THE ADVENTURES OF

MERLIN

Prepared by: JULIE ROSE R. ABIVA

 OVERVIEW
 
Merlin (Colin Morgan) is a young and powerful
warlock who arrives in the kingdom of Camelot after
his mother arranges for him to stay with the court
physician, Gaius (Richard Wilson). He discovers that
the king, Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head), outlawed
magic twenty years earlier in an event known as the
Great Purge and imprisoned the last Dragon deep
under the castle. After hearing a mysterious voice
inside his head, Merlin makes his way to the cavern
beneath the keep to find that he was hearing the
dragon's voice. The Great Dragon (voice of John
Hurt) tells Merlin that he has an important destiny: To
protect Uther's son, Arthur, who will return magic to
Camelot and unite the land of Albion.
 When Merlin meets Arthur, Merlin believes
that he is an arrogant bully and Arthur
(Bradley James), likewise, has a less than
stellar opinion of Merlin. After saving the
prince's life, Merlin is appointed as his
personal servant. The two experience many
adventures, over the course of which, they
begin to respect and trust one another. Merlin
eventually becomes close friends with Arthur,
and another servant named Guinevere (Angel
Coulby). But when Uther's actions eventually
cause his ward, Morgana (Katie McGrath), to
turn against Camelot, Merlin must work
together with the Once and Future King
(Arthur) to save Albion.
SETTINGS:
CAMELOT – Kingdom in Albion

The Barons Hall and Garden Tower

at Penshurst Place, and Chislehurst
Caves.
TYPES OF SETTING
A. GEOGRAPHICAL/PHYSICAL/
OCCUPATIONAL
- This is the actual geographical location of the
story and whatever surrounds the place where the
story located in Camelot. It also includes the
manner of daily living people in Camelot.

B. TEMPORAL/ HISTORICAL
This is the period in which a story takes place. It
includes the date, the season, the general
atmosphere in the locale like war, fuel scarcity,
democratic or military rule. It’s another type of
setting in the movie in which there is always a
war in Camelot who tries to destroy the Kingdom
and they wanted to kill King Arthur.
CHARACTERS
MERLIN
Merlin (portrayed by Colin Morgan) is
the main character in the series. His
destiny is to ensure Arthur becomes
king in the hope his reign will see the
return of magic. Merlin is sent to
Camelot by his mother to live with her
old friend, the court physician Gaius.
In the first series, Merlin becomes
Arthur's retainer when he saves his
life, and learns of the Great Dragon,
who informs him of his destiny and
advises him when Merlin faces
exceptional magic. The series focuses
on his relationship with Arthur, which is
comically portrayed with the prince
always rudely teasing Merlin, who
avoids suspicion of his powers by
appearing dim-witted, which is aided
by occasional genuine clumsiness.
ARTHUR PENDRAGON
Arthur Pendragon portrayed
by Bradley James) was the king of
Camelot and formerly the prince. He was
the only son of Uther Pendragon and
Ygraine, and the half-brother of Morgana
Pendragon. He was prophesied to
become the "once and future king who will
unite the land of Albion", and was
revealed in the episode "Excalibur" to
have been conceived with the help of
magic, due to his mother having been
unable to have children. In the first
season, Arthur began as a spoiled bully,
shown throwing knives at a terrified
servant, and picking a fight with Merlin on
multiple occasions just for a laugh. . After
Merlin saved Arthur's life from an assassin
in the pilot episode, "The Dragon's Call",
Merlin was made his manservant. Their
initial relationship was rocky, as both had
little understanding of each other and their
different personalities clashed frequently.
UTHER PENDRAGON
Uther Pendragon (portrayed by Anthony
Head) was the king of Camelot. He took the
realm by force and ruled competently for
many years, creating prosperity for his
people. His wife, Ygraine, was unable to
conceive, so Uther made a magical deal so
she could bear him a son; however, the
enchantment cost Ygraine her life. Stricken
with grief, Uther outwardly blamed sorcery
for his wife's death, and vowed revenge on
all forms of magic. He began "The Great
Purge", which led to a near extinction of
sorcerers in the realm. This included
slaughtering the dragons until only the Great
Dragon is left as a prisoner beneath the
castle. Some time later, he took Morgana,
the supposedly orphaned daughter of his
close friends Gorlois and Vivianne to raise
as his ward alongside Arthur. Uther knew he
was her father, but did not tell anybody this
secret for at least 20 years.
MORGANA PENDRAGON
Morgana Pendragon (portrayed by 
Katie McGrath) is the heretofore
unknown daughter of Uther
Pendragon and Vivianne- the wife of
his close friend and leading military
commander, Gorlois; she is the half-
sister of Arthur Pendragon and
Morgause. She is portrayed as a
sympathetic, passionate and
kindhearted individual during Merlin's
early time in Camelot, with great
personal heroism as well as showing
a willingness to confront the attitudes
of others; Her character is dynamic
as it changes. Morgana become fully
committed to evil.
GUINEVERE
Guinevere ("Gwen"; portrayed
by Angel Coulby) enters the story as
Morgana's personal servant, and
eventually becomes the Queen of
Camelot.
At the start Morgana describes Gwen
as "the most kind and loyal person
you would ever meet". She first
notices Merlin when he stands up to
Arthur when Arthur is taunting a
servant . Due to Gwen's status she
has a tendency to be subservient, but
she is seen to not be afraid of
standing up for her beliefs and
speaking her mind; a trait admired by
most around her, particularly Arthur.
GAIUS
Gaius (portrayed by Richard Wilson)
is Camelot's court physician and Merlin's
guardian and mentor.[ He soon discovers
that Merlin has magical powers and gives
him a book of sorcery to study from in
secret, warning him not to be caught using
magic. Gaius himself used to practice
sorcery - a fact that Uther is aware of,
although he is satisfied that Gaius has
forsaken his old magical abilities. He
knows that Merlin's destiny far surpasses
his own and is also very familiar with the
Great Dragon. He is often called upon to
get Merlin out of trouble or to remind him
not to be reckless with the use of magic.
Although his magical abilities are limited
when compared to Merlin's, his greater
experience is nevertheless of great benefit
to Merlin, as he learns how to control and
refine his abilities, while his knowledge of
other such topics as mythology and
medicine commonly provide Merlin and his
friends with vital information in dealing with
the current threat.
MORGAUSE
Morgause (portrayed by Emilia Fox)
was a skilled warrior, sorceress, and
the half-sister of Morgana Pendragon.
Morgause's exact parentage is
uncertain. Gaius referred to her as
Morgana's half-sister before he knew
that Morgana was, in fact, the daughter
of Uther, and not Gorlois. It has never
been revealed which parent the two
women shared, but it is believed that
they had the same mother, Vivienne.
She is the antagoist in the movie sice
she really hates Uther Pendragon. She
was believed to have been trained in
the ways of the priestesses, explaining
her strong and skillful magical abilities,
which ultimately made her a deadly
enemy to Camelot.
MORDRED
Mordred (portrayed by Asa
Butterfield and Alexander Vlahos)
was a Druid, whose master Cerdan is
executed on Uther's orders. Morgana
claims to feel an inexplicable link with
the boy which drives her to keep him
safe. The Great Dragon later tells Merlin
that Mordred will one day kill Arthur.
Mordred is telepathic and calls Merlin
"Emrys" [the Welsh form of Ambrose or
Ambrosius, meaning "Immortal"],
claiming he knows who Merlin is and
that they are "the same“. By way of her
telepathic connection, he is able to
sense that she has been stung by a
giant scorpion and needs help. It is also
shown that Mordred's magic is powerful
enough to kill four or five armed soldiers
with a single spell.
BALINOR
Balinor (portrayed by John Lynch)
was the last known Dragonlord. In
the second-season finale, "The
Last Dragonlord", Gaius revealed to
Merlin that Balinor was also the
warlock's father. During the Great
Purge, Uther contacted Balinor to
express his desire to make peace
with the Great Dragon. Balinor
brought the dragon to Camelot, but
they were then betrayed and Uther
imprisoned the creature in the
caverns beneath the city. Gaius
helped Balinor to flee Camelot and
sent him to Ealdor, where he
stayed for a brief time with Merlin's
mother, Hunith. He was then forced
to run when Uther's soldiers
pursued him there, and he left
before learning that Hunith was
pregnant with Merlin.
CATRINA
Catrina (portrayed by Sarah Parish
) was a noble of the House of
Tregor. In the second-season
episodes, "Beauty and the Beast,
Part One" and "Part Two", she was
impersonated by a troll who wished
to gain control of Camelot's wealth
and power. Using a potion that
allowed her to temporarily take on
the form of Lady Catrina, the troll
and her servant, Jonas, infiltrated
Camelot and arranged a meeting
with Uther. The troll soon enchanted
Uther, causing him to fall in love with
her. Merlin and Gaius quickly
realized that the troll was an
imposter when she refused a tonic
Gaius had prepared for her.
NIMUEH
Nimueh (portrayed by Michelle Ryan)
was an antagonistic, yet beautiful witch. It
is revealed in the episode "Excalibur",
and through interviews with Michelle
Ryan, that Nimueh was once the personal
witch of the Pendragon family, and was
called upon to help Uther's queen
conceive. She was forced to let Arthur's
mother die in childbirth in order to protect
the balance of life and death. As a result,
Uther banished her from Camelot,
banned magic from the kingdom and
swore to execute all those caught using
sorcery. It is suggested that Nimueh's
beautiful features are an illusion brought
about by her powerful magic; she can
change her appearance at will ("The
Poison Chalice"), looking no older than
the 21-year-old Arthur despite having
been in service to his family long before
his birth.
LANCELOT
Lancelot (portrayed by Santiago
Cabrera) was a commoner who later
achieved the rank of Knight of Camelot.
When his family was killed by bandits,
he swore to become a skilled
swordsman to fight against tyranny and
save other families from suffering the
same fate as his own. In the first series
episode "Lancelot", he travelled to
Camelot in the hope of becoming a
knight of Camelot. After saving Merlin's
life from a rampaging griffin, the warlock
promised to help the other man achieve
his goal. This would prove difficult since
according to the knight's code of
Camelot, only noblemen could become
knights. Merlin soon forged a seal of
nobility and introduced Lancelot to
Guinevere, who helped by creating
clothes suitable for the son of a lord.
SIR GWAINE
Sir Gwaine (portrayed by Eoin
Macken), was the son of a
knight who died in the service
of his king either before
Gwaine was born or when
Gwaine was very young.
Although Gwaine never met his
father, he likes to think that he
was a noble who treated his
servants well, but generally
held a low opinion of the
nobility, believing that they saw
the lower-classes as being
there to do nothing more than
serve them.
ODIN
King Odin (portrayed by Fintan McKeown)
is the ruler of a kingdom neighboring
Camelot. Arthur killed his son in single
combat; he did not have a quarrel with the
boy, but the other prince would not back
down from the challenge. In retaliation, Odin
sent a professional assassin, Myror to
Camelot to attempt to kill Arthur in the
episode "The Once and Future Quenen.
Myror took the place of Arthur's opponent in
the joust, and Merlin had to use his magic to
loosen the strap on his horse's saddle in
order to save Arthur. Uther wanted to make
war against him, but Arthur talked him out of
it, saying Odin had been motivated by grief.
Odin helps in a plot with Morgana by
kidnapping King Rodor to lure Arthur into a
trap. Merlin interferes and foils the attack,
but Odin then corners the King in a gorge.
Arthur defeats Odin in single combat,
sparing his enemy's life and finally bringing
a truce between the two kingdoms.
BAYARD
Bayard (portrayed by Clive Russell) is the
king of Camelot's neighboring kingdom of
Mercia. In "The Poisoned Chalice", Bayard
and many of his knights visited Camelot with
the intention of signing a peace treaty with
Uther. When Merlin drank from a poisoned
goblet at the celebratory feast that was
meant to be a gift for Arthur, Uther had
Bayard and his entire entourage imprisoned.
Bayard's army was dispatched to begin a
war with Camelot, but the crisis was averted
when Gaius revealed to Uther that the
poisoned cup had actually been planted by
Nimueh, who hoped to foment trouble for
the kingdom. Subsequently, Uther released
Bayard and his court, and they returned to
Mercia. Despite this awkward situation,
Bayard appeared to remain on good terms
with Camelot. In "Beauty and the Beast, Part
Two", he sent his congratulations on Uther's
marriage to Lady Catrina and was
mentioned as planning to visit Camelot in
the near future.
GREAT DRAGON
Bayard (portrayed by Clive Russell) is
the king of Camelot's neighboring kingdom
of Mercia. In "The Poisoned Chalice",
Bayard and many of his knights visited
Camelot with the intention of signing a
peace treaty with Uther. When Merlin
drank from a poisoned goblet at the
celebratory feast that was meant to be a
gift for Arthur, Uther had Bayard and his
entire entourage imprisoned. Bayard's
army was dispatched to begin a war with
Camelot, but the crisis was averted when
Gaius revealed to Uther that the poisoned
cup had actually been planted by Nimueh,
who hoped to foment trouble for the
kingdom. Subsequently, Uther released
Bayard and his court, and they returned to
Mercia. Despite this awkward situation,
Bayard appeared to remain on good terms
with Camelot.