The Moment Of Truth

Season 1, Episode 10, Aired
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Episode Summary

Merlin's home village of Ealdor is attacked by raiders led by the fearsome Kanen, but Uther will not do anything to help- to cross into Ealdor, which is outside of Camelot's boundaries, would constitute an act of war. Merlin leaves Camelot to help to defend his home- and is surprised to find help from Morgana, Gwen and Arthur. However, an old friend of Merlin forces the young sorcerer into making a difficult choice: will he use magic to save the village and thus reveal his secret to Arthur?moreless
8.1
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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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  • A clichéd episode that was simply not very fun. The arguments were simply painful to watch (soap opera influence?). I thought I was watching a Robin Hood episode.

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By lvondas2, May 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    Its a "evil badguy attacks poor starving village episode".

    This villain is sooooo evil he makes Uther look like a saint. The actor looks fully concious of the ridiculousness of his role. He and his men are so evil they are willing to kill women and children. Is there a reason why they are so evil? No! I am unsatisfied.

    And Merlin's brother or whoever he is is a complete **** in this episode. Everything he says is negative. I have never met anyone in real life who I would like to punch in the face more. The "plot device" used to wrap him up is so predictable I almost screamed at the screen.

    And lastly out of nowhere comes the feminist political correctness that I was hoping would not appear (why has it taken this long?). The female characters have turned into annoying loud mouths eager to prove that "women can fight too" and to get a "1up" on the men.

    Maybe I'm going a bit overboard, I mean it wasn't THAT bad (thus the 6 rating) but I thought this series was getting better and better with every single episode (I didn't like episode 1) and now that winning streak has been broken.moreless

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    6 5

  • 'You're not fighting because someone's ordering you to. You're fighting for so much more than that. You fight for your homes. You fight for your family. You fight for your friends.' (SPOILERS)moreless

    8.0
    "Great"
    By queerlybeloved, May 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    After the brilliance of Excalibur, The Moment Of Truth is a bit of a let-down. When Merlin's mother Hunith arrives at Camelot with news that her home village of Ealdor is under attack from raiders led by the fearsome Kanen, she begs Uther for help. However, for the army of Camelot to cross into Ealdor would constitute an act of war- so Uther refuses to help. Merlin returns to Ealdor- and finds that Gwen, Morgana and Arthur are willing to join them in the fight. Whilst Arthur begins to train the men of the village how to fight, Merlin comes up against his old friend William who pleads with Merlin to use his magic against Kanen and save the village. The only problem with doing that would be revealing his sorcery to Arthur... A real curate's egg of an episode- some bits very good but on the whole quite mediocre. The main thrust of the episode is Merlin's dilemma on 'coming out' to Arthur. Nevermore than in this story has the magic/homosexuality allusion been so clear. Unfortunately, it's done in such a heavy-handed preachy way that rather than becoming empathetic with the situation, the reverse happens. It may therefore be a contradiction in terms to then say that this is probably Colin Morgan's most touching portrayal so far. It's a surprisingly mature and nicely underplayed performance- his tears at the end at friend William's death made me want to hug him. Seriously. There are some good scenes between Arthur and Merlin in which slash fans could get a whole load of mileage with the psuedo-homoerotic 'relationship' between them- particularly the bed scene where Arthur comments 'it must have been hard' and Merlin says 'like rock'. I have to admit to a puerile little schoolboy giggle at that. It's another strong performance by Bradley James too (his inspiring speech a la Braveheart was quite good)- although writer Ben Vanstone changes Arthur back to jackass at the end with the scene at William's pyre about the 'danger' of magic.

    Both Anthony Head and Richard Wilson get minimal screentime but do well with what they're given- especially Wilson, as Gaius' paternal care for Merlin comes out as the young warlock is about to leave. However, it's a real case of sisters doing it for themselves with strong turns by Angel Coulby and Katie McGrath. McGrath in particular shines, especially during the fight scenes where Morgana gets to kick some raider ass. Coulby gives a good turn, standing up to Arthur for the womens' right to fight for the village and there's an interesting scene perhaps hinting at the future mythological Arthur-Guinevere relationship, when she admits that she has faith in him. Caroline Faber also gives a strong account of herself as Hunith. There's a real bond between her and Colin Morgan which informs their scenes together.

    So let's get onto the slightly less good stuff. The script is quite preachy and heavy-handed which gets wearisome. There's a very bland, woefully underwritten and cardboard cutout villain in Kanen that even a spirited performance by Alexander Siddig cannot redeem. Joe Dempsie's performance as William veered from quite good to cutting the ham thick (although that could have been the script as well). Plus there's a complete air of predictability throughout the whole thing. There's no surprise that William comes round at the end and fights (and dies). There's no surprise that Merlin uses his magic to save the village and gets it covered up. Considering the calibre of some episodes, this just doesn't come up to par for me.moreless

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    4 2

  • Merlin's home village is being attacked by brutal men, his mother Hunith comes to Camelot for help.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By texasislandr, Feb 02, 2011 Report Abuse
    One of my favorite episodes. A very touching storyline that allows us to see a little into Merlin's life before he came to Camelot. I love how Arthur, Gwen, and Morgana come to the village's aid, and help Merlin defend his home. There are lots of wonderful friendship scenes, and plenty of action and fighting. Colin Morgan will have you in tears over the loss of his best friend William, and Bradley James will have you laughing as he puts his princely foot in Merlin's face. Both actors work so well together, and the character's they portray truly come to life. A beautiful episode with a little bit of everything in it.moreless

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    2 0

  • Brilliant episode.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By summersnowbiiee, Aug 16, 2010 Report Abuse
    I don't know why this episode is being so heavily criticized as weak in comparison to the others - in my opinion, it is possibly one of, if not the, most impressive episodes yet!
    It's good that we're starting to branch out a bit from the isolated (at least in terms of the show's exposure) court of Camelot, travelling to Merlin's old village, which is being ruthlessly pillaged by Kanen. It contributes a lot more to the epic feel of the story and Arthur's widespread opportunity for influence. Granted, Kanen is not the most memorable of villains, but considering the punch which the rest of the episode packs, I think it was necessary to use more of a villain figure than a real character, per se, so as not to take away from the stories of our core characters.
    Merlin is such a pure, innocent character, but it never grows cringeworthy or annoying, which is quite difficult to pull off in television nowadays and is due largely to the skilled performance of Colin Morgan. His dismay at the predicament of his friends and family, his loyalty to them and his sibling like relationship with his friend (whose name has momentarily escaped me) are really lovely to watch, but most interesting of all was his real conflicting emotions as he struggles to choose between saving his village at the expense of Arthur's friendship, or keeping his secret and risking the annihilation of the community he grew up in. I think the audience was growing quite antsy to see Merlin reveal his secret soon - including me - but this episode really encapsulated why it is not time quite yet, and I am not glad the writers didn't choose to sway to public pressure. I believe Merlin made the right decision not to tell Arthur just yet, but his real fear showed a flaw in Merlin's character - he is not yet the real brave, steely advisor we all know he will become. He is still very in awe of Arthur and they are not yet equals.
    This brings me to an interesting point - in this episode, Merlin is the one who seems fixated on the class division between him and Arthur, while Arthur basically ignores it and makes a real effort to integrate himself into the village, help despite Merlins' friend's bitter protests, and really try to understand what Merlin's life was like. In other episodes, it seemed that Arthur was the one maintaining the barrier while Merlin was always quite desperate to define himself as Arthur's friend, not just his servant. This shows both that Merlin still sees himself as somewhat inferior to Arthur, and that Arthur is not quite as cold as he seems - he has a real respect and affection for Merlin that is endearing and makes me love his character even more. Independent of King Uther, Arthur manages to win the trust and faith of the villagers on his own, with Merlins' support and encouragement, despite speedbumps and protests. It really shows his difference from the current, tyrannical king and the amazing potential he has; he shows real compassion, bravery and leadership.
    That being said, he does have things to learn - Guinevere can't help but chide him about his rude refusal of food which Hunith offers him, which leads to a nice moment between them, speaking of things to come. She and Morgana champion the women, convincing Arthur to let them fight. Girl power!
    Of course, Arthur's character progression in this episode alone has led us to believe that he may just be ready to accept Merlin's secret - and then he rounds on Merlin and his friend, angry, demanding to know who just did magic. The stunned, frightened look in Merlin's eyes was heartbreaking, while his friend's last act, confessing to magic he did not do before dying with Merlin at his side (touching death scene, by the way - again, kudos to CM)showed both a genuine love for Merlin and the fact that he did manage to wrest a little bit of faith in Arthur, who he died for, after all.
    Brilliant performances by Bradley James and Colin Morgan equally - the final scene where Arthur tells Merlin he should have told him about his friend's magic was stirring, and left me breathless for the next installment. Definitely one to watch!moreless

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    4 1

  • When a band of men led by an evil leader named Kanen comes for his tribute in Merlin's village, Merlin's mother comes to Camelot to beg for the kingdoms help. Uther declines as the village is anothers territory, but a few brave individuals heed the call.moreless

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By jyarter, Aug 16, 2010 Report Abuse
    Merlin the TV show comes roaring back from the last few episodes with a great tale of bravery and leadership. Arthur stands tall as he, Lady Morgana, Guinevere, and of course Arthur heed the call of the villagers in need.

    We meet Will played wonderfully by Joseph Dempsie. Will is Merlin's childhood friend and is one of the few that know Merlin's secret. He really understands the futile nature of their struggle without Merlin coming forward to lead the people. He makes an impassioned plea with Merlin to tell Arthur the truth. You really believe that he should. I give this episode a 9.5 or loss of .5 points for them missing the one truly great opportunity to reveal to Arthur the truth. Gwen and Morgana both seem to understand Merlin's greatness and what he means to Arthur and I think that is why they have come. Deep down so does Arthur but not for the same reasons.

    Playing the evil Kanen is the brilliant English actor Alexander Siddig best known for playing Dr. Bashir on the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. His is a short and sweet performance but he does come off as a true bad man.

    Will's dying at the end was a cheap way of getting Merlin out of admitting the truth to Arthur and an unnecessary loss. Will turns out to be a true friend and a true hero. A fine episode with some very deep feelings. I hope that if they continue this series these are the type of episodes we see more of. Thanks for reading...moreless

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    3 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof: the man who falls from his horse when the twister starts and gets tangled in the reins can be seen being dragged about twice.

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    • Goof: Hunith's house, as we see it in this episode, is not consistent with her house in episode 1x01 The Dragon's Call. Edit
    • This is the first episode in which Merlin wears a chainmail and Morgana and Gwen wear trousers. Edit

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  • Quotes

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    • Hunith: You'd better be going. Merlin: I don't have to go. Hunith: Yes you do. Merlin: If anything were to happen to you... Hunith: I know where to find you. You have to go, Merlin. You belong at Arthur's side. I've seen how much he needs you, how much you need him. You're like two sides of the same coin. Merlin: I've heard someone say that about us before. I'm going to miss you. Hunith: I'm going to miss you too. When you left, you were just a boy. Now look at you. I'm so proud of you. When the time is right, the truth will be known. Until then you must keep your talents hidden. It's better for everyone. Edit
    • William: I was right about him. I told you he was going to get me killed. Merlin: You're not going to die. William: You're a good man, Merlin. A great man, and one day you're going to be servant to a great king. Now you can still make that happen. Merlin: Thanks to you. William: This place has been boring without you. It was good to see you again. Edit
    • (Merlin conjures a whirlwind to defeat Kanen's men. Arthur kills Kanen in battle but William takes a crossbow bolt to save Arthur's life.) William: That's twice I've saved you. Arthur: Twice? William: It was me. I'm the one who used the magic. Merlin: Will, don't... William: It's alright, Merlin. I won't be alive long enough for anyone to do anything to me. I did it. I saw how desperate things were becoming. I had to do something. Arthur: You're a sorcerer? William: Yeah. What are you going to do? Kill me? Arthur: No. Of course not. Edit

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