'Merlin' S01E11: 'The Labyrinth of Gedref'

A touching episode of Merlin sends exactly the right moral message to the family audience. Although still blighted by some characterisation issues, the engrossing test of Arthur's heart and some excellent visuals ensure that the show is impressively edging towards the end of its first season.

Arthur's callous slaying of the poor unicorn, and his subsequent lack of remorse, do initially feel like a betrayal of the supposedly good-natured character. His unconvincing actions are obviously a catalyst for the storyline, but at least the moment of redemption at the end of the episode manages to be both heartwarming and credible. It's a lovely touch to see the unicorn being brought back to life as well.

As the more consistently behaving Merlin, Colin Morgan unleashes his best performance yet and exudes humbleness and compassion. His magic powers effectively redundant, the appealing wizard nicely imparts a spot of clever thinking with the poisoned goblets. Also, there's a neat role-reversal in which Gaius is the one begging Merlin to use his powers to cure the Camelot famine, but to no avail.

The climactic test of Arthur's resolve, set on a beach, is a fantastic piece of surrealism reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman's classic film The Seventh Seal. It's presided over by the commanding Frank Finlay as Anhora, an ambiguous antagonist who occupies the territory between friend and foe.

Merlin, despite the occasional blip, has grown in strength throughout the season. Fingers crossed the impending season finale delivers in style.

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