Merlin Premieres September 11 on BBC One

It has been a year since Lady Morgana disappeared and no trace of her has been found when season 3 begins. She returns under mysterious circumstances and soon the king is having hallucinations; an old enemy attacks and Arthur has to take charge.

Merlin starts to suspect Morgana but she and her evil sister are to fast for him. They capture him and bind him with magic. In desperation he calls the great dragon.

The new season is seems darker than before, strife is afoot in Camelot.

Merlin is a great series and 13 new episodes is better than usual for a BBC production.

Episodes

3.01

It has been a year since Lady Morgana disappeared and no trace of her has been found, as the fantasy drama starring Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head and Richard Wilson returns for a new series.

Just as it seems all hope is lost, Merlin and Arthur pick up a trail. Set upon by bandits it seems they may perish but Merlin’s secret magic saves the day. As the dust settles, a mysterious, bruised and bloodied figure approaches the group: it’s Lady Morgana.

Camelot rejoices at her return but Merlin is worried that Morgana will remember the circumstances of their last meeting and tell King Uther that he tried to kill her. The King will not understand that he did it to save Camelot from Morgana’s half-sister, sorceress Morgause’s deadly enchantment; Merlin would be executed on the spot.

Morgana promises Merlin that she has learnt the error of her ways and repents for the evil things she has done. Morgause no longer has any hold over her and Morgana forgives Merlin and promises to keep his secret.

Uther and Morgana enjoy a tearful reunion. The King is delighted that his ward has returned and immediately announces a banquet in her honour. But is there more to her return than meets the eye?

That night, Morgana slips out of the castle and journeys to a cave guarded by mysterious warriors. It seems that she has been playing a game. Far from renouncing magic she has spent the last year at Morgause’s side. Morgana is no longer Camelot’s daughter but a servant of the Old Religion. Using a handkerchief stained with Uther’s grateful tears, Morgause concocts a spell to bring the tyrant King to his knees.

As the evil magic begins to take hold of Uther’s mind, Camelot is cast into great peril. Morgause is rousing Uther’s mortal enemy, King Cenred, to invade the Kingdom, while Uther, plagued by hallucinations from his past, is incapable of mounting a defence of the realm.

As Gaius urges Arthur to take command, Merlin begins to suspect that Morgana’s repentance is not all it seems. He soon discovers he was right but the evil sisters are too quick for him. He is captured, bound with magic and left to the mercy of the scorpion-like enchanted serkets.

As Cenred’s army amasses on the border and Merlin’s life hangs in the balance, the young sorcerer summons the Great Dragon, his last and only hope. Can the Dragon and the Dragonlord save Camelot from certain doom?

3.02

The young warlock struggles to recover from the serket’s poison, as the fantasy drama continues. Meanwhile, Morgana and Morgause are free to step up their plans for the invasion of Camelot.

Morgause continues her manipulation of Cenred, as he prepares to launch an attack on the citadel, but Cenred knows he cannot take the castle alone. Morgause promises him that they have an ally within King Uther’s court who will ensure they win the day – no one can fight a battle on two fronts. Morgause gives Morgana a powerfully enchanted rowan staff to aid her in her magical treachery.

King Uther is still unable to rule as he recovers from the enchantment inflicted by the mandrake root. So, as Cenred’s army attacks the citadel, Camelot’s fate now rests on Arthur’s shoulders. The young prince and his men fight bravely but, just as they think the tide might turn, Morgana plays her deadly card. In the vaults beneath Camelot she uses the rowan staff to summon a skeleton army to wreak havoc within the castle walls.

Arthur and his men cannot hold off both an army of the living and an army of the dead. Merlin knows that their only hope is for him to stop Morgana and vanquish the enemy within. Will he be able to do so without revealing his own magical powers?

3.03

Merlin stumbles across a secret chamber and accidentally releases a goblin, as the fantasy drama continues. The mischievous creature possesses Gaius, leading the once-wise physician to develop a taste for gold, ale and magical jokes.

With a suddenly bald King and a scourge of flatulence sweeping the Royal household, can Merlin work out what is going on and banish the goblin back to where he came from before any real damage is done?