Original subtitles

Well, welcome back. We are charging through the Pendragon cycle, Rise of the

Merlin, like Uther through a Saxon shield wall, episode by episode. And

will be spoilers, so if you haven't streamed episode four yet, hit that

button now, because we are diving headfirst into coastal chaos, family

and twisted betrayals. I'm going to tell you, this one is packed with Lawhead's

signature blend of gritty 5th century history and soaring Celtic myths.

pulling from real chronicles while also weaving in his unique twist.

And let's be clear right out of the gate. Passion, Vortigern's son, has made

catastrophically bad gamble.

He has no power, no army, no leverage, only the hope that Hengist and his

will honor a bargain made in desperation.

That's a mistake about as old as history itself.

Assuming that barbarians or invaders of any stripe are going to keep their word

once they no longer need you is never a winning strategy.

And that was as much true historically as it was in legend. The 9th century

Anglo -Saxon chronicle paints Hengist and his brother Horsa as chieftains,

invited by Vortigern around 449 to fend off Picts and Scots. Now, whether he was

actually the founder of Kent is debated.

But what's consistent across sources is that once the Saxons gained a foothold,

they did not leave.

And what I love about this scene, though, is how it constantly subverts

expectations. At first, you expect Hengist to dismiss Passion outright.

Instead, he pauses. He speaks of blood pacts. He declares that such oaths must

be honored to the death.

And that's when he cuts Passion free.

And you briefly think, just briefly, that maybe...

This will go differently.

And then he kills him. Not out of rage, but to satisfy his

own twisted sense of honor.

to the death. That was a really key phrase for him. And that's what makes it

chilling. Hengist isn't really lawless. He does have a code. It's just a brutal,

inward -facing code that exists to justify whatever he wants to do anyway.

And that's often how evil works, we know. It doesn't see itself as evil. It

invents a private morality and then congratulates itself for obeying it.

As we saw at the very end of Episode 3, Merlin has returned to Enos Avalac. He

greets King Avalac, and what he calls him here is really noteworthy.

Hail the Fisher King!

Because in historical legend, the Fisher King is a mystical, enigmatic figure

who guards the Holy Grail, but whose physical and spiritual affliction, often

depicted as a wound, has caused the land to become a barren wasteland.

In the legend, his healing is tied to the land's renewal.

Is Avallac this fisher king, or is this just a clever play on words from Merlin

as he found his grandfather fishing?

That's to be determined.

As we move on, at the royal dinner, tensions are simmering between brothers

Aurelius and Uther.

Aurelius is the noble unifier.

Uther is the hothead warrior.

We also have confirmed now that we have two separate swords, the Sword of

Britain and the Fisher King's Sword.

Now, one represents Britain, its continuity, its Roman inheritance, and

political legitimacy.

The other is from Atlantis, and it's a sacred relic which holds some darkness

over Merlin and Taliesin. Now, Merlin rejects it, but we see that he hasn't

always done so.

And while Merlin looks haunted and clearly marked by whatever he

his long years of wandering, we also get a quiet but monumental revelation.

King Avalac is now a Christian.

What was it like, Merlin?

To be insane.

To be alone with God.

So that's huge.

Taliesin's vision of a Christian Britain is no longer abstract.

Christ is advancing, not by conquest.

but by conversion.

Now, historically, this tracks.

Christianity had survived the Roman withdrawal and was spreading throughout

Britain, coexisting uneasily with continuing pagan practice.

And in this same conversation, Morgan's name finally surfaces again.

They gave life to Morgan.

Even absent, she casts a very long shadow.

Avalac gives Merlin advice that feels both ancient and utterly timeless.

Trust in you too, Hawk.

He is the only hope for men like us.

My grandfather would have given the exact same advice to me. And now their

mission begins.

Rally the kingdoms.

Uther, meanwhile, continues to struggle with, well, everyone.

He does not play that well with others.

But they arrive at Maridunham, modern -day Carmarthen, a town in Wales

associated with Merlin himself.

Historically, Welsh tradition places Merlin's birthplace in this region, and

Lawhead is very intentionally leaning into that geography.

The same raid that took Mailwich took the town.

He fucked my father, tried to say what he could, but there wasn't much left.

Not. The local king explains that Maradona has endured repeated attacks

neighboring British rulers. So we see here that Britain isn't just threatened

from the outside. It's also tearing itself apart from within.

The current king, Tawdrig, knows that Merlin has a claim to the throne of

Maridunum, though Merlin clearly has no interest in ruling.

He and Uther seek support for Aurelius, and they announce Vortigern's death.

We continue to see this cynical, distrustful side of Uther, and his

Merlin is growing.

We also continue to see Uther's cynicism hardening into hostility.

He distrusts Merlin. He assumes manipulation.

He reads everything as a power grab because that's how he would play it.

Then we reach the Islands of Fear.

And judging by the behavior of this little sadist we meet here, that name is

extremely well earned. And I'll admit that my daughter was deeply concerned

while we were watching this scene that the Daily Wire might have used a real

crab. And I assured her that no, no crabs were harmed in the making of

Pendragon.

But we do now understand what is wrong with this boy.

Morgan is his mother. We know where she has settled now, and everything snaps

into focus.

Morgan's evil is no longer just abstract or purely personal.

She's willing to sell out the entirety of Britain to the Saxon invaders because

she believes that they're going to be the future. So rather than fight for her

people, she wants to secure a privileged place under the coming regime.

And we know that history is full of people like this.

But there's a struggle going on here.

King Loth is at a crossroads. With Vortigern dead, they have a choice.

Do they keep the alliance they made with Hengist and the Saxons, or do they turn

heel and align with Aurelius? You could be a most valuable ally to Hengist, to

Saxon. There are conflicting opinions at the table because his son is really the

only person making any sense.

Back at Maridunum, we now know it has been at least three generations since

Merlin ruled his kingdom.

And, you know, I can't help but feel for this king here. He's clearly a guy who

genuinely tried to do right by his people, but he believes he's failed. In

contrast, we're told that Merlin once killed 500 men in battle from strength

given from heaven. So, you know, a fairly explicit echo of Samson there.

He will take the talk from my father.

and declare himself high king before he is through.

And neither you nor the Saxons nor all the armies of Britain and Amorica can

hinder him.

Of course the king's son is afraid that Merlin might have come here to reclaim

power. And when Uther and Merig begin plotting against Merlin, Peleus

fight ensues. And I got to be honest, as a mom, I always struggle with these

scenes because I'm just sitting here thinking somebody needs to put these

in timeout for messing up her kitchen and dining hall and breaking all of her

dishes. I'm just telling you, it's nails on a chalkboard for moms.

But in a fury, Uther decides that Merlin's supposed bid for power must be

before it begins.

And in the very next scene, we realize that Uther really doesn't understand

Merlin or his motives at all.

Merlin demonstrates his power, not violently, but decisively, by holding

back. And then, in a moment that feels profoundly Christ -like, Merlin reframes

the king's failures.

You've let fear rule your heart and govern your actions, and I do indeed

every right to reclaim my kingship and take back what is lawfully mine.

But I deem it best to let my claim lapse.

But despair is not the final word here. Instead, he calls the king to something

nobler. And then immediately in the next scene, he does something very similar

with Uther.

Uther decides not to ride out as battle chief, but only as a simple soldier. And

Merlin turns that humiliation into an inspired battle plan.

Now, back at Enos Avalok, Aurelius makes his plea to Avalok's dying people.

Avalok speaks with the blunt realism of a ruler who understands demographics.

When your people stop having children, your civilization is already ending.

Insert something about Elon Musk here. But this is a complicated situation for

Avalok. It's clear that his loyalties lie with Aurelius, but can he put his

already dwindling race at risk? You contrast this with Morgan, who has no

loyalties to her people.

Her strategy is simply to follow the winning team.

And then we have Aurelius, who proves that nobility is not just inherited,

chosen. He helps the village he doesn't know because he's asking to be their

king, and that's really the key difference between him and Morgion. He

moral core.

But the action keeps rolling as Merlin, Peleus, Uther, Taudrig, and Meyrig ride

to confront the Belgae, who are somewhat less impressed with the name of Merlin

than the other tribes have been.

Carus and Aurelius arrive just as the Saxons are raiding a village,

everyone. So Aurelius confronts them directly.

And we now get two intense battle sequences running simultaneously.

But notice that Merlin does not fight. He watches. He waits. Until he shouts

Morkan's name.

And then everything stops.

The plan becomes clear.

Uther is fighting anonymously among the soldiers, and since Morkant cannot risk

killing Aurelius' own brother without knowing it, he has to halt the battle.

It's clever, it's controlled, it's strategic.

Pure Merlin.

Going back to the Summerlands, Carys breaks her non -interference pledge and

saves Aurelius, despite knowing it means she's deliberately disobeying her

father. Meanwhile, the brothers have learned some pretty important lessons

episode. Aurelius on the responsibilities of being a king and one

biblical principles that there's no greater love than the willingness to die

others. Uther, too, has learned some important lessons on trust and, I don't

know, maybe just playing nice with others.

But Morgan remains unchanged.

She's still got the Leofail, reminder that is the Stone of Destiny per Irish

lore that Lawhead ties to prophecies, and that's what's allowing her to spy on

everything Merlin does.

And she's also still engaging in that horned god blood magic. Not a good idea,

because it's important to remember here that paganism is not a neutral

tradition. It's explicitly tied to domination, to blood, and to the

the land.

And then we get a final, deeply unsettling moment of fairly unmotherly

here that reveals...

Just how twisted this family actually is. That's just not an appropriate way

kiss your son. And I would say that kid doesn't stand a chance. And that is

where we leave things this time.

Britain is fractured. Kings are hesitant. The invaders are ruthless.

And the true king is not yet crowned. The enemy within may be more dangerous

than the enemy without.

So what hit hardest for you this time?

Uther's heel turn humility?

Avalok's conversion chills?

Or like my daughter, are you still worrying about that crab back at the

beginning of the episode?

Drop your comments. Let us know what you think. And rally for episode five

because we're getting near the end.

Thanks for joining us.

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