This is yet another standalone episode which has nothing to do with Morgana's plotting, though it is very good and suspenseful. Sir Elyan is possessed by a spirit from a shrine after he drinks some cursed water, and other knights are to blame for this as they drank Elya's water and did not give him any so he was sore tempted to drink from the enchanted well. The character of the boy who possessed Elyan really gave me the creeps, though I had not supposed that the child was really evil.
There is an interesting plot twist as the boy is dripping water which suggests that he was one of the victims of Uther's anti-magical purges, but at the end of the episode it turns out that it was actually Arthur who led the attack on the Druid village to please his father. Arthur claims he was young and inexperienced when it happened and that he urged his men not to kill any women and children and they disobeyed the order, but it does show Arthur in an entirely different, dark light, as the viewers had not considered him capable of committing similar crimes as his father did. It seems to me that Merlin is rather disappointed by his friend as he hears Arthur's confession to what he had done, and from Merlin's looks it does not seem that he was going to intervene when the possessed Elyan was approaching Arthur with the sword, probably to kill him. Arthur is really scared as Elyan comes closer with his sword, and promises freedom to the Druids, though I am not sure he would keep his word, considering Mordred is a Druid. Especially as on the next day, Arthur tries to disavow everything that happened the previous night in his conversation with Merlin. On the whole, I liked the idea of forgiveness which is quite an uplifting ending to the epiosode.
Review by ladysherlockianBlockedParentSpoilers2020-09-11T17:30:20Z
This is yet another standalone episode which has nothing to do with Morgana's plotting, though it is very good and suspenseful. Sir Elyan is possessed by a spirit from a shrine after he drinks some cursed water, and other knights are to blame for this as they drank Elya's water and did not give him any so he was sore tempted to drink from the enchanted well. The character of the boy who possessed Elyan really gave me the creeps, though I had not supposed that the child was really evil.
There is an interesting plot twist as the boy is dripping water which suggests that he was one of the victims of Uther's anti-magical purges, but at the end of the episode it turns out that it was actually Arthur who led the attack on the Druid village to please his father. Arthur claims he was young and inexperienced when it happened and that he urged his men not to kill any women and children and they disobeyed the order, but it does show Arthur in an entirely different, dark light, as the viewers had not considered him capable of committing similar crimes as his father did. It seems to me that Merlin is rather disappointed by his friend as he hears Arthur's confession to what he had done, and from Merlin's looks it does not seem that he was going to intervene when the possessed Elyan was approaching Arthur with the sword, probably to kill him. Arthur is really scared as Elyan comes closer with his sword, and promises freedom to the Druids, though I am not sure he would keep his word, considering Mordred is a Druid. Especially as on the next day, Arthur tries to disavow everything that happened the previous night in his conversation with Merlin. On the whole, I liked the idea of forgiveness which is quite an uplifting ending to the epiosode.