My apologies for falling behind on my recaps, loyal readers! This recap covers episodes 5 and 6, which were a two part story arc. Enjoy!

Beauty and the Beast

Trolls Hate Fruit

Royal guests are no strangers to Camelot, and when Lady Catrina arrives, Uther opens up his home to her. She is the only survivor of her house, accompanied by a very strange male servant, but since she bears the seal of her family, no questions are asked by the King. But when Gaius’ special medicine for the Lady is returned to him, he begins to have questions of his own. Lady Catrina suffered from a very serious bone condition as a child and always had requested his tinctures before. Gaius and Merlin set out to figure out the truth behind Lady Catrina’s odd behavior.

Sneaking into Arthur’s chambers at night, Merlin floats a mirror to the room below the prince’s – the room where Lady Catrina is staying. He is shocked to see the Lady transform from beautiful woman into disgusting Troll. Trolls lust after power and money, and this troll has taken on a form pleasing to Uther in order to gain the power of Camelot. When things are not moving along as fast as she’d like them to, the Troll places an enchantment on an amulet, gifting it to Uther who completely falls under her spell.

Just Married

With no proof to take to Arthur and Uther completely fascinated with the Troll, Merlin trails after her own evening to see where it is she has been sleeping every night. However, the Troll and her servant are aware that Merlin knows the truth, and so they trap him in her lair while Uther and “Lady Catrina” get married, preventing Merlin from casting a spell to reveal herself before they tie the knot. He arrives just after the union has been sealed with a kiss.

Later that evening, in Catrina’s chambers, Uther rushes in as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. He gets shot down when “Catrina” makes up a story that Merlin has stolen her family seal. Uther calls for an all-out manhunt, not satisfied with Arthur’s attempts. “Catrina” is now moving onto ruining Uther’s relationship with Arthur, and it seems with his people as well. Her greed knows no bounds as she uses her enchantment to convince Uther to further tax the people of Camelot, jailing those who cannot afford to pay.

Merlin hasn’t left Camelot. Gaius has been hiding him in their home, and he somehow manages to avoid the city guard as he continues to spy on Catrina and Jonas. He knows that she has to drink a potion in order to keep up her unnatural appearance, so he sneaks into Jonas’ room while the servant is sleeping, stealing the potion so that Gaius can examine it. They devise a plan to replace the potion with one that looks and tastes similar to what Jonas mixes for his mistress, however it would lack the necessary magicks she needs in order to remain in human form.

Its actually quite humorous to watch Catrina avoid getting into romantic, sheet-tangling bedroom playtime with Uther, who is quite clearly a horny and ready to go whenever he has the chance to be alone with her. Catrina comes up with excuses, changing the topic from the bed to Arthur, how disappointed she is that he is not as firm as his father (yup, they do go there!).

Transforming Before Morgana & Arthur's Eyes

Her influence over his father shows itself the following day when Arthur demands that his men return the extra taxes to the poorer people of Camelot. When called before Uther, Arthur defends his position and tells his father that he is wrong. Uther tells his son to get our of his sight, and Catrina uses her womanly ways to weasel her way to becoming heir to the throne. During the ceremony, she begins to feel her change coming on, grabs the crown and tries to run away before everyone sees her true form. Morgana and Arther follow Uther as the smitten king runs after her and all three see the change. But Uther is still under the enchantment so his opinion doesn’t change and he gets upset with them for making fun of his bride. Jonas is hiding behind a column, watching everything go down, even as his mistress rips a door right off its hinges and runs out the opening.

Love is Blind

With everyone in the city knowing what she really is, its up to Merlin to figure out a way to break the enchantment she has over Uther before it is too late. Gaius believes the Dragon will know the answer, but cautions Merlin as dragons and trolls have been allies in the past. The Dragon does prove to be helpful, as he wants Arthur to become king and create Albion. He tells Merlin that in order to break the spell Uther must shed tears of true remorse. Other than that, there is nothing more he can offer the warlock.

The only option there is it seems is to make Uther believe that Arthur is dead. Since Arthur is the only thing that Uther truly cares about, Merlin and Gaius convince Arthur to get in on the plan. Because he cares for his father, Arthur agrees to the plan. It’s the only way to save his father and the people of Camelot. It doesn’t go exactly as planned; Jonas overhears the trio and knocks Merlin out with a vase, causing him to drop the vial containing the antidote. Merlin still manages to save Arthur just moments after Uther sheds tears and the spell over him breaks. A fight breaks out and Arthur stabs his “step-mother” in the gut with a sword, and she dies a very smelly death.

The story ends with a rather awkward dinner scene between father and son, and Arthur thanking Merlin for helping him get rid of his step-mother.