Merlin: Season 3 Episode 4 "Gwaine"

 Episode Summary 

    BBC's Merlin, Season 3 Episode 4, titled "Gwaine" begins with Arthur and Merlin getting back from a day of hunting, and while Merlin is tired, Arthur finds that this would be a good opportunity for them to go and get a drink. So, both the main characters sit down to have a drink at a small village tavern, when some thugs, the leader of them, Dagr, demand some of the earnings from all already struggling tavern. This causes Arthur to jump into action, but the odds are not in their favor, as Merlin antagonizes Dagr, leading to him calling in reinforcements. Seeing the almost impossible odds for both Merlin and Arthur, one of the bars occupants, offers his assistance. With his help, the fight for the most part goes relatively smoothly, with him, Arthur, and Merlin being able to take out most of their opponents. While Merlin is attempting to sneakily use magic to take out his opponents, the helpful bar occupant introduces himself to Merlin as Gwaine. The bar fight ends with Arthur about to be injured by Dagr, when Gwaine get hurt saving him. With his injury being decently severe, Arthur and Merlin bring him back to Camelot. 

Gwaine Fighting Dagr [2]

  After a while, Gwaine awakens and is firstly angered that the people he helped save is a knight, and then he refuses to even meet with Uther. The watchers find out that Gwaine's arrival is roughly around the same time are the Knight's Tournament. Dagr also plans to use the Knight's Tournament to get revenge, and he along with his goons, murder two other knights, Sir Oswald and Sir Ethan, and end up assuming their forms. Eventually Merlin discovers who they are, and they nearly kill him before Gwaine once again intervenes, and successfully recuses him. But then, with Uther unconvinced of Gwaine's innocence in regard to the whole ordeal, banishes him from Camelot, saying that if he was to ever return, he would be killed. 

    Then begins the final part of the episode, which is the Tournament scheduled to take place. Only blunt swords should be used for the event, but Dagr's swords are sharp, and only Merlin's magic prevents Arthur from being harmed with them. After the majority of the event takes place, at the end of it, it seems that only Arthur and Dagr are left standing, and Arthur is completely at his mercy. Although, the day is saved by another knight appearing and saving Arthur, and he is revealed to be Gwaine. Uther is going to have him executed until Gaius reveals Sir Oswald and Sir Ethan as imposters. Then to end the episode, instead of being executed, Gwaine is just once again banished. 

                                                                                        Represented Characters

Gwen, Arthur, and Merlin [1]

    Arthur is depicted as a royal, who whilst is very arrogant, is also very kindhearted and courageous. He is a first glance very brash and overall rude, and this come into play with the way he orders people around and how he treats Merlin, but he is a decently just person. He is just not afraid of the wait of his status and tends to throw it around a bit. Merlin on the other hand is overly aware of the fact that he is at risk due to the fact that he is a sorcerer yet is still determined to protect Arthur with the use of his magic. He throughout the episode is depicted as someone is snarky and intelligent, but also is very clumsy, which leads to a lot of tense scenes of him almost get caught doing exactly what he is not supposed to, which is get caught using magic. Gwaine is depicted to be a good fighter, but the main aspect of his personality that shines through when it comes to his characterization in regard to the show is his crave for adventures. His desire for new experiences tends to make him be restless, brash, and generally self-sacrificing. He is shown to be brave, and he stands up for what he believes is right, but he also tends to go rushing headfirst into trouble without worry. Lastly, Gweneviere is shown to be independent and compassionate. She is also depicted to be very well spoken and level-headed; she knows what she wants, and what she needs to do to get it. 

Related Myths and Legends and the Differences Between the Two

    So, the main question is how does the telling of this version of the Arthurian world differ from the classics? Since this episode is about Gwaine, let's start with him. The distinct difference between this Gwaine and the Gwaine that we encounter in Merlin is that the Gwaine in Merlin does not embrace his bloodline. He is acting more similarly to Sir Gareth in the fact that he is ignoring his bloodline and instead is doing deeds based almost entirely on his reputation. Another one of the biggest differences between the Gwaine encountered in earlier works is the fact that Gwaine, in the Merlin universe, seems to have an almost distain towards nobles, especially since he was upset to find out Arthur was a prince after he saved him, and then refused the reward/meeting with Uther. So not only does Gwaine not use his namesake to gain him status based on his nobility, but he also has the dislike and overall bias when it comes to nobility (Malory [4]). Overall, Merlin differs greatly from the text of Malory, but it also strays from the perception of Gwaine based on the work, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." That depiction of Gawain was very centered around his religion, and devotion to Mary in particular. The Merlin version of Gwaine has shown, at least in this episode, that he has no real interest in religion, and there wasn't a singular instance that he showed any interest in faith (Sir Gawain & the Green Knight [5]). Lastly, some other interesting differences that arise between earlier Arthurian works and the show of Merlin, is the idea around magic and how normalized it is in their societies. In earlier works it is depicted that Arthur respects Merlin and his magic as a whole, and even bases a variety of huge decisions around it. So, it quite a big difference to have BBC's Merlin revolve around a world in which magic is outlawed, especially when one of the main characters has in ingrained so intimately into their story, it just goes to show how much each adaptation of these Arthurian stories can change. 

Ever Changing Story

Gwen and Gwaine [3]

    The story of King Arthur and his knights continues to change throughout history, and every adaptation adds just a little bit more to the story as a whole.  For instance, when it come to the more recent adaptations, the Arthurian story also becomes more modern. These new modern actions to the story just continue to show Arthur's ever-growing legacy, for instance the different ideas of conflicts, characters, and other reoccurring elements of the story. One way that the modernistic take the show Merlin has on the Arthurian story is the way in which women are treated, which granted, isn't incredibly well, but in comparison to some of the older Arthurian books were most women weren't event referred to by name, there was much more respect in that regard connected to the women of Merlin. This especially shines through with important characters like Morgana and Gweneviere, and Arthur in this episode of Merlin in particular even respected the barmaid. The one other main thing that I think this Arthurian adaptation really adds to the idea of the story of King Arthur, especially compared to other adaptations, is in direct relation to the fact that it is a comedy. This work, and even this episode alone, really does a great job in humanizing a lot of the characters that appear in the Arthurian world, especially Gwaine. He is shown to have a very organized moral compass, and treats the people who he deemed earned it, with respect. Also, his willingness to help Merlin and Arthur overall just made him an overall super likable character, especially when in most adaptations, including the ones that I have encountered, don't usually do so. the story of Merlin was just one piece in the puzzle that works to have the Arthurian story to be every growing, but I at least, believe it did so in a positive way with the way it shows strong and positive female characters and makes a variety of characters more enjoyable overall.

Works Cited

[1] nickelbackloverxoxox. “Gwen, Arthur, and Merlin-BBC Merlin PNG by Nickelbackloverxoxox on

        DeviantArt.” DeviantArt, www.deviantart.com/nickelbackloverxoxox/art/Gwen-Arthur-and

        Merlin BBC-Merlin-PNG-500917120.

[2] Unknown. “Gwaine Merlin GIF - Gwaine Merlin Punch - Discover & Share Gifs.” Tenor, Tenor,

        28 June 2016, tenor.com/view/gwaine-merlin-punch-sucker-gif-5625912.

[3] Unknown. “Merlin on BBC Wallpaper: Gwen & Gwaine: Gwaine Merlin, Merlin Series, Merlin

        Gwen.” Pinterest, 22 Aug. 2013, www.pinterest.com/pin/merlin-on-bbc-wallpaper-gwen-gwaine

        -294634000592879532/.

[4] Malory, Thomas. Le Morte D’Arthur. L’Atalante, 2022.

[5] Sir Gawain & the Green Knight. 1967.