The Mists of Avalon (miniseries)
Produced by American cable channel TNT, adapted by Gavin Scott, and directed by Uli Edel, the series retells Arthurian legend from the perspectives of Morgan le Fay and other women of the tale.[1] The film begins with a battered, dirty, and injured Morgaine riding in a small boat through a misty river.Morgaine (aged 8) is living with her pagan mother Igraine and Christian father Gorlois, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.Their eldest sister, Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, High Priestess of Avalon, along with Merlin, as the chief Druid, has come to Igraine with a prophecy that she will bear the king who is destined to beat the Saxons.Merlin explains that the father of the great king would be wearing a dragon on his arm, but Igraine will not agree to do their bidding.The next day, Morgaine and her aunt Morgause find that Gorlois has ordered his guards not to let the women out, or any men other than himself in.Soon after her initiation, Morgaine meets her cousin Lancelot (whose mother is Viviane), a handsome and bold warrior.Lancelot sees through the misty veil a few Christian nuns and some virgin postulants walking down a path.Arthur, having completed his training with Merlin, finds his father, Uther, in a battle against the Saxons, just before he dies.Viviane, on behalf of the Goddess, answers, and gives Arthur Excalibur in exchange for loyalty to Avalon and paganism as well as Christianity.The Bishop Patrick then weds him to Gwenhwyfar; Merlin and Viviane appear startled, this union seemingly unexpected even to them.Morgause whispers to her husband that Gwenhwyfar will never have children, making her son Gawain next in line to the throne.Morgaine is furious with Viviane for letting this abomination happen: a bastard child fathered by her own brother.Viviane wants this baby to be Arthur's heir, whose pagan roots would make him the greatest ruler Britain has ever seen.Indeed, Morgause has ample opportunity to kill him, as Morgaine is unconscious due to a fever she develops after childbirth.Her serving woman, Elaine, is ecstatic, as Lancelot (encouraged by Morgaine) has asked her to marry him (she was previously seen looking at him).Viviane is absent from her son's wedding, as the pagan banners of Pendragon have been taken down from Camelot due to Gwenhwyfar being hysterically upset with the "painted savages".Meanwhile, King Uriens discusses taking a second wife (he is a widower) with Arthur, and out of spite, Gwenhwyfar suggests Morgaine.Morgaine realizes it would be disastrous to embarrass Uriens by rejecting the marriage, as Wales is an important political ally.In despair, she crouches in the boat and lets herself float, only to be found by Igraine at the moat of Glastonbury convent, as she remains alive and living among the nuns.Morgaine goes back to Camelot, now in ruins, with various men crucified, hanged and decapitated along the walls of the palace.Mordred, having thought of Morgause as his real mother, takes his sword and kills Viviane in turn.Morgaine smiles, realizing that the Goddess has simply taken a new form, and that one day, perhaps the mists of Avalon will part again.The Mists of Avalon was watched by more than 30 million "unduplicated viewers" during its premiere; the first episode "was the highest-rated original movie of the summer on basic cable".USA Today gave the miniseries three stars out of four, crediting its success to Margulies, Huston and Allen as well as Gavin Scott's adaptation.[3][4] Hollywood.com said simply that the series "works" and that "instead of glorifying these legendary characters, Avalon fleshes out their weaknesses, desires and ultimate failures".[5] Kendal Butler of Culture Vulture felt that Hans Matheson as the adult Mordred "promptly walks off with the show" but that the overall production was hampered by "cheesiness" and failed to adequately convey the religious contention between the pagan beliefs and Christianity that were central to the novel.