Camelot

Year of release : 2011

Run time : 49m - 54m, 10 episodes

Genre : Fantasy / Historical Drama / Mini Series

Cast : Eva Green, Joseph Fiennes, Jamie Campbell Bower, Claire Forlani, James Purefoy

The one season Irish-Canadian co-production is based on the king Arthur legend.

The series open with Morgan coming back from the nunnery (where king Uther sent her for 15 years) to her father’s kingdom. Because she disrespects his wife, the woman he k1lled his wife for (Morgan’s mother), and because she asks why did he sent her away, King Uther tells her she’s not welcomed in his castle.

Morgan changes her appearance and puts poison in his soup, k1lling him, as she wants the throne.

Merlin goes looking for Arthur, who lives with a family, not knowing he is king Uther’s son with Igraine, the night when Merlin changed his appearance to look like her husband so he could have her!

Morgan calls king Lot to the castle to forge an alliance with him. This doesn’t go that well, as she likes to lead, and she snaps at him whenever he takes a decision she doesn’t like.

Arthur doesn’t want to be king (why would anyone?) but leaves his parents, going away with Merlin, taking his brother with him.

Merlin takes them to the Camelot castle.

One night Arthur dreams about a woman, and Merlin hoovers over him asking him who she is like a maniac / creeper.

In the next episode, Arthur meets the woman from his dream, on the beach, almost the same way he saw her in his dream.

Merlin tells him he needs to go take the sword out of a stone to become rightful ruler. This is also when we find Merlin makes up the stories / legends.

At the crowning party, Arthur finds out the woman’s name, Guinevere, and that she is engaged to Leontes.

Guinevere is not sure she should marry Leontes, but she’s convinced she should do her duty. Her father’s castle is being attacked, and they seek shelter in Camelot. Igraine, Arthur’s mother, and Merlin see Arthur likes Guinevere.

Morgan invites Merlin and Arthur to her father’s castle, and at night, she scratches Arthur, taking his blood, and drugs Merlin, tying him up, cutting his nails and shaving his beard.

Merlin wants to know what she can do with her powers, and she demonstrates to him she can turn into her younger version (so dumb !).

Arthur dreams of Guinevere, and leaves to see her, in the middle of the night. He walks into her chambers in the morning, asking to talk to her on the beach they first met. She gives herself to Arthur, promising herself it’s the only time.

All this time, Arthur’s brother and Leontes, are looking for what Leontes calls the best warrior, to train them all. When they find him, the man doesn’t want to fight for any king, but is convinced by Arthur’s brother, when he hears him translate Latin, and wants to be able to translate Latin just as easily (so dumb!).

Guinevere marries Leontes, the ceremony being performed by Arthur.

Arthur is jealous.

Morgan doesn’t feel well after changing into her young version, and she gets worse and worse.

While she’s sick, the nun from the monastery she’s been sent to comes to see her, as she tells her the monastery burnt down and she had no place to go.

The warrior is teaching Arthur and his men how to fight.

Although Arthur took the sword from the stone, apparently that’s not good enough, and Merlin goes to Caliburn, the best swordsmith. After the man makes the sword, he wants to give the sword personally to Arthur, but Merlin refuses (dumb!) and because he doesn’t want to give him the sword otherwise, Merlin burns him with fire, using his powers.

He also k1lls the man’s daughter, as she runs away with the sword, wanting to throw it in the lake, and Merlin freezes the lake, trapping her under. There’s a scene in which she throws the sword up, from under the frozen water, and I don’t think she would be able to do it ,while drowning, considering the sword is heavy.

Merlin has a guilty conscience and disappears on people.

Morgan gets better, and the nun tells her she needs to gain people’s trust and love if she wants to rule ,because all people can talk about across the land is Arthur. So the nun goes to a mercenary paying him to beat her up, for sympathy.

Arthur and his men decide to run the trial of a man who was about to get k1lled by others, and finds out there’s more nefarious things hidden underneath.

 

Merlin wants to get the books from Arthur’s step father’s place, and takes a few men among which Leontes and Arthur’s brother, with him.

Guinevere hears of her father’s imminent death, and she leaves to see him before dying. Arthur hears of it and follows her, ending up joining her to her aunt’s place, where her father resides.

Morgan hears from a woman with a burnt face that the nun who is her right hand burnt down the nunnery with all the girls inside. She wants justice.

The nun, Sybil, says she is the reason the place burnt down, as they had a ritual, but she didn’t burn it on purpose.

After solving the problem with her friend, Sybil, Morgan invites Arthur and his entourage (Merlin, Leontes and Guinevere, Igraine, and more of his knights) to a dinner at her place, the Pendragon Castle, and stages an attack.

In the morning, she kidnaps Igraine and takes her place ,changing into her.

As Igraine she wanders around Camelot,talking to people, trying to find their secrets and use them against them. She makes Guinevere tell her she slept with Arthur before her wedding, and tells Leontes, then sleeps with Merlin.

Igraine manages to escape and run away. She sees Morgan as her, when she walks into Camelot.

Morgan sends her men to Bardon Pass to k1ll Arthur in battle so she could take the throne.

Merlin wants to confront Morgan about what she did to Igraine, and Igraine goes with him, so Morgan takes them prisoners, turning the people against them.

The series kinda bored me. The only story line I actually liked and was interested in was Morgan’s, but she got annoying fast. Morgan is rather dumb, always bragging to Merlin and Igraine about the things she did.

The rest bored me, and a lot of scenes felt like filler scenes.

I didn’t quite like the leads which were supposed to be good, like Arthur, who in the first episode is shown as having s3x with his brother’s girlfriend, and he doesn’t see anything wrong in it, and then starts an affair with Guinevere;

and Merlin, who changed king Uther’s appearance to look like another king, just so he could sleep with his queen, and he gave as reason the fact he wanted Arthur to be born! WTF?! Not to mention the other people he k1lls after, that I already mentioned.

And these are supposed to be the good characters!

I did like the landscapes, the set design, the women’s jewelry, Morgan’s outfits.

The actors were good. I didn’t quite like Joseph Fiennes’ interpretation of Merlin, as he seems smug and annoying.

The soundtrack was good, I liked the main title and the music with choirs.

Viewer discretion is advised, as the movie contains nudity.

You can watch the full season on the Dailymotion platform.

Rating : Could have been a contender !