All language subtitles for Inside The Pendragon Cycle Rise of the Merlin s01e01.eng

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the
Pendragon Companion Podcast.

I'm Megan Basham, culture and
entertainment writer at Daily Wire.

Now, if you haven't already watched the
first episode, I do want to warn you

that there are going to be spoilers as
we dive into all the myth, the magic,

the legend of Stephen Lawhead's epic
hero's journey to really end all hero's

journeys. Each week, we're going to
revisit an episode, drawing connections

historical, literary, and even...
Theological undercurrents while also

into what this series contributes to the
Arthurian canon. We'll be breaking down

the action. We'll be exploring all of
these character arcs. And most of all,

we're going to be analyzing the story.
Whether you're a longtime fan of the

Pendragon cycle or you're a newcomer
that's just discovering this universe

the first time.

My goal is to closely examine this
amazing narrative and really get under

hood a bit as we go, unpacking the lore,
exploring inspirations, and asking what

it is about these ancient tales that
still speak so much to our imaginations

today. So grab your cloak, steady your
courage, and join me on the long road

from the lost lands of Atlantis to the
throne of Britannia.

So I posted on X a few weeks ago that I
couldn't wait to talk about Pendragon.

And I'm so excited that that day is
finally here because I get to obsess on

every detail, every Easter egg to my
heart's content.

And that's a lot of details and Easter
eggs because the Pendragon cycle, Rise

the Merlin.

occupies a huge world. It's drawn from
historical record, from British

and even from Greek allegory like
Plato's thinking of the island of

really a lot to cover.

To zoom out for a moment, Lawhead's
Pendragon Cycle is a seven -book epic

begins with the original trilogy,
Taliesin, Merlin, and Arthur. So it's

a straightforward retelling of Arthurian
legend like you might expect from

Thomas Mallory or from T .H. White's The
Once and Future King or even that

wonderfully weird cult classic from the
80s, Excalibur, which is a favorite of

mine.

But it's also not a, say, gritty,
stripped -down version of Arthur like

Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles, for those
who have read those, or even the

terrible anti -Christian 2004 film with
Clive Owen and Keira Knightley.

Personally, I thought that one was a
revisionist crime against the canon.

But instead, what Lawhead does is he
blends myth and history into a unified

vision. He really merges the enchanted
world of Arthurian tradition with the

real Britain of the 5th and 6th
centuries.

Now, it's a time of shifting beliefs and
culture clash.

We have the Romans withdrawing and the
barbarians invading, and we see

Christianity emerge and conflict with
older pagan religions.

Through these narratives that begin
before Arthur or even Merlin's birth,

Lawhead builds the cultural, political,
and spiritual spiritual foundations that

are necessary for the prophesied king to
rise, to claim that iconic sword, and

to unite the tribes of Britain in the
fabled kingdom of summer. It's a lot to

absorb, to say the least. But
thankfully, we have Merlin's prologue to

scene for us.

This is to be Arthur's story.

To understand him, you have to
understand the land.

This land, this.

So I'm going to be really honest with
you guys. At this first scene, I let out

major sigh of relief because I am a huge
fantasy geek and I consume a lot of it

in all mediums. novels, films,
television series.

So I have a lot of experience seeing how
easily fantasy can become cheesy if you

don't handle it properly.

So even though The Daily Wire has
obviously produced some fantastic films.

The Pendragon Cycle was an undertaking
on an entirely different scale. We have

these huge vistas. We're building out,
you know, several large worlds. We have

to fully inhabit all of these spaces
with our extras and our costuming. So it

was really a lot to do. And I mean, we
even hired a classicist to invent an

entirely new language here.

So I approached this series a little
like you might if your cousin suddenly

invited you to hear her open mic
performance at the comedy club. You're a

nervous to find out, okay, does she
actually have the talent to pull this

And so this was the moment that I knew
that I could just relax and enjoy the

show. I knew that the acting, the
costuming, and the overall production

were going to meet my pretty rigorous
expectations here.

And what we have in this initial scene
is Merlin looking back from an

unspecified point in the future, and
he's acting as our guide, and he's

delivering a sort of prologue that gives
us an overview of the characters and

the storylines that we're going to be
following.

And then we hear the name Uther.

Not that Uther ever was one for a
scholar's poem.

Now, that's someone that anyone familiar
with Arthurian lore is going to

immediately recognize.

We also hear a foreshadowing of the
threats that Arthur's going to face, and

get a glimpse of Atlantean Princess
Caris.

And, of course, the sword. But which
sword? Now, that's a question that will

answered as the series progresses, but
right now we're not sure.

Then the curtain rises on the arrival of
the baby Taliesin.

And I love the biblical allusion here
because he's something like Moses being

drawn out of the Nile by Pharaoh's
daughter because we have the Celt

discovery of Taliesin there in the
river.

How did Taliesin come to be there in the
water? We don't know. And that's all

part of the mystery of who Taliesin, the
bard of legend, is. And like many of

the other characters we'll meet, he was
a historical figure. He was a Welsh poet

of the 6th century who's believed to
have served the courts of at least three

different British kings.

And his work does survive today in the
form of the medieval Welsh manuscript,

The Book of Taliesin. Something cool
that you can actually go and look up.

he's also a mythic figure associated
with Celtic tales of prophecy and magic.

really a proper father for someone like
Merlin. And we get our first prophecy of

Arthur's Kingdom of Summer.

A bard the boy will be.

A maker with words like no other from
the beginning of the world.

And in his voice will be born a kingdom
of Donna.

And now we finally hit our title card,
Island of the Mighty, which leads us

directly to Atlantis.

Now, Atlantis has a Mediterranean feel
with its clean white coliseum and this

white -draped costuming. It's very
appropriate for a location first

Plato. Now, in his dialogues, he
presented it as a powerful island empire

the pillars of Hercules with advanced
wealth and military might, but corrupt

ethics.

It was destroyed by earthquakes and
floods as divine punishment for its

So essentially, it served as a
cautionary tale for an ideal state

decadent state.

While some historians do believe it was
inspired by real events, most of them

view Atlantis as a myth or a literary
device.

But Lawhead uses this story as the
perfect launching point for his tale,

an enlightened world of ancient classics
with the dark enchantment of pagan

Britain. And here is where we meet
Atlantean Princess Caris.

She's performing a dangerous acrobatic
ritual that was inspired by Minoan

culture, where performers leap over
sacred bulls as a religious act of

to their sun god, Bel.

Now, bull leaping, or torokathepsia as
it's known, hopefully I said that right,

was primarily a sacred ritual of the
Minoan civilization in Bronze Age Crete,

and it represents a spiritual connection
between humans and the divine power of

the bull. And this dangerous acrobatic
act possibly dedicated to an earth deity

or Poseidon, involved somersaulting over
charging bulls. I'm not kidding. I love

the sort of biblical feel here with the
golden bull. You can almost picture

Moses standing on a mountain somewhere.

And there's, of course, a Babylonian
god, Bel, in the Bible. But it also

into Celtic myth, as they also have a
number of pagan idols whose names start

with Bel, from which we get, for
example, Beltane.

Ultimately, I would say the too long
didn't read here.

Don't worship things called Belle.
That's just never a good idea.

Charis, at this point, doesn't know any
better. So we watch her pray to Belle

for strength before she goes out to,
quote unquote, dance with this bull that

represents her God.

And it's obvious from her agility and
from her athleticism that she and her

have clearly been training to do this
for a large number of years.

And there's a lot of tension over
wondering, is she going to survive this

worship? And Karis passes this ordeal
with flying colors until she gets to the

white bull.

I just have to tell you that I love the
symbolism of all of this.

In Greek myth, we know that Zeus
transformed into a white bull to abduct

linking the bull to divine power, to
seduction, and to the origins of Europe.

we combine that with Charis asking her
false god what he requires of her.

And the answer, it just gives me chills.

Everything.

That's what he requires.

I won't go on a theological rant here,
but I think that that is the

representation of every false religion
right there. It takes everything from

you. You must sacrifice as opposed to
the one true religion that we're going

meet later in the story where the
sacrifice you don't deserve is made for

So I think this is just a great thematic
scene here and great contrast to what's

going to come later.

Staying with that biblical theme.

We have the apocalypse, the destruction
of Atlantis.

And then we flash forward 20 years, and
I can't pronounce the Welsh name of this

place, but it's clearly not Atlantis
anymore.

We go from the clean, white architecture
of classic civilization to something

like thatched huts in the Dark Ages. And
it's there that we catch up with

Taliesin praying to his Celtic gods.

And what I really love about this scene
is the juxtaposition of Karis' prayer

and Taliesin. Because, of course,
they're both praying to false gods. But

recognize that these first two major
characters that we've met are both

sincere people who are looking for the
truth.

I have not seen Taliesin in three days.

In fact, from Elfin's words, it sounds
like Taliesin has been praying for at

least three days before he at last gets
this vision that he's been seeking. But

it's a vision of a dark god called the
Horned Lord, even older than his own

And we get a glimpse of human sacrifice
in connection with this dark god. And

from there, an encounter with an
otherworldly prophet and prophecy.

I haven't read the book, so I don't know
yet what this scene portends, but I was

fully engaged here. I'm asking myself,
is the hooded specter the old gods?

So, demons trying to reassert their
dominion.

Is the old man on the stone chair their
man, the old gods, or is he the true

gods? Now, the prophecy made him sound
like he could be either, so I'm trying

get an answer to that one eventually.

Then we play witness to the last gasp of
a dying world. We have the Romans

battling the barbarians before they
prepare to pull up stakes from

and Roman Britain ultimately falls on
the ash heap of history.

Fun fact, St. Patrick was actually a
Roman Briton, but we'll get into that.

As a legend for another time. Here what
we have are Lawhead and the series

setting the stage for Britain's great
need.

Civilization is withdrawing. The Roman
world is increasingly overrun by

hordes. So order is giving way to chaos.
And only an enlightened king is going

to be able to set things right.

We also learn in this scene that the
horned god was asking for Taliesin's

allegiance, but Taliesin refused, and
his people are now worried that this

rejection could lead to, ultimately,
their doom.

So next scene, we arrive in the
Summerlands, and we see our first

Christian Britain.

Now, we know that Christianity has
become somewhat established in Roman

It does have an organized church
hierarchy. It includes bishops, but it's

widespread yet in Britain. It has what
you might think of as a small footprint,

and that footprint is imperiled by those
barbarians that Elphin is worried

about, though clearly Elphin and
Taliesin's tribe have not yet met the

themselves.

Now, it's been 20 years, but we see that
Caris is no older, so clearly she is

something more than human. And in just a
bit, we're going to hear her people

referred to as the quote -unquote fair
folk.

So Lawhead here is tying the myth of
Atlantis to Celtic folklore about

or as Tolkien framed them, elves,
because apparently an editor of his

that fairies sounded too effeminate, so
he went with elves. But Lawhead goes

with the fair folk.

But our two monks mistake Caris for
something else entirely, for a heavenly

vision of the Virgin Mary.

Though, I don't know, I think Mary might
throw on a little camisole or something

underneath that robe, but that's just
me. But Caris corrects their

misapprehension, and she leaves with one
of those great scene -ending lines.

I trusted a god once.

What happened?

I killed him.

And now moving on to the court of Enos
Avalac. Now, I don't know about you, but

I personally started getting big
Rivendell vibes right about here, which

make sense as Tolkien and Lawhead were
both drawing from some of those same

source myths.

An elfin is visiting, and we see Carys
and Taliesin in the same room, and my

daughter and I might have let out a
little bit of a squee when we saw them

together. Just great chemistry.

We're already shipping these two.

Now, you do also have to feel for Elfin
in this scene, because his people,

besieged by the Picts, clearly need
help. But you get a wonderful

from Doran Fulton -Brown, who's
balancing his pride with this duty he

to see his people protected and provided
for.

Now, this is our second meeting with one
of our key villains,

Morgion. Caris's sister.

We saw her briefly earlier, but here we
get a little bit more understanding of

her character.

She dabbles in sorcery, for one thing,
and she's generally always depicted as

something of a seductress.

And I will admit that is how I played
her when I played Morgan Le Fay in

in high school. So yes, I was a theater
geek in addition to being a fantasy

geek. So my geekdom goes far back and
encompasses most of my life. But here,

Morgan, in keeping with canon, hints
that she'd be willing to trade, let's

romantic favors for the use of the Lea
Fale.

If you're not familiar with that name,
Leah Fale, if you've never been to

Ireland, It is a real place. It is a
real stone called the Stone of Destiny.

I've been there. I've seen it. And
according to Irish mythology, it was one

the four treasures brought to Ireland by
the Tuatha de Danann. Those were the

original fair folk who sailed from over
the sea from mythical lands, and it

served as the coronation stone for the
high kings of Ireland.

Now, legend holds that that stone is
going to roar whenever touched by a

rightful monarch. Unfortunately, it
didn't make any noise when I put my hand

it. on it, so I guess I am not destined
to be a queen.

Now, this next scene is subtle, but it
was probably my favorite in this

We see Taliesin's tribe dining with the
Atlanteans, and I think we could say

there's a little bit of a contrast in
their table manners.

And it was a hilarious moment that
seamlessly flows into our first bardic

performance from Taliesin. It was just
sort of a gorgeous sequence encompassing

a lot of emotion and very reminiscent,
again, of Tolkien.

Anyone who's familiar with Welsh
mythology or the Chronicles of Prydain

say, may recognize a few names there,
like Anuvin, the underworld.

And certainly the singing of Taliesin's
people creates...

This somber, otherworldly atmosphere
that casts Karis's mind back to her

encounter with her dark god and the
destruction of her former life.

So now we know what happened in that
Coliseum and just what it was that

her people to the shores of Britain. We
also get a reminder of just how deeply

pagan Karis' culture is at this point.
And I will say that one of the biggest

questions I received from Daily Wire
fans after the trailer was released was,

about those costumes.

As a mom, I personally kind of wanted to
throw a robe over Charis, but we have

to remember that she's coming from an
idolatrous nation that doesn't prize

modesty in women as Christianity does.
Now, as I said, I haven't read the

but a friend who has told me that this
was very consistent with how Lawhead

portrays the Atlanteans in the novels.

Part of the way we shape character in
film is through costume, so it's going

be interesting to see how Charis'
clothing evolves throughout this story.

what we can tell is that she's haunted
by Taliesin's song as it dredges up

traumatic memories of her cursing her
god before he dies before her. And then,

the end of her world.

Does Belle's death bring about the end
of Atlantis? Did Charis' victory as a

bull dancer doom her people?

These are the kinds of thoughts that are
plaguing her mind as she listens to

Taliesin's song. And what I love here is
that we see him recognize her pain,

even as he's singing.

It occurred to me, you know, how many
men are that observant? I'm going to

Charis. He looks like a keeper to me,
girl.

Unfortunately, when she flees and he
goes after her, Taliesin finds Morgion

instead. Now, so much is revealed in
this scene. Morgion's hunger for power,

effortlessly Taliesin wields his magic,
yet also how little care he has to

display those great abilities.

We also see that she's going to be
suffering from some unrequited love.

Poor Morgion.

Between that and her care for her horse,
I do have to say that we feel a bit for

her here. It has to be hard to be the
little sister of the savior of her

Come on.

Sorry, Morgan. The chemistry between
Caris and Taliesin, that's too strong

anyone to overcome. Because immediately
in this next scene where Caris says she

has no need of the company of a savage.

Yeah. Famous last words, girl. We've all
been there. A handsome savage is going

to be the end of us all eventually, I
think. It was for me. But I love her

in this scene.

Perhaps we're both just people.

I'm not just anything, singer.

I actually had to restrain myself, I
think, from saying a little yes, queen

here. But a little less queenly is
Morgan, scrabbling with her elderly

over the Lea Fale.

True power is killing what you love,
little girl.

Not letting it kill you.

Now, this is not the kind of advice you
want to give a character like this,

because you can be sure that she's going
to take it. And that will play itself

out later.

Caris, meanwhile, continues to put up a
good show of not caring whether Taliesin

stays or goes.

But I don't think anyone's buying it,
princess.

And he continues to pursue her as a
proper hero should. So well done,

But just as we think we're wrapping up
this episode, two shocking things that

entirely reset the trajectory of where
we're going next.

First, Taliesin stumbles on the shrine
where these Christian monks have come to

pray. And he is hit with this blinding
vision that is reminiscent of the

Paul on the road to Damascus.

But the scene then cuts off before we
understand what impact this is going to

have on our now heathen bard.

He's already rejected the false god. If
he has just met the true one, what is he

going to do with that revelation?

Paul became an apostle after this. So
what will Taliesin be?

Now, Morgion may revile what I can now
only assume is her former elderly lover,

but she does take his advice.

to kill the thing that she loves in
order to acquire power.

And the way that Emery Franklin played
this scene was so chilling. I love that

she didn't try to do something sort of
sorcery looking, no flourishes, no magic

words, no hocus pocus. It's just one
cold slash.

And it sets her up as the perfect foil
to these two lovers who said no to the

dark power when it was offered to them.
So there we have it. The inaugural

episode of Pendragon done.

And I got to say, that was a lot to pack
into our first entry. We certainly went

to a lot of places.

We've got lost civilizations, star
-crossed lovers, a woman scorned, and a

sacrifice. And all of this as we leave
the ruins of Rome and plunge headfirst

into a dark age.

I'm eager to see where Caris and
Taliesin go from here. And more

I'm ready to meet Merlin. So we'll see
if we get the chance to do that in our

next entry. But in the meantime, have a
question, a comment, a favorite moment

you want to discuss.

Comment below and we'll see you next
time. Thanks for joining us.

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