow stronger outside the walls of Camelot. Merlin must be more alert than ever if he is to protect Prince Arthur, for his greatest enemy is now within the castle walls....Morgana. As the King's loving ward plays her game of lies and manipulation, can Merlin stop Morgana before Camelot is lost forever, or is the kingdom set to crumble under the force of secrets and lies?
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [2] | |
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27 | 1 | "The Tears of Uther Pendragon – Part 1" | Jeremy Webb | Julian Jones | 11 September 2010 | 6.49 | |
A year has passed with many fruitless quests in search of the missing Lady Morgana. The despondent Prince is all but ready to give up, but as he and Merlin recover from their latest skirmish a bruised, bloodied figure emerges from the mist; it is the Lady Morgana. King Uther is overjoyed, but then starts to lose his mind. Merlin thinks that magic is the cause; could this be the work of his dutiful ward? The young warlock puts himself in grave danger trying to find out whose side Morgana is really on, and he's forced to call the Great Dragon to save himself. | |||||||
28 | 2 | "The Tears of Uther Pendragon – Part 2" | Jeremy Webb | Julian Jones | 18 September 2010 | 6.06 | |
With Merlin gravely ill from the Serket's poison, Morgana and Morgause continue with their evil plan. They have mentally incapacitated Uther and convinced his enemy, Cenred, to invade Camelot. The fate of the kingdom now rests on Arthur's shoulders. The Prince and his Knights resist the invaders, but Cenred's soldiers are not the only threat they face. Morgana invokes a dead army that cannot be killed by normal means. Merlin fights Morgana and destroys her magical artifact, forcing Cenred to withdraw. But Morgana manages to make Uther believe it was her doing, and she's hailed as the heroine of the battle. | |||||||
29 | 3 | "Goblin's Gold" | Jeremy Webb | Howard Overman | 25 September 2010 | 6.22 | |
After stumbling into a secret chamber, Merlin releases a mysterious goblin with a penchant for making trouble and a lust for gold. It takes control of Gaius and causes all sorts of mischief. Merlin searches for a way to free Gaius, but finally he has to resort to poisoning Gaius to force the goblin out of his body. After giving him the antidote, the captured goblin is presented to the court as the true culprit of all the mischief. | |||||||
30 | 4 | "Gwaine" | David Moore | Julian Jones | 2 October 2010 | 6.42 | |
Merlin and Arthur find themselves outnumbered in a bar fight but an enigmatic young man helps them win. The man’s name is Gwaine and he risks his own life to protect Arthur but during his act of bravery he is seriously wounded. The Prince decides to take him back to Camelot where he could make a recovery with Gaius' help. Meanwhile, the two thugs they've defeated use sorcery to replace two knights and plot to murder the Prince during the tournament. Merlin finds out the sorcery they're using and foils their plans with Gwaine's help, but Uther exiles him from Camelot for attacking a knight. | |||||||
31 | 5 | "The Crystal Cave" | Alice Troughton | Julian Jones | 9 October 2010 | 6.36 | |
When Merlin enters the Crystal Cave, an old sorcerer shows Merlin a vision of the near future in which Morgana appears to kill Uther. Events begin unfolding as they did in the vision and Merlin misinterprets Morgana's nighttime visit to Morgause as sneaking off to kill Uther. Merlin tries to stop her, accidentally fracturing Morgana's skull. Merlin cannot live with Arthur and Uther's extreme anguish over Morgana's impending death and forces the Great Dragon to help save her. Unfortunately, Uther's grief makes him confess to Gaius that Morgana is his daughter, which she remembers after Merlin's heals her. Morgana is bitter at the revelation and Merlin has to foil the real assassination attempt, the one he saw in the crystal. | |||||||
32 | 6 | "The Changeling" | David Moore | Lucy Watkins | 16 October 2010 | 6.40 | |
Uther has Arthur get engaged to Princess Elena, who arrives in Camelot. Elena is not dainty or lady-like and Arthur does not love her. Furthermore, her nanny, Grunhilda, is working for the Sidhe (pronounced "Shee") Elder to use Arthur's marriage to take over Camelot. As Merlin and Gaius battle Grunhilda to free Elena from the Sidhe, Arthur must decide if he will go through with the wedding. He finally decides not to, as he wishes to marry for love, and Elena fully agrees with him. | |||||||
33 | 7 | "The Castle of Fyrien" | David Moore | Jake Michie | 23 October 2010 | 6.82 | |
Gwen is kidnapped one night as part of a plot by Morgana, Morgause and Cenred. Cenred has Gwen's estranged brother Elyan captive at Castle Fyrien and, after a quick reunion, releases Gwen with a choice: bring Arthur to Cenred or Elyan will die. Arthur, Merlin and Gwen plan to save Elyan by using a secret entrance to Castle Fyrien, but things get complicated when Morgana decides to come with them and betrays their position to her allies. Cenred captures them, but they manage to escape. | |||||||
34 | 8 | "The Eye of the Phoenix" | Alice Troughton | Julian Jones | 30 October 2010 | 6.92 | |
Arthur sets out on a quest to retrieve the Golden Trident from the Fisher King's Realm. Morgause tells Morgana to give Arthur the Eye of the Phoenix, which will consume his life force. When Merlin finds out, he goes in search of Gwaine and they follow Arthur into the Fisher King's Realm. Meanwhile, Gwen grows suspicious of Morgana and sees her doing magic. Merlin finds the Fisher King, who reveals it was really Merlin's quest. The King gives him water from the Lake of Avalon in exchange for the Eye of the Phoenix Merlin took from Arthur. Arthur finds the trident, and they head back, but Gwaine says goodbye at the border, since he's still banished. | |||||||
35 | 9 | "Love in the Time of Dragons" | Alice Troughton | Jake Michie | 6 November 2010 | 6.90 | |
When Alice, a physician and Gaius' old love, returns to Camelot, he is smitten again. However, she brings a Manticore with a plan to kill Uther with poison from its scorpion tail. Merlin tries to tell Gaius, but he won't listen. When Uther is poisoned, Merlin is forced to reveal Alice's participation to Arthur. Merlin and Gaius destroy the Manticore, which was controlling Alice, but Uther condemns Alice to death for using magic. In the end, Alice escapes, and it is implied Gaius helped her. | |||||||
36 | 10 | "Queen of Hearts" | Ashley Way | Howard Overman | 13 November 2010 | 7.37 | |
Morgana has visions about Gwen being crowned as Queen of Camelot. Morgause tells her that to prevent this she must find a way to split Gwen and Arthur up. Morgana first leads Uther to Arthur and Gwen's date, causing the king to banish Gwen from Camelot. When it seems that Morgana's plan has backfired, Gwen is accused of being a sorceress thanks to evidence that Morgana planted in Arthur's room. Merlin uses an ageing spell to disguise himself as the real culprit and save Gwen. However, he has trouble reversing the spell, and only Gaius' timely help saves him from being burned at the stake. | |||||||
37 | 11 | "The Sorcerer's Shadow" | Ashley Way | Julian Jones | 20 November 2010 | 7.42 | |
As another tournament descends on Camelot, a young man known as Gilli sets his sights on victory. Gilli uses magic in the tournament to win his fights, and by doing so he begins to realize the true strength of his powers, and the glory that he could possibly use them to achieve. Meanwhile, Morgana manipulates Uther and Arthur into competing against each other. | |||||||
38 | 12 | "The Coming of Arthur – Part 1" | Jeremy Webb | Jake Michie | 27 November 2010 | 7.12 | |
After the druids save Sir Leon's life with the Cup of Life, Uther orders Arthur to retrieve it before it ends up in the wrong hands, but Morgana tips off Morgause about it. On their way to Cenred's kingdom, they're captured by the slave trader Jarl, but manage to escape alongside fellow prisoner Gwaine. They manage to get the Cup, but quickly lose it to Morgause, after Arthur is shot with a poisoned arrow. Morgause uses the cup to make Cenred's army immortal and then kills Cenred. With an immortal army on side, Morgause takes over Camelot. In the citadel, they find Elyan and Gaius still alive. Merlin and Arthur secretly watch in horror as Morgana reveals her true allegiance (as well as her parentage) and is crowned Queen of Camelot. | |||||||
39 | 13 | "The Coming of Arthur – Part 2" | Jeremy Webb | Julian Jones | 4 December 2010 | 7.67 | |
Morgana has taken Uther's place on the throne, while Uther sits defenseless and alone in the castle dungeons. Gwen and Sir Leon escape from Camelot to join up with Arthur and his friends in exile. Freya appears to Merlin, urging him to get Excalibur. After finding the Round Table, Arthur knights Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan and Percival and they plan a counter attack. While Arthur and the others free the imprisoned knights and the King, Merlin and Lancelot fight their way to the Cup of Life. With Gaius' help, they manage to empty it of blood and the immortal knights explode. They take Camelot back, but Morgana manages to escape with Morgause. Merlin embeds Excalibur into a rock. |
Uther Pendragon (Brittonic), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur.
Excalibur is a 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed, co-written and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Gabriel Byrne as Uther and Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones.
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which the author relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters. The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine, a priestess fighting to save her Celtic religion in a country where Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The epic is focused on the lives of Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause, Igraine and other women of the Arthurian legend.
The Queen of Orkney, today best known as Morgause and also known as Morgawse and other spellings and names, is a character in Arthurian legend in which she is the mother of Gawain and Mordred, both key players in the story of King Arthur and his downfall. In early texts, Mordred's father is her husband, King Lot of Orkney, with whom she may also have various other children. In later versions, including the seminal Le Morte d'Arthur, Mordred is the offspring of Arthur's accidental incest with Morgause, his estranged half-sister. There, she is furthermore a sister of Morgan le Fay, as well as the mother of Gareth, Agravain, and Gaheris, the last of whom murders her.
Morgaine le Fey is a supervillainess appearing in DC Comics, based on Morgan le Fay, the mythical sorceress and half-sister of King Arthur. She debuted in The Demon #1, and was created by Jack Kirby.
Merlin is a 1998 two-part television miniseries starring Sam Neill as Merlin, recounting the wizard's life in the mythic history of Britain. Loosely adapted from the legendary tales of Camelot, the plot adds the antagonistic Queen Mab and expands Merlin's backstory before the birth of King Arthur.
The Mists of Avalon is a 2001 television miniseries based on the 1983 novel of the same title by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Produced by American cable channel TNT, adapted by Gavin Scott, and directed by Uli Edel, the series retells Arthurian legend from the perspectives of Morgan le Fay and other women of the tale. The first episode was the highest-rated original movie on basic cable in the summer of 2001.
Chronicles of the Sword is an adventure game developed by Synthetic Dimensions and released by Psygnosis in 1996 for MS-DOS and Sony PlayStation platforms. The game, originally titled as King Arthur: The Quest of The Fair Unknown, is based on Arthurian legends and uses a point-and-click interface. Chronicles of the Sword tells the story of the young knight Gawain on a quest to save Camelot from the scheming witch queen Morgana. It has received largely negative reviews.
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure drama television programme, loosely based on the Arthurian legends regarding the close relations of Merlin and King Arthur. Created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy for the BBC, it was broadcast for five series on BBC One between 20 September 2008 and 24 December 2012. The programme starred Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Richard Wilson, Anthony Head, and John Hurt.
Katie McGrath is an Irish actress. In television, she gained recognition for portraying Morgana Pendragon in the BBC One series Merlin (2008–2012), Lucy Westenra on the British-American series Dracula (2013–2014), Saskia in the TV series Secret Bridesmaids Business, and Sarah Bennett in the first season of the horror anthology series Slasher (2016), and for her role as Lena Luthor on the superhero series Supergirl (2016–2021). Her film roles include Lady Thelma Furness in the drama film W.E. and Jules Daly in the Christmas movie A Princess for Christmas (2011), Zara Young in the science fiction adventure film Jurassic World (2015), and Elsa in the epic fantasy film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017).
"The Dragon's Call" is the first episode of the first series of the British fantasy-adventure family television series Merlin. Written by Julian Jones and directed by James Hawes, the episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 20 September 2008.
Stories involving the mythical wizard Merlin have been popular since the Renaissance, especially with the renewed interest in the legend of King Arthur in modern times. As noted by Arthurian scholar Alan Lupack, "numerous novels, poems and plays center around Merlin. In American literature and popular culture, Merlin is perhaps the most frequently portrayed Arthurian character."
The first series of Merlin, a British fantasy television series, began on 20 September 2008 and ended on 13 December 2008. Regular cast members for the first series include Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, and John Hurt as the voice of the Great Dragon. The first series contained thirteen episodes, with 7.15 million tuning into the premier and 6.27 for the series finale. It was the only series to be composed completely of stand-alone episodes. Before the series finale, the BBC confirmed that the series was renewed for a further 13 episode second series. Series 2 premiered on 19 September 2009.
The second series of Merlin, is a British fantasy television series which began on 19 September 2009 and ended on 19 December 2009. Series two regular cast members include Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, and John Hurt as the voice of the Great Dragon. Series two contains thirteen episodes and had 5.77 million viewers for the premiere with 6.64 million viewers for the series finale. Series 2 was the first series to have a two-parter and the only series to have a two-parter mid-series. BBC renewed the show for the third series which premiered on 11 September 2010.
The fourth series of the British drama series Merlin began on 1 October 2011 with the episode "The Darkest Hour - Part 1". It consists of 13 episodes originally shown on Saturday evenings on BBC One and BBC One HD. The series producer was Sara Hamill, and executive producers were Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy. The directors of the series include Alice Troughton, Alex Pillai, Justin Molotnikov and Jeremy Webb. Writers include Julian Jones, Howard Overman, Jake Michie, Lucy Watkins, and Richard McBrien.
The fifth and final series of the British fantasy drama series Merlin began broadcasting on 6 October 2012 with the episode "Arthur's Bane – Part 1" and ended on 24 December 2012 in the UK, with "The Diamond of the Day – Part 2". It consists of 13 episodes shown on Saturday evenings on BBC One and BBC One HD. Series producer is Sara Hamill and executive producers are Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy. Directors include Justin Molotnikov, Ashley Way, Alice Troughton and Declan O'Dwyer. Writers include Julian Jones, Howard Overman, Jake Michie and Richard McBrien.
The Matter of Britain character Morgan le Fay has been featured many times in various works of modern culture, often but not always appearing in villainous roles. Some modern stories merge Morgana's character with her sister Morgause or with aspects of Nimue. Her manifestations and the roles given to her by modern authors vary greatly, but typically she is being portrayed as a villainess associated with Mordred.
Artus - Excalibur is a musical loosely based on the legends of the 5th/6th-century British monarch King Arthur and his fabled sword, Excalibur. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Robin Lerner, book by Ivan Menchell, and arrangements and orchestrations by Koen Schoots. The musical had its world premiere at the Theater St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland on March 15, 2014.