Merlin - The New Adventures Vol. 9 - DVD

Content: The adventures of wizard Merlin (Colin Morgan), King Arthur (Bradley James) and their common fight against Morgana (Katie McGrath) are coming to an end. With Vol. 9, the penultimate box set of the fantasy series is now available, which despite an increasingly dark underlying mood still scores with the popular mix of adventure, fantasy, humor and a pinch of romance. In the first six episodes of the final season, Merlin learns about the dark curse on King Arthur and that only he might be able to change it. There's an unexpected reunion with Mordred (Alexander Vlahos), who, according to prophecy, will play a crucial role in Arthur's fate. And through a mysterious horn, through which the spirits of the dead can be summoned, the young king sees the chance has come to speak once again with his deceased father. But this has very different consequences than he expected...

But hovering over everything is the go-getting Morgana, who wants to overthrow Arthur by any means necessary. Supporters of Camelot are brutally attacked by her, weakening the king more and more. But when she also kidnaps Gwen (Angel Coulby), Arthur finally loses his composure and does everything in his power to save Gwen from the Dark Tower, where she slowly falls into madness...

You can certainly accuse Merlin of dragging out the fight against Morgana a bit too much and that therefore some plot elements repeated themselves more often. Nevertheless, the creators of the series have managed to ensure that the adventures of the young wizard have never become boring and in some respects have even become better from season to season. Especially the effects, which still seemed a bit simple in the first season, can really be seen in this last season. So the series doesn't just end when the concept has completely worn out, but when the fans are still looking forward to the last episode with a little melancholy.

The first episodes of the last season offer again exciting fantasy adventures that have a few nice surprises for fans. In addition, there is the usual successful mix of suspense and humor, although this comes in the face of the dark prophecy that Merlin receives from the dragon, significantly less often than in the previous season. If you have followed the adventures of Merlin, Arthur, Gwen and Morgana feverishly so far, you won't be able to get past Vol. 9 of the DVD series. Since the finale can not come fast enough...

Picture + Sound: In the audiovisual implementation, the ninth DVD box of the series again offers the usual quality. The picture is clean, the colors powerfully mixed, and the overall sharpness is at a very good level in the brighter scenes. In darker moments, slight weaknesses in detail and minimal picture noise are noticeable. The audio, available in stereo, presents dialogue, music, and sound effects powerfully, but overall very centrally mixed. For a TV series, this is perfectly adequate. Good!

Extras: Disc 1 has an audio commentary on each of the episodes Arthur's Curse Parts 1 and 2 to offer. The second DVD also has an audio commentary, this time on the episode The Death Song of Uther Pendragon. Finally, the third disc has, in addition to a commentary on the episode The Rune Medallion, cut scenes for all six episodes in the box set, some amusing outtakes (approx. 2:30 min.), some animated storyboards, and a trailer for the final season made for San Diego Comic Con (approx. 2 min.). Good!

Conclusion: Merlin is heading into the home stretch in leaps and bounds. Volume 9 marks the penultimate DVD box set in the popular fantasy series to hit stores. The first six episodes of the final fifth season offer the usual exciting entertainment, although the humorous moments have decreased significantly compared to the early seasons. Nevertheless, even in the face of the impending end, there are still a few amusing scenes that pleasantly lighten the otherwise increasingly dark events. So Merlin remains in its final season a great adventure fantasy series for the whole family, whose ninth DVD box set is absolutely recommended for all fans!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp