Merlin: Arthur's Bane Part 2 Review
rating:3
Heading into the conclusion of a two-parter is no easy job for a writer on a British televised drama- you need only look at the likes of Doctor Who, Wild At Heart and countless other recent TV seasons for evidence of that. Merlins faring on double-barrelled episodes has been hit-and-miss at best in series gone by, and try as he might, Julian Jones still cant quite seem to get the handle on how to balance action, emotion and arcs in this weeks second instalment of Series Five. Arthurs Bane Part 2 most certainly has its merits, yet its definitely a step down from last weeks cracking opener. Not keen to shy away from one of the obvious main arcs for the series narrative, Jones places an intense focus on the character of Mordred this week, presenting him in a number of different lights and stances that will presumably make him a tricky one to analyse in days to come on the show. Newcomer Alexander Vhalos clearly revels in such moral ambiguity, bringing new power and understanding to the character that Asa Butterfield could only have hoped to touch upon in his initial appearances as the younger version in the opening two seasons. It will be fascinating to watch how Mordreds arc progresses as we move towards the middle of the run and indeed the looming finale, where fans will no doubt expect to see some resolution for the dark foresights Merlins vision gave him last week into who to trust and who to be cautious of in the immediate future. No matter how much of a bearing the young warlocks vision will have on his character arc for the season, though, it was rather underwhelming to see Colin Morgan placed in such a blatantly obvious position for much of the episode, essentially encouraging the murder of Mordred in order to save the man who would willingly have him slaughtered were he to discover Merlins secret. Perhaps the intentions of Emrys were purely honourable for the King, yet given his prior reactions to Mordred in the shows early days, this intention seemed wildly out-of-character and a motive which I hope will be addressed in later instalments properly by wiser dialogue sequences. If this eventuality does not come to past, I fear Morgan will be put up to ridicule for an inconsistent portrayal of a character who felt so definitively depicted in last years run. Roles seemed to have been reversed this time around in terms of performances- Liam Cunninghams Ruadan was merely a loose plot thread that was dealt with by the halfway point of the episode, Sefa did little in the respect of her original role either, Bradley James Arthur verged on completely foolish come the final confrontation and Kate McGrath remained an irritatingly pantomime-esque ploy for the protagonists. On the other hand, Richard Wilson had more time to shine as Gaius, Angel Coulby continued to impress as the Queen of Camelot and as already mentioned Vhalos proved the unsung star of the show (for one week only?...). It would be preferable to have more consistent portrayals from the cast in terms of writing and actors performances, but at least there were some surefire highlights amongst the dips this time around. While the retaining of the Game Of Thrones-esque slow-motion battles and the various references to the rediscovered young dragon Aithusa, Mordreds allegiances and other loose plot arcs were undoubtedly great to see, Part 2 mainly faltered in its resolution of plot threads from the previous week. The Diomair continued to seem like one of the most pointless additions to the series lore yet, merely serving to warn Merlin that Arthurs demise would come of his own doing, and in addition despite a flashback sequence to Morganas two-year capture by unknown forces we learnt next to nothing about his captors in the scenes that followed. These are the kind of plot inconsistencies that a show like Merlin should try to avoid when it banks on weekly audience plugs such as Uthers return next time, as those viewers whove just tagged on for the ride may well become lost if a plot thread that has remained untapped since the opening two-parter is then not dealt with until the final instalment. Occasionally, in instances such as Lost and Ashes To Ashes, this has worked to the writers advantage, yet I think that Jones may be assuming the loyalty of his core cult fanbase a little too willingly here to predict the inevitable peaks and troughs in the ratings battles of weeks to come. If this review is beginning to sound completely negative on my part, then Ill apologise, as on the woile this conclusion to the opening two-parter was a fun watch, with plenty of filmic setpieces and strong plot allusions to the overall series arc contained within. That said, there was often a sense that this episode could have been so much more than it was in the hands of the right writer, and indeed that Julian Jones was catering to the needs of the overall series arc in setting up plot elements rather than crafting his own standalone adventure. Arthurs Bane Part 2 remains a solid Merlin offering, then, but not one which will go down in the history books as being among the all-time greats. What did you think of Arthur's Bane Part 2? Share your thoughts below.