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Movie Review by The Gravedigger
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03.23.10
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This second season turns everything up a few notches. In the first episode, King Uther's (Anthony Head of BUFFY) men discover a hidden treasure filled tomb beneath Camelot, which belongs to an infamous sorcerer put to death a century before. This sorcerer, Cornelius Sigan, has managed to transfer his soul into a heart-shaped stone that's imbedded in his sarcophagus. He possesses the body of a thief who tries to steal it, then animates the castle's stone gargoyles, which kill quite a few of the villagers. The sorcerer wants Merlin to join him in ruling the kingdom, but of course Merlin refuses and manages to defeat him.
In another episode, THE ONCE AND FUTURE QUEEN, Prince Arthur is tired of that fact that his men don't want to hurt him when they are practicing fighting, so he pretends he is another knight from out of town during the jousting contests. He wants to prove to himself that they aren't letting him win. He also stays with Guinevere since his father thinks he's out of town fighting a monster. We also see how much Gwen's opinion matters to the young prince and how deep his feelings are for this servant girl.
Morgana, the King's ward, finally finds out that she has magical powers after she flees to the druids. There, she again encounters the young Mordred, who she has a bond to. Merlin follows her and tries to bring her back, saying that he'll keep her secret because if the King finds out she does magic she'll be put to death. In the next episode Morgana is nearly kidnapped by rogues who want to ransom her but she escapes. Gwen is captured instead and forced by the bandits to pretend that she's Morgana when they take her to their boss. If she doesn't keep up the charade she'll be killed. Of course, King Uther doesn't want to pay ransom for a lowly servant girl so Arthur and Merlin go to her aid. However, Gwen encounters Lancelot, who is disillusioned about his place in the world and is fighting in their games for profit. He vows to free Gwen, who he's in love with. In the meantime, Arthur and Merlin get to the bandit's hideout via underground tunnels infested with these giant rodents that look like hairless mole rats. It's a pivotal episode because Arthur admits his feelings for Gwen--and shows his jealousy towards Lancelot, a hit of the legendary story to come.
In BEAUTY & THE BEAST, a two-part story, a female troll impersonates the Lady Katrina and bewitches King Uther into falling in love with her. She simply wants all the kingdom's gold. Even when her true form is revealed by Merlin, this hideous,farting creature, the King doesn't care. There's lots of truly gross moments, not a few of them involving fresh dung.
Lastly, Merlin resolves his conflict with the Dragon that is kept beneath Camelot and who he has repeatedly gotten help from. He's promised to free the Dragon--and when he does it goes on a rampage and attacks the city. To stop the destruction he and Arthur go out to find the last Dragon Lord, who turns out to be Merlin's father. And this also means that Merlin has these powers as well.
Season two is far better than the first. Recommended.
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Rating: nan out of 10.0 - 0 votes cast total
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