Synopsis: Camelot is under attack. Arthur and Guinevere have fled and Merlin's direst prophecies have come true. Can Rory prevail before the kingdom falls?
Plot: Rory and Lancelot return to Camelot only to find it in the middle of a battle, with Merlin apparently having taken over and used magic to take control of the many knights. The two are able to find Guinevere and Arthur, the latter who was wounded in battle, and they try to come up with a plan to take back Camelot. Over the next few days Rory reluctantly gets involved in the battle and takes on the role of commander after Lancelot proves to be unable to do so, while the three try to keep Arthur from making his condition worse. During one of the last battles Rory challenges Merlin to a duel with Arthur, though later is able to arrange for him to fight in Arthur's place. The fight ends when Merlin fails to kill him using magic, breaking the rules of the duel, and Merlin claims they will meet again before using magic to escape. Arthur then dies from his injury and Guinevere becomes the sole ruler of Camelot, and Rory bids farewell to both her and Lancelot due to Merlin's threat and desire to focus on protecting the Pandorica.
Tropes
- Adaptational Badass: Guinevere fights in the battle and proves to be a natural at using a broadsword. Also Merlin of all people is actually good at using a broadsword while fighting Rory which Guinevere notes.
- Adaptational Dumbass: Once again Lancelot is this as after being made commander he somehow causes the entire army to get drunk before battle, while Arthur arrogantly refuses to listen to anyone about his injury and unsurprisingly dies.
- Adaptational Heroism: Mordred is simply a knight who was being controlled by Merlin. However like most characters from the Legends, Mordred's original portrayal was that of just a knight who died in the same battle as Arthur with no mention to what side he was on instead of being an evil knight who is directly responsible for his death. So if Lancelot actually killed him during the fight this is just an example of being Truer to the Text.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Arthur refuses to listen to anyone and acts like a child when his allies make plans of attack without him.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Since Lancelot was always a hero in the legends, the removal of his doomed affair with Guinevere means he played no role in the fall of Camelot and the death of Arthur.
- Adaptational Villainy: Merlin proves that he simply wants the throne of Camelot and the power he believes he will get from the Pandorica.
- Adaptational Wimp: If you thought Arthur was secretly a Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass in the previous two stories, this quickly proves everyone wrong as he spends more time moaning and asking Guinevere to tend to his every need except when he is refusing to listen to reason and causes his own death. Percival is also mentioned to be a stable hand who had once been close to Lancelot instead of a knight.
- All Swords Are the Same: Averted, as during the battle Rory is unable to use his broadsword since it is much heavier than the swords he is used to.
- Alternate Self: A version of Mordred previously appeared in the episode Battlefield, with this version apparently not being a villain like in the original legends.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Merlin's army is this though once he leaves the spell is broken.
- But Now I Must Go: With Merlin proclaiming revenge on Rory specifically, Rory decides to leave Camelot and focus on protecting the Pandorica.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: When Guinevere says that Rory should lead the army against Merlin he suggests that she should do it since he's just following her plan, at which point Lancelot only laughs and Guinevere points out that this would be the reaction they would get from the army if she tried to lead. However at the end when Rory announces to the crowd that Guinevere is fit to rule the people agree, suggesting that they weren't as opposed to the idea as Guinevere had believed.
- Demoted to Extra: Mordred only has a few lines and is only named while being bewitched by Merlin to fight Lancelot.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Instead of being killed by Mordred in a dramatic battle, Arthur dies from an infected injury after refusing any of the advice given to him by Rory to rest.
- The Ghost: Despite being mentioned in the first story Morgaine le Fey doesn't appear, though it's possible that most of her actions against Camelot were actually Merlin. Also both Bedivere, Malthus and Percival are mentioned to be in the battle with Lancelot, but they aren't given any focus.
- Love Confession: Lancelot proudly shouts that he loves Rory once he sees that he is beating Merlin, which surprises Guinevere. While saying goodbye Rory lets him down gently by telling him that their friendship was the best part of his time in Camelot, and Lancelot recognises that Rory is in love with Amy.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Rory has ridden a horse before, but like with any skill he finds it difficult to ride a horse again after presumably centuries of not doing so. Also while he knows how to fight with a sword he's not going to be able to use a broadsword, which is far heavier than the swords he is familiar with. And in this type of era before antibiotics and when even the smallest injury could be fatal, Arthur's refusal to listen reason results in his death.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: In the legends Mordred is Arthur's illegitimate son who killed him in battle, but Arthur claims he has no heir meaning that Mordred appears to be nothing but a ordinary knight. Also Mordred is either Gawain's cousin or half-brother in the legends, but since Rory is the basis for Gawain this isn't the case here.
- You Are in Command Now: When Arthur is announced to be dead, Lancelot tries to make Rory the new king since he defeated Merlin. Rory, not wanting the responsibility and likely thinking about how well things went when he was emperor of Rome, points out that Guinevere has already proven herself to be a great ruler and along with the crowd calls her King Guinevere.
