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This review may contain spoilers.

This week we got to see a bit deeper into who Merlin (Colin Morgan) is in “The Moment of Truth”. We met his mother, one of his friends named William, and the town he lived in before coming to the big city. It’s about time we got some back-story on him, including the fact that his magic is what got him in trouble there as well as in Camelot.

Merlin saves his town from a power hungry warlord that wanted to destroy it, but only with the help of his friends. Gwen (Angel Coulby), Arthur (Bradley James), Morgana (Katie McGrath), and Merlin all went to go save his mother and fellow townspeople. As Merlin has rescued all of his friends or helped them all in one way or another in the recent past, they selflessly feel obligated to help him with his troubles though they are doubtful they will be successful.

Oh yeah, Merlin also almost revealed his magical gifts to Arthur, but was able to hide them in the end, thank goodness!

It is nice to see the camaraderie of the major players start to develop; sometimes it’s hard to believe that they care about one another especially with Arthur’s treatment of Merlin. This is especially evident in the next episode, “The Labyrinth of Gedref”.

In “The Labyrinth of Gedref,” Arthur appears to have forgotten about how much he cares for Merlin, and treats him like one would treat an obnoxious little brother. He torments him, calls him a ‘girl’, and makes him catch a rat for the future king. Boys will be boys!

Because Arthur pompously kills a unicorn in this episode, he must pay for his debt by passing a series of tests. If he does not, the whole town will starve to death. Apparently killing a unicorn is a massive offense to nature in the world of Camelot. Merlin knows this, and must help Arthur pass the tests to set things right again in the kingdom.

Arthur manages to pass the tests, and learns to put his future kingdom before himself even when it’s clear that Uther (Anthony Stewart Head) would not do the same thing if he were in this same predicament. From the beginning of the season, it’s been hard to imagine this Arthur becoming the legend we know him to be, but after tonight’s episode one can see that he will eventually become great. He just has a bit more growing up to do.

What Worked

The camaraderie was a plus, as well as the back-story to Merlin. Arthur’s bold move at the end of “The Labyrinth” was a precursor to him becoming the courageous and noble king.

Though Merlin is dumb enough to fall for the old “what’s that over there?” move, Arthur is willing to give his own life for his servant and drink the poison laid out before them. He passes the final test, which suggests that he is ready, and will become king sooner than we think.

What Didn’t Work

The labyrinth. Yes, it’s magic, but really…who had time to construct that massive maze, and how has it gone unnoticed all this time? And really, it only took a few minutes to get to the end. That could seem a bit far-fetched to skeptical viewers.

Not to nitpick, but the episode was more about the unicorn than the maze, so why choose that for the name? Not a big deal, but something to ponder.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Merlin" stars Colin Morgan, Bradley James (II), Richard Wilson, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby and Anthony Stewart Head. "The Moment Of Truth" was written by Ben Vanstone and directed by Dave Moore. "The Labyrinth of Gedref" was written by Howard Overman and directed by Stuart Orme.

"Merlin" airs Sundays on NBC.