Arthur must endure a perilous quest in his ascent to the throne in
“The Eye of the Phoenix,”
an all-new episode of MERLIN premiering March 4 at 10:00 pm on Syfy

Prince Arthur must take the next step in his ascent to the throne by
succeeding on a perilous quest – made even more difficult by his
scheming enemies – in “The Eye of the Phoenix,” an enthralling all-new
episode of the hit series MERLIN premiering Friday, March 4 at 10:00
p.m. ET/PT on Syfy.

Written by series co-creator Julian Jones, “The Eye of the Phoenix”
finds Arthur embarking on a solitary quest to retrieve the Golden
Trident from the Fisher King and prove himself worthy of the Camelot
throne. With the Prince beyond the protection of the citadel, Morgana
sees an opportunity to use her dark magic and gives him a precious
bracelet containing a Phoenix Eye. She insists he wear it at all times
for protection, but it saps him of his life force and he is left
defenseless in the Fisher’s King’s dangerous realm. It’s up to Merlin,
with the assistance of Gwaine, to help Arthur and fulfil Merlin’s own
quest to protect the future king of Camelot.

The episode features a guest appearance by Warwick Davis, star of such
global hit films as the Harry Potter series, Star Wars: The Return of
the Jedi  and Willow. Davis portrays Grettir, the mysterious
gatekeeper to a mystical land … and the soothsaying guide toward the
intertwined futures of both Arthur and Merlin.

Bradley James (Arthur) enjoyed the physical endurance of filming the
episode, and was particularly enthused with the emphasis the story
placed on Arthur’s mental and emotional trials and solutions rather
than the frequently-used magical aspects of the series.

“It was nice doing some scenes where it wasn’t about dialogue or other
characters, but Arthur’s journey by himself – that was fun to do,”
James says. “I just got to see this episode – it’s kind of a
traditional questing adventure, and I like it on many levels. First,
it’s all about Arthur, so narcissistically it appeals to me (he
laughs). But more that that, I prefer stories that have greater
psychological aspects to the resolution. It’s easy to save the day by
using Merlin’s magic, but I like it when solving the issues doesn’t
involve the supernatural – when the protagonist is able to use his
wits and mind to win out. That’s the real fun of a story like this. “