Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is all about showing some love to the little-known, sadly short-lived, and tragically underrated television show Camelot from 2011! So I have mentioned this show in other posts and videos when I was talking about some of my favorite portrayals of Morgan le Fay and Guinevere, but after recently re-watching the series I thought it was time to give the show its own post.
Today, I want to explain a bit about why I enjoy this show so much, despite it only ever having ten episodes. Firstly, the cast was really great on this show. Jamie Campbell Bower played Arthur, Joseph Fiennes played Merlin, Eva Green played Morgan, Tamsin Egerton played Guinevere, and Claire Forlani played Igraine! Now, I have talked about how great Eva Green is, especially when playing a witchy and wicked character, and that is what makes her portrayal of Morgan so delightful. As a cool bonus for those of us who love Arthurian media, Tamsin Egerton, who played Guinevere here, had previously played the young version of Morgaine in the mini-series adaptation of The Mists of Avalon! That little fact always made me very happy, as she was great as both of my favorite Arthurian women in turn. It was also very nice to see Igraine featured in this version at all since Arthur’s mother is so rarely featured in adaptations.
I want to note that this version is rather unique to other adaptations of the legends, as it takes much of its inspiration from the older Welsh tales. For instance, Lancelot does not appear here, and most of the Knights in the show are the older Knights from the legends. It also takes the less common variation of Morgan’s parentage by having her be Uther’s daughter from a previous marriage, who had been sent away to a nunnery, which is where she learned her magick. One of my favorite things about this version of the Legends is that we get a truly likable Arthur! This is a sadly rare occurrence, as he is most often portrayed as a King obsessed with Knightly quests and one who ignored his Queen, which led to her being open to falling in love with another. Largely it is Arthur’s own poor decisions and lack of respect for the women in his life that leads to his own undoing in the legends!
Now, this version, on the other hand, does not have a Lancelot, so much of Lancelot’s chivalry, respect, and romantic ideals are given to Arthur here. We even have the famed Arthurian love triangle turned on its ear, with Arthur falling in love with Guinevere (and she with him) when she is already betrothed to marry one of his Knights. He is even forced to perform the marriage ceremony, given he is the King! So, needless to say, with the utter romance between Arthur and Guinevere, this is one of the only times that I truly root for them as a couple, given there is actually true love there. Finally, the last thing I want to mention is small but really makes me happy when I watch it, the scenery is absolutely stunning! There are so many lovely outdoor scenes in the woods, on the beach, overlooking bluffs, and that is part of what makes the ambiance of the series so beautiful.
It is such a lovely little ride of a show, that makes the viewer wish it had been able to be renewed and continue its version of the Arthuriad. Alas, that was not to be, but we did get ten excellent episodes! I do have to note that although this does not matter to me, there is a lot of sex and nudity in this series, as it was a Starz show. I think that the sexuality and nudity fit the plot, after all, we are watching the exploits of Knights and Kings during the Dark Ages! But I wanted to mention it since I know not everyone likes that sort of show.
I hope you have enjoyed this post giving some much-deserved love to a tragically underrated show. Have you seen this series? Do you plan to watch it now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a promotional poster of Arthur and Guinevere. I found the image on https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/camelot.
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Further Watching
- Camelot (2011)
6 responses to “We Need to Talk About Camelot (2011)!”
Apologies, but I respectfully disagree.
Arthur being given Lancelot’s romantic aspect (also in BBC Merlin, The Winter King, quite a trend) gives elitist vibes. What’s wrong with just portraying Lancelot instead of trying to make the king look better? Guinevere is degraded also because she has power over Lancelot, but none over Arthur. If she loves Arthur, she’s not transgressing or threatening his rule. She’s a do-nothing powerless trophy for the author’s favourite. You can’t even say that she’s chosing her lover for herself, it’s like rewriting Anna Karenina to make Anna “chose” Karenin and trying to pass it off as progressive. It’s weird, and you’d think the message of “what the king wants, he gets, and rightfully so” wouldn’t go so unexamined in 2011.
I believe Camelot actually claimed to be an adaption of Malory which is laughable.
We are all entitled to our own opinions. I certainly would have preferred to see Lancelot, however, when we look at older versions of the Arthuriad it was common for Guinevere to have other Knightly lovers (as Lancelot did not appear until Chretien de Troyes). I simply enjoy the willingness to change the format up and have Arthur be more likable. Frankly Guinevere is degraded in general, and I LOATHE that she is. It is what truly brings about Arthur’s downfall, he loses the blessing of the land when he loses Guinevere’s love! Yet, she is far from powerless, she is a young woman who is trying to navigate Court life and her own emotions during a time of great change. There’s a difference between being powerless and being pragmatic in trying to survive the best she can, all the while feeling guilt over her feelings for a man she is not married to.
Thank you for the reply-
I’m aware Guinevere has other traditions (as does Lancelot), but no where in legit texts does Arthur have Lancelot’s role of having a forbidden love affair with her, being loyal to her and only sleeping with another due to disguise, rejecting Elaine for her, and being compared to Tristan like in Camelot, Merlin and quite a few other screen adaptions. As you recognize, the intent is to uplift Arthur at the expense of his knights, but I believe where we differ is whether that is good.
And Guinevere IS weakened. Due to the modern preoccupation with a courtship medieval works couldn’t care less about, she’s frequently not even depicted as a queen. And without that or coveting the crown she has no political dimension. She’s not the only one, it’s true of the women of the Matter in general. It’s unfortunate that House of the Dragon is a more authentic Arthurian adaption than actual Arthurian adaptions.
I understand where you are coming from. However, we need to recognize that the nature of myth and legend is that they inherently evolve over time. Modern depictions of Guinevere, including this Camelot show, tend to not demonize her by looking at her situation with nuance. Yes she is an adulteress, but she also feels guilt and a lot of complex emotions, making it easier for people to understand her. Plus, making her ‘not a Queen’ doesn’t inherently make her have no political power, in fact countless King’s Mistresses had immense power in real history! Look at Diane de Potiers, Madame de Pompadour, and Athenais de Montespan. All three had more power at court, and even at times more reverence than the Queen herself! That is where your argument that Guinevere is weakened falls flat for me, as she is clearly shown in a sympathetic light, which makes a modern audience understand her and her motives better and possibly encourage them to study her tales more in-depth, and again not being a Queen DOES NOT rob her of power, as historically King’s Mistresses did hold power! Plus if we get technical, by the end of the series she is widowed and it is STRONGLY implied that Arthur will marry her and make her Queen, we just didn’t get confirmation due to the show not having another season.
Eva Green was AMAZING in this series!!! It’s definitely not my favorite Arthurian depiction on film but I do think Eva Green’s Morgana is ICONIC. 🔥
Totally agreed! Not my favorite, but I do think it’s underrated for some of its performances!