Original subtitles

Welcome back to our podcast going deep into Daily Wire's The Pendragon Cycle,

Rise of the Merlin. We're doing this episode by episode, so if you have not

watched episode five yet, you need to fix that now because we will be plunging

into all of the prophecies, the intrigue, and the family grudges.

So we open this episode with a flashback.

Young Merlin and his mother are standing among these ancient stones where

Taliesin once had his mystical vision. And right away, we're reminded that

Britain itself is a character in this story.

These standing stones, often called henges, dot the British landscape, and

were built between 3000 and 2000 BCE during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

Stonehenge, of course, is the most famous, but there's hundreds more

across England, Wales, and Scotland.

Now, historians will still debate their precise purpose. Some appear aligned

with solstices, suggesting ritual or calendar significance.

Others may have served as communal gathering sites, burial grounds, or

where the boundary between the natural and supernatural was believed to be

But what's clear is that by the early medieval period, these places retained

enormous spiritual weight, especially for pagan and druidic traditions.

Christianity didn't erase these overnight, so instead it arrived in a

was already thick with this sacred geography, which is exactly what we see

This is a druid conclave. And yes, I am assuming that those beards are mandatory

for the position because every single one of them has them. The archdruid

his brothers in, quote, the name of the great light. And immediately there's

grumbling about this.

Then you have become a follower of this.

He is the great light of whom our forebears spoke.

Christianity is already seeping into pagan spaces, unsettling the old

hierarchies, and that is upsetting some of these druids.

No one may set their foot on the sacred seat.

Not even the archdruid himself.

Young Merlin climbs onto the stone chair, and we see history repeat itself.

Just as Taliesin once did, Merlin receives a vision. The stones rise,

manifests, and the druids scatter in fear.

And I think the message here is unmistakable. Whatever Merlin is, he

belong to them, and he's not going to be controlled by their rituals or their

gods.

Then we're back in the present, and Merlin and Peleus continue on the road.

their mission to rally support for Aurelius, we're starting to hear warning

signs in a king who has suffered loss, who will not welcome Merlin, and

own resolved grief, which seems to be somehow connected to the lost love who

continues to haunt his visions.

And as we're moving quickly in this episode, we're back to the Saxon coast.

And, wow.

That is a lot of boats on the horizon.

10 ,000, Uther says.

So this is no longer a raid. It's an invasion.

Aurelius and Uther reunite with hijinks because, you know, no matter how high

the stakes, brothers are going to brother, even in the middle of impending

catastrophe.

Meanwhile, Morgan's son, Lot, arrives to pledge fealty to Hengist.

And here we get a stark contrast between British paganism and Saxon paganism.

The gods have will that they will fight for us.

In Hengist's camp, we see divination by reading entrails, horisposy.

which was an ancient practice borrowed from continental Germanic and Roman

traditions. Now, this was not unusual in the ancient world. Leaders frequently

sought signs and animal sacrifice. They believed the gods communicated through

these physical omens. Given Morgan's comfort with blood magic, this

probably feels very familiar to Lot. And we also learned that Hengist has

declared himself Lord

Now, that's a bold move and historically risky.

Theologically, well, I will say that is usually when heaven starts paying

attention. Ask Nebuchadnezzar. But it's interesting that we learn here that Lot

is not Morgan's son. The lady Morgan is no mother of mine.

Not a witch's flesh and blood.

Be careful, boy.

That at least makes her kiss in that last episode.

fractionally less disturbing, but, you know, still extremely inappropriate and

gross. And speaking of inappropriate and gross, wipe that goat's blood from your

beard, Angus.

Then we move back to Aurelius' camp and a major shift occurs.

I learned to pursue the Christ.

And I have become his follower.

Aurelius tells Uther that he no longer shares their father's Roman ideals of

blood and glory.

Instead, he has become a Christian through Avalac's influence.

And even more importantly, Aurelius declares that Britain's future will be

Christian. And historically, this is very plausible timing. As we've been

talking about in the series, by the late 5th century, Christianity was spreading

unevenly across Britain, but it was spreading, often embraced by elites

It offered moral authority, continuity with Rome, and a unifying worldview in a

fractured land.

And, you know, it also offered those minor benefits of being the truth and

guaranteeing eternal life, which, you know, as a Christian, I will say, are

perks. But right now, Uther is not on board.

Elsewhere in the camp, Morcant and some of these other petty kings are already

plotting. They intend to use the Saxon threat to their advantage, and their

loyalty to Aurelius is shallow at best at this point. And Aurelius is

dangerously unaware of the conspiring that is going on against him in this

As Merlin and Peleus enter the Old North, we flash back to Merlin's youth

before his fall.

Who can stand against such power?

And we see him role -playing as his father, Taliesin. And I love that moment

because it's a little bit like a kid in the 1980s pretending to be Michael

Jordan, just genuinely adorable.

A little less adorable is his plunge down the hill.

And, you know, for a moment I went, what do we have here? Are these hobbits? Are

they dwarves? And then, no, okay, it's a tribe of hill people who kidnap him.

And I think we're about to learn how Merlin came to have that blue face

But as they close in for an apparent human sacrifice, we hear Merlin reciting

the words of Psalm 91.

And very

quickly, these people learn that Merlin's God is not a God to be trifled

And I love the way that this scene surprises us.

At first, we assume that Merlin is still riding and talking with Peleus, but

then as the camera pulls back, we see it is, in fact, that pretty girl who has

been haunting his visions, and we get this glimpse of how cute they are,

hands while riding horses, and just a very charming couple, even though we

yet know who this woman is. And then another cool twist of the scene as the

camera again comes back into focus, and we see that Merlin is back to the

present, riding with Peleus.

Next, we move on to the Confederation of Kings and a debate erupts over who will

be Dux Britanniarum. Now, that is the military commander of Britain.

Historically, it was a Roman title created by Diocletian or Constantine for

commanding northern border troops along Hadrian's Wall.

Well, there has not been a Dux Britanniarum since Maximus marched to

yet there is one now.

Now, it was used during these times of crisis to unify regional forces under a

single war leader. And remember, back in Episode 3, that Elfin told Merlin that

Magnus Maximus was a Dux. So that title confers historical authority.

And as Aurelius argued for Uther as Dux, Morcant pushes back.

we learn that Aurelius' claim to high kingship comes through both Roman and

British lineage.

Now, that's really key because Aurelius' claim unites the two surviving sources

of legitimacy in post -Roman Britain, Roman authority and native British

kingship. And in the 5th century, that combination is extraordinarily powerful

because we know that part of the reason Britain is in this mess is because the

Romans withdrew and with them went law, infrastructure, and military order.

Aurelius can claim to be an heir to that order, but he can also claim to be a

native chieftain. So he can say, I am the lawful continuation of what Britain

was, and also the rightful guardian of what Britain must become.

But King Gorlos raises some serious objections here about Aurelius and

father, and honestly, they sound pretty legitimate.

Your father did nothing to make us stronger.

He took more from our harvest than any Saxon raider.

In Vortigern, he sold us to the barbarians and betrayed our brothers at

treason of the Longknives.

Now, this is drawing from Nennius' 9th century Historia Britannum, where

orchestrates the infamous treachery of the Longknives, massacring Britons at a

quote -unquote peace feast.

And that may be where George R .R. Martin got his famous idea for the quote

-unquote Red Wedding.

Gorloth represents a good number of their troops, and Aurelius cannot afford

lose him. But then, what do we have here? It's Gorloth's pretty daughter.

Now, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Gorloth was Duke of Cornwall and

Egrain's husband.

Here,

we hear her name as Egerna. So Lawhead may be changing up the legend a little

bit. So next, Merlin and Peleus arrive in Gathe, a kingdom that is still

worshipping Bel, just as Carus once did. So we know that we're dealing with

Atlanteans here.

And they get something less than a warm welcome from the king. We're about to

learn why Peleus had that premonition that Merlin would not be welcome in

lands. Your hall has changed little these past 50 years.

Did you think to find it still different, Merlin Wilt?

With King Custodon's history of Merlin, we get the first king who truly

remembers him and who believes in his abilities.

And yet, this doesn't win Merlin any favor because clearly we have some

bitterness that for the past 50 years, Merlin has not expended these abilities

on behalf of this kingdom.

Are you not the mighty Merlin?

Terrible to meet on the field of battle.

You know I cannot.

I've seen.

So we see that Peleus was absolutely right when he warned of just how poor a

welcome Merlin was going to get in this kingdom, because he's actually getting a

murderous welcome.

Now, at this point, the action is beginning to come fast and furious, and

two storylines are starting to intercut very quickly. Now, back at Aurelius'

camp, Uther has made some progress with the other men through the...

Time -honored tradition of drinking and gambling.

But he's not made progress with Gorlus.

Morkant is stirring up insurrection, flattering Gorlus and arguing that he,

Uther, should be warchief. So they demand that Aurelius make Gorlus dux

Britanniarum. Aurelius' authority is hanging by a thread here.

Then we come back to Merlin and Peleus, now imprisoned over King Custanin's long

-nursed but still unnamed grudge. We learn that Merlin was once close with

Custanin. You were a father to me.

And you were a son.

So whatever caused the break between these two men was clearly profound.

We think he's sentencing both Merlin and Pelley as to capital punishment. But as

the scene plays out, we discover that what he's actually doing is goading

here. And he gets exactly what he wants.

Show me you could have saved us!

A display of Merlin's power.

And then we also learn that Custanin and Merlin are sharing a common grief over

the same woman.

Finish it.

This is the second time you've found yourself beneath my blade, King Stannan.

There will not be a third.

So one lost a daughter and one lost a love. But thankfully, Merlin does get

he came for.

Custinan pledges to follow Aurelius, though with some trepidation, but he

believe in Merlin, and Merlin believes in Aurelius. Then, as we go back to the

action at the camp, we find Aurelius gearing up to fight the much larger,

older, and much more experienced Gorloth.

Now, coming into this duel, we know that Gorlaz has fought the Saxons more than

anyone in this camp.

Aurelius' retort that his god is not fickle lands with quiet confidence, I

say. But this is still something of a David versus Goliath situation.

Until Aurelius blinds Gorlaz with his sword, briefly gaining the advantage.

Wow. And then as this fighting goes on, it's getting so fierce that we're not

even messing around with swords anymore. We are now in full -blown WWE -style

fisticuffs.

It's all fun and games until somebody loses a couple of fingers. And, you

my mom always told me horseplay leads to tragedy.

Sadly, Gorillaz apparently didn't learn that lesson. But now the best man wins

and Aurelius is right.

to the throne can no longer be denied.

We also see what kind of moral leadership he's going to provide because

he did with passion, Aurelius now shows mercy to Gorlos.

And this is part of why episode five was such a favorite for me. We really see

these alliances coalescing and we're getting an understanding of the tensions

within the camp and the stakes if Aurelius and Merlin fail.

We're also getting a clearer sense of the divided loyalties that Aurelius is

going to have to contend with to keep all of these kingdoms together.

So there's just layered difficulties in getting him to the throne.

And speaking of divided loyalties, it's becoming pretty obvious that Gorlis'

lovely daughter, Igerna, has some divided loyalties of her own. And I love

the exchanged glances between her and Uther show that this love interest is

from one -sided. And then moving on, as Aurelius' wounds are cauterized,

Merlin's vision of the woman he loved whispers a plea.

Day. And that's where we leave it.

Britain is wounded.

Kings are still divided, but less divided than before. So we are making

progress. And faith is rising. And the true cost of power is becoming painfully

clear. So what gripped you? Learning more of Merlin's lore?

Kustanin's gut -punch grief? Or, gosh, that finger -lopping finale?

Comment below and brace for Episode 6.

Thanks for joining us.