All language subtitles for Inside The Pendragon Cycle Rise of the Merlin s01e04

Well, welcome back. We are charging
through the Pendragon cycle, Rise of the

Merlin, like Uther through a Saxon
shield wall, episode by episode. And

will be spoilers, so if you haven't
streamed episode four yet, hit that

button now, because we are diving
headfirst into coastal chaos, family

and twisted betrayals. I'm going to tell
you, this one is packed with Lawhead's

signature blend of gritty 5th century
history and soaring Celtic myths.

pulling from real chronicles while also
weaving in his unique twist.

And let's be clear right out of the
gate. Passion, Vortigern's son, has made

catastrophically bad gamble.

He has no power, no army, no leverage,
only the hope that Hengist and his

will honor a bargain made in
desperation.

That's a mistake about as old as history
itself.

Assuming that barbarians or invaders of
any stripe are going to keep their word

once they no longer need you is never a
winning strategy.

And that was as much true historically
as it was in legend. The 9th century

Anglo -Saxon chronicle paints Hengist
and his brother Horsa as chieftains,

invited by Vortigern around 449 to fend
off Picts and Scots. Now, whether he was

actually the founder of Kent is debated.

But what's consistent across sources is
that once the Saxons gained a foothold,

they did not leave.

And what I love about this scene,
though, is how it constantly subverts

expectations. At first, you expect
Hengist to dismiss Passion outright.

Instead, he pauses. He speaks of blood
pacts. He declares that such oaths must

be honored to the death.

And that's when he cuts Passion free.

And you briefly think, just briefly,
that maybe...

This will go differently.

And then he kills him. Not out of rage,
but to satisfy his

own twisted sense of honor.

to the death. That was a really key
phrase for him. And that's what makes it

chilling. Hengist isn't really lawless.
He does have a code. It's just a brutal,

inward -facing code that exists to
justify whatever he wants to do anyway.

And that's often how evil works, we
know. It doesn't see itself as evil. It

invents a private morality and then
congratulates itself for obeying it.

As we saw at the very end of Episode 3,
Merlin has returned to Enos Avalac. He

greets King Avalac, and what he calls
him here is really noteworthy.

Hail the Fisher King!

Because in historical legend, the Fisher
King is a mystical, enigmatic figure

who guards the Holy Grail, but whose
physical and spiritual affliction, often

depicted as a wound, has caused the land
to become a barren wasteland.

In the legend, his healing is tied to
the land's renewal.

Is Avallac this fisher king, or is this
just a clever play on words from Merlin

as he found his grandfather fishing?

That's to be determined.

As we move on, at the royal dinner,
tensions are simmering between brothers

Aurelius and Uther.

Aurelius is the noble unifier.

Uther is the hothead warrior.

We also have confirmed now that we have
two separate swords, the Sword of

Britain and the Fisher King's Sword.

Now, one represents Britain, its
continuity, its Roman inheritance, and

political legitimacy.

The other is from Atlantis, and it's a
sacred relic which holds some darkness

over Merlin and Taliesin. Now, Merlin
rejects it, but we see that he hasn't

always done so.

And while Merlin looks haunted and
clearly marked by whatever he

his long years of wandering, we also get
a quiet but monumental revelation.

King Avalac is now a Christian.

What was it like, Merlin?

To be insane.

To be alone with God.

So that's huge.

Taliesin's vision of a Christian Britain
is no longer abstract.

Christ is advancing, not by conquest.

but by conversion.

Now, historically, this tracks.

Christianity had survived the Roman
withdrawal and was spreading throughout

Britain, coexisting uneasily with
continuing pagan practice.

And in this same conversation, Morgan's
name finally surfaces again.

They gave life to Morgan.

Even absent, she casts a very long
shadow.

Avalac gives Merlin advice that feels
both ancient and utterly timeless.

Trust in you too, Hawk.

He is the only hope for men like us.

My grandfather would have given the
exact same advice to me. And now their

mission begins.

Rally the kingdoms.

Uther, meanwhile, continues to struggle
with, well, everyone.

He does not play that well with others.

But they arrive at Maridunham, modern
-day Carmarthen, a town in Wales

associated with Merlin himself.

Historically, Welsh tradition places
Merlin's birthplace in this region, and

Lawhead is very intentionally leaning
into that geography.

The same raid that took Mailwich took
the town.

He fucked my father, tried to say what
he could, but there wasn't much left.

Not. The local king explains that
Maradona has endured repeated attacks

neighboring British rulers. So we see
here that Britain isn't just threatened

from the outside. It's also tearing
itself apart from within.

The current king, Tawdrig, knows that
Merlin has a claim to the throne of

Maridunum, though Merlin clearly has no
interest in ruling.

He and Uther seek support for Aurelius,
and they announce Vortigern's death.

We continue to see this cynical,
distrustful side of Uther, and his

Merlin is growing.

We also continue to see Uther's cynicism
hardening into hostility.

He distrusts Merlin. He assumes
manipulation.

He reads everything as a power grab
because that's how he would play it.

Then we reach the Islands of Fear.

And judging by the behavior of this
little sadist we meet here, that name is

extremely well earned. And I'll admit
that my daughter was deeply concerned

while we were watching this scene that
the Daily Wire might have used a real

crab. And I assured her that no, no
crabs were harmed in the making of

Pendragon.

But we do now understand what is wrong
with this boy.

Morgan is his mother. We know where she
has settled now, and everything snaps

into focus.

Morgan's evil is no longer just abstract
or purely personal.

She's willing to sell out the entirety
of Britain to the Saxon invaders because

she believes that they're going to be
the future. So rather than fight for her

people, she wants to secure a privileged
place under the coming regime.

And we know that history is full of
people like this.

But there's a struggle going on here.

King Loth is at a crossroads. With
Vortigern dead, they have a choice.

Do they keep the alliance they made with
Hengist and the Saxons, or do they turn

heel and align with Aurelius? You could
be a most valuable ally to Hengist, to

Saxon. There are conflicting opinions at
the table because his son is really the

only person making any sense.

Back at Maridunum, we now know it has
been at least three generations since

Merlin ruled his kingdom.

And, you know, I can't help but feel for
this king here. He's clearly a guy who

genuinely tried to do right by his
people, but he believes he's failed. In

contrast, we're told that Merlin once
killed 500 men in battle from strength

given from heaven. So, you know, a
fairly explicit echo of Samson there.

He will take the talk from my father.

and declare himself high king before he
is through.

And neither you nor the Saxons nor all
the armies of Britain and Amorica can

hinder him.

Of course the king's son is afraid that
Merlin might have come here to reclaim

power. And when Uther and Merig begin
plotting against Merlin, Peleus

fight ensues. And I got to be honest, as
a mom, I always struggle with these

scenes because I'm just sitting here
thinking somebody needs to put these

in timeout for messing up her kitchen
and dining hall and breaking all of her

dishes. I'm just telling you, it's nails
on a chalkboard for moms.

But in a fury, Uther decides that
Merlin's supposed bid for power must be

before it begins.

And in the very next scene, we realize
that Uther really doesn't understand

Merlin or his motives at all.

Merlin demonstrates his power, not
violently, but decisively, by holding

back. And then, in a moment that feels
profoundly Christ -like, Merlin reframes

the king's failures.

You've let fear rule your heart and
govern your actions, and I do indeed

every right to reclaim my kingship and
take back what is lawfully mine.

But I deem it best to let my claim
lapse.

But despair is not the final word here.
Instead, he calls the king to something

nobler. And then immediately in the next
scene, he does something very similar

with Uther.

Uther decides not to ride out as battle
chief, but only as a simple soldier. And

Merlin turns that humiliation into an
inspired battle plan.

Now, back at Enos Avalok, Aurelius makes
his plea to Avalok's dying people.

Avalok speaks with the blunt realism of
a ruler who understands demographics.

When your people stop having children,
your civilization is already ending.

Insert something about Elon Musk here.
But this is a complicated situation for

Avalok. It's clear that his loyalties
lie with Aurelius, but can he put his

already dwindling race at risk? You
contrast this with Morgan, who has no

loyalties to her people.

Her strategy is simply to follow the
winning team.

And then we have Aurelius, who proves
that nobility is not just inherited,

chosen. He helps the village he doesn't
know because he's asking to be their

king, and that's really the key
difference between him and Morgion. He

moral core.

But the action keeps rolling as Merlin,
Peleus, Uther, Taudrig, and Meyrig ride

to confront the Belgae, who are somewhat
less impressed with the name of Merlin

than the other tribes have been.

Carus and Aurelius arrive just as the
Saxons are raiding a village,

everyone. So Aurelius confronts them
directly.

And we now get two intense battle
sequences running simultaneously.

But notice that Merlin does not fight.
He watches. He waits. Until he shouts

Morkan's name.

And then everything stops.

The plan becomes clear.

Uther is fighting anonymously among the
soldiers, and since Morkant cannot risk

killing Aurelius' own brother without
knowing it, he has to halt the battle.

It's clever, it's controlled, it's
strategic.

Pure Merlin.

Going back to the Summerlands, Carys
breaks her non -interference pledge and

saves Aurelius, despite knowing it means
she's deliberately disobeying her

father. Meanwhile, the brothers have
learned some pretty important lessons

episode. Aurelius on the
responsibilities of being a king and one

biblical principles that there's no
greater love than the willingness to die

others. Uther, too, has learned some
important lessons on trust and, I don't

know, maybe just playing nice with
others.

But Morgan remains unchanged.

She's still got the Leofail, reminder
that is the Stone of Destiny per Irish

lore that Lawhead ties to prophecies,
and that's what's allowing her to spy on

everything Merlin does.

And she's also still engaging in that
horned god blood magic. Not a good idea,

because it's important to remember here
that paganism is not a neutral

tradition. It's explicitly tied to
domination, to blood, and to the

the land.

And then we get a final, deeply
unsettling moment of fairly unmotherly

here that reveals...

Just how twisted this family actually
is. That's just not an appropriate way

kiss your son. And I would say that kid
doesn't stand a chance. And that is

where we leave things this time.

Britain is fractured. Kings are
hesitant. The invaders are ruthless.

And the true king is not yet crowned.
The enemy within may be more dangerous

than the enemy without.

So what hit hardest for you this time?

Uther's heel turn humility?

Avalok's conversion chills?

Or like my daughter, are you still
worrying about that crab back at the

beginning of the episode?

Drop your comments. Let us know what you
think. And rally for episode five

because we're getting near the end.

Thanks for joining us.