suki_blue | Merlin Picspam -- Ep 4 The Poisoned Chalice

This is probably the slashiest of all the episodes so far which, believe me, is really saying something. I went overboard so beware when you click the cut. 80 something pics.

Images capped by me and are free for anyone to take.

We start the episode shouting, 'Look out, Merlin, it's Nimueh!' At least I did. In my head.

Merlin is obviously attracted to her, which I assume will spell trouble in the future. Ha ha, see what I did there?

She's posing as a servant to King Bayard, who is visiting to seal a treaty between his own kingdom and Camelot.

'What a pong!' Merlin must wash Arthur's clobber for the celebration feast.

He must also dress him. Anyone else reminded of Ianto helping Jack into his greatcoat (and, omg, I just typed 'greatgoat')? Notice, though, how Merlin isn't nearly as happy about it as Ianto.

Arthur will make it up to him, by inviting him to the feast (as a servant, of course, must keep up appearances) and by giving him ceremonial robes to wear. See, I hear 'ceremonial robes' and I think 'sex robes'. Four years of slash will do that to you.

Uh, not quite what I had in mind.

He's sacrificed a blow job for this, but it was totally worth it.

This bit makes me LOL. The 'handmaiden' has informed Merlin that Bayard has poisoned Arthur's goblet (which is a lie because it was her, the fricking bitch). So we cut to the toast to the union of the two kingdoms and Arthur trying to drink but having to stop every time someone adds to the speech. I don't know if it's meant to be a tense moment, but I keep thinking, 'That's happened to me! How embarrassing!'

And in rushes Merlin to snatch the cup from Arthur's grasp. I hear the Indiana Jones music in my head at this point.

Obviously, everyone thinks Merlin is off his trolley. Cue another lovers' spat.

Uther demands that Merlin drinks from the goblet and risk death.

'~~Fuck!~~ Damnable damnation!' Arthur says he'll do it. The two lovers argue over who is going to drink the poison, which is so cute and just adds to my belief that true love is here present.

Merlin is the loudest swallower I've ever heard in my life. I can only imagine those blow jobs he gives Arthur.

Uh-oh.

Arthur is understandably worried. Pubic hair or poison?

Poison.

Arthur lunges for him and climbs on top.

Things are rather serious at this point. Merlin is out cold and Arthur gives him a fireman's lift back home.

Gauis explains that an antidote can only be made from the leaves of the mortaeus flower which can only be found in some caves beyond the Forest of Balor. If Merlin is not cured, he will die. For Arthur, there is no choice.

But Uther disagrees.

He forbids Arthur from going. It's beneath a future king, apparently. ~~Cunt.~~ Unpleasant man.

But does it matter what his father thinks? Sometimes you have to do what's right and fuck the consequences. I think this is a hint of something coming from Morgana in future eps.

She's right, though, and Arthur knows it. He knows he must save Merlin.

MUST SAVE WOOBIE!

Clippety clop and awaaaaaaaay!!

And awaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I have a thing for this horse. No, not a sexual thing. I'm just pathetically pleased that I made the important decision in my second Merlin fic that Arthur would have a brown horse, and I was right. Ha! I called him Tiresis and I think I'll stick to that until we get a canon name.

Anyway, I've digressed. Arthur has arrived at the caves and he finds a battered servant girl and a dinosaur. He unsheathes his sword nice and quick. For the dinosaur, obviously.

EEEP! DINOSAUR! WHERE IS SAM NEILL?!?!

It's okay, Arthur slays it and still looks pretty.

He stops to consult the horse. 'Do you think they'll be any velociraptors? They got it wrong, you know. A velociraptor is six feet long, not six feet high. What an embarrassing mistake.'

The servant girl leads Arthur into the caves because apparently she knows them, despite claiming earlier that she'd become lost. Keep up, blondie. She ain't no servant.

And before he knows it, he's dangling on the edge of a precipice about to die. Doh!

Also there is a giant spider that wants to eat him, and there can be nothing good about that. By the way, it's quite difficult to cap when you're trying to clamber out of your chair. Damn spider.

It's so dark. How will Arthur find his way? Even while on the edge of death, Merlin knows Arthur is in trouble and that he must help him.

Glowy! That ball represents the love Merlin has for Arthur. Love will find the way.

Oooh, shiny. That would have been the point I let go of the ledge, totally distracted by the shiny thing. But not Arthur! What follows is some delicious grunting and sweating:

He gets the mortaeus flower, but is decended upon by hundreds of giant spiders. No spiders capped because I was too busy trying not to abandon my own skin.

Arthur keeps climbing, guided by Merlin's love, and his stomach because it's way past his teatime.

'Faster! Move faster!' Do I need to say anything here? Feel free to discuss this. It has to be deliberate.

He made it!

And now his stunt double arrives back at the castle.

Arthur is to be arrested, orders from King Uther!

But do not fear! We get Arthur in a dungeon with hand on hip. Very sexy.

Hello chest. You're slightly hairy and I love you. I never liked hairy chests until I discovered the SGA fandom and fell in love with the carpeted John Sheppard.

'But, Father, I found it.'

Unfortunately, Uther crushes the flower and walks away, leaving Arthur behind bars.

I love this shot. It really represents something, I think. Uther could have just left the flower crushed in the cell, but Arthur has to reach out for it, and I think that's deliberate. It's him pushing himself beyond what Uther and his kingdom expect him to be, and the cause of it all is Merlin.

I got a bit serious up there so I thought some pretty shots would make up for it. Gwen's got the flower now, btw, after some very cheesy acting by Arthur. He's so pretty, but he can't lie for shit.

Antidote time! Morteaus leaves plus boomslang skin, powdered bicorn horn, fluxweed ... Points to any potions experts who recognise what those ingredients make minus the Mortaeus leaves ;o)

Gaius does a sneaky spell! 'Denoom effta durma. Drinka glassy cup of tea.'

Swallow, Merlin. We know you can.

Oh dear, we killed him. And resuscitation hasn't been invented yet. Bugger.

Meeep.

'Euw, that's practically necrophilia!'

He's alive! Yays!

Gwen invents resuscitation ready for next time.

I love the way Arthur's hair goes all windswept. He's got beautiful hair. I reckon Merlin loves to stroke it. We need a whole genre of hair-stroking fics. Someone write me one! Also, I swing widly between loving and hating Uther.

Right at the end of the ep, Arthur visits Merlin, which in itself is a big thing because what kind of prince visits his manseravnt?

Then the slash becomes apparent. There are looks, hand placement, Arthur's overly casual demeanour badly disguising his worry. Told you he was a sucky liar.

Arthur has beautiful hands. For anyone who hasn't watched the show yet, Merlin bows his head and kisses Arthur's hands. Now, doesn't that make you want to watch it?

(Disclaimer: This picspam may contain stuff that happened only in my head.)

That's the expression of a man who wants your head in the freezer. When freezers are invented.

I shall leave you with the tiny exchange at the very end, where Arthur and Merlin thank each other. The question is, does Arthur know about Merlin's magic? Does he know it was Merlin who guided him through the cave?