第 1 季，第 1 集: When young warlock Merlin arrives at Camelot, he finds himself in a place where magic is punishable by death. Yet when he finds the Great Dragon, Merlin's destiny becomes clear- he must use his magic to protect Arthur, son of Uther and future King. Merlin arrives at the gates of Camelot as a young man, sent by his mother to start a new life. Bright-eyed with wonder, Merlin steps into the square where a crowd has gathered. A man, accused by the tyrannical King Uther of using magic, is executed right before a horrified Merlin's eyes. In Camelot, the price for using magic is death. As the axe falls, an old woman, Mary Collins, swears that one day she will avenge King Uther for the death of her son, before disappearing into thin air. A shocked Merlin makes his way across Camelot to find Gaius, the Court Physician. Taken by surprise, Gaius falls from the top of a ladder: instinctively Merlin reacts and uses his magic powers to break Gaius's fall. Instead of thanking him, Gaius turns on Merlin and warns him how important it is to keep his magic a secret or else he will face certain death. As Merlin explores his new surroundings he sees a young man humiliating his manservant and decides to step in and stand up for the poor, ridiculed boy. This turns out to be a mistake on Merlin's part as he soon discovers the young man is the King's son, Prince Arthur. Merlin seems unable to heed Gaius's advice to stay out of trouble! Merlin is thrown into the stocks as punishment for fighting Arthur and he meets a young maid named Gwen, who is clearly impressed by his heroic actions. Merlin, however, doesn't seem to notice her advances... When Merlin discovers the Great Dragon he begins to understand his true destiny – he must use his abilities to protect Arthur, the future King of Albion. Merlin refuses to believe this. Mary Collins returns to take revenge on Uther's son, Arthur, and Merlin must now take control of his destiny. Will he be able to save the young Arthur in time?