Synopsis: Camelot is in trouble. Lancelot is wounded and Merlin warns that dark times are ahead. The wizard’s convinced the solution lies in the mythical Pandorica. Meanwhile, Lancelot owes his life to a humble servant named Rory.
Plot: Some centuries since he left Rome, Rory has now found found himself a job as an assistant to the court physician of Camelot so he can hide the Pandorica. One day Lancelot returns to Camelot wounded after a quest and Rory goes against the orders of Malthus, the court physician, to apply modern medicine to save Lancelot's life. This earns him the friendship of Lancelot but also infuriates Malthus, and soon after Rory saves Lancelot from chocking during a feast celebrating the return of Merlin. This unintentionally makes Malthus more angry while earning the suspicion of Guinevere and Merlin, the former whose decision for Rory to teach Malthus what he knows makes the physician seek Merlin's help. The sorcerer, who has returned to Camelot in search of the Pandorica, poisons Lancelot as an excuse to place Rory under suspicion so he can arrest him. Searching his home Merlin discovers Rory's centurion armour and tries to torture him for information, with Rory giving him a fake location to make him leave and after he is gone Guinevere comes to interrogate him. Rory convinces her to let him try to help Lancelot, but she warns that if he dies she will have Rory executed which Rory then uses to his advantage by telling Merlin that if he doesn't help him cure Lancelot then he will lose his lead to the Pandorica. Merlin agrees and tells Rory what he used to poison Lancelot, and afterwards Lancelot requests that due to his actions Rory deserves to be made a knight. Merlin agrees in order to keep Rory close by and lacking any choice Rory agrees to become a knight.
Tropes
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the legends Lancelot famously had an affair with Guinevere. Here Guinevere is in love with Lancelot and states that this affection only goes one way, while Lancelot is portrayed to have become interested in Rory.
- Adaptational Sexuality: Lancelot is interested in Rory, and according to Guinevere while she loves Lancelot she is aware he doesn't feel the same.
- Alternate Self: This isn't the first time Doctor Who has included Arthurian mythology, but while there have been some claims that King Arthur was a real person in the Whoniverse a common explanation instead is that the myths take place in an alternate universe. This reveals that the legends also took place in the Alternate Timeline shown in "The Big Bang" but are separate from previous depictions, since in "Battlefield" it was claimed that Merlin was a future version of the Doctor while here he is a separate character. A 2021 book named Legends of Camelot which features the Tenth Doctor and Donna arriving in another alternate universe with King Arthur provides the explanation that Arthur and Morgan le Fey are avatars of cosmic entities constantly battling each with the latter resetting time whenever Arthur gets close to winning, explaining the different interpretations of the legends, while the Merlin entity eventually trapped the others in a prison along with himself while making them both dream their battles are still carrying on. However cracks in the prison meant they still influenced several universes with their own versions of Arthur and le Fey, while Merlin had his own avatars such as the Doctor who play their role in stopping the entities from escaping.
- Adaptational Wimp: Arthur isn't exactly impressive, as Guinevere takes a more active role in the story while he's simply hoping he gets to execute Rory and is clearly being manipulated by Merlin.
- Continuity Nod: Rory at one point asks Malthus if Merlin wears a hat with stars on it, only for Malthus to ask what stars are.
- Mythology Gag: Rory notes that Camelot is in Wales, or at least where Wales will eventually be located. This is an acknowledgment that most of the original Arthurian legends came from Welsh myths and it has been determined that the majority of people from Wales are descended from the original Britons.
- Oblivious to Love: When Lancelot comes to Rory to confess his feeling to Rory, the latter believes that Lancelot is describing symptoms of an illness.
- Outside-Context Problem: Merlin is this for Rory as he is actually shown to have magic powers, and while Doctor Who has always Hand Waved magic as being the result of advanced science or technology Rory lacks this knowledge. Rory himself is this for Malthus who finds his credibility challenged by Rory, a 21st century nurse who obviously would have more medical knowledge than a physician from the 5th/6th century.
- Race Lift: Guinevere in this is voiced by a black actress.
- Shout-Out: The plot of this story where a physician's assistant who possesses an important secret and befriends a knight who he needs to save at the end brings to mind the premise of the first episode of Merlin (2008). Guinevere in that series also had a Race Lift and Arthur was portrayed more comedically though not to the same extent as this story.
