MERLIN: “The Hollow Queen” Showcases More Swordplay from Bradley James

In tonight’s episode of Merlin, Bradley James is excited about taking sword fights to new levels for the audience. “The challenge for us this season was to give the audience something to catch their eye. As opposed to just a generic sword fight, we’ve had to go that next step. Season Four really kicked the action of the series into gear, so we knew in this final season we had to really take it up another notch.”

The synopsis reads:

Merlin agrees to help a young Druid boy who begs for assistance, and at first his absence is barely noticed as Camelot prepares for a visit by another nearby king, fearsome Sarrum of Amata (John Shrapnel).

But as the sky darkens, so do Merlin’s suspicions. Is there more to the Druid than meets the eye? And can a man as ruthless as the Sarrum ever really be trusted? Before long, the young warlock realizes he’s made a terrible mistake.

In “The Hollow Queen” the spotlight falls squarely on Bradley James, who has come a long way since first picking up a broadsword five years ago to play Arthur.

“I wouldn’t know how I would stand up in an actual sword fight, and I wouldn’t want to find out, either, but I’m better than the average bear,” James says with a knowing laugh. “It’s been a huge bonus of the job to do all the sword fighting, and there’s some stuff in Season Five that I’m very excited to see.”

After this week, MERLIN will take a one-week break before returning to Syfy for its final five episodes.