Merlin Season 5 Episode 13

gosh i've been waiting for such a long time for merlin to reveal his magic to arthur and it was disappointing! throughout the whole show, all merlin wants to do is protect arthur so that he can one day become a king which accepts magic and i was really waiting for that to happen! BUT they killed arthur off instead! I really wanted to see how arthur changed camelot and albian just because merlin has shown him how magic can be used for good! but they killed him! and it was such an unsatisfying episode! the way morgana was killed was too easy. gwen was all happy that arthur is in the hands of merlin but arthur died!? How can merlin face gwen anymore! and what was with merlin in the modern times! it didn't make sense! gosh! i really loved this show because everytime an episode sounds cliche, it turns out surprisingly good but the ending was just really disappointing! D:

Hey, i just saw a new episode going to be on friday, 10th or 17th of May???

Not sure if it's an old episode or something like that..

Saw it when i was watching tonight's Warehouse 13 episode # 412.... today it's may 7th, 2013..

I can have dreams :D

Sad ending but it had to be.

I loved this series to death and apparently so did the writers... literally to DEATH. I haven't been this disappointed with a finale as I am with this. As many others complained before me. They ruined the entire series with this final installment. Gawd awful. Perhaps this should have been called, Diamond in the Rough with such a horrid ending. Anyways, I wish to thank the writers and producers for all the magnificent episodes prior to this. It was a great run and I'm deeply saddened to know Merlin is no more.

All the best to the cast... i will truly miss this show.

I was so sad and dissapointed with the direction of the show. However, if they wanted to go the route of killing Arthur off, they could have still made the ending so much less depressing and I really did not like how they did a scene with Merlin from modern days. I thought it was useless and made it even more depressing: he's alone, immortal, and looks like a homeless person. The dragon at the end said that in Alvion's time of need King Arthur would rise again. So why didn't they show that? Or was the point (which is equally depressing) that Merlin has to wait until now (modern times) for Arthur to return? I think it would have been a much more fitting ending if they ended with something a little bit more uplifting like say a scene with the hand coming up out of the water with the sword Excalibur. It would have been an exciting moment, you don't have to do much and it would have been a little more "okay, he's coming back to save the day" and let us imagine what would have happened in the end. instead, they have him die, the sword go in the lake, merlin stand there, gwen all alone at the throne but knowing about merlin, gaius all alone, and then finally merlin (also alone) but old and in our time. How is this a good ending? I would like to know. Anyways, the show is over so we'll have to live with it but I sure didn't enjoy how it turned out. Which is too bad because I loved this show. It was my favourite. And then they had to go and ruin the end.

I feel like I've been watching 4 seasons of lies from the beginning it was said that Merlin was to change a whole kingdom,and that was what kept me watching all the seasons because i was hoping for a change especially with king Arthur's true king's attitude (by the way,good job Bradley James),but to change so ruthlessly like that at the of the prophecy really happened,except for the guinevere's there's a surprise for tell me there's something else,cause that CANNOT and MUST not be the end.

I watched Merlin because i really liked the show and also that i was soooooo looking for to see a moment when Arthur will discover who Merlin is. A lot of episodes in this last season was like nothing is happen to finally see the revelation of Merlin as a sorcerer, but i knew that at least last episode can give me my dream it didn't at all. Merlin told him who he is, Arthur thanks him at the than he died. What the hell ??? I wasn't so disappointed about ending of any TV series in my whole life. Shame on you writers that you destroyed future of Albion in a blink of an eye.

I really liked the ending, it stayed true to the legend. I also really enjoyed the final shot in present day, I thought that it gave a mystery a certain amount of closure.

What the?

I was waiting and SO looking forward to this series and the ending and the great moment when the truth is finally unveiled. But Arthur had to die minutes later? all that was exchange was few words between them and a few occasion that was discussed and than he just died. If Merlin was SO depressed and in agony of the death of his fren, he should have tried all his best and gave it a shot to use his own magic to save Arthur? but he never once tried. It was also mention by someother viewers, WHY did merlin only call for the dragon when its too late? i keep thinking to myself all the while when watching the show, CALL the dragon! The conversation between merlin and arthur was so touching, and the moment when Arthur finally how much Merlin had done, all this should have been given more time and not just killed off. An alternative COULD have been written which doesnt result in Aruthurs death. Who cares if maybe it was a fight tht badly disfigured his face, and a new cast could have replace him in the new season. Its still better than killing him off. I notice merlin did not burn his corspes? so after hundreds of years Aruthur will rise again? doesnt make sense... o god. too much unresolve issues!!! T_T really so upset by the sudden death of Arthur after he just found out about merlin.

... i am all for Merlin finally realising his full power and potential, but i am not very happy about Arthus dead. I would have had the show end with Arthus accepting Merlin as a Wizard and great ally, standing besides Arthur and the queen (no longer as a servant of Arthus, a more happy ending IMO).

Also, i don't get why Merlin didn't call for the dragon earlier, if he thought Arthus could be saved by this journey. I know the dragon isn't that fond of Arthur, but it still struck me as strange. Also, did the dragon not think it was all alone / the last of its kind? Merlin could have told it there was a young one needing guidance, so that the dragon wouldn't have to live alone anymore...

I'm an American who has watched and loved many UK series, and when I found out that one of my favorite Uk shows Merlin's season 5 had not only started in the UK but was up to episode 8 and I was so thrilled to be able to watch them online. I also at the time googled season 5 and the first article I read was had the producers saying they were doing at least one possibly two more seasons followed by some movies. So when a few weeks later when I watched the finale I had a serious WTF? moment and all of a sudden in place of what I had previously read was now quotes saying that it was planned and was always meant to be 5 seasons. Given how rushed the finale was something just isn't right to me, like something went wrong between the BBC execs and the producers and I thought "No friggin way! things going wrong with producers and networks leading shows to get canceled is an American thing, all of my favorite UK made shows that finished IMO seemed planned and were satisfying, please don't start being like us!"

SPOILERS:



As for the finale itself it didn't even seem like it was written by Merlin writers, In all the Arthurian stories the Arthur's final confrontation with Mordred is always an epic battle, instead we got "Mordred sees Arthur Arthur sees Mordred, Mordred has a "Hate you Arthur!" face "Arthur has "Can't we all just get along" face. Mordred "No! stab you!" Arthur "Ow that really hurt you dick! I am defeated, just kidding, stab you!" Mordred "Ow!, totally did not see that one coming oh crap i'm dead" the end. And than there's Morgana, who found out Merlin is Emrys, from the beginning of the series whether it was the finale or not to have at least a several minute dialogue with her wanting to know why he lied to her, why did he serve Arthur, and most of all why did he side with Camelot under under Uther's reign and not his own kind. Instead we got "Merlin and wounded Arthur walking along, Morgana comes out from wherever it was she was skulking and "Hey Emrys, hey bro! blast you Emyrs! Merlin as he flies away "Damn the old telekinesis trick, how did I not see that one coming?" Meanwhile wherever Merlin flew off to Morgana: "Oh bro that mortal wound looks all itchy" (Buffy reference)"But not to worry bro! I'm gonna sit with you and talk about how awesome I am and how much you suck until you, and I brought popcorn!" Merlin pops up from wherever he flew from "Ha ha it'l take more than that! and look when I flew away apparently this sword came with me!" Morgana looks annoyed "Thought I killed you!" Merlin "I thought we covered that, by the way my bad for you becoming an evil psychotic B***h! but nobody can stand you shaking your fist at the sky yelling "Damn

foiled again!" anymore so I'm gonna have to stab you now and put your hair out of it's misery" Morgana "How dare you insult my hair! and I am the great and powerful psychotic evil b***h! your puny little sword cannot hurt me! Merlin "Morgana didn't anyone ever tell you size doesn't matter? Morgana "Yes and that is so not true!" Merlin "Oh, ok how about did anyone ever tell you that it's not the size that counts, it's how you use the dragon fire magic?" Morgana "Hmm not that one, hey wait a minute don't I have a dragon that wondered off? Merlin "Stab you!" Morgana "Ow! totally did not see that one coming even though you told me you were going to do it" Merlin "Gotcha! oh and before you die I just want you to know something, I'm eating your popcorn!" Morgana shakes her fist at the sky "Damn you foiled again oh what a world what a world!" falls over dead. Arthur "Thanks Merlin I thought she would never shut up, if I had to hear her talk for one more minute I was gonna stab myself again"

OK so yeah that was it, now I'm not saying there wasn't anything good about the finale, the whole battle sequence was really cool but the one big redeeming quality of the episode was Bradley James and especially Colin Morgan's acting. When he finally told Arthur the truth the look of fear and sadness and even shame and Arthur's feeling of anger and betrayal was five years in the making and the two acted the hell out of the last 15 minutes. Truthfully I think both characters acted the way I expected them when this finally happened more so with Arthur who went through an almost stages of grief to betrayal to not even wanting to look at Merlin. Than after Gaius talked with him he realized that Merlin's magic had been helping him all along and wondering why Merlin would help anti magic Camelot and finally understanding how lonely and hard it must have been for Merlin who put up with how Arthur treated him and how Merlin never once sought credit or was ever thanked. But as emotional as that was, Melin's tearful confessions about how everything he did was for Arthur was what made me feel tears coming and when Arthur said to just let him die Merlin's refusal and "Because you'r my friend and I don't want to lose you" I'm man enough to admit that's when tears came, all the way up to Arthur thanking Merlin and after the episode ended.

Like I said, the acting was great but everything the series promised about Merlin being Arthur's most trusted adviser in magic reinstated Albion never happened. I will say that I am glad where Gwen, who by the way Angel' incarnation of Gwen is my now all time favorite, ended up compared to every other Guinevere. So yeah she finally realized on her own that Merlin was Emyrs and I guess you could say that through Arthur and Merlin's actions Albion happens through Gwen and that's cool and all but it also seems like a cop out.

So there is my idea for a spin off called "Albion" it could go more than one way, personally I would love if they made it about Gwen ushering in the new age as I think Coulby could carry her own series, plus that would give Colin chances to guest star every now and than cuz we can assumes he went back to Camelot at some point.

Or they could do something like a huge time jump and it's Camelot long after the finale with new characters, like maybe Merlin decided to train young sorcerers and the show could be about one of his desciphles or something

Can we not watch the shows on here

Merlin fails his destiny as Arthur dies. For previous seasons, they were constantly BANGING on how it's Merlin's destiny to protect Arthur, to create and rule Albion with Merlin by his side. And with Arthur dead, that isn't possible.



A few things didn't make sense; Arthur was dying. Merlin would've called the dragon earlier instead of slowly riding to the lake on horseback. Even if the dragon said there's nothing to do, Merlin would've tried and tried with his magic to heal Arthur... But he didn't. This didn't make sense at all.



Gwaines death was meaningless and short; Morgana's death was very brief and I honestly suspected more. Arthur's death NEVER should've happened because that takes away the plot that was going on in Season 1-4. Just because the actor didn't want to continue his contract as King Arthur, doesn't mean they had to kill him off.



So Arthur finds out about Merlin's magic, then dies minutes later. What the f---?! He should've known ages ago, somewhere in the middle of season 4-5 instead of squashing it into one episode. There are so many unanswered questions what happened to aithusa and kilgarah? What about Albion? Where was Merlin when Queen Guiervere took over? Did he just run away after Arthur's death?

Now it is so hard to watch back the other seasons after watching this depressing episode where it was going FINE until the last 10 minutes.



I was SO ANGRY when they showed Merlin in the 21st century, old and depressed looking at the place Arthur died. So now, my favorite character is roaming around in the 21st century, forever alone, waiting 1500+ years for Arthur's rising. WTF?!?!



It was inappropriate to air the last episode on Christmas Eve.

Enjoyed the episode. Watched it twice. Great acting by the leads.



However I think it should have ended the way it started. To me Merlin's charm was in its feel good, simplistic, goofy plot. I certainly didn't care about its literary accuracy or its "game of thrones" production polishness (lack of). It was just good fun.



Arthur returning to Camelot , installing Merlin as his right hand man/knight and opening the kingdom up to all creatures weird and wonderful would have been the perfect ending :-)

I got to say I hated this episode I loved that Merlin finally told Arthur that he had magic but He should have called on the dragon sooner like really He only thought to call the dragon as Arthur was dying and I don't see how they're gonna make it into a movie what is it gonna be Merlin and Arthur in the present day.... NO wont be good. It was kind of cool seeing Merlin as an old man in the present day waiting for Arthur but it just upsets me knowing that Arthur could have easily lived. This was one of my favorite shows followed it since the beginning and the episodes have always been so good but the final episode was just disappointing. All this time Merlin was saving Arthurs life just to end like that what a waste of a finale. They could have easily have him live and instead of showing Merlin waiting for Arthurs Return just have both of them older like 50 or 60 Arthur sitting in his Throne with his servant and best friend Merlin Standing beside him, Arthur ruling Albion with his Friend Merlin guiding, protecting and fighting with him along the way.

It was a great last ep, i cried heaps but i liked that it showed Merlin still waiting for Arthur to come back in the present day, really cool, BUT EVERYONE don't worry there are gonna be A MERLIN MOVIE TRILOGY so calm down, we stilll have that t look forward to, i don't give it a ten cause it didn't show Gwen having her kid which we all know was gonna happen but they didn't show it

when can we watch this on line I missed it?

if merlin summoned the dragon earlier arthur could have been saved. why oh why...



i don't like the ending and i hate it more coz it is painfully memorable. :(



i hope to wake up from this terrible nightmare.



just wanna say congratz to the actors for great acting. =)

I fully understand people's frustration with this last episode. I was upset, too, with the way it ended but still, this episode doesn't deserve a 1.0!



First, yes, we were all hoping to see Merlin revealed way earlier and not just in the last half hour of the final episode. In my opinion the character Merlin was waiting so long for this delicate moment but all he got was 30 minutes being himself and the way he wanted Arthur to see him. It must have been quite unsatisfying to talk to a barely conscious Arthur about this most important thing in his life.

Revealed Merlin deserved more episodes to be seen in the kingdom as a sorcerer and(!) interacting with Arthur without any barriers. Especially after all those hard times he went through being treated like a fool and jerk.

I think on the way to Avalon there was too little time for Arthur to digest and to think about it, to remember all the key moments in the past and to apologies to Merlin in two words only.

All this would have been enough stories for one or two season 5 episodes and def. more interesting than that hideous episode of Guinevere in the dark tower.



Dear writers: I know you guys have your own visions and wanted to keep the suspense as long as possible but don't you agree that maybe it was a little bit too long? We wouldn't have stopped watching the show after Merlin revealed himself! Not at all!



I don't know whether the creators had to deal with a low budget but it was a bit disappointing to see the fight between the two greatest sorcerers Merlin and Morgana ending by a sword and not in a magic showdown.



Nevertheless there were also many good things.

Too many happy endings are boring sometimes, so I do like the dramatic ending and death of Arthur. After all it is what the legends say.

True, it was very sad but what a great time and honor for Merlin to spend the last moments with his friend Arthur and have him die in his arms! No one else deserved that privilege, not even Guinevere. It was a touching moment hearing Arthur say: 'Just hold me!' All these scenes are another prove for Colin Morgan's very talented acting skills.



It's really too bad that this fantastic show is over. I read all the good and disappointing fan comments , I understand them but despite all the missing potentials my rating is a 10.0 most of the part because the cast deserves the biggest compliment. Thank you, for doing such a good acting job and giving us all these great entertaining moments.

I cannot believe they have ended it like this!

I was expecting a huge battle between Emres and Morgana, which Arthur would watch and he has misread Merling completely and sees how powerful he is and how he can be didn't expect Arthur to die...

Why did giuis told Gwen that Arthur was in goods did nobody wondered, why the body of Arthur never returned to Camalot, but stayed at Avalon. I thought the Dragon would do something to help them. it was a very weird ending!! BUT....

on the net there are already rumours going on of SEASON 6! If that would be true, then i wonder how it would after watching it this long and with a very good season 5 full of suspense,is it dissapointing to see it end like

Merlin was one of the best shows ever. Growing up there were always stories and shows about Camelot, HBO or Showtme had a good thing before they said we screwed the story up, but never one based on the man behind the man. Merlin is a great show that got screwed in the end , it should of ended with long live the queen and thats it. The modern day crap was shit. I can't wait for a spin off, its ok Arthur is dead, just like game of thrones the great characters die but the show goes on, Merlin can be such a show. Spin off soon please with everyone back.

@shawnfluewell, are you fucking stupid! how was that a good ending? they just wrapped everything up in 5 minutes and ended it just like that. And for some reason they thought that seeing merlin in modern times makes it easier to say goodbye to the show, which it doesn't! It just takes the magical feeling out of the show and turns it into shit!

At least they could have made a "?" ending that says; "until next time" or "future adventures await". And not show arthurs death and only showing guinevere crowning to queen. Leaving a mystery ending so that the fans could let their own imagination take over.

The writers pretty much took a piece of shit on it and expected us, the fans to take it like that!

I was so happy for Merlin to have revealed to Arthur he was a sorcerer, and then you go and kill him and end the series. Worst ending to any TV series I have ever experienced. Go home writers, your drunk.

I pretty much hate the internet and refuse to post based on the fact that I disagree with most of what people say. To see such a great show and a decent ending get slammed by people just makes me sad.

SPOILERS WITHIN

Merlin was always a quirky take on the Camelot tales but was done really well with what looks to be not a huge budget. For the better of five years we have watch the story progress and the real evil been exposed and even Arthur's undoing revealed.

One thing I have always appreciated most about British television vs American television is their commitment to showing that life is not always a happy ending. Sometimes it is bittersweet, sometimes it flatout sucks. This episode almost brought me to tears to see Arthur so upset at Merlin for hiding who he really was all those years, then see him admit his own arrogance and finally thank him for everything he has done for Camelot. Those two had great chemistry on screen and I am glad the episode was focused mostly on them coming to terms with who Merlin really was.

Although I do wish that Morgana was killed in a much more violent manner, there is nothing like stabbing someone with a magical sword to end their evil reign of terror.

So people sorry that life is not always rainbows and butterflies but I appreciate that the BBC put a lot of thought and heart into this episode and the vast majority of this show. I thank them for providing me with something different, that ending different and actually ended.

You think this is a bad ending watch Sopranos.

how could it have ended like that? this is all wrong

If there was a score less than 1 available - I would be choosing it. Seriously 5 seasons of waiting for this episode and despite having a dragon, his own dragons breath sword and being the most powerful wizard in the blows it and arthur somehow still



(( Spoilers Below ))



Manages to bloody die!

I ask thee! What in the name of, are you there merlin- its me, happened? And why why was there that stupid lorry at the end. I dislike old Merlin. I would have been happier WITHOUT that two second lorry drive past. It did leave it kinda open for a modern day reboot of Merlin - but i don't want the old one. I was young merlin, arthur and everyone else in 2013. That is all I ask for.



They killed this off just as it was finally picking up and then blew the ending. So disappointed. It was bad writers as the acting was perfect.

I'm struggling to think of a favourite series that ended in a worse way than MERLIN. LOST and HEROES just drained away. The last moments of the US version of LIFE ON MARS was terrible but it was never as good as the BBC version so I watched it with a certain detachment.

However...

I was invested in MERLIN and watched in bemusement as the series seemed to suffer creative paralysis for most of its run. Hardly any magic, repetitive plots. In the end almost every episode could be summed up as "Morgana attacks with ally of the week and inexplicably loses while Merlin hides his powers" That's about it.

Then the news broke that MERLIN was to be cancelled and suddenly 50 years of character development had to be shoe-horned into the last few episodes and they FAILED MISERABLY.

How could they get it so wrong? Why was the magic of the two most powerful magicians of the age (Merlin and Morgana) reduced to the same old "knight on a bungee rope" trick every time. Why was the final confrontation between the two concluded with swords instead of blowing the budget on some actual CGI effects? Mordred (another powerful magician) stabbed in the back and never used his powers once?

So many things wrong but my wrath has ceased to abate almost a week later for the lame, untalented, lazy, preposterous script which had Arthur realise Merlin had magic while he was struggling to save his life. After which we were treated to a low-budget Hobbit trek to Avalon to save Arthur's life with no worse threats than easily avoided Saxons on the way and then Arthur bloody well DIES!!!

Arthur dies as a young man and all the mythology that's accrued about Arthur and Merlin just got flushed down the toilet because the writer had a killer last image which turned out to be Merlin as a tramp, walking past Avalon in 2012.

WHAAAAAT?

Note to writer. You do not set up a series about a magician living in a time where magic is banned and conclude it before it changes to the Camelot myth we all know. This is like Superman never flying in SMALLVILLE. How satisfactory was that?

The ideal ending to Merlin, the end that would satisfy all the above criteria, was Arthur realising Merlin was a magician, being cured at the end (either by the Sidthe or Merlin) and both returning to Camelot to a new age, cleansed of the ancient threat of Morgana. Was that too obvious? Too "on the nose"?

Well that's the job. Give us what we want but not in the way we expect it. It's what you get paid for. In the end, you got paid and we got short-changed.

I have watched Merlin for around 5 years of my life and I am proud to say that I was apart of it. The 'Merlin' crew has served us all with a lesson to learn: We are our own Emrys. We need to be exposed to the Light in order to discover our true selves and what we are fully capable of.

But more importantly, this legend serves as a lesson of true friendship. Even though both of Arthur's parents were killed through the use of sorcery, Arthur began to understand that Merlin is proof that sorcery can be used for good - even to thwart evil.

Thank you, 'Merlin', for this legendary adventure and lesson in life. This experience will leave a permanent mark in my mind for the rest of my life.

Good bye, 'Merlin'. I will never forget you and the values you have taught me. Thank you.



EDIT: But there is something else that is on my mind. I've heard that the BBC are planning 'Merlin' spin-off series. In those series, the thing I would like to see most is what happened after Queen Guinevere succeeded King Arthur as the primary ruler of Camelot, and before Old Merlin walked past that truck and glanced at the Lake of Avalon. This episode has skipped many decades, if not centuries. We do have a clue, however, of what would have happened during this time. Sorcerers from all over the lands would have been finally able to use their magic freely.

But it seems that other movies about the Arthurian legend have been made that covers some, if not most or even if not all, of what would have happened during this time. It's just that Colin Morgan is the best portrayer of Merlin and Emrys/Dragoon the Great. No other actor would be able to match his versatility.

I feel that there is more to be told on THIS universe of 'Merlin'. I'm just not fully certain what this is. But any spin-offs telling the story of what happened to Gwaine or Lancelot or whoever before Merlin and Arthur met them would just be taking the 'Merlin' universe backwards, in my opinion. The only thing that would be taken back by the story I mentioned in my first paragraph in the EDIT section ("But there is something would be the scene where Old Merlin walked past the truck and glanced quickly at the Lake of Avalon. Just one scene. I'm sure that this spin-off series could be considered as Series 6, but the first 5 series have told the main part of the legend.

***Spoiler Alert*** As I sat down with my vodka & tonic to watch the last episode of Merlin, my heart was ripe with anticipation. I was pleased that Merlin decided to reveal who he really was to Arthur near the beginning of the episode. The interaction between the two throughout the end was exactly how I thought it would be. Arthur initially felt betrayed, but eventually realized that everything Merlin did was in the best interest of Camelot. As Arthur put it, and I'm paraphrasing, "After everything that you've done, you never sought the glory. " It was great to see Arthur recognizing Merlin as a true equal, but it sucked that he was basically on his deathbed acknowledging it. Merlin defeats Morganna (which seemed WAY too easy) and you figure Arthur will be saved and the writers will infer that Camelot's glory days are just the beginning of their future together. But no, they decide to give us a BS ending where Arthur dies, but apparently someday he'll be "needed again", aka resurrected, and Guinevere becomes the ruler of Camelot. I'm still trying to process the last scene where Merlin, as an old man, is walking down a highway where a semi-truck passes him by. Seriously?? That's the BEST the writers could come up with? I'd be willing to give them a pass if another season was planned, but this episode, as a SERIES FINALE, sucked. I mean yeah, they left the door open for a possible miniseries / spinnoff, but the ending was just lame. I feel like I put all of this time into the series and the payout wasn't worth it. I'm going to give this episode a 6 only because Colin's acting was superb.