Merlin: Series 5 - The Diamond Of The Day (Part 2)

So here it is. The last ever episode and the show ended in a very epic and emotional way.

This was a great ending to the series and to the show, full of tension, emotion and tragedy. The continuation from the previous episode of the battles scenes worked really well to create an epic opening to the show and they were shot really well. I liked how powerful Merlin was as the older version of him and it really showed his potential and strength. Then when Mordred confronted Arthur and the vision Merlin saw earlier in the series comes true there is a good deal of tension and the lack of dialogue does well to great a good death scene for Mordred and the mortal wounding of Arthur.

I think that the best thing was the scenes between Merlin and Arthur. Merlin's reveal to Arthur of his magic and Arthur's struggle to accept this, were really strong and very powerful. It was good how throughout the episode Arthur started to understand Merlin and see a different side to magic through Merlin's kindness and friendship with him. Then when Arthur died before Merlin could save him, it was so heartbreaking and very touching and Arthur thanking Merlin was so powerful and well performed by Bradley James and Colin Morgan. Merlin's grief and determination to save Arthur were superbly performed by Morgan, adding a lot of strength to the scenes.

Meanwhile, others character gave a lot to the episode as a whole. Gwen showed a great deal of control and strength, while Morgana displayed increased madness and erratic behaviour, which created a good contrast. While Gwaine and Percival were also given more action and Gwaine's death acted as an initial shock before the dramatic finally. All theses aspects add to a very dramatic and powerful conclusion to the series. I also liked the image at the end of the aged Merlin walking past the same spot that Arthur was buried in the modern day.

Morgan, James, Angel Coulby and Kate McGrath all gave superb performances and have overall really made the series and the show a great success. John Hurt, Richard Wilson, Alexander Vlahos, Eoin Macken, Rupert Young and Tom Hopper have all given great performances and have also added a lot to this final story. I will miss the show a lot.