Merlin: Series 5 - The Disir

This episode saw the exploration of Arthur's conflict with magic.

It was interesting to see how Arthur's strong belief in still having magic outlawed conflicted with the ideal that one day magic will return to Camelot. The idea of Arthur being judged and given his fate by the Disir, the highest court of the Old Religion and communicators with the gods, was very interesting and brings more of the coming downfall of Camelot that's been hinted at throughout the series so far.

The episode feels like it was setting up a lot of series continuity with Arthur rejecting the Disir's offer to accept magic. Although I would have thought that Arthur, after four series, would have been anxious about what consequences would come by rejecting magic and upholding his father's beliefs.  Also the way the Disir were shown worked well to create a sense of mysterious and power that would have to be associated to these powerful magical figures.

There is very much a different tone to this series, especially in terms of Merlin, who in this episodes makes quite a dark decision to let Mordred die because he seems to be consumed by the fate of Arthur and Camelot that he's been shown. What is good is how Arthur and Merlin's friendship is shown to be very strong, with Merlin very much acting as a confidant and wise adviser.