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Igraine's murder, stabbed in the abdomen by stepdaughter Morgan, was in many ways better than Leontes' demise, especially because it came shortly after the reveal that Igraine (always perceived as a nasty stepmother by Morgan) actually saved Morgan's life by sending her away to a convent, as her father King Uther was going to have her killed. Claire Forlani's been very good in a sadly underwritten role, so in some ways it's a shame her character won't be back. Igraine's burgeoning relationship with the defensive Merlin was a great deal more interesting and adult than the woolly Arthur/Guinevere/Leontes love-triangle.
Corrupt nun Sybil (Sinead Cusick) also met a sticky end after weeks of deviousness, by taking the blame for the Bardon Pass treachery, thus ensuring that Morgan couldn't be punished by Arthur because there's no proof she'd arranged to have her brother killed in battle. Cusick's been one of the best elements of Camelot, and I was pleased her execution was suitably grim (decapitated by Gawaine at the edge of an open grave, watched from a distance by Merlin, who uttered "there is no God" as her body fell into the soil). Morgan's later arrival at Sybil's gravesite appeared to show that the devious nun may now become the voice of whatever "dark forces" Morgan's been lured into utilizing, so perhaps Cusick will return in spirit form and pick up where she left off? Sybil already instigated the episode's final twist, by suggesting Morgan (now stripped of her title by Arthur) can become a Queen by giving birth to a King, prompting her to shape-shift into Guinevere's physical form and sleep with Arthur. Having previously theorized that Morgan (when posing as Igraine) would become pregnant with Merlin's child, it's even creepier that her baby, as the offspring of an incestuous union, will also be her nephew! "Mordred" sounds like a good name for such a child, doesn't it...
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Overall, Camelot is still very much a show trying to discover itself and accrue enough successes to realize what it's good at. It has a few good idea, an engaging sexy/grimy tone, and a smattering of performances that are charming or delectably bonkers (Green, Fiennes), but it's also quite stupid and seems to fluctuate in quality rather sharply. I think a second season, if one's forthcoming, should spend time really nailing the characters and planning the emotional arcs of the season more succinctly. When you look back at these ten episodes, you get the impression the story could actually have concluded three or four weeks ago, and there were many early developments that felt rushed and could have been better distributed over the run.
written by Terry Cafolla & Chris Chibnall / directed by Mikael Salomon & Stefan Schwartz / 10 June 2011 / Starz
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