Merlin is the main antagonist of "The Last Defender of Camelot", the second segment of the 24th episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone's 1985-1989 iteration, the episode airing in 1986. Said episode was based off a short story of the same name, written by Roger Zelazny in 1979. He is an adaptation of the classic Arthurian figure, an enchanter who served as an advisor to King Arthur, although driven mad in pursuit of what he believed to be the greater good.
In the episode, Merlin was portrayed by the late Norman Lloyd.
Biography[]
Merlin was a sorcerer who lived in the early middle ages, where he served as advisor to King Arthur of Camelot, presumably living through most of the classic Arthurian tales. He was highly respected by both the king and the Knights of the Round Table, hailed as a wise and good man, starting with good intentions of creating benevolent order, but started to grow mad with pursuit of supposed goodness, perceiving the lands and common folk as being violent and in chaos. As such, Merlin began provoking wars to unify the British isles, turning a blind eye to any crime that ultimately served his purposes, gradually brainwashed King Arthur into becoming an unquestioning servant of his, and early on, helped Uther Pendragon rape Igraine, mother of Morgan le Fay.
At some point, Merlin began practically writing the law of Camelot, becoming increasingly elitist, and almost led Arthur to burn his own wife, Guinevere, at the stake when her affair with Sir Lancelot was exposed. Soon afterwards, King Arthur and Mordred, Arthur's bastard son, slew each other in the Battle of Camlann. However, before the battle, Merlin, seeing the imminent collapse of Camelot, was led away to a cave in Cornwall by a nymph of Morgan Le Fay, where a spell was cast on him to sleep for a thousand years. Realizing what was happening, Merlin cast one last spell on Sir Lancelot, making Lancelot immortal, so that he could be Merlin's champion when he finally awoke, also animating an empty suit of armor to guard his chamber while he slept.
A thousand years later, in 1986, Merlin, beginning to awaken, but unable to fully leave his sleep, managed to use his incredibly depleted powers to put a thought in Lancelot's mind, to go find him at Cornwall. Lancelot, who had grown externally elderly, but retained his youthful strength, was met with the also-immortal Morgan le Fay, who told him that it was Merlin who was influencing him to go to Cornwall. Lancelot, however, still felt obliged to help his old friend, and was thus teleported to Cornwall by Morgan. However, unknown to Lancelot and Morgan, Merlin had also influenced Lancelot to bring someone else along, so Lancelot brought along a young punk named Tom, who had worked for Morgan, as his "squire." Entering the cave with Tom waiting outside, Lancelot found Merlin's animated armor, which pointed the way to Merlin's bed. When Lancelot reached him, Merlin, who was able to weakly speak, asked for a bottle of magic elixir nearby. Lancelot brought it to him, and Merlin drank some of it, reviving him.
Fully awakening, Merlin was happy to see Lancelot at long last, and asked about the state of the world, namely if it was a better place or worse. Lancelot replied that it was both, as wars had continued. Hearing that injustice and oppression still existed, Merlin declared that he and Lancelot must not leave their work unfinished this time, summoning his staff as he praised Lancelot for being the greatest and most reliable knight of the round table. However, Lancelot told Merlin that he had given up war, asking what any of them were for, demanding to know what he and Merlin had built with all the blood they drew. Merlin asked Lancelot about his oath to right wrongs and punish the wicked, but Lancelot replied that it was becoming harder to determine who was wicked or wrong. Merlin berated him, claiming that Lancelot's son, Galahad, would've held true to his oath, before asking Lancelot if he would stand with him as he puts a man of his choosing on the throne of England. Lancelot clarified that monarchs in the modern world were mostly figureheads, telling him about democracy, which shocked Merlin, who could not believe that "peasants" could know what was good for them. Lancelot again told Merlin that things had changed drastically, citing nuclear weapons and states that dwarfed Camelot in size, saying the modern world had no room for mistakes. When Merlin claimed he made no mistakes, Lancelot reminded him that he slept through the fall of Camelot, recounting the battle of Camlann, and demanded to not be a part of Merlin's schemes, saying their power is gone. However, more of Merlin's powers returned, and he demonstrated by summoning a thunderstorm and making the animated armor, referred to as his hollow knight, walk over to him.
Lancelot clarified that he never doubted Merlin's good intentions or powers, only his judgement, so Merlin walked out with Lancelot, taking the walking armor with them as Tom entered. Merlin asked who Tom was, and when Lancelot said Tom was his squire, Merlin was disgusted, seeing that Tom lacked even the most basic aspects of classic knightly chivalry, saying he wanted to turn Tom into a goose on the spot. When Tom tried to protest, Lancelot clarified that magic was now unknown to the world. Merlin ordered Tom and Lancelot outside regardless, not telling Lancelot that he actually needed a human sacrifice to fully restore his powers, but also discretely removed Lancelot's immortality. Outside, Lancelot felt cold, briefly returning to the cave to retrieve his scarf. Merlin then revealed that he had transported them to "true" Stonehenge, a barren interdimensional plane, and then told Lancelot that he purposefully had Lancelot bring someone "unworthy" to him to be sacrificed, asking Tom to step closer for a painless death. Tom tried to protest, but Lancelot, recognizing that Merlin could easily destroy Tom, intervened and said that he could not allow this. In response, Merlin had the hollow knight restrain Tom. Lancelot ordered him to release Tom, or he would dismantle the knight, demanding a sword and a horse to show his skills. Merlin, however, mocked Lancelot, saying that Lancelot couldn't even lift a lance anymore, expressing that he had half a mind to let him try anyways. Just then, Morgan le Fay entered the plane, telling Merlin that he had half a mind and nothing else.
Merlin, outraged that Lancelot would work with a supposed sworn enemy of Camelot, had the hollow knight release Tom, and summoned Lancelot's armor and weapons so that he could duel the hollow knight. However, Lancelot's armor was now black, as Merlin believed it was only fitting for a traitor to Camelot. Lancelot donned the armor regardless, and practiced with his sword, showing that he still appeared strong and fit. Merlin demanded to know what magic Lancelot used to keep his strength after the spell was removed, but Lancelot revealed he anticipated Merlin's actions, and had drank the rest of Merlin's elixir when he went back in for his scarf. With that, Merlin commanded the hollow knight to move forward, where it dueled Lancelot in fierce combat, Merlin staying to the side while the two knights fought, the hollow knight still fighting after getting its arm and head cut off. Merlin tried to empower the hollow knight with his staff, but Morgan then attacked him with her own powers. Merlin, while injured, returned fire with his staff, overpowering and mortally wounding Morgan with a magic blast, just as Lancelot finally destroyed the hollow knight. Merlin then fired his magic at Lancelot, but Lancelot blocked with his shield as he advanced, where Merlin tried to cast a protective spell by holding out his staff, but due to his weakened power, Lancelot was able to cut clean through his staff. Merlin then asked Lancelot to finish the job and kill him, but Lancelot clarified that his killing days were done, laying down his sword. Regardless, without his staff, Merlin lost his power, and began to rapidly age, bidding his old friend farewell as his body faded into nothingness.
Morgan le Fay soon died from her injuries, and Tom, stricken with grief, cursed at Merlin's empty robes. However, Lancelot silenced him, saying that Merlin was just an old man who had slept too long and dreamt too hard.
