A Review of The
Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: DailyWire+, new episodes Thursday
evenings
MPAA Rating, Not rated at the time of this review
OSV Rating, Not rated at the time of this review
Reel Rating, Four Reels
The
Arthurian legend was born from a time of great historical change, when Britian
was shifting from a Roman colony to a kingdom ruled by the Germanic Saxons.
While The Pendragon Cycle takes a high fantasy approach to the period,
it does a remarkable job capturing this important metamorphosis, especially in
the arena of faith. It also represents a new chapter for its creator Jeremy
Boreing and his media company Daily Wire, which now joins Angel Studios
and other independent media companies as fierce rivals to the old guard.
The early
episodes focus on two characters: Charis (Rose Reid) and Taliesin (James
Ardin). Charis is an Atlantean princess and refugee now living in Britain whose
crucial choice doomed her civilization. Taliesin is poor bard of mysterious
origins who possesses powers both musical and supernatural. They meet as a
clash of two worlds. She represents the ancient world of paganism, where
meaning is found in power, violence, and competition. He was like that as well
until converting to Christianity after encountering two missionaries. His power
now comes from creativity, goodness, and self-sacrifice. Like all classic
romance stories, their union is resisted, but eventually their pure love will
produce a prophet and transform the world.
The series
does an excellent job of grounding this universe in a pagan worldview where
everything is affected by the gods. This is an enchanted cosmos where storms
and other natural calamities are attributed to deities fighting the sky.
Everything is defined by domination where the strong prey on the weak. Yet,
echoes of natural virtues shine through. Charis is tempted with ultimate power
if she submits to an evil god, but she denies him. He responds by destroying
her world. Fortunately, her father manages to bring many survivors to 4th
century Britain. She worries she has doomed her people, but something deeper
tells her she did the right thing. This defiance of the gods for a more noble
purpose was used by Paul to convert the Athenians in Acts 17. He understood
their desire for wisdom and piety and steered it towards the gospel.
Like the
author of Acts, Taliesin is a former pagan who has converted to the new faith
spreading throughout Europe. His philosophy is totally opposite, relying on
love, service, and humility with no desire for conquest. He is bard and prefers
the might of the lyre to the sword. Despite his poor appearance and
impoverished means, the pagan powers melt at his songs. Charis is impressed
with the strange man who can so easily defeat the demons surrounding him and
finally learns of the God who is above all others.
One example
of this dichotomy is the reaction each worldview has to children. Twice a
newborn nearly is destroyed before being saved. For the pagans, children are
necessary for warriors and workers in society. However, if a child is deficient
in any way, they are a burden and should be killed. The Christians, however,
recognize that new life is precious to God and take steps to preserve these
children. One is reminded how Moses and Jesus are saved from wrathful men
obsessed with their own power. God values the innocent and would never command
a child be sacrificed in His Name. Instead, we are to sacrifice ourselves for
the sake of the less fortunate.
This isn’t
the first film or television series produced by the Daily Wire, but it
is the first that could easily compete with Netflix, HBO, or CBS
in quality. Every aspect of the mise-en-scene (cinematography, art direction,
props, costumes, etc) is top notch. Filmed deep in the forests of Hungary,
every scene feels deeply rooted in a magical ancient past. The writing and
acting are also spectacular while still using the conventions of old fantasy
(formal language, Old English terms, etc). Jeremy Boreing poured everything he
had into this project, and it shows.
This is made
more amazing when one considers it was a near miracle the series was released
at all. Despite being teased relentlessly for years with on location vignettes
and promotions on the Daily Wire, the actual release date remained foggy
with frequent delays and rumors of budget problems. Fan would go months without
an update. Then, about a year ago, star Brett Cooper abruptly left the Daily
Wire followed shortly by Boreing himself, throwing everything into
question. In strange providence, all this delayed gratification and suffering
was perhaps necessary to make such an amazing production. The strongest swords
are forged in the hottest fires.
The series
still has awhile to go. We have barely met Merlin, and Arthur is a long way
off. Nevertheless, if the first few episodes are any indication, we are all in
for a real treat.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on Februrary 15th, 2026.
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