Merlin series 1-5 REVIEW!

Merlin, has recently become my favourite TV show (probably of all time) it took me little over a month to watch all of the episodes from series 1 to the absolutely heart wrenching finale of series 5. *warning there might be spoilers*

It first aired on September 20, 2008, with a cast of primarily unknown actors; Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Colby, Katie Mcgrath, Anthony Head, Richard Wilson and John Hurt as the voice of the dragon, just to name a few. 

A simple review of the plot (taken from IMDb) "Young Merlin is a teenager, discovering and then learning to master his magical gift. Magister Gaius, King Uther Pendragon's learned court physician to whom he's assigned as humble page, teaches him medicine, coaches his magical self-study, and warns him of Uther's strong aversion to magic. Merlin becomes squire to the noble but imprudent crown prince, Arthur, whose fate is linked with Merlin."

Series one

Series one is innocent and light hearted and gets you warmed up to the characters. 

My favourite episode(s): The Dragon's Call because obviously it was the first ever episode and got you introduced to the characters and get a feeling for the show, its brilliant and The Moment of Truth because in this episode you start to see a blossoming friendship between Merlin and Arthur and Merlin shows that he is loyal and brave and helps to regain peace to where he grew up with the help of his new friends, Arthur, Morgana and Gwen.

Series 2

Now all of the characters have since been well developed the story lines get more personal.

My favourite episodes(s): The Lady of the Lake because Merlin falls in love for the very first time and it is the most heart warming thing possible, of course it doesn't last long but it made me very happy seeing Merlin find his first love and The Last Dragonlord this episode is among the top for emotional episodes, Merlin discovers that his father is a dragonlord and when he dies the gift is passed on to himself but not before Merlin has some heart-to-hearts with his father and realises that his father could have never returned back to his mother despite him loving her.

a small dragon his father carved for him just before he died.

Series 3

Series 3 is when things start to become darker and scarier, things are becoming to get more and more serious for Merlin's destiny with Morgana on Morghause's side.

My favourite episode(s): The Eye of the Phoenix because Gwaine is back! and he has teamed up with Merlin to help Arthur along with his quest of trying to find the golden trident; the Fisher King tells Merlin that he is the chosen one and gives him a bottle of water from the lake of Avalon which will come in handy later on and The Coming of Arthur Part 2 because you meet all of the knights for the first time, they find a round table which they all declare allegiance to each other and Arthur knights all the young men (Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, Lancelot and already knighted Sir Leon) -except Merlin, though Lancelot, is now aware of his powers and he tells Merlin he is the bravest of them all, which makes me very happy because finally Merlin has someone to talk to other than Gaius about magic.

Series 4

This series you are reunited with a very battle worn Morgana who looks extremely different from her days being the king's ward. Uther also dies and Arthur is crowned king of Camelot. I also find out that Dorocha are the scariest things known to man (even worse than Weeping Angels)

My favourite episode(s): A Herald of The New Age because this episode is terrifying, I screamed so loudly at one point my mum came rushing upstairs to see what was wrong. Elyan drinks from a well causing a spirit to be unleashed and possess Elyan who will not stop until Arthur is dead as punishment for downing scorers I like this episode because it shows Arthur's softer side and his compassion and The Sword in The Stone part 2 because Arthur really becomes the once and future king of Camelot with the help of Merlin who proves that he is a worthy king by making Arthur pull the sword from the stone, Camelot is reclaimed and Gwen is crowned queen.

Series 5

Now, I am still very, very raw from watching this series (I finished it only yesterday) this is probably one of the most heart breaking finales I have ever witnessed, in my eyes its on par with Deathly Hallows. It is the darkest by far of all the series. It is set three years on from series 4 and Merlin's destiny of protecting Arthur approaches. The climax and the finale of the series *not to be watched without a box of tissues*

My favourite episode(s): With All My Heart because Arthur learns that Gwen has been under the influence of sorcery and enlists Merlin to come on a quest with him to find the sorcer who can rid Gwen of the hold Morgana has put on her, Mordred tags along and Merlin uses the ageing potion to turn himself in to an old woman, which is one of the funniest things ever, a definite highlight of the whole of Merlin, it also shows how in love Gwen and Arthur are with each other and its all very moving and The Diamond of the Day part 2 because it is the last episode, not only is it the one I hate the most because it made me cry so much I was sick but because Merlin told Arthur everything and Arthur once he dealt with the fact Merlin was magic said thank you for protecting him (at this point my heart was completely broken, and I was a sobbing mess on the floor) Morgana dies but so does Arthur... (not going to go into any more detail because it is too painful) and Merlin has brought peace on Camelot again, I wish I could be more descriptive and give you a brilliant synopsis but honestly if you've seen the episode you will completely understand that some thing need to be left unsaid. 

So that is my review of the Merlin series' I'm pretty sure given a day or two I will be back onto watching series one, and who know I may even change my mind on the favourite episodes, but for now I shall leave you with some pictures from the all of the series'.