The Death Song of Uther Pendragon
Arthur and Merlin are on horseback, presumably on their way back from a hunt when they hear high-pitched screaming in the woods. Arthur races towards the noise with Merlin close behind, and the two look down on a small village where a crowd of people are forcibly escorting a woman to the stake.
They race down to intervene, and despite hearing that the woman is a witch and that she received a fair trial, Arthur refuses to let the crowd go through with the execution. When the village spokesman tells him that King Uther would not have shown mercy, Arthur firmly states that he's not his father and has the woman released at sword-point.
Over the campfire later that night, Merlin tells Arthur that the woman won't last the night. But before she dies, she gives Arthur a gift for his kindness: a small horn known as the Horn of Cathbhadh that has the power to summon the dead. Arthur accepts it.
Back in Camelot, Gaius exposits what the horn is all about: it was smuggled from the Isle of the Blessed during Uther's attack on the island, and was once used by the High Priestesses to call up the spirits of the dead. During the banquet that night, Arthur is brooding whilst the rest of the court eats, and Elyan mentions to Mordred that the king is always like this on the anniversary of his coronation. Arthur excuses himself to Guinevere and leaves the banquet hall by himself to visit his father's tomb down in the crypts.
The following day he tells Merlin that he has a secret mission in mind. Together the two of them travel to the Great Stones of Nemeton and Arthur tells Merlin what he's planning: to summon Uther's spirit and speak to him. Merlin is hesitant about this, but since when has Arthur ever listened to him? He stands in the centre of the stones and blows the horn, filling the circle with light. Toward Arthur strides a familiar figure: it's Uther, and he's not particularly happy. He chastises Arthur on all the decisions that he's made since becoming king: marrying a servant girl, making common-born men into knights, establishing the Round Table. It leaves Arthur fairly gutted.
- Uther: How do you expect anyone to fear a king that does not know his own mind?Arthur: I don't want my people to respect me because they fear me.Uther: Then they will not respect you at all.
He finally tells his son that he must leave before he becomes trapped in the world of the dead forever, and warns him that it's not too late to change things. As Arthur turns and walks away, he hears his father's last words: "I will always love you Arthur," which cause him to look back over his shoulder.
Disheartened by Uther's words, Arthur tries to get on with running the kingdom, but strange things begin to occur. A Round Table meeting is interrupted by slamming doors and a falling chandelier, and down in the weaponry room, Percival is injured by an axe that seems to have moved by itself. Having learnt from Gaius that one must never look back when passing through the veil between life and death, Merlin tells Arthur that Uther's spirit may well have followed Arthur back into the mortal world. Arthur is loathe to believe that his father would be capable of sabotaging his kingdom, but it's not until a terrified Gwen is attacked by poltergeist activity, knocked unconscious, and left in a room that is lit on fire, that he finally decides to take action.
After taking a potion from Gaius that allows the two of them to see spirits, Merlin and Arthur start roaming the corridors. After getting caught by Leon, scared by a mouse, confused by their own shadows, and whacked round the head a couple of times, the two finally find Uther's spirit in the throne room.
Arthur confronts him about the attack on Guinevere, and Uther admits that he tried to kill her for Arthur's own good.
- Uther: How can a serving girl understand what it means to be Queen?Arthur: Guinevere is wise and strong and I trust her more than anyone.Uther: And that is your weakness. You put too much trust in other people. You and you alone must rule Camelot.Arthur: I would rather not rule at all than rule alone.Uther: Your whole life I tried to prepare you for the day you would become king. And you learnt nothing.Arthur: I watched you rule. I learnt that if you trust no one you will always rule in fear. Your hatred came from fear, not strength.Uther: How dare you?Arthur: I loved and respected you, but I have to rule the kingdom in my own way.
Furious, Uther declares that Camelot must come before all else, and causes a shield on the wall to fly across the room and ever-so-conveniently knock Arthur unconscious. Merlin bursts in and warns Uther to get away from Arthur. A bench is hurled at Merlin, only for him to deflect it with magic in front of Uther.
- Uther: You have magic.Merlin: I was born with it!Uther: I made you Arthur's servant...you are a sorcerer...Merlin: Even while you were king, there was magic at the heart of Camelot.
Telling Uther that Arthur is a much better king than he ever was, Merlin sends him flying through the doors and out into the corridor.
He follows hesitantly, searching for the ghost, only to get pinned against a door by two large spears. Uther approaches, vowing to kill him, only for Arthur to appear at the other end of the hall and blows the horn right as Uther is on the verge of exposing Merlin as a sorcerer. His spirit is whisked away back to the spirit world, Merlin's secret still intact.
The day after, as Merlin is helping Arthur don his tournament armor, Arthur comes to the conclusion that he can't please his father and that he needs to rule his own way. And he can only do that with building a kingdom where everyone is respected, regardless of rank. Merlin asks if that would include himself, which Arthur confirms. Merlin then proceeds to ask if that means Arthur won't hit him anymore. Arthur denies hitting him, calling all the times he has actually hit Merlin as mere horseplay, friendly gestures. And in this line of logic, that means Merlin can hit back, as part of it being horseplay. And he tries.
- Arthur: What the hell was that?Merlin: It was... it was horseplay.Arthur: Oh, Merlin. You're doing it all wrong. In fact, why don't I show you?
Looks like Merlin is in for a bit of horseplay.
Tropes
- Back from the Dead: Uther
- Broken Pedestal: After years of idolizing his father, Arthur finally comes to see what a Knight Templar Uther really was.
- Burn the Witch!
- Calling the Old Man Out: Arthur to Uther. Unlike last time, it sticks.
- Dramatic Irony: After The Reveal, Uther recalls that it was he himself who originally made Merlin into Arthur's manservant.
- Expy: The Stones of Nemeton are clearly meant to be Stonehenge.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom
- Funny Background Event: When Leon is rattling off statistics or something at the beginning of the round table scene, the knight next to him is asleep. When the doors bang open, he jumps up and looks around.
- Haunted Castle: Camelot, temporarily.
- His Name Is...: Arthur conveniently banishes his father moments before he can expose Merlin as a sorcerer.
- I'm Dying, Please Take My MacGuffin: The witch gives Arthur the Horn before she dies.
- Over-the-Shoulder Carry: When Merlin saves Gwen.
- Poltergeist: What Uther manifests as when he escapes the spirit world. Only by drinking a special potion can observers find his true form.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Merlin really gets to lay into Uther when he doesn't have to worry about observers.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Gaius gets behind Merlin and Arthur unseen while they're preoccupied with a noise coming from behind a door.
- They Were Holding You Back: Uther tries to murder Gwen because he believes she's a detriment to Arthur's ability to rule.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Uther was never the nicest person, but aside from one line about loving Arthur (which may in fact have been intended to get him out of the spirit world), any redeeming qualities he had have vanished completely.
- Well, he was a genocidal tyrant, so the afterlife can't have been good for him.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Arthur at the beginning of the episode.
- I Am Not My Father: At the end.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The witch was getting burned because she supposedly brought sickness upon the village. Arthur frees her, but that issue never comes up again. In fact, they were actually right about her being a witch (or, at the very least, in possession of a mystical artifact).
