Merlin: The Gates Of Avalon

After my initial excitement about - and hopes for - this episode of Merlin, based on the trailer, all The Gates of Avalon managed to do was highlight the formulaic flaws in this well-intentioned series.

Although Merlin sports a sheen of modernity, it is trapped in a very dated timewarp of having a random stranger/problem roll up at the gates of Camelot every week and only Merlin (and Gaius, usually) can see it/stop it.

This week, Arthur saved a pair of travellers - Aulfric (Kenneth Vranham) and his bewitching daughter Sophia (Holliday Grainger) - from bandits and invited them to Camelot. Despite the presence of their rather obvious Gandalf-style, crystal topped staffs, magic-hating King Uther insisted they both stay a while in the castle.

Of course, the dastardly duo were up to no good - they were sidhe (evil Celtic fairy creatures) cursed with human form, only able to return to the lands of Avalon through the sacrifice of the soul of a mortal prince.

And Sophia already had Arthur under her spell.

Morgana had foreseen Arthur's death at Sophia's hands in a dream, but Gaius was concerned that her blooming gift of prophecy would be damned as witchcraft by Uther and so he warned her not to tell him.

Thus, the stage was set for Merlin to step in and save the day.

Sadly, the true sidhe only appear in one scene, when Aulfric summons them by a lakeside and Merlin uses his magical "slow-motion-vision" to see them as they spell out what is required for Sophia to be able to return to their mystical homeland.

Without a deeper understanding of Uther's outright hatred of magic - when Merlin and Gaius (and now Morgana) have, behind the scenes, proved how useful it can be on a weekly basis - this constant need for the scriptwriters to find ways of keeping sorcery hidden is going to grow old fast and the show's formulaic approach is going to become tiresome and repetitive even faster.

Next week:


(Film clip only available in the UK)