After last night’s episode of Merlin, SyFy has released a new video where lead actor Colin Morgan talks about “The Disir.”
In the fifth episode of season 5, Arthur was given a token of the old religion and informed that it was time for him to be judged. But when he and the knights traveled to the cave of the Disir, he did not pass the test – and Mordred was gravely wounded.
Arthur and Merlin then both had choices to make: Arthur whether or not to let magic back into Camelot and save Mordred’s life, and Merlin whether or not to embrace the return of magic, knowing that it would mean Mordred’s survival and therefore Arthur’s eventual death.
In the end, the choice was taken out of Merlin’s hands, because by denying the old religion, Arthur was sealing his fate – and Mordred lived.
See what Colin Morgan has to say about this powerful, pivotal episode:
Morgan says that the episode has a very Macbeth feel to it, the Disir being a triple goddess (like the Weird Sisters). He also deems this episode one of his favourites, “In terms of where it puts Merlin; it puts him in a very, very difficult situation.” The Disir force him to make, “probably the toughest decision yet,” Morgan says, “and that was an exciting thing to see as a character, to be put in that situation.”
Merlin’s choice in this episode, Morgan clarifies, is “between being accepted or continuing his life of regression.” And he chooses the latter, Morgan explains, “because he thinks he’s doing the right thing.”
“He’s also a little bit blinded in this episode, he becomes very focused on the one thing: he’s told that he can’t let Mordred live, because Mordred is Arthur’s bane, essentially, and Mordred will play a part in his death,” Morgan further explains. And this is what causes Merlin to make the wrong decision, in the end. “And that’s quite a good thing to see,” he says, “that our hero can make a wrong decision sometimes as well.”
In terms of Merlin and the Great Dragon, Morgan says there’s a “shift in the relationship” between them, as they are now on more equal footing. “Merlin has gained wisdom, but he’s also gained the wisdom because of the dragon.” So now, when Merlin comes for advice, really he’s already made up his mind about what he’s going to do.
What did you think about “The Disir”? Next Friday it’s time for “The Dark Tower,” which airs at 10/9c on The SyFy Channel. It’s a big Guinevere episode! Check out the promo:
And don’t forget to listen to Hypable’s Merlin podcast Talks of Camelot’s spoiler-free discussion for “The Disir,” which can be found here.
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