Without a doubt, episode 1X09 "Excalibur" is my favorite episode of Merlin. This may sound odd as on the surface, the episode seems like a typical villain of the week episode. While I won't deny that "Excalibur" fits into this formula. However, I would argue that the episode manages to take this simple format and inject some character development, symbolism, and world building.

The first thing I would like to talk about the episode is the set up. As I mentioned above, "Excalibur" is a classic villain of the week episode. A supernatural force, in this case the resurrected Tristan DeBois, threatens Camelot and Merlin must find a way to defeat him. However, this episode is slightly more complicated than that. It borrows heavily from the Arthurian Mythos, particularly the story of "Sir Gwaine and the Green Knight". In that story, a mysterious Green Knight arrives at Camelot and offers the knights the opportunity to strike him once, on the condition that he will be allowed to return that same blow on them in one year's time. Gwaine accepts this offer and decapitates the knight with one blow. However, the Green Knight survives this and promises to return the blow in one year's time. Both stories involve a mysterious rider challenging the knights of Camelot to a duel, only to reveal that he is in fact supernatural during the duel. This reference to this story helps establish the series' connection to the Arthurian Mythos, which is interesting as this episode will introduce King Arthur's fabled sword.

Another important aspect of this episode is the development of Arthur's character. The episode begins with Arthur being made Crown Prince, a position that confers a large honor and responsibility. True to form, Arthur displays a strong sense of duty. Whenever Tristan DeBois throws down his gauntlet, Arthur is always the first to try to get it. This willingness to put himself in harms way for the good of Camelot is a trait that shows Arthur is ready for the responsibility of his new position. I'd like to bring up Starz's Camelot for comparison. While I do believe that show is underrated, I also think it dropped the ball on Arthur's characterization. Like Merlin, Camelot tried to portray Arthur as a flawed leader. He was arrogant and something of a spoiled brat. However, unlike Merlin's Arthur, Camelot's Arthur lacked any positive qualities to balance out his flaws. "Excalibur" showcases how Merlin was able to develop Arthur as a character that was both flawed and showed promise as a leader.

At the heart of this episode is Uther. In this episode we learn the reason for Uther's hatred of magic. As revealed by Nimueh, Uther once was a patron of magic users, even keeping her as his personal magician. This changed when Uther's wife, Ygraine, was having trouble getting pregnant. Uther asked Nimueh to use magic to allow Arthur to be conceived. She did, but Ygraine died as in order to create life, another one had to be exchanged. Nimueh claimed that she didn't know that would happen. I always had a problems with the idea that she didn't know Ygraine would die. Maybe it's because I've read too much fantasy, but it only seems natural that a "Help me conceive a son" spell would take the life of the mother. I think it makes more sense that Nimueh knew what would happen, but didn't tell Uther because she knew he might try searching for another way to conceive, meaning that Nimueh might lose her job to another magician. The alternative would be that this spell kills people randomly and this was the one time it just so happened to kill the mother who was trying to conceive.

My personal quibbles aside, this does show two important aspects of Uther's character. First, he cares about his family. His entire war to end magic is started because magic killed his wife. Looking at the series, Uther's hatred of magic is typically rekindled whenever it's used to hurt his family. The fact that Uther is willing to take Arthur's place in his duel against Tristan DeBois further illustrates the lengths he goes to for his family. The other is that Uther isn't all that different from Tristan DeBois. Both characters want to avenge Ygraine's death. Uther does so by going after magic, while DeBois tries to go after Uther. In essence, Uther is fighting himself. Tristan could be used to represent the part of Uther that blames himself for Ygraine's death. Does this mean that by killing Tristan, Uther is strengthening his resolve against magic? Maybe. In the Season Two premiere, he does promise to take a more aggressive stance against magic.

The last part of the episode I would like to talk about is the titular sword. Excalibur is a central element of the Arthurian Mythos. It is unavoidable to do an adaptation of the Arthurian Legend without including Excalibur. In popular culture, Excalibur is often confused with the sword in the stone. While Excalibur is not the sword that granted Arthur his crown, it is often associated with kingship. This episode takes advantage of this. As mentioned above, this episode deals with Arthur preparing to become king. He is named crown prince and tries to sacrifice himself to end Tristan DeBois's attack on the kingdom. Arthur receiving Excalibur would seem to indicate him taking a step towards becoming the King he is traditionally known as. However, he isn't the one who wields Excalibur. Uther is. This could be to represent how Arthur isn't ready to be king yet. A few episodes later in "To Kill A King", Gaius outright says this. Uther's taking of the sword seems to suggest that Uther is still king and it will still be a long while before Arthur can become king.

"Excalibur" takes what is easily a formulaic villain of the week episode and manages to use this format to elevate the episode to something more. It added great depth to the characters and adds a twist on classic elements of the Arthurian Mythos. I feel like this should be an example of how to do a villain of the week episode correctly. All these reason easily make it my favorite episode of the show.