4x11 Press Release 

Morgana finds a powerful ally in the Southron warlord Helios (Terence Maynard), as the drama continues. Together they hatch the perfect plan to force Camelot to its knees...

With the Kingdom - and Arthur - preoccupied by the arrival of the beautiful Princess Mithian (Janet Montgomery), it falls to an absent friend to raise the alarm.

But with past wounds still raw, can love really conquer all when Guinevere returns? Or is a deadly arrow destined to fly straight into the heart of Camelot?

Colin Morgan plays Merlin and Bradley James as Arthur. Katie McGrath as Morgana, Nathaniel Parker as Agravaine, Richard Wilson as Gaius, Angel Coulby as Gwen, Tom Hopper as Sir Percival, Eoin Macken as Sir Gwaine, Adetomiwa Edun as Sir Elyan and Rupert Young as Sir Leon.

This week's guest cast features Terence Maynard as Helios and anet Montgomery as Princess Mithian.

I think we should assume that the absent friend is Gwen.
We are in for a ride guys.

So I read this as confirmation that episode 9 will not end well. Please,let's not get overly upset about this. For me, this assures lots of emotional, dynamite scenes ahead. It is sooooo typical of any love story that the couple goes through a painful separation and we're going to have it. We don't know if she leaves because Arthur sends her or she makes the decision. We don't even know if she'll leave for her own protection.

The "past wounds still raw" statement is concerning. It would appear from that that Arthur and Guinevere are at odds emotionally perhaps.

But what I did like from the synopsis is that she returns in the episode, so I'm banking on Arwen back together in ep.11 rather than ep.12. When some of us were speculating a big break up, we thought she would not be there ep.11 because of the princess and were figuring on them getting back in ep.12. I like this better.

Hjdxfgie WHAAAAT??!! This going to be an episode to Die for!! This means the whole lancelot thing gets really bad! Can't friggin wait!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!! I think i'm hyperventilating now.
Ok. Uhm.. What does it mean "When Guinevere returns"? Where did she go? Can't wait can't wait.

Oh my heart just sank. I thought the whole Lancelot thing would be resolved in ep 9. Doesn't sound like it. ugh. I know most of you are so excited about all of this, but I honestly have tears in my eyes right now. If it is an enchantment, why would she leave Camelot, and why would arthur not forgive her. Now my day is shot, group hugs for those of us who can't handle angst.........

*taking hug*
OMFG i can`t wait...
Damn it will break my heart but i can`t friggin wait!
This means a lot of arwen scenes and maybe some eye moments again *hehe*
Wow i really don`t thought the lancelot thing getting that bad :/ Hope the fans don`t hate gwen more than they do now ....
....
But i will love to see the episodes .. :)
<333

Yeah it is going to be rough but very ARWENCENTRIC as all the episodes are going to be from 4.08 on.

@Itsastart: Please. I don't assume it means no enchantment. It means people get hurt and possibly things get misconstrued. I still maintain that there is more to this than just the triangle. I still think it's possible Gwen makes a mistake on another even deeper level. Also, I want to find out where that prison scene fits.

Like I was saying, I've watched so many love stories where couples separate and neither is at fault but there's this really bad misunderstanding. When it gets resolved, the relationship is on an even firmer foundation once they work through whatever it is. This will be big indeed, and to tell the truth, we know it will be the final obstacle to marriage and the queen.

HQ please keep it coming, you are just one of the reasons I love this group..............I am going to have a difficult couple of weeks, don't like angst, but your right, it should be the final obstacle to epic foreverness. Arwen forever..........love them too much.

Oh and another thing someone just mentioned at another site! From this synopsis, doesn't it look like perhaps Guinevere will have a hand in saving Camelot from yet another attack?

And yes, love will conquer all, especially since we remember what Arthur said to the princess about the kingdom meaning nothing without the daughter of a blacksmith.

Ok, keep calm... OMG! I can't keep calm! Things will not be solved in ep 9? I mean, this thing will last that long? Where did Gwen go? Well, everyone thinks it is an enchantement, but what if it's not? No, No, No. It has to be! I'm freaking out! If this agnst last all these episodes, I really hope they get back together in this episode. OMG!

Just found this discussion, and episode guide,OMG!!! I am speechless, wtf is happening? Is Gwens departure a result of Lancelot?

Please console an Arwen mega fan and say it will be allright x

HumbleQueen, thank you, I have never heard the quote from Arthur about the daughter of a blacksmith. Where was this quote taken from, I need someone to post a link, please... And EPaws I know you are right, things should be very Arwencentric from this week forward, so as the song says "you gotta keep your head up, oh yah."

More angst! :D Yes, this sounds great! I know it'll probably break me as much as it does to Arwen but this sound awesome, Gwen getting to be the one who finds out something's wrong and raises the alarm! Our girl will do us proud!

'Past wounds still raw'- 4x9 will definitely not end well then, and I wonder if Gwen leaves of her own accord. But what about the whole enchantment thing? It's not her fault if she's with Lance when she's not in her right mind! But this will be epic, cos you all know what happens after angst!

Itsastart, that quote is from an audition tape for the role of the princess in ep11. I don't have a link to the clip but going from memory the princess questions Arthur about the daughter of a blacksmith.
"For her you would risk your kingship, your kingdom?"
Arthur's reply: "Without her they are worth nothing to me."

Yikes. I am okay with this. I'm telling myself that maybe Gwen chooses to leave to get her head together and returns at just the right time.

I also had not heard that quote, thanks missNST! Now I have to go back and read the 4x10 synopsis, 'cause I don't remember it...

[checked] Ah yes, I remember now.

@Itsastart: We put a link up 2 months ago re the actress (Janet Montgomery) audition for the episode but the link has since been removed by vimeo. However someone gave us a megaupload link which may still be there. See the first comment:

link

this is crazy , i dont know how to feel , really

You guys rock, thanks for all the information. I will check it out, and just so you know, i am feeling better about it all the more I read your posts. keep em comin!

woah ... i can't handle extenuated angst through from ep 9-11 .... god i hope ep 11 finishes with an arwen wedding!!! i'm never going to get any uni work done now - i can't stop thinking about what's going to happen, how it'll all play out .......

Whoa...So episode 9 is going to end with Gwen leaving Camelot and Arthur...I was reading in some forums about this and about something was about to happen with Elyan in episode 10( I don't know if this true but in the merlin wiki you can read the synopsis of the episodes)...Well I can't wait for episode 9 it's going to be awesome but not in the end...I just hope that they will end happy...

I will die.... I srsly will.. I can't wait for this!! It's gonna be heartbreaking, and painful, and sweet and painful and the reunion and make up are gonna be epic and I have no idea what I'm saying.. I'm freaking out $TER$%&"TQW#"$%DR

You know what bothers me as much as anything? In pictures of episode 11 filming, Uncle Aggravating is still there with Arthur. I am so sick of Arthur being fooled by this man when it should be obvious by now that he's a traitor! Why are they continuing to have Arthur be such a dummy about his uncle???

Hi guys! Just found this discussion and decided to join, Arwen addict I am.
First thing first : I'm dying, literally. The perspective of a potential break up...is breaking my heart.
My other concern goes along this line "can love really conquer all when Guinevere returns? Or is a deadly arrow destined to fly straight into the heart of Camelot?"
It looks like Gwen is the "deadly arrow"? How come?
And sorry for any mistake in my writing, english is not my mother tongue.

xx

hello there and welcome.. happy you joined us!!
Nanna, yes, it does upset me as well.. A lot!! It's just sooo wrong..

Thank you MISAforever!

i've come to a realisation (after giving myself a pep talk!) - we have all the making up/wedding/coronation to look forward too!?! :o), it will all be okay in the end - as torturous as it is waiting for it all to unfold, remember we waited for 10 months for the season to start, 3 weeks or so is easy in comparison !! AND just think, getting it all out the way now - paves was for an EPIC season 5 - have faith arweners!! ness out.

^^ amazingly said!!!! Woot woot!!!!

I really hope that, after all this angst, they get married, she becomes queen and they make a lot of babies! My heart can't handle too much angst, but I really felt better when I read all the comments and you remembered me of this quote. So thanks, you are all amazing! I know it will break my heart, but I cannot wait much longer!

HQ, I'm totally with you on the prison scene and Gwen doing something not related to Lance. I could be wrong, but I've always thought prison was waaaay too drastic of a measure for Arthur to resort for PERSONAL reasons...which Gwen/Lance would be. And the way he shouted "what did you do" to her in the promo suggested to me it was something entirely related to Camelot and Camelot's future.

What if she does something or is set up to look like she did something treasonous (NOT related to Lance)? Arthur would have no choice but to imprison her. Especially if the 'evidence' was incontrovertable and public. She could escape with help from Merlin or even Arthur himself (giving unspoken permission to Merlin, turning a blind eye). And in escaping and leaving Camelot, perhaps she's trying to prove her innocence?

But that's just my humble take and hope.

So, now I think I get to understand the "deadly arrow destined to fly straight into the heart of Camelot".
Methinks that the scene of an imprisoned Gwen has nothing to do with Lancelot but with this epi and Gwen's return in Camelot.
She might make a "faux pas" (consciously or not) that threatens the kingdom and provokes Arthur's ire?
Not sure I am clear. Sorry.

I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle Arthur and Gwen breaking up and not reconciling with each other at the end of episode 9. But I can learn to deal if everything works out in the end. And I would like to Gwen to be the absent friend who comes back to Camelot to warn them. I hope she's also instrumental in exposing uncle Aggy for the duplicitous shitbag that he is. Especially if he's the one who sets her up for whatever causes her to leave Camelot.

Oh yes, EA, I'm onto that line of thinking myself. After calming down and looking at this thing and piecing bits together, I'm thinking Arwen remain firmly bound in heart. TPTB want us to focus on the triangle right now but I'm rereading these synopses. That "unspeakable act of betrayal that would destroy the legacy of Camelot forever" is still running around in my head from ep. 9. I can't shake that it's something more than Lance. "Past wounds still raw" is supposed to make us think of the triangle hurt, but I'm not so sure, because "can love really conquer all when Guinevere returns" is hitting me funny behind the first phrase. Can't put my finger on it. I put all that with what Arthur says to the princess about his kingship and kingdom being nothing without the daughter of a blacksmith, which he says during ep 11 when they're apparently separated; I'm getting weird vibes. Something is not fitting the way we're putting the puzzle together. I'm still processing and probably need to sleep on it, LOL.

Now this is just my cup of tea. Well, well, well... looks as if the break-up will last longer than I expected it to and to be honest, this was EXACTLY what I was hoping to take from season 4. Some really huge obstacle that these two have to overcome.

I wonder if Arthur sends her away. And if she's present at all in episode 10 as a result. She is locked in a cell, it appears, from the trailer and I wonder if he tells her to leave afterwards. It would make sense then for her to be this "absent friend." Talk about angst and chemistry. I knew that the writers would keep us hanging during the first half of the season and then hit us with Arwen episode 8 onwards.

LOL you and me both Issie. This will be explosive, heartbreaking, epic, tingles down spine and goosebumps all over. And imagine when they reconcile. Sigh. I am over the moon. This will be an emotional roller coaster and I am loving it.

missNST: Did he say that?? OMG I think I'm gonna cry! My shipping romantic heart cannot handle all that awesomeness!!

When I read it I freak out, but now I'm cool with this. Hope is everything and at least, we're having what we all wanted so hard: More about them, a development. I think this is a step to the final strengthening (if that's the word). I will deal with all the angst crying and yelling but I think it will be worthy XD

and you all are gonna kill me but, as much as I hate Agravaine, and I do, I really really do, I think is good he's still there. If the only bad guy there is Morgana, outside Camelot it would be boring, don't you think? I guess I'm an optimist and I think everything will end up fine :)

oh i've just had a thought (yep - another one! lol) with regards to the tweets dale made about the "what were you doing scene" shown in the trailer in which he said "it's a beautiful scene" and not being shown in context in the trailer (tweets on the 2nd of oct link)

this makes me think that the "what were you donig" scene happens because gwen leaves without talking to arthur after the whole lancelot kiss in ep 9 so in ep 11 when gwen returns this is the confrontation that ends "beautifully" .... maybe??

I also wonder where that "get away from him" scene fits. Gwen is seriously fierce when she yells it. And, if I remember, she's not in her typical outfit -- more of riding outfit. Soooo, could she be returning to save Arthur from danger? Hmmm...curiouser and curiouser.

Also, isn't Morgan and Gwen supposed to go head-to-head at some point? Why can't the 'past wounds' be about Morgana? She hurt everyone of them when she betrayed them, Arthur and Gwen being the most, I'd think. Given Gwen's loyalty to her all those years and their close friendship to have Morgana turn like that. Given Morgana's new alliance is featured first, she might be the past wound...

Just a thought.

and maybe this is totally out of context but it just came to my mind. Does anybody of you remember a pic of a bed full of flowers? Did I dream that pic? Ot is that something yet to happen...?

Als-Merlin, no i saw those piccy's too (thrown room scattered with, what i thought were petals) and they've not transpired on screen either ..


ahh here we go just found what i think you were talking about :o)

link

I was wondering when I saw 4x03 that it was for Uther and not for what I had in mind, but as I can remember it was completely different. But I can't find it anywhere... thanks nessarthur!!

you're most welcome :o)

Welcome nessarthur! Thank you for the reminder of that tweet. He also said it was their best scene!! Cannot wait! It could be in 9 or in 11 but it will be GOOD.

There has been recent discussion about the bed:

link

EA: I think the "get away from him" scene is in the coming episode when they go on the adventure. She's wearing the poncho in that.

Issie: Glad to hear from you. Yes, he may tell her to go away or she may make the decision. The thing is we don't know the why or circumstances, but whatever it is, we're all going for a huge ride and our couple will be awesome.

this makes me think that the "what were you donig" scene happens because gwen leaves without talking to arthur after the whole lancelot kiss in ep 9 so in ep 11 when gwen returns this is the confrontation that ends "beautifully" .... maybe??

Nessarthur, I agree with you. That would make perfect sense to me.

OMG! I am so confused! Can be anything! There are so many theories and most of them seem to fit. This tweet made me intrigued, I've never heard of it before! My head is so confused right now! Seriously, I am going mad here! I cannot wait anymore!

We are all way over-analyzing this. I agree with Nanna, and we're playing right into their hands. Their publicity department isn't dumb and they are very careful about what they release. We're doing exactly what they want: discussing and speculating, on the edges of our proverbial seats with excitement over an episode we ALL MUST WATCH. Well done, them.

Exceedingly well done. In fact, I would wager, effective 4.08 the best ratings moving forward of the series. In fact, they are betting on it and they are right.

LOL, Kim. You said it.

its sounds like an amazing episode and Love will conquer all!! & all the angst and emotional stuff will make them stronger its just an obstacle and then they are together forever!! i'm just playing it all out in my head oohhh sooo excited for the rest of the series i can hardly wait!!

my head is spinning. i didn't know that the angst from ep9 would last into ep11. i know it will all end well for Arwen, but gosh. we are in for a roller coaster ride. OMG can't wait anymore. bring it on already.

Watching this ep right now again, as it is on US TV. Just from a perfectly physical angle, Terence Maynard should have been cast as Elyan. At least they have similar coloring. And he's still all hot and fit, so it would have worked. Just an observation.