Camelot: Review: Season 1 Ep 7

Starz/Channel 4, May 13 (US) July 16 (UK)

Morgan (Eva Green) invites Arthur (Jamie Campbell-Bower) and his knights to Pendragon Castle to celebrate their new alliance, but she has a secret plan…

At last, things are kicking into a higher gear on Camelot, and not before time. Morgan is finally putting her plan to seize the throne from Arthur into action, by inviting everyone to an orgy and then using her power to impersonate Arthur’s mother, Igraine (Claire Forlani), as a way to infiltrate Camelot castle and manipulate the others. She even fools Merlin (Joseph Fiennes)—at least for now.

It’s clear that Morgan has engineered the siege at Pendragon Castle, but it gives Arthur’s men a chance to elaborate on their characters a little, although Gawain (Clive Standen) seems rather inconsistent with the way he has been portrayed in earlier episodes (keen to learn to read previously, he now disdains words and knowledge in his spat with Leontes [Philip Winchester]). Bad writing, or something more? The former, most likely.

Now Morgan knows of Arthur’s secret love for Guinevere (Tamsin Egerton), it is to be hoped that she’ll waste no time frakking up that relationship and causing this show to light some fireworks. As much as watching Green and Fiennes out act each other every week is amusing, it has taken too long to get to the real, personal drama that lies behind the Arthurian legends. At least it’s not been as backward as the BBC’s far too tame Merlin.

Verdict: If this pace can be maintained, the next few episodes of Camelot could be something special.

Episode 7 ‘The Long Night’: 7/10

Brian J. Robb