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-   -   Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10 (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/571776-merlin-season-2-premiere-curse-cornelius-sigan-04-02-10-a.html)

DJariya 04-02-10 12:24 PM
Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
<a href="http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n104/djariya/?action=view&current=Merlin.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n104/djariya/Merlin.jpg" border="0" alt="Merlin"></a>

Synopsis:

Spoiler:
The Season 2 premiere finds new servant Cedric (Mackenzie Crook) elbowing his way past Merlin to become Arthur's manservant and turning the prince against the young warlock. Merlin soon learns that the slippery Cedric has a nefarious goal: to get his hands on a jewel found in a recently discovered ancient tomb.


Never saw season 1, but this looks interesting and I'm a fan of this genre. Can you watch this show coming into season 2 without having seen season 1?

SyFy has been promoting this as a "Series Premiere" so I assume they are trying to get new fans to watch it.

Lone Wolf 04-02-10 06:52 PM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
Is Syfy not going to show the first season at all? I wouldn't mind rewatching it.

To answer your question I don't think there will be a problem starting with season 2. Season 1 was all stand alone episodes if I'm remebering correctly.

Here's a few basic things you might need to know.
Spoiler:
Arthur is still a prince.
Magic is outlawed by Uther Pendragon and it's use is punishable by death.
Merlin is Arthur's servant who secretly uses magic to save the day.
And for some reason Guinevere is a black servant.

Flave 04-03-10 10:15 AM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
DJariya, you should be aware that this series departs from accepted Arthurian legend in several important aspects. Below is a general summary from Wikipedia which gives you a rough idea of the changes (there's nothing here that will spoil anything from season 2):

Spoiler:

Merlin has magical powers and arrives at the city of Camelot, after his mother arranges for him to become an apprentice of Gaius. He discovers that the king, Uther Pendragon, has outlawed magic and has imprisoned the last dragon deep under the city. The dragon informs him that Merlin has an important destiny to protect Uther's son, Arthur, who will bring forth a great Kingdom. When he meets Arthur for the first time he discovers that he is arrogant and a bully, but after he saves Arthur's life, he is rewarded with a job in the Royal Household as Arthur's manservant, and they become close friends. Arthur is unaware of Merlin's magical ability, as Merlin has to keep it a secret or face execution at the hands of Uther.

Morgana is Uther's ward with the power of prophetic foresight, which frightens her and which she keeps secret. Gwen (Guinevere) is her maid servant and close friend.

The first series focused on the development of Merlin and his friendship with Arthur. The second series focuses more on development of the other cast members. Some of the central themes of the series are the budding romance between Arthur and Gwen and Morgana's struggle to control her powers.

Other characters from Arthurian legend have appeared. Lancelot longed to become a knight, but unable to do so because of his birth as a commoner. Mordred has appeared as a Druid boy who formed a bond with Morgana (in some legends he is Morgause's son) and it has been predicted by the dragon that Mordred will be the cause of death of Arthur (in the legend this occurred at the Battle of Camlann). Mordred and the Great Dragon refer to Merlin by his Druidic name, Emrys (the Welsh form of Ambrosius). Excalibur is an ordinary sword that becomes enchanted by the Great Dragon.


I watched both series with my 17 yo nephew (who's a big fan of Arthurian legend) and we really enjoyed them. The departures from the original became great discussion points and watching Merlin quickly became a pause-and-google type of viewing experience. :)

Axeramm 04-03-10 10:40 AM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
Twice last week Syfy ran a full first season marathon.

Ravenous 04-03-10 04:54 PM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
Well I recorded this but I had no idea thee was a season 1. Is it online anywhere?

DJariya 04-03-10 05:09 PM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
Originally Posted by Ravenous (Post 10086490)
Well I recorded this but I had no idea thee was a season 1. Is it online anywhere?
Yes it's on Hulu. Season 1 was 13 episodes.

Goldberg74 04-04-10 08:57 PM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
I caught the first season last summer and enjoyed it.

I DVRed the marathon last week for the kids and recorded the season 2 premiere but haven't watched yet.

wmansir 04-06-10 10:37 PM
Re: Merlin -- Season 2 Premiere -- "The Curse of Cornelius Sigan" -- 04/02/10
 
I found the second season premiere to be a bit lackluster. The pacing was slow and the story extremely predictable (even more so than usual for this show, and that's saying something). One guess I did miss on was the ending. I thought they were setting up the sorcerer to be a reoccurring villain, or at least using his return to kick start a season long plot line. They did move a few things forward, the promise to the Dragon and the King's "renewed vigilance", but I was expecting something bigger and more concrete.


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