Merlin: Secrets & Magic (2009) s01e09 Episode Script
Hard Work and Heartbreak
Welcome to Secrets And Magic, the show that goes behind the scenes to reveal how Merlin is made.
Coming up, we get close to the man who's enchanting audiences all over the world.
He's full of enthusiasm for everything.
I couldn't do what he does.
And love is in the air and on water, so join us as we set sail backstage for the most emotional scenes so far.
He did have to just continue that that height of emotion for so long.
To have gone through what Merlin went through throughout the episode, it'll take him a while to get over what that's done to him inside.
All this and more on Merlin - Secrets And Magic.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE In a land of fandom and a time of blogging, the destiny of a great drama series rests on the shoulders of a young boy.
His name is Colin Morgan.
And, as the producers knew, this part was always going to be particularly tough.
I think that Colin has a very difficult job on Merlin, cos everybody's reliant on him, and it's difficult for such a young actor to feel such a huge responsibility on his shoulders - like Merlin.
He is the first guy on set and the last guy on set virtually every day.
I don't envy him his workload.
Merlin is the lead in the show in many ways, and he he is in a huge amount of it.
Yeah, it's a full-on eight months on the series It's huge, you know? You do a relentless schedule which has back-to-back scenes.
Colin works very hard.
So he should - but he doesn't work hard in a martyr-like way.
He doesn't come staggering into the make-up room in the morning, "God, darling, I'm exhausted!" At the end of the day, I couldn't do what he does.
I'm in for more than one day and I start moaning.
"I'm tired! I wanna go home!" I've never see Colin complain.
No matter how tired he is, whether he's up a hill on a horse, whether he's in the water, or in a castle having to fight a pretend monster in front of a green screen, no matter what we throw at him, he always gives us 100%.
I suspect by the end of a season he's quite tired, but he's young, he's energetic.
He should be able to take it! I have the sort of idea that if I work like hell and just put as much effort into it as I can, then it'll be worth it.
And, um that's what I've done.
For these eight months, I've become I'm really boring, you know, just like out of it all.
I just put the head down and do it, cos I figure, eight months is eight months.
Just get on and do it.
Do the best job you can and hopefully it'll pay off.
And I enjoy it.
I love being kept busy.
He's full of enthusiasm for everything.
Everything's great, everything's nice, everything's, you know, fantastic all the time.
Sometimes I think, "Could do with a pep-up here," and then Colin's there, going, "Oh, everything's great!" "Yeah, all right.
" Our senses of humour have crossed now, so we often find we're laughing at the same things.
It's good.
And after two years as co-stars, their own comedy is crossing onto the small screen.
That's the new breakfast menu.
This isn't enough! We've got to keep you in shape.
I'm fighting fit! We want to keep you that way.
Merlin! There's quite a lot of banter, then having a little jibe at each other, which I think they kind of get to the understanding that that's how their relationship works.
Whenever Merlin's a bit downtrodden and Arthur is playing up to the typical prince-type role - even though he's not quite like that - I think possibly he feels he has to act a certain way, and he he plays about with that a bit and Merlin bears the brunt of it quite a lot, and that is in a lot of comic situations.
HISSING Ow-w! You bumpkin! It's boiling! Boiling?! You are half-asleep today.
Sorry, sire.
I'll get you some cold.
No, I'll get YOU some! But when it comes down to it, they are actually there for each other, 'despite all the jokes.
'They're willing to put their neck on the line.
' Though recently, it's not only the royal who Merlin is willing to risk his life for.
When he meets a beautiful young Druid in distress, he does everything he can to help her.
We wanted to challenge the character of Merlin, and we thought, well, let's see him let's see him fall in love.
Let's see him meet somebody else that has magic that is his age.
Why are you asking me all these questions? I didn't mean to.
I'm sorry.
I understand.
You could never understand.
I know what it's like to keep secrets.
'Freya is, um, a Druid' who has been cursed by a witch, and when night falls she turns into a big, black panther with wings, and is cursed to kill people for the rest of her life.
So it's not something that she has chosen or that she was born with - it's something that's been imposed on her.
So obviously this is highly disturbing for her.
I wish I was like everyone else.
Do you always know deep down you're not? Cos I'm cursed.
I think Freya really connects to Merlin, because Merlin misunderstands her.
She has a problem - she has a secret, but it's not the one Merlin thinks it is.
Merlin thinks it's a magical secret, one that he can help her with, and decides to show her the good side of magic.
Blostma! That's not a strawberry! It's the right colour.
'We thought, well, let's see Merlin 'for the first time really fall for Freya.
' And Merlin be able to candidly and openly talk about what it's like to have magic.
It's one of the few times when he can properly go, "This is me.
"This is what I can do, and this is what we can be.
" You know, they both have magical abilities, and secrets, and can't really reveal their true selves to most of the people that they are surrounded by.
You really don't realise how special you are, do you? You're not scared of me? Being different is nothing to be scared of.
'At times when Freya is very upset Merlin is there to comfort her a lot, so one thing leads to another 'and yeah, they kiss.
' But of course, true love never did run smooth, and Merlin's monster crush turns out to be well, just that.
In the end, Merlin's newfound love is lost, and it all ends in heartbreak.
GROWLING 'To have gone through 'what Merlin went through throughout the episode,' and then for it all to be snatched away so savagely, as it is, is, um, is completely I think, throws Merlin to a point where he's in absolute devastation, and a bit of a wreck, and it'll take him a while to get over what that's done to him inside.
'Merlin carries her to the edge of the lake, 'because she came from you know, her home was beside a lake, 'and her most treasured memory is of her home and happiness with her family, 'so he remembers this and takes her to the side of the lake and she dies there in his arms, 'promising that she will repay the favour some day.
' 'When you have a really hugely dramatic scene, 'something that requires' a lot of focus and concentration that you wanna zone in on, it helps sometimes to be in a more controlled environment.
When you're outside filming at a lake in Wales, who knows what the weather's going to do? It's not always easy.
Well, gosh it was raining a lot! So I did spend the entire day drenched.
It rained heavier in between, so they'd wait for the bulk of it to go off and then shoot in the rain.
I felt so sorry for him that day, because he did just have to continue that height of emotion for so long, and while we were shooting his shots, the weather was at its worst, so he just constantly had to stop and start and maintain that, but he's great.
So he did it very, very well.
He's an absolute professional.
If, for example, you've got a very emotional scene, you're supposed to be very upset, things like torrential rain on you all add to a feeling of doom and gloom and vulnerability, and if you're soaked through, you're also uncomfortable and you're cold and shivering.
All this can contribute to it.
One day, Merlin I will repay you, I promise.
With the rain holding off, the special effects crew prepared to literally push the boat out.
To film Freya's fiery water sequence, the special effects crew first placed a protective blanket all around the tiny wooden boat.
A tray in the bottom held a mix of carpet foam and flammable liquid.
Then, when it was set adrift, a spark from the firing box set the whole thing ablaze.
Wecce on saebat baelfyra maest Luckily, that's that's not actually me having to film anything to do with fire - I just got nicely pushed out into the water, and it was calm, then I got to get out and go home and they look after the rest! And once these final moments had been filmed, the fire was of course carefully put out.
But it seems things would soon hot up for Merlin.
The idea behind this was we wanted to begin the story of the lady in the lake, 'so we're just sort of laying the seeds.
Freya will come back as the lady in the lake and help Merlin.
'And we can still keep that strong bond between the two of them.
' I don't want you to go.
One day, Merlin I will repay you.
'It won't just be about Merlin' getting the sword back - it will be about Merlin's emotional relationship with Freya, and the fact that Merlin looked after Freya and showed her such kindness - that gives us plenty to go with that character.
Coming up, we get close to the man who's enchanting audiences all over the world.
He's full of enthusiasm for everything.
I couldn't do what he does.
And love is in the air and on water, so join us as we set sail backstage for the most emotional scenes so far.
He did have to just continue that that height of emotion for so long.
To have gone through what Merlin went through throughout the episode, it'll take him a while to get over what that's done to him inside.
All this and more on Merlin - Secrets And Magic.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE In a land of fandom and a time of blogging, the destiny of a great drama series rests on the shoulders of a young boy.
His name is Colin Morgan.
And, as the producers knew, this part was always going to be particularly tough.
I think that Colin has a very difficult job on Merlin, cos everybody's reliant on him, and it's difficult for such a young actor to feel such a huge responsibility on his shoulders - like Merlin.
He is the first guy on set and the last guy on set virtually every day.
I don't envy him his workload.
Merlin is the lead in the show in many ways, and he he is in a huge amount of it.
Yeah, it's a full-on eight months on the series It's huge, you know? You do a relentless schedule which has back-to-back scenes.
Colin works very hard.
So he should - but he doesn't work hard in a martyr-like way.
He doesn't come staggering into the make-up room in the morning, "God, darling, I'm exhausted!" At the end of the day, I couldn't do what he does.
I'm in for more than one day and I start moaning.
"I'm tired! I wanna go home!" I've never see Colin complain.
No matter how tired he is, whether he's up a hill on a horse, whether he's in the water, or in a castle having to fight a pretend monster in front of a green screen, no matter what we throw at him, he always gives us 100%.
I suspect by the end of a season he's quite tired, but he's young, he's energetic.
He should be able to take it! I have the sort of idea that if I work like hell and just put as much effort into it as I can, then it'll be worth it.
And, um that's what I've done.
For these eight months, I've become I'm really boring, you know, just like out of it all.
I just put the head down and do it, cos I figure, eight months is eight months.
Just get on and do it.
Do the best job you can and hopefully it'll pay off.
And I enjoy it.
I love being kept busy.
He's full of enthusiasm for everything.
Everything's great, everything's nice, everything's, you know, fantastic all the time.
Sometimes I think, "Could do with a pep-up here," and then Colin's there, going, "Oh, everything's great!" "Yeah, all right.
" Our senses of humour have crossed now, so we often find we're laughing at the same things.
It's good.
And after two years as co-stars, their own comedy is crossing onto the small screen.
That's the new breakfast menu.
This isn't enough! We've got to keep you in shape.
I'm fighting fit! We want to keep you that way.
Merlin! There's quite a lot of banter, then having a little jibe at each other, which I think they kind of get to the understanding that that's how their relationship works.
Whenever Merlin's a bit downtrodden and Arthur is playing up to the typical prince-type role - even though he's not quite like that - I think possibly he feels he has to act a certain way, and he he plays about with that a bit and Merlin bears the brunt of it quite a lot, and that is in a lot of comic situations.
HISSING Ow-w! You bumpkin! It's boiling! Boiling?! You are half-asleep today.
Sorry, sire.
I'll get you some cold.
No, I'll get YOU some! But when it comes down to it, they are actually there for each other, 'despite all the jokes.
'They're willing to put their neck on the line.
' Though recently, it's not only the royal who Merlin is willing to risk his life for.
When he meets a beautiful young Druid in distress, he does everything he can to help her.
We wanted to challenge the character of Merlin, and we thought, well, let's see him let's see him fall in love.
Let's see him meet somebody else that has magic that is his age.
Why are you asking me all these questions? I didn't mean to.
I'm sorry.
I understand.
You could never understand.
I know what it's like to keep secrets.
'Freya is, um, a Druid' who has been cursed by a witch, and when night falls she turns into a big, black panther with wings, and is cursed to kill people for the rest of her life.
So it's not something that she has chosen or that she was born with - it's something that's been imposed on her.
So obviously this is highly disturbing for her.
I wish I was like everyone else.
Do you always know deep down you're not? Cos I'm cursed.
I think Freya really connects to Merlin, because Merlin misunderstands her.
She has a problem - she has a secret, but it's not the one Merlin thinks it is.
Merlin thinks it's a magical secret, one that he can help her with, and decides to show her the good side of magic.
Blostma! That's not a strawberry! It's the right colour.
'We thought, well, let's see Merlin 'for the first time really fall for Freya.
' And Merlin be able to candidly and openly talk about what it's like to have magic.
It's one of the few times when he can properly go, "This is me.
"This is what I can do, and this is what we can be.
" You know, they both have magical abilities, and secrets, and can't really reveal their true selves to most of the people that they are surrounded by.
You really don't realise how special you are, do you? You're not scared of me? Being different is nothing to be scared of.
'At times when Freya is very upset Merlin is there to comfort her a lot, so one thing leads to another 'and yeah, they kiss.
' But of course, true love never did run smooth, and Merlin's monster crush turns out to be well, just that.
In the end, Merlin's newfound love is lost, and it all ends in heartbreak.
GROWLING 'To have gone through 'what Merlin went through throughout the episode,' and then for it all to be snatched away so savagely, as it is, is, um, is completely I think, throws Merlin to a point where he's in absolute devastation, and a bit of a wreck, and it'll take him a while to get over what that's done to him inside.
'Merlin carries her to the edge of the lake, 'because she came from you know, her home was beside a lake, 'and her most treasured memory is of her home and happiness with her family, 'so he remembers this and takes her to the side of the lake and she dies there in his arms, 'promising that she will repay the favour some day.
' 'When you have a really hugely dramatic scene, 'something that requires' a lot of focus and concentration that you wanna zone in on, it helps sometimes to be in a more controlled environment.
When you're outside filming at a lake in Wales, who knows what the weather's going to do? It's not always easy.
Well, gosh it was raining a lot! So I did spend the entire day drenched.
It rained heavier in between, so they'd wait for the bulk of it to go off and then shoot in the rain.
I felt so sorry for him that day, because he did just have to continue that height of emotion for so long, and while we were shooting his shots, the weather was at its worst, so he just constantly had to stop and start and maintain that, but he's great.
So he did it very, very well.
He's an absolute professional.
If, for example, you've got a very emotional scene, you're supposed to be very upset, things like torrential rain on you all add to a feeling of doom and gloom and vulnerability, and if you're soaked through, you're also uncomfortable and you're cold and shivering.
All this can contribute to it.
One day, Merlin I will repay you, I promise.
With the rain holding off, the special effects crew prepared to literally push the boat out.
To film Freya's fiery water sequence, the special effects crew first placed a protective blanket all around the tiny wooden boat.
A tray in the bottom held a mix of carpet foam and flammable liquid.
Then, when it was set adrift, a spark from the firing box set the whole thing ablaze.
Wecce on saebat baelfyra maest Luckily, that's that's not actually me having to film anything to do with fire - I just got nicely pushed out into the water, and it was calm, then I got to get out and go home and they look after the rest! And once these final moments had been filmed, the fire was of course carefully put out.
But it seems things would soon hot up for Merlin.
The idea behind this was we wanted to begin the story of the lady in the lake, 'so we're just sort of laying the seeds.
Freya will come back as the lady in the lake and help Merlin.
'And we can still keep that strong bond between the two of them.
' I don't want you to go.
One day, Merlin I will repay you.
'It won't just be about Merlin' getting the sword back - it will be about Merlin's emotional relationship with Freya, and the fact that Merlin looked after Freya and showed her such kindness - that gives us plenty to go with that character.