Last week on Syfy’s Merlin we saw Prince Arthur Pendragon become King Arthur, with his Uncle Agravaine (Nathaniel Parker) at his side. In the first clip issued this week to press for the Friday February 3, 2012 episode, “His Father’s Son,” we see Agravaine seeding doubts in Arthur’s mind that people see him as a strong king like his father was. Agravaine calls him untested and suggests that if Arthur doesn’t make the tough decision he recommends, then Camelot’s enemies, which Uther’s militarism kept at bay, will see Arthur as weak.
Not knowing that Agravaine is working at cross-purposes to him, King Arthur makes a decision which leads to the threat of all-out war as an army crosses Albion’s borders. Apparently, Queen Annis, the ruler of the Castle of Fyrien, played by Tony Award-Winning actress Lindsay Duncan, is furious with Arthur’s decision and listens to Morgana’s silver-tongued words that together they can defeat Arthur and claim Camelot. The episode also promises that despite the body count, Arthur’s decision is an important step on the road to making him a greater king than his father.
Lindsay Duncan as Queen Annis
Embodying Queen Annis is Lindsay Duncan, one of Britain’s most acclaimed stage actresses. Duncan earned a Tony Award and a Drama Desk award from her performance in the revival of Private Lives, and has twice been recognized with Lawrence Olivier Theatre Awards – in 1987 for Les Liaisons Dangereuses and in 2002 for Private Lives. In 2009, Duncan was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
According to this episode’s press release, executive producer and series co-creator Johnny Capps feels they were lucky to get such an extraordinary English actress. “We wanted an actress who could give the character a real heady weight of authority, and her performance is absolutely brilliant.” So much so, that they plan for this character to return.
“Lindsay brings this real gravitas to the episode,” Capps continued, “so the world has more at stake and feels more real and allows (the viewers) to realize that there are others kings and queens in this fantasy world – and that there are repercussions for people’s actions.”
Katie McGrath as Pure Evil
Many of Duncan’s scenes are with Katie McGrath who has become the personification of evil in the series. Capp has enjoyed watching the growth in McGrath over the years. “Katie has really blossomed as an actress,” Capps said. “Playing the conflicted Morgana was really tough on Katie, but now that Morgana has become a more complex and evil character, it really plays to Katie’s strengths as an actress. And she’s really enjoying it. It’s always good to play a villain, and I think Katie’s really stepped up to the mark. We keep giving her more and more to do, because she’s just playing so brilliantly.”
Not only does this week’s Merlin promise us more of Morgana’s delicious wickedness, but also a one-on-one combat scene that is more stunning than has heretofore been seen on Merlin. And for those of us who have fun watching Merlin and Arthur banter and play around together, we get to see Arthur taking out all of his aggression and frustration on a punching bag, with, you got it, Merlin holding the bag.
Check out the Merlin episode “His Father’s Son” on Friday, February 3, 2012 on Syfy at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Quote Source:
Network Press Release
Crystal Taylor - I'm a writer of TV one-hour scripts, screenplays, novels, short stories, articles, and poetry. I'm most proud of a story (episode outline) ...
