Rueben's Ramblings

The fifth and final season of the BBC series Merlin will be back on Syfy starting tomorrow Friday, January 4 at 10 PM.

For three years, Camelot has known peace and prosperity with Arthur (Bradley James) as its benevolent king and Guinevere (Angel Coulby) as his beloved queen. But even the advice and counsel of their trusted adviser, Merlin (Colin Morgan), cannot prevent what is about to happen.

As the series return we start off with the episode entitled “Arthur’s Bane, Part 1”, the first part of a two-part season premiere, in which Morgana (Katie McGrath) has reappeared after a mysterious disappearance.

Fans of the show will be surprised to see the transformation of Guinevere from loyal servant to Queen of Camelot; but “Camelot is under threat once again,” so says Angel Coulby. “Gwen has been left to look after the kingdom while Arthur goes away”.

Katie McGrath shares that “The period between Seasons 4 and 5 is the most important character-defining time for (her character) Morgana. Everything she has feared about being magical has come to pass – she has been discovered, she has been locked in a dungeon, and the fact that it did has helped push her down the road to her own destiny. This has given her the extra push to be even more malevolent”.

Part 1 of the season premiere of Merlin finds Morgana in wintry exile, obsessed with finding a mysterious object known only as “The Diamair” or the key to all knowledge. To aid her relentless search, Morgana has taken prisoners from throughout the kingdom – including Sir Gwaine (Eoin Macken) and Sir Perceval (Tom Hopper), who toil in the depths of Morgana’s lair while plotting their escape.

Merlin and Arthur join the effort to find the Knights, but it’s only a matter of time until they are captured themselves; but not before discovering that an old acquaintance is also back in Camelot, a mysterious Druid named Mordred (Alexander Vlahos).

Actor Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) will co-star in part 1 of the Merlin season premiere, playing Ruadan, whose hatred of Camelot makes him a perfect match for the evil Morgana.

Fans can follow the latest news on Merlin at the show’s official Facebook page here and make sure to tune in to Syfy every Friday night for a new episode.