Merlin - Lancelot and Guinevere

S2:E4 - Lancelot and Guinevere:

In this episode, Morgana and Guinevere are captured by bandits. Morgana fights against them and is able to temporarily flee with Guinevere. However, soon Guinevere twists her ankle and has to stay behind while Morgana escapes and warns the others that Guinevere is still captured. King Uther does not send knights for her, but Arthur and Merlin secretly sneak out to save Guinevere. Unbeknownst to them both, Lancelot is already at the castle where Guinevere is a prisoner, and Lancelot also tries to free her. Lancelot fails at saving her, but soon after he realizes he failed, Arthur and Merlin come in to save them both. They successfully escape, and also kill their captor. However, during their celebration, Arthur and Lancelot both realize they have feelings for Guinevere, and this leads to a slight emotional separation between Arthur and Guinevere.

Lancelot holding Guinevere's hand; Infront of Arthur and Merlin

Arthurian Characters:

Popular Arthurian characters, such as Lancelot and Guinevere, are represented in this adaption as being younger and in consistent moral conflict. At this point in the adaption, Arthur is not yet king, Lancelot is not a recognized knight, and Merlin is still learning his powers with the help of Gaius. Lancelot has little reputation, is not recognized as a noble, and his whereabouts are consistently unknown. Similarly, Guinevere is not considered a noble, and she is a maiden of ward Morgana, Arthur's sister. In this adaptation storyline, King Uther is alive and reigning over his kingdom, while Arthur is deemed prince. In this episode, Prince Arthur, aided by Merlin, is trying to save Guinevere from bandits. During their quest, they encounter and fight several barbaric and merciless 'knights'. Nearing the end of this storyline, the blooming relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere is revealed to the Arthur and Merlin. Compared to written Arthurian storyline, Arthur is first crowned king and married to Guinevere before a relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere comes to light.

Morgana fighting off her kidnappers

Episode's Adaptations:

Throughout this episode, there are a few changes made in the story that reflect modern values and attitudes. For example, when she is captured with Guinevere, Morgana is shown to be capable of defending herself against more than one bandit. Another example would be when Guinevere confronted her captor and talked back to him, stating that she was not his guest but his prisoner. Guinevere was unafraid to confront him, even if it was just verbally. A woman being confrontational or successful in battle is something that is unheard of in Arthurian literature. These scenes can be seen as aligning with today's attitude of independent and capable women. Additionally, the affection and love between Lancelot and Guinevere is unprecedented to Arthur and Merlin. Within Arthurian literature, the close relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere is seen by many as acceptable, and it is seen as Lancelot simply caring for his queen. If truth were to get out, Lancelot was willing to take the repercussions from Arthur and his knights. However, in the episode, the love between them is seen as not meant to be, even by Lancelot himself. This is in part due to Lancelot noticing that Arthur already has his eyes set on Guinevere. I believe this scene was put in place to show how, in modern times, men will avoid relationships that would likely result in repercussions from another who also loved the same person, unlike before. 

Merlin using his powers to telepathically move barrels 

Contribution:

I believe this adaptation adds modern values and more mythical elements to the Arthurian world. The relationship between them Lancelot and Guinevere in the adaptation is more reserved and forbidden compared to the relationship found in the Arthurian world. The creatures that are found in this story are hinted at in the Arthurian world but are present in the adaptation. More of Merlin's powers are revealed to both us and the characters through this episode. Uther, as a character, is more developed and his reign over his kingdom is shown. Guinevere's and Arthur's lives before their crowning is an essential part of the adaptations compared to Arthurian Literature read in class. Overall, I would say on top of the modern values and mythical elements, a more modern and entertaining story of Arthurian characters is added by this adaptation to the Arthurian world.