Merlin (TV series)/Recap/S04 E09 Lancelot Du Lac

Lancelot du Lac
Recap coming soon...

Tropes

 * Always Second Best: Arthur has never won in combat against Lancelot, and his deep insecurity issues arise once again when faced with the possibility that Guinevere loves Lancelot more than him.
 * Berserk Button: Of course, Gwen has always been this to Arthur, but the sight of her  is enough for him to lose it in a truly epic fashion.
 * Blind Seer: The Dochraid
 * Break the Cutie (and then stomp all over the pieces that are left before grounding them into dust): Guinevere.
 * Call Back: Arthur thanks Lancelot for the sacrifice he made on the Isle of the Blessed and takes Gwen's hand as he does so; a clear echo of their conversation and hand-holding at Lancelot's memorial in The Darkest Hour Part II.
 * Came Back Wrong: Lancelot. Justified, as that was Morgana's plan.
 * Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Evil!Lancelot wears black, just like Morgana and Agravaine.
 * Crazy Jealous Guy: Arthur proves he has a streak of this when it comes to Lancelot and Gwen's history together and he flies into a murderous rage when
 * Downer Ending
 * Driven to Suicide: Subverted. Lancelot is Brainwashed into killing himself on Morgana's orders, making it appear as though he took his own life out of guilt.
 * Due to the Dead: Despite his feelings toward Lancelot, Arthur.
 * Dying as Yourself: Suggested with Lancelot.
 * Fighting From the Inside: Even though she doesn't know what's happening to her, it's clear that Gwen initially tries to fight the effects of the bracelet.
 * The Glomp: Guinevere glomps Arthur after his proposal; it's so unexpected that he needs her to clarify whether this actually means she's accepted.
 * Go Seduce My Arch-Nemesis: Inverted and Gender Flipped. Morgana sends the shade of Lancelot back to Camelot in order to seduce Guinevere, though she has no interest in Lancelot herself.
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Arthur when it comes to Lancelot, but also Morgana, who is jealous of Guinevere's elevation to the throne of Camelot.
 * Harsher in Hindsight: Arthur blindfolding Guinevere before he proposes to her is sweet and romantic at first, but given what happens to Gwen over the course of the episode, the image of her in a blindfold retrospectively gains some very disturbing conotations.
 * Heroic Breakdown: Arthur and Guinevere
 * Kissing Under the Influence: Lancelot and Guinevere.
 * Lonely Funeral: Only Merlin attends.
 * Viking Funeral
 * Malicious Slander
 * Mistaken for Cheating: Gwen (though the evidence was pretty damning).
 * Murder the Hypotenuse: From Arthur, of all people. The first thing he does when he witnesses  is to try and run him through with a sword. Even throughout their fight, when his rival loses his sword and is defenseless, Arthur is still dead-set on killing him and would have if
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Gwen, all the more tragically because she honestly doesn't know why she betrayed Arthur.
 * New Old Flame: Lancelot, to Guinevere. Also described by Morgana as her First Love.
 * New Powers as the Plot Demands: Out of nowhere, Morgana has a coin that can raise the dead. A Deleted Scene reveals that it was given to her by Morgause whilst she was in her delirium at the end of A Servant Of Two Masters. Unfortunately the scene hasn't turned up on the DVDs yet, though there's an image of it here.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Arthur versus Lancelot. Though no blood is spilled or serious injury sustained, it's made very clear that the two would have killed each other had Merlin and Guinevere not intervened.
 * One-Scene Wonder: The Dochraid
 * So Happy Together: Arthur says this nearly word-for-word.
 * Soulless Shell: Lancelot
 * Relationship Sabotage: This is the second time Morgana has tried to break up Arthur and Gwen. This time, she succeeds (for now).
 * The Bad Guy Wins: One of the few episodes where Morgana got a flawless victory in the end of the episode.
 * Not quite. Removing Gwen from Camelot has some consequences for Morgana down the line...
 * This Is Sparta: "What! Were you DOING?!"
 * Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: A Zig-Zagging Trope in regards to Lancelot and Guinevere.
 * Unwitting Pawn: Guinevere. All she did was accept a wedding gift from an old friend.
 * Wham! Episode
 * Your Cheating Heart: Morgana's plan to ruin Gwen is designed to make her look like this.