Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Merlin keeps serving Arthur while concealing his magic, and Morgana begins to fear that her nightmares and visions signal a power she cannot control. Merlin tries to connect her with the Druids, but Uther treats her disappearance as a kidnapping and sends Arthur against them. Arthur’s own loyalties shift: he learns the truth about his birth through Morgause and his mother’s spirit, then returns to Camelot determined to kill Uther before Merlin convinces him the vision was a deception. Arthur and Gwen grow closer as Uther’s court faces threats from sorcerers and political rivals.
Merlin also shelters Freya, a Druid girl cursed to become a deadly beast at night. They fall in love, but when Arthur mortally wounds her transformed body, Merlin carries Freya to a nearby lake in hope of saving her. The wound is fatal; Freya thanks Merlin for making her feel loved and dies there. Merlin mourns her and sets her body afloat in a funeral boat in the episode titled “The Lady of the Lake.”
In the finale, Morgause revives the Knights of Medhir and uses Morgana as the vessel for a spell that puts Camelot to sleep. Merlin poisons Morgana to force Morgause to lift it, and Morgause leaves with her sister. Merlin then keeps his promise to free the Great Dragon, whose attack forces him and Arthur to seek the last Dragonlord. Gaius reveals that Balinor is Merlin’s father; Balinor dies during their return, and Merlin uses his inherited power to stop the Dragon. It flies free after Camelot survives.