MERLIN: Photos from “The Wicked Day” (Spoilers)

These photos from the new episode of Merlin, The Wicked Day, are pretty spoiler-y, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, consider this your warning.

However, I am very excited about this episode especially after the things that Colin Morgan said in a recent conference call I was on. “Merlin’s great dream is to live in a land where magic is free under the rule of the greatest king ever known. And he wants to be right in the open that people can live and gather that there isn’t the segregation, that there is no hiding anymore.”

Incidentally, the photo of the old man is Emrys, aka: Colin Morgan as Merlin. Isn’t that some excellent makeup? Colin talked about that experience. “I think it freaked a lot of other people out more than me, you know, or people on the corridors and people sort of catching glimpse of me because I got a couple of breaks in-between there where they’re putting it on. It takes me 4-1/2 hours to put it on. And it’s at one stage where before they put the wig and the hair on walking about bald. And that kind of freaks a lot of people out. But I had a lot of fun doing that.”

The Wicked Day begins with a festive birthday celebration for Prince Arthur … but ends as the destinies of Arthur and the warlock Merlin come clear.

Written by Howard Overman, creator of the popular British sci-fi series Misfits, and directed by Alice Troughton, “The Wicked Day” is a pivotal episode in the saga of Camelot – and begins with the arrival of a sinister-looking visitor named The Gleeman.

Played by BAFTA award nominee Phil Davis (Vera Drake, “Sherlock”), The Gleeman appears to be part of a traveling carnival troupe, and there certainly is an extra spirit of merriment in the air, as King Uther makes his first public appearance since the betrayal and disappearance of Morgana more than a year earlier.

But when the festive day turns impossibly tragic, Arthur and Merlin must venture outside the walls of Camelot to find the one person who can possibly come to the rescue: a mysterious warlock named … Emrys.

In his Emrys disguise, Merlin offers Arthur a stunning proposition, one that actor Colin Morgan says has been a long time coming for the young warlock, who has become more worldly and more mature as the series has progressed.

“I think this episode really shows just how far Merlin has come,” Morgan says. “He knows there’s a risk in this bold decision – but his need to prove to Arthur that magic an be used for good makes him believe the opportunity outweighs the risk.”

Much rests on the offer made in “The Wicked Day” – and whether it is accepted. Morgan says its complex morality was a thrill to play. “It’s selfish reasoning on Merlin’s part,” he explains. “He wants to live in a land where magic is accepted and those who use it can be free. And, he knows if he can prove the value of magic, it will change Arthur’s opinion forever.

“That’s also a recurring theme in this entire season,” Morgan says of the fourth season of MERLIN, which attracted its biggest-ever Syfy premiere audience when it debuted on Jan. 6, and saw its audience increase further for its second episode. “All the stakes have been raised.”

“The Wicked Day” airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT Friday, Jan. 20, only on Syfy. All three seasons of MERLIN are now available on DVD and on iTunes. Be sure to follow the latest news on MERLIN at the Official Merlin page on Facebook.