The Poisoned Chalice

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Poisoned Chalice
Series = Merlin


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 4
Guests = Michelle Ryan - Nimueh
Clive Russell - Bayard
Airdate = 11 October 2008
Runtime = 45 Minutes
Production = 1.4
Writer = Ben Vanstone
Director = TBA
Producer = TBA
Editor =
Episode list = List of episodes
Prev = "The Mark of Nimueh"
Next = "Lancelot

"The Poisoned Chalice" is the fourth episode in the British fantasy drama television series "Merlin", which will be broadcast on BBC One on 11 October 2008.

ypnosis

King Bayard arrives for the celebration of the union of the two kingdoms. To gain revenge on Merlin, Nimueh poses as a young girl and tells Merlin that Bayard plans to poison Arthur, resulting in Merlin bing poisoned and sent into a coma. Arthur sets out on a quest for the anti-dote, though he is being lead into a trap. Meanwhile Merlin's condition worsens.

Plot

Bayard, the king of a nearby kingdom, comes to Camelot to form a union. However, before he passes the two ceremonial goblets for Uther and Arthur to drink, Nimueh, posing as a servant girl, takes Merlin to one side and tricks him into believing that the goblets' drink is poisoned. Merlin promptly disrupts the ceremony and is forced to drink the goblet himself for his accusations - even if he lives being turned over to Bayard to use as he wishes.However, after Merlin drinks the contents of the goblet, Nimueh secretly casts a spell upon him to poison him - causing Merlin to collapse under the effects. He is taken under the care of Gaius who finds a "mortaeus" petal in the chalice and identifies the poison used. He explains to Arthur that an antidote can only be made from the leaves of this same mortaeus flower, a flower which may only be found in the caves beyond the Forest of Balor. Despite Uther forbidding it, Arthur takes it upon himself to find the flower.In the forest where the cave is found, Arthur finds Nimueh disguised a maiden abandoned by her master. Believing her story, he continues to fight and defeat a guardian of the forest in order to save her. After, she tells him she knows where the flowers are found and leads him to them, only to cast another spell inside, causing the ledge he's standing on to collapse. However, she decided not to finish Arthur once he'd managed to survive by grabbing onto the side of the cave (even fighting off a giant spider), telling Arthur that it wasn't his destiny to be killed by her.While subconscious and heavily under the effect of the poison, Merlin constantly mutters about Arthur's situation. Upon realising that it's too dark inside the cave, Merlin creates a sphere of ethereal light in his palm, that suddenly appears in a larger form near Arthur, hovering beside him to light his path. Unfortunately, Arthur is soon accompained by many more spiders, crawling up the cave wall beneath him. Arthur manages to reach across to acquire the flowers needed to cure Merlin, and then clambers up the wall to the exit at the top of the cave to escape the spiders, guided by Merlin's light.However, once Arthur returns to Camelot with the flowers, he is immediately arrested and taken to the dungeons. He begs Uther to take the flower to Gaius, but Uther, teaching Arthur a lesson, crumples the flower and disposes of it outside the cell. Arthur reaches through the bars to acquire it again.Understanding that Arthur has returned, but also realising that no-one is allowed to see him, Gwen poses as someone bringing Arthur's food in order to see if he had the flower. Arthur manages to secretly give her the flower, and Gwen returns to Gaius. In order to make the antidote work, Gaius secretly uses magic for the first time in the series, despite it being forbidden. Merlin then makes a fast recovery, claiming not to remember anything since he drank from the goblet.Upon discovering that the poison was made with magic, Gaius reveals to Uther that Nimueh must have been behind it, therefore preventing a war between Camelot and Bayard's country. Uther then reveals to Arthur that the woman he met was Nimueh, and emphasises how he believes all magic to be corrupt.

Cast

*Colin Morgan as Merlin
*Bradley James as Prince Arthur
*Richard Wilson as Gaius
*Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
*Angel Coulby as Guinevere (Gwen)
*Katie McGrath as Morgana
*John Hurt as The Great Dragon
*Michelle Ryan as Nimueh
*Clive Russell as Bayard

References

External links