Merlin: The Crystal Cave – Dork Review

After a couple of weeks sneering impotently behind the King, Evil Morgana finally strikes in this week’s Merlin. Things take a turn for the even worse when our gangly hero makes a schoolboy error: paying heed to a bearded stranger spouting prophecies in the woods.

So it’s a serious outing this week, minimal comic relief. There is a tumbling pratfall down some stairs, but even that is only a source of bigger drama. You can see The Crystal Cave yourself on BBC iPlayer if you don’t believe me. But were we excited?

Oh Morgana! What A Big Knife You Have!

As showcased in the trailer last week, the main event of this week is Morgana finally donning the Red Riding Hood-esque cloak of Evil and skulking around the castle doing wicked deeds. It’s good to see her getting out there and actualising her potential, as a whole series of dark threats would’ve gotten old. And there’s a revelation here that will certainly play into her future appearances.

No, they are not yet shattering the status quo completely, I imagine they’re holding off on that until the last episode of the year. But there’s a sense of progression, a pleasing feeling they are going somewhere. I half-expected this episode to undo itself via magic or time travel, happily this was not the case.

It wrapped up whiplashingly quickly though. I starting preparing for a cliffhanger ending when the final part of the prophecy came to pass with minutes remaining, only for Magic-Boy to save the day in thirty seconds flat.

Prince Arthur: Amnesiac Or Just Plain Rude?

Early in this broadcast, Arthur says to Merlin that he might be right about something, “for once”. Now, I suspect our young Prince has said this a lot, possibly every week. Soon, surely he’ll remember that Merlin is nearly always right?

That aside, this is quite a heavy week, the third out of five so far to go this way. I suppose that matches threats made at the start of the year that this would be a “dark” series of Merlin. Certainly, everyone has their serious face on; Arthur even dispenses with his usual topless scene.

I’m enjoying the main story arc, helped by the always-great Emilia Fox, so as long as I don’t start wanting to self-harm after watching an episode, more power to them. Helpfully, it looks like we’ll get a fun interlude next week, as yet another member of the cast experiments with inter-species “relations”. For now, though, let us know what you thought of The Crystal Cave.

More Merlin On Dork Adore | Merlin: Gwaine – Dork Review

Nick Bryan

Nick learned to read and write at an early age. This has developed into an unhealthy need to either write stories or consume them for later dissection. He reviews film and TV on Dork Adore and The Digital Fix, lives in London and enjoys a nice white beer.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me: