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You would risk your life to protect your pride? You have nothing to prove. Least of all to me."
"I have everything to prove. To myself.
Gwen and Arthur

The Once and Future Queen is the second episode of the second series of Merlin, which was first broadcast on the 26th of September 2009.

Synopsis

Arthur enlists the help of Merlin and Guinevere to disguise his identity to enter a jousting tournament. However, he does not know that King Odin has sent a deadly assassin to kill him for revenge over the death of his son.

Plot

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Odin hires Myror to kill Arthur.

Odin, the king of a neighbouring kingdom, commissions the deadly assassin, Myror, to kill Prince Arthur, in order to take revenge for the fact Arthur killed his son in a duel. Myror accepts the job and sets off for Camelot.

Meanwhile, while practicing for the upcoming jousting tournament, Arthur realises that he is being treated differently than the other knights and allowed to win because he is a prince. Arthur becomes keen to show that he can win with no special treatment and concocts a plan to enter the tournament without people knowing who he really is.

Arthur tells Uther that he has heard word of a beast, conjured by magic, roaming the nearby woods. He describes the beast as having the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the face of a bear (much to Merlin’s amusement). He tells his father that he will set off to hunt the beast in the morning, missing the tournament.

The next morning, Arthur leaves the castle with a hunting party, but stays behind in the woods, telling his men not to let anyone know he has returned to Camelot. Merlin brings him some civilian clothes and Arthur goes to hide in Gwen’s house during the tournament.

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Turning a farmer into a knight.

Myror, lying in wait for the hunting party in the woods, discovers that Arthur is missing and goes to Camelot to try and find him. Uther is informed of Odin’s plan, however Merlin is still ignorant of it.

The plan to allow Arthur to enter the tournament anonymously involves employing a farmer, who is unknown in Camelot, to play the knight Sir William of Deira when riding out and greeting the audience. The farmer will then enter a tent and be replaced by Arthur wearing a helmet. The tournament goes well, with Arthur beating all opponents. He plans to reveal himself after the final, to experience his "moment of glory".

Gwen, after putting up with Arthur’s arrogant attitude while he stays with her, finally explodes and tells him how rude he has been. Arthur realises that he has been behaving appallingly, and tells her he will make it up to her by cooking dinner. However, in reality he has Merlin procure two dinners from the castle.

While Gwen and Arthur are eating, Myror tracks Arthur down and is about to shoot him when he is distracted and nearly caught by the castle guards. Myror runs away before he can be caught.

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Arthur attempts to prepare dinner.

Gwen discovers Arthur’s deception after recognising the plates as belonging to the castle kitchens. She becomes angry with Arthur for lying to her, telling him she thought he had learnt some humility. He apologises and tells her he cares about her. Merlin bursts in, having discovered that there is an assassin in Camelot trying to kill Arthur.

The next day, while Gwen is getting Arthur ready for the tournament, she gives him a handkerchief for luck. He kisses her and then, in haste, leaves.

Myror has discovered Arthur’s participation in the tournament and kills Arthur’s opponent and takes his place. As he and Arthur ride up to each other, a hidden blade comes out of Myror’s lance and injures Arthur. However, Arthur refuses to forfeit the match.

Merlin discovers Arthur's opponent dead in his tent and realises Myror's plan. However, Arthur rides out again before Merlin can warn him and Merlin is forced to incapacitate Myror by breaking a strap on Myror’s saddle, distracting him so that Arthur can beat him and (unintentionally) kill him.

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Merlin uses magic to break the strap on Myror's saddle.

Arthur lets the farmer posing as “Sir William” go to the crowd and take the glory, saying that, “Perhaps this is a time for humility.” He later tells his father that the assassin attacked him while he was hunting the beast, and that he was injured while killing him. Uther wishes to go to war with Odin, but Arthur urges his father to come to a peaceful resolution, saying it was grief for his son that motivated Odin.

Arthur and Gwen exchange glances across the room, but later Arthur tells Gwen that his father would never understand what happened between them. Gwen tells Arthur he does not have to explain himself, and that perhaps, when he is King, things will be different.

Cast

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

Guest Cast

Continuity

Release & Reception

  • Air date: 26 September 2009. 5.94 million viewers.
  • The Once and Future Queen premiered on Syfy UK at 7pm on September 15th 2017, immediately followed by The Nightmare Begins.

Trivia

Gallery

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To view the The Once and Future Queen gallery, click here.


Transcript

View the transcript here.

See Also

Series 2
The Curse of Cornelius Sigan  • The Once and Future Queen  • The Nightmare Begins  • Lancelot and Guinevere  • Beauty and the Beast  • The Witchfinder  • The Sins of the Father  • The Lady of the Lake  • Sweet Dreams  • The Witch's Quickening  • The Fires of Idirsholas  • The Last Dragonlord

Mini-episode: Children in Need special

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