Merlin - The New Adventures Vol. 8 - DVD

Content: The battle for Camelot is heading towards its dramatic climax with the second part of the fourth season of Merlin - The New Adventures. After Merlin in the form of the old Emry had tried to defeat Morgana, the latter now tries everything to find out who is hiding behind the powerful old man. In order to uncover the secret, she doesn't shy away from having Gaius kidnapped. In addition, Gwen's home village is plagued by a strange illness, Morgana sets an old acquaintance on preventing Arthur and Gwen's wedding, and the ghost of a child killed during an attack once ordered by King Uther possesses Elyan, who is now set to try and kill Arthur. So Merlin again has his hands full trying to save the king. But when Morgana joins forces with Helios, a warrior from the south, and attacks Camelot with his force, even Merlin's magical powers no longer seem enough to protect the kingdom. And so he must enchant Arthur, who refuses to leave Camelot, and flee with him from Morgana. But of course, this small defeat does not mean that the battle for Camelot is lost...

After two seasons of Morgana struggling to gain power over Camelot, the big showdown is finally upon us. In it, one of the most famous moments in the saga of King Arthur plays a pivotal role. It's a scene fans are sure to rejoice over, even if, like the finale itself, it falls a bit short of the expectations that have been stoked over the course of the last two seasons.

Nonetheless, the concluding seven episodes of season four once again offer good fantasy entertainment, with some humour, thrilling adventure and a touch of romance to make up for minor weaknesses in the special effects (Colin Morgan's Emry make-up still looks unconvincing) and in the performances of some of the cast. The finale is satisfying and largely completed, only a small cliffhanger already makes you want to see the fifth season, for which fans, however, still have to wait a little. And so it can be rightly claimed that all who have so far with Merlin and Arthur mitgefiebert, will also be entertained by this eighth DVD box in an exciting way and can therefore confidently access!

Picture + Sound: Compared to the last box has changed nothing here: The clean image has a decent overall sharpness and especially the atmospheric color scheme leaves a positive impression. Only in the darker sequences there are minor point deductions. The stereo sound has to make do without big surround effects, but every now and then the sound image, which is dominated by dialogues and music, is enriched with some nice sound effects. Good!

Extras: In addition to an audio commentary on each of the first two DVDs, there are a few more extras on the third disc. There is a Making of (approx. 18 min.) worth seeing, in which among other things actress Katie McGrath leads through the French castle, in which the series is filmed and shows, how so some place looks completely different, before the set designers were at work and transformed the castle into Camelot. Plus just under 4 minutes of outtakes and some short cut scenes to three of the seven episodes. Good!

Conclusion: The season four finale of Merlin - The New Adventures brings the battle for Camelot to a dramatic climax. Morgana's efforts to seize power over Camelot culminate in a great battle from which she seems to emerge victorious. But there is still an ancient saga that could change Camelot's fate for the better. The seven episodes of the box are technically well implemented, the bonus material is clear, but especially the making of is absolutely worth watching for fans - which also applies to the rest of the three DVDs!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp