‘Merlin’ Behind The Scenes And Previews For Friday, May 21st

When a strange knight wanders into Camelot and literally throws down the gauntlet, Arthur has no choice to accept … never imagining where the challenge will take him in this week’s revelatory episode of MERLIN, airing Friday, May 21, at 10 p.m. only on Syfy.

The knight is revealed to be a woman – one who plays an important role in Arthurian legend, and who is confident that Arthur (played by Bradley James) will lose the dare, which will force him and Merlin (Colin Morgan) to embark on a mysterious journey.

Neither knows exactly where they’re going – or why – but their path leads to action-filled combat … and a magic-fueled meeting that exposes a crucial and damaging secret that will shape the destinies of both Arthur and Merlin.

Without exposing too much about the episode, titled “The Sins of the Father,” executive producer Johnny Capps explains, “Arthur learns more about his father and learns more about what happened to his mother. We wanted to give another emotional challenge to Arthur.”

As soon as they saw her, MERLIN producers knew they wanted to cast actress Emilia Fox in this pivotal, villainous role. “You want an actress or actor who can enjoy being the ‘glorious’ villain, and bring truth to it, but at the same time really relish the part, as well,” Capps says.

Fox is not shy about saying she did exactly that. “It’s all the things I’ve really wanted to do!” she says enthusiastically. “There’s swordfighting, riding the most sort of fairy-tale horse you can imagine … oh, and spell incantation! I’ve never done the full chainmail and all of that, so that’s been really fun.”

But on screen, it becomes deadly serious as the dark secret that lies at the heart of this week’s episode leads to a dramatic showdown between Arthur and his father, King Uther Pendragon, culminating in an intense swordfight in grand Arthurian fashion.

“The thing that was quite fun about it was that when Arthur is coming at me, he wants me to fight back and I won’t, initially,” says Anthony Head, who plays Uther. “And then,” he adds, with a hint of a smile, “he annoys me. So I actually do try to get him back, which means the fight has a shape and a dynamic to it.”

It may be the most intense sequence yet in MERLIN, which has seen its viewership rise as more and more fans discover the mysteries, adventure and intrigue that form the backbone to this new take on a classic legend. Head promises, “There’s still backstory that we’ve yet to find out. Toward the end of the season, we find out that there’s much more than meets the eye.”

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‘The Sins of the Father,’ an all-new episode of MERLIN, debuts at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) Friday, May 21, only on Syfy. Follow the latest news on MERLIN at the Official Merlin page on Facebook.