Powerful Witches or Weak Damsels
81
medieval counterparts who were much more active. In helping to protect Arthur
from the plots of Morgan le Fay, for example, Kaufman comments that,
“Arthur’s instant obedience to Nyneve’s advice underscores her influence at his
court, as well as the fact that Morgan’s actions threaten to disrupt a social
organization that Nyneve herself has helped to establish” (65). This is, of course,
after she has replaced Merlin as Arthur’s advisor, and no such replacement
happens in the miniseries; since Merlin is the star character, he must be front
and center through the whole action. In counseling Merlin, the Lady of the Lake
tells Merlin that she and her sister Mab “don’t get on.” She can only provide
hints to Merlin on what he should do, besides giving him Excalibur, and in at
least one case Merlin misunderstands her advice. When she tells Merlin that the
person who can guard the throne while Arthur is on quest is at Joyous Gard
(Lancelot’s castle), Merlin finds Lancelot and Galahad there. He thinks the
person the Lady referred to is Lancelot, but it was really Galahad. Taking
Lancelot to Camelot leads to the disastrous affair between him and Guinevere.
Since the Lady of the Lake takes the passive role, and the old ways are
disappearing, she gets weaker throughout the film until by the end she
disappears.
Although Mab is the primary opponent of Merlin, the movie also includes
the character of Morgan. She is called “Morgan le Fay” once in the film, but she
is not the powerful magical figure recognizable from many written texts and
films. She has little magic, only what tricks she has learned from Frick, Mab’s
assistant. In contrast to the powerful, if cruel, figure in Excalibur, this version of
Morgan is a pathetic creature who acts childishly and sounds childish with a
pronounced lisp. Using Morgan’s superficiality to her advantage, Mab orders
Frick to offer her the appearance of beauty (it is only an illusion) in order to get
Morgan on Mab’s side. While Morgan has a very intriguing line which shows
some intelligence on the subject of beauty—“Beauty is always only an illusion,
or didn’t you know that, Merlin?”—this is the only flash of intelligence in an
otherwise childish character. She does say early on that she desires power—
immediately after Frick transforms her face to look more beautiful, she
demands, “now get me the throne.” Frick replies he cannot do that, but, “your
son could be king.” She agrees to this because (with her characteristic lisp), “I
want the cwown.” She proves she is capable of seduction, and it is interesting to
note that both Excalibur and Merlin depict the seduction/intercourse scenes of
Morgan and Arthur with Morgan on top, thus symbolizing feminine dominance
of the male in a situation that is presented in a sinister manner. Generally, the
character appears to have little power, some ambition, but no ideas about how to
go about it on her own.
The climax of the movie is the showdown between Mab and Merlin. As has
been the case throughout, Mab’s magic is aggressive and violent while Merlin’s
is defensive. Mab shoots arrows and fire balls out of her fingers, and Merlin
simply ducks to avoid them. Finally, he defeats her through the most non-violent