The King has organised  the annual tournament, which Valiant enters much like the fashion of ’A Knights Tale’. Merlin is struggling to get to grips with his new duties as Prince Arthur’s servant and bumblingly helps the Prince with his training in a funny scene. Gaius mends his bruises while Merlin complains that its not fare that he has a large list of duties to which Gauis tells him that Arthur has his own duties and that people some times expect a lot from him.

Uther opens the tournament which is being held in the large courtyard that is no where near the scale of that in A knights Tale. At the end of the first day  Arthur gives Merlin a large list of things to do including cleaning his armour. We then see Merlin lying in bed with Arthur’s armour being cleaned floating around him in a great nod to Fantasia to which Gaius remarks about Merlin using Magic all the time.By the end of second round Valiant has nearly lost but secretly uses the magic snakes to defeat Ewan. Gauis see’s to the poisoned knights ailments and notices that there are snakes bites on the knights neck. Merlin finds this suspitous that it happened during a fight,  follows Valiant he see’s him feeding the magic snakes. He informs Gauis but Gauis warns him that with out proof nothing can be done as its a Knights word against a lowly servant. They decide together that if an antidote can made from the snakes to cure Knight Ewan then he could testify against the conniving Valiant.

Merlin sneaks into Valiants room and cuts the head from one of the snakes and escapes just before being spotted by Valiant. Gauis uses it to make a cure for Ewan. Merlin then tells Arthur what he has seen and we see the trust between them grow. 

Another snake bites Ewan and kills him while the King holds court against Valiant but with out the word of another knight there is no proof and Arthur is made to look a fool. Valiant convinces Uther that it was just an excuse for Arthur not have to fight him in the final. Arthur tells Merlin that he trusted him and made him look weak in front of his father and the other knights so fires him from his duties. Merlin pleads with Arthur not to fight Valiant in the final as he will use the magic shield to kill him. Arthur explains that he must fight him as its his duty and that people will not follow him into battle if they think he is a coward.

Merlin goes to see the Great Dragon who tells him again that the young warlock and the Prince’s futures are in-twined and that its just the beginning, which seems pointless and shoe horned in just to have the dragon in the episode. So he decides to use magic to make the snakes appear to everyone and struggles all night trying the spell out on a statue of a dog.

Arthur and Valiant start their fight in the final which sees Arthur winning. Merlin finally cracks the spell and rushes to the tournament just in time and casts the spell secretly and the snakes come to life for everyone to see. Arthur defeats Valiant with a little help from Morgana and is crowned champion.

At the feast Arthur thanks Merlin for all his help, off course he still doesn’t know Merlin used magic, Merlin tells him that there is no need but he could buy him a drink to which Arthur exclaims that he cannot be seen buying drinks for his servant as he is rehiring him. This is the point where we first really see the companionship between them really start and a mutual friendship for Arthur then reels off another list of things to for Merlin to do and then smiles.

Overall this episode had some good moments mainly between Merlin and Arthur but suffers from the same thing ‘The Loin, the witch and the wardrobe’ suffers from. When you have seen the Battle of Palinar Field at the end of the Return of the King no other battle can live up to it. When you have seen the creaking tournaments in ‘A Knights Tale’ with its rocking sound track this seems a little bland. But to give them their due they try and give some scope to the fights but fall slightly short. The episode never really achieved the levels of excitement of the first and I hope this episodic “Merlin learns a  new spell each week” doesn’t become the norm.

The stand out actor as before is Will Mellor (Merlin) but we do see the character of Arthur grow in this episode from the cardboard cut out to a humorous and brave man we know he should be. There was nothing majorly wrong with the episode it’s just a bit “seen it done better”.

Over all I will give this episode 2 and a half Excaliburs.