Merlin: Sins Of The Father

Curse you, Merlin, for leading me on like that. Sins Of The Father was the closest this series has yet come to a perfect episode and still, right in the last act, they had to go and press the 'reset' button to make sure the status quo was maintained for the next story.

It could have been - and may still turn out to be - a pivotal episode in the overall story of Merlin (presuming there actually is one), with Arthur finally finding out the truth surrounding the nature of his birth, the fate of his mother, the involvement of Nimueh, and his father's hypocrisy.

A mysterious knight turns up at Camelot, kills five red cloaks (the guards who are Merlin's equivalent of Star Trek disposable red shirts) and challenges Arthur (Bradley James) to a duel.

It turns out that the knight is Morgause (the yummy Emilia Fox, who doesn't appear in enough genre pieces for my liking), who promptly beats Arthur, fair and square.

Instead of slaying him says she will set him a challenge he has to accept and departs, teasing him with the fact that she knew his mother.

Against his father's wishes, Arthur heads off, with Merlin (Colin Morgan) to meet Morgause, who is also a sorceress. Finally making it to her ruined castle, and succeeding in his challenge, she grants him one wish... and it is to see his mother, Ygraine (Alice Patten).

What he learns from Ygraine fills him with righteous fury and indignation and Arthur heads back to Camelot to face his father.

The confrontation between Arthur and Uther (Anthony Head) is, without doubt, the strongest single scene Merlin has delivered to date and I really felt as the show was coming into its own.

It was only the intervention of Merlin, understandably in context, defusing the situation where I felt my hopes dashed.

On one hand, it made perfect sense and created an interesting new level of threat for Merlin's personal predicament, but on the other I really wanted the show to have the courage to move the story forward, change its parameters and pit Arthur against Uther - rather than restore them to the cosy father/son relationship we saw in the closing moments.

Clearly Morgause has some hidden agenda, because of her connection with Morgana (Katie McGrath) and will hopefully show up again later in the series - perhaps even bringing Michelle Ryan with her as Nimueh (a veritable babefest!).

Outside of the main plot there was a lot to commend in Sins Of The Father, from the beautiful landscapes Merlin and Arthur travel through on their quest to the superbly realised fight scenes - even though, again, this was not a combat-driven episode, but character-driven.

The star of this episode, beyond a shadow of a doubt though, was Bradley James, finally giving Arthur the chutzpah the future king deserves, from his bravery and determination to stay true to his word during Morgause's challenge to the way he stood up to his strict father.

With five episodes to go in this second season of Merlin, perhaps it's too early to think that the showrunners are gearing up for a spectacular season climax; it's just a shame that for every two baby steps they take towards it, they then take at least one step backwards.

Next week (intriguingly called The Lady Of The Lake):