According to some versions, Merlin lived his life in reverse, starting at the point
of his death (from the rest of the world’s perspective) and aging backwards.
Obviously, that would be hard to convey on film. However, Merlin has a feast of
flashbacks in the third and fourth episodes of creator Jeremy Boreing’s The
Pendragon Cycle: Rise of Merlin, which are now streaming on Daily Wire+.
Frankly,
episode three, “A Fatherless Child,” directed by action-specialist Jesse V.
Johnson, represents a major flashforward from the previous episodes, which ended
with Merlin’s birth. Since then, many decades have passed, but Merlin still
looks like a young man. He comes from good stock, considering his mother,
Charis, does not look a day older herself. However, she is Atlantean. Like Merlin,
she is also Christian. Merlin has just emerged from what he might describe, as
a Christian, his wilderness period, both spiritually and literally. Now that he
is back, he finds post-Roman Britain has become a complete dog’s dinner,
desperately in need of his help.
Merlin
is too late to help Vortigern, the self-proclaimed High King of Britain, even
if he thought he was worthy, which he doesn’t. However, Merlin convinces him to
make some late amends. Ironically, Merlin identifies Aurelius, the man who deposes
Vortigern, as a much better candidate. The potential King possesses greater
virtue and he wields the sword. However, his brother Uther distrusts
Merlin, which leads to scuffles with the Christian wizard’s companion and sworn
protector, Pelleas.
If
Britain will have any hope of resisting the Saxon invaders, all the minor petty
kings must swear allegiance to Aurelius, but that will be easier said than done
in “The King of Maridunum,” directed by Ryan Whitaker. Of course, Merlin has a talent
for convincing people, but Uther’s undiplomatic directness and lack of anger
management threaten to undermine his efforts. Meanwhile, Aurelius develops an
alliance with Charis that might endanger the Atlanteans’ position.
While
these two episodes do not stand alone as easily as the first two, they will keep
bingeing viewers hooked, while faithfully respecting the spirit of Lawhead's novels. They also feature more identifiably Arthurian characters,
obviously starting with Merlin, but also including Uther and Pelleas. Plus,
Morgain has grown downright sinister, while remaining as vampy as ever. Indeed,
Morgan le Fay is having a pop culture moment, prominently appearing in Pendragon
Cycle, while also serving as the main villainess in the limited time travel
superhero series, 1776, wherein she has magically intervened to quash
the American Revolution (it is the best title Marvel started publishing in 2025).
If King Arthur wasn’t Christian, why was the quest for the Holy Grail so
important to him? The truth is, we’ve become so accustomed to the revisionist
King Arthur, we’ve lost sight of what his legend really meant for centuries. He
was a defender of the Christian faith against pagan savages. Stephen R. Lawhead’s
Arthurian cycle re-centered the Once and Future King in a Christian context. Of
course, that is precisely the reason his novels became popular. Showrunner-co-director
Jeremy Boreing adapts the first two Pendragon novels, Taliesin and
Merlin, in the new seven-episode series, The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of
Merlin, which premieres today on Daily Wire+.
Like
any good epic, Pendragon Cycle starts with the origins of the origins.
In this case, the supposedly cursed Elphin rescues a foundling from the salmon
weir. Recognized as a child of destiny by the druid seer, Taliesin becomes
Elphin’s redemption. Yet, as the grand tragedy requires, even the grown
Taliesin’s remarkable powers of song cannot save his people from the pagan
hordes.
No
Arthur yet. Even Merlin remains one generation away. Eventually, he will be
played by Tom Sharp, but we only see him fleetingly in a brief flashforward
during the two episodes provided for review. However, Merlin’s parents are impressive—and
their romance will be quite a story.
Merlin’s
father will be Taliesin, who both curses and saves his people when he declines
a Faustian offer from one of the nasty “Old Ones.” His mother will be Charis, a
princess of Atlantis, who performs for the island city-state’s patron deity in
the gladiatorial arena. She too rejects the enslavement demanded by her
supposed demigod. Of course, we know what happens to Atlantis.
Consequently,
Taliesin and Charis meet in Roman (for now) Briton, which is steadily falling
to the barbarians. Elphin’s people have already been displaced, so they seek
sanctuary on lands currently controlled by Charis’s father, Avallach, the
exiled King of Atlantis. There is great friction between Elphin and Avallach.
Sparks also fly between Taliesin and Charis, but it is a whole different
dynamic. However, that does not sit well with Charis’s jealous sister, Morgain,
who already dabbles in dangerous necromancy.
Indeed,
Morgain is the most recognizably Arthurian character at this point, but she
should be more than enough to keep Round Table fans hooked. Frankly, Rose Reid
and Emree Franklin are terrific as the Atlantean sisters. Seriously, Boreing’s
adaptation of Lawhead faithfully retains the Christian themes, but it is not
prudish. Frankly, there is more heat going on here than in The Winter King
the gritty Arthurian retelling based on Bernard Cornwell’s books. Taliesin’s
Faustian temptation scene is also executed with the intensity of a quality horror
film.
Reid
and Franklin deserve to be breakout stars for their work in Pendragon. Yet,
James Arden still holds his own appearing opposite them, singing and fighting
with conviction, as Taliesin. The principal casting is truly first-rate, while
the supporting players deliver suitably colorful, professional-grade-plus
performances. Duran Fulton Brown is a particularly notable standout, portraying
Elphin over a span of several decades.
