THE PITCH
Merlyn, the ancient druid magician, walks the streets of modern New York in a very cool coat. Seeing the onward march toward militarism, Merlyn fears he has caused the worst of the world’s problems by forging powerful magics into a lasting, legendary symbol of unity in the form of a weapon. In Merlyn & Company the old wizard and his deeply skeptical long-time girlfriend (also his chauffeur/pilot) gather up a young black couple from Harlem whom he declares to be a hero and her knight, and a government agent with conflicting allegiances and loyalties. This disparate team, each member bringing his or her own value, will commit to a quest for one man’s redemption with the world hanging in the balance. To make right what Merlyn has done, they must find Excalibur and destroy it.
Merlyn & Company parallels Sherlock in bringing an iconic, beloved, delightfully public-domain character into the modern world. At the same time, because Merlyn does not reboot the character, the series gains the luxury of time-spanning flashbacks – a proven structural concept firmly established through shows such as Outlander, Quantum Leap, and of course the vastly lucrative Highlander franchise.
Starting from a barely arguable anti-war stance, this series’ first season peels back layer after layer of unnoticed bias in the Excalibur legend as we examine it through the lens of modernity. Merlyn begins with the understanding that militarism as the symbol of power has proven terrible for a cultural psyche. He comes to see the misogyny revealed in the imagery, the pre-Freudian male dominance of it, a child’s drawing seen by an adult analyst. He sees that the magic he stole for this weapon exposed the Trees of Life and Knowledge to destruction, and we come to see how these pre-Christian symbols of humanity’s connection to the wild and to intuition came to be vilified. As the story deepens, the vision widens. In his quest for redemption Merlyn reminds us that conscience can be a guide, that intent determines outcome and that action has great power in it, power that will draw armed opposition.
Fortunately, Merlyn has a noble goal, an honorable team and a very cool coat.
