To Kill the King

Introduction

In this episode of Merlin, Guinevere's father Tom is caught working with an infamous sorcerer Tauren. Tom is imprisoned and later killed for committing treason against the King and the kingdom of Camelot. Tauren escaped Arthur and his knights but lost his mage stone. This stone that Tauren possesses when used with magic, can practice alchemy, which has never been done before. When he finds out that the stone is missing he threatens to kill Guinevere if she does not bring it to him. However, Morgana has already found the stone and plans to bring it to him herself. Throughout this time, Merlin has these unknown strange feelings randomly in the middle of the night. Morgana takes the stone into the woods to meet Tauren, and they make a deal to work together to kill Uther. Merlin senses what is going to happen and goes to stop them. Morgana lures Uther to her father's grave where Tauren is waiting to ambush him. Merlin is hiding in the background and uses his magic to stop the other knights who were there with Tauren. Tauren attacks Uther from behind and they struggle but Morgana finally kills Tauren and saves the king. 

Tauren attempts to kill the King.

Character Representation

This episode features many characters from the original Arthurian stories including, King Uther, Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, and Guinevere. King Uther is portrayed to be a very strict and harsh king. He abides by the law at all times, even when it hurts his close friends. However, he does all of this for the good of the whole kingdom. He also outlawed all magic within Camelot which is seen as unjust by others. Arthur is depicted as young and inexperienced. Merlin knows that Arthur will be king one day but is told that he lacks knowledge and judgment right now. He is also seen as sympathetic and kind, especially to Guinevere when her father is killed by Uther. Morgana is portrayed as a passionate and remorseful character. Throughout this episode, she goes through a roller coaster of different emotions but they are all because she cares about the people of the kingdom. She originally starts to hate Uther because he kills her handmaid Guinevere's father, after she warns him not to. However, as the episode continues she becomes remorseful and decides that killing Uther will not solve anything and she actually cares deeply for him. Merlin is seen as sort of a background character in this episode, however, his actions are ultimately what changes the course of this episode. At first, he is very hesitant about taking action and feels uneasy about his decisions. Merlin goes to multiple people, including Kilgharrah the dragon and his mentor Gaius, to ask them what he should do. He wrestles with his own feelings and what is actually right before coming to a final decision. Then once he feels strongly about what he should do, he stops at nothing to do what is right. 

Guinevere talks to Merlin about King Uther. 

Guinevere experiences many emotions during this episode, but she stays true to who she is. She is very forgiving and loyal. When her father is accused she stays by his side and expresses how she believes that he is innocent. In addition, when Merlin comes to ask her if she would want to kill Uther for what he did, she expresses to him that doing that would not solve anything. Although this episode has some of the same characters from the original Arthurian stories, they are represented in an original way that shows off different parts of their personalities. 

Adaptation to Modern Values

This episode adapts the original material to represent modern values and ideas through the character Morgana. Morgana does not agree with what King Uther is doing and on multiple occasions, she expresses her displeasement with him. She tells him straight to his face that she does not like what he is doing and thinks that he is being too unreasonable and strict. In original Arthurian literature, it is rare to see a woman standing up to a man, let alone the king himself. Even though Uther ends up throwing her in the dungeon for this act, this scene still represents women standing up for themselves and their beliefs. After this scene, Morgana decides to take matters into her own hands. She hears from Guinevere that Tauren is looking for the stone that she found, and she plans to meet up with him to make a deal. In Arthurian literature, women were never the ones making the deals or plans. This reflects modern values and ideas because now women are encouraged to take matters into their own hands if they are unhappy with what is going on around them. 

Morgana argues with King Uther.

Additions to the Arthurian World

This adaptation adds elements of mythical creatures and internal struggle that we did not see much of in the original Arthurian texts. In this episode, Merlin is seen going to visit a dragon named Kilgharrah. This dragon supposedly has prophetic powers and knows what is going to happen to the kingdom in the future. Merlin goes to visit this dragon and asks him for advice. This dragon character adds another level of mythology to this story while also showcasing that Merlin is not confident in his own powers or decisions yet. 

Merlin talks to Kilgharrah.

Also in this episode, we see Merlin have an internal struggle with what to do. On one hand, he wants to let Morgana and Tauren kill Uther for what he has done. On the other hand, he knows that killing him is not right and he is capable of stopping them. Throughout the episode, Merlin fights with himself on what to do and the viewers get an inside look at the pressure that he must feel while having magical powers. This is something that the audience has not previously seen in Arthurian literature. It demonstrates that having prophetic powers comes with advantages and disadvantages. This adaptation adds many elements to the Arthurian world that were not in the original stories.