7.5.2009 Episode Review: Lancelot Proves He’s Knight-Worthy (and MERLIN Proves It’s Watch-Worthy!)

Episode Review: Lancelot Proves He’s Knight-Worthy (and MERLIN Proves It’s Watch-Worthy!)

Posted on 05 July 2009 by Brent Hartinger, Editor

Four Torches (Out of Five)
Warning: The review contains plot-spoilers for the “Lancelot” episode of Merlin.
So Lancelot finally showed up in last night’s episode of Merlin, the series’ fifth, and I was immediately wary.
I had read a plot synopsis that talked about how Lancelot wants to be a knight of Camelot, but can’t because he isn’t of “noble” blood, and I thought to myself, “If Lancelot proves himself ‘worthy’ by the incredibly obvious act of killing the griffin that is terrorizing the kingdom, I just might never watch an episode of this show again.”
But I should have trusted that this show, which I’m really starting to love, wouldn’t go the obvious route.
Lancelot of the Hairy Chest (played by Heroes‘ very hunky Santiago Cabrera) wants to be a knight, but the rules clearly forbid it. So Merlin suggests impersonating a noble, in order to “bend” the rules. Lancelot balks, arguing that knighthood isn’t just about being good with a sword; it’s also about not lying and cheating — about holding yourself to a higher standard. But in the end, he acquiesces to Merlin’s plan.
Their lie is soon exposed, of course, but that’s when things get interesting.
Yes, Lancelot ends up “killing” the griffin. Sort of. In truth, it’s Merlin’s magic that kills it, for it is a magical creature that cannot be killed by sword alone.
But Arthur and King Uthur don’t know that. Arthur is on the verge of convincing the king that Lancelot has proven himself worthy of knighthood, that the “rule” that a knight must be a noble should be changed.
Then Lancelot of the Hairy Chest himself steps in to speak: “No,” he says. “I’m not worthy.” He can’t say how the griffin was really killed — he’s promised Merlin he wouldn’t reveal his secret. But he can’t take the credit for it either.
In other words, the only way Lancelot of the Hairy Chest can prove he truly is knight-material is … by declining to be a knight, at least for the time being. Which is exactly what he does.
Noble blood? Please. Lancelot’s clearly got that in spades — real nobility, that is, not the phony lineage kind that Uther is so hung up about. And in a nice moment, Uther seems to realize that too.
Nice job, Merlin writers and producers! They say the perfect ending to a story is both unexpected and inevitable — and that’s exactly what this ending was.
What else worked in this episode? Well, Gwen measuring Lancelot of the Hairy Chest’s inseam was interesting. And you gotta love when Merlin asks her, “If you had to choose, just for the sake of argument, would you pick Arthur or Lancelot?”
“But I don’t have to choose,” Gwen says, “and I never will.”
Ah, clearly she’s never read any of the 50,000 adaptations of the Camelot story. Eventually she will have to choose, and the fate of the kingdom just might turn on her choice.
What didn’t work so well in the episode? That opening sequence when Lancelot saves Merlin from the griffin scored pretty high on the contrive-o-meter. Why is it that Merlin uses magic effortlessly at all times — except those times when the plot requires that he doesn’t.
Also, regarding the CGI griffin, well, perhaps the less said about that, the better.