the best single episodes from each series

First of all, this is not the official list of publically voted no. 1 Merlin episodes.
This is a list of my favourite Merlin episodes. I am not including double parters or finale's; I will do a separate post on that.
For this list, I will pick my one favourite episode for each series (This was not easy as there are so many amazing episodes)
I am not going to tell you the story of each episode, as you have probably watched these at least once. Instead I will explain why I love them!

Series 1
The Poisoned Chalice (episode 4)

There are a number of different reasons why this is my favourite series 1 episodes.
First of all, We see Merlin's belief in his destiny, as he drinks from the poisoned chalice, risking his life for Arthur and for Albion.
When he was drinking from the chalice, I was holding my breath, too tense to move... then Merlin said it was fine, and I breathed out.
Then he started choking and my stomach jumped.
This is the first episode that we see that Arthur does care for Merlin, and is actually willing to risk his life for him.
With a little persuasion from Morgana, Arthur defied his father and rode out to find the mortius flower in the caves in the forest of Balor.
And Merlin - wow! It was so heart-breaking and dramatic to see him so ill, but even though he was in a coma, he was able to use his magic to save Arthur and guide him to safety!
I also enjoyed watching how cunningly Arthur was able to get the mortius flower to Gaius to save Merlin despite his father (When Uther crushed the Mortius flower in his hand and said to Arthur that he would have to find a new servant I absolutely HATED HIM!).
I will finish off with the first kiss in Merlin history!

Series 2
The Lady of the Lake (episode 9)

There are so many aspects of this episode that I love.
Mainly Merlin's relationship with Freya.
When Merlin and Freya were staring at each other before the titles, I knew that Merlin would try to save her no matter what...
I loved the scenes below Camelot where Merlin was so kind to Freya... making the candle light float... giving her a magically - materialised rose...
And the kiss scene was so beautiful! The bounty hunter suddenly came down the stairs with Camelot guards, and Merlin and Freya hid just in time, then:

Then we see Merlin pacing up and down, humming, and eating soup, randomly looking at what Gaius was reading! I burst out laughing!
I love the comedy in this episode! Merlin stealing Arthur's food at every opportunity! And when Gwen catches him stealing that dress! His excuse was very simple - moths!
The last few scenes of this episode are so sad, so heart-breaking... Freya died.
This is amazing episode.

Series 3
The Queen of Hearts (episode 10)

I will start off with Morgana's nightmare. Gwen is crowned Queen, and then sits beside Arthur on a throne (And this was Morgana's idea of a nightmare???). She then contacts her sister who tells her to destroy Arthur and Gwen's relationship.
Morgana is sooooooooooo evil in this episode! Deliberately persuading Arthur to spend the day with Gwen, planning to lead Uther straight to them...
Yet every time there was a scene with Arthur and Gwen together I almost forgot Morgana's evil intentions. We get to find out more about Arthur, as with Gwen, he can be himself. He tells Gwen that he sometimes dreams of leaving Camelot. He said that he would go far away, get some land and become a farmer (Arthur: "obviously I'd take Merlin with me. He would do all the hard work")! I love all the romance in this episode. And the conversation he has with his father when Arthur admits he loves Guinevere! Uther then banishes Gwen from Camelot (I HATED HIM!).
I misjudged Morgana's evilness in this episode. I didn't suspect that she would blame Gwen for magic. Arthur was so desperate when Gwen was sentenced to death.(I HATED UTHER ALMOST AS MUCH AS MORGANA!) I loved the drama in those scenes.
Now I will move on to an entirely different part of this episode. (Merlin: "I am..")Dragoon! The Great! I LOVED all the funny scenes in this episode! Try and spot them in the clips I put in my previous post.  Merlin, disguised as his 80 year old self, saved Gwen!
So after all Morgana did to try and destroy Arthur and Gwen's relationship, she only made it stronger!

Series 4
A Servant of two Masters (episode 6)

This is one of the most funny episodes I have ever seen! But in my mind, this episode is set in three parts.
The first part is when Merlin is injured and Arthur is caring for him. After all that Merlin had done for Arthur, he fully deserved how Arthur was caring for him for a change.
The last thing Merlin did before he fainted was save Arthur with him magic - again!
The second part is when Merlin is possessed by Morgana with only one thought planted in his mind - to kill Arthur! It was lucky he was such a bad assassin! But it was incredibly funny to watch! For example: When Merlin was in the kitchens (lacing Arthur's food with poison), he passed the cook, sniffed, and said "you stink worse than your food!".(Again, try and spot them in the clips from my previous post). Also, through out the entire episode, Arthur was completely oblivious to this! In fact, He was saying that Merlin was the one person he could trust - at the same time that Merlin was running up to him behind his back with a sword! Merlin then bashed into a wall and knocked himself out. Then once Arthur was out of the room, Gwen (knowing that Merlin was possessed) knocked him out again by bashing his head with a jug! Very funny to watch!
The third part is basically Merlin as Emrys going off to Morgana's hut (bumping into the knights on the way - that was funny to watch!) to destroy the mother beast! I love that amazing battle of magic between Morgana and Emrys - especially that incredible spell that knocked Morgana out!
This episode is amazing! it shows most aspects of Merlin all in one episode -  the comedy, the danger, Morgana's hate, Merlin's amazing power, Emrys, the knights of Camelot, Arthur's caring side, Arthur's normal personality... and most importantly, the magic!

Series 5
The death song of Uther Pendragon

This episode is focused on Arthur's relationship with his Father, and how he has to chose between what he believes in, and his Father's approval.
I love the beginning of the episode when Arthur orders the head village to release a suspected witch from a stake, saying that she had not had a proper trial!
But we discovered that Arthur still missed his father, and goes and stands by his tomb on his corrrination, because it also marked Uther's death.
I loved watching the conversation Arthur and Uther had in the spirit world. Uther was so un-kind and dis-approving of Arthur, saying that he was wrong to marry Guinevere and to allow commoners to become knights. Uther's hate had definitely made him blind! But Uther was also very cunning, telling Arthur that he loved him to make Arthur look back at Uther to release his spirit!
Uther then went on to drop a chandelier on to the round table, throwing an axe at Percival, and trying and kill Gwen (HE WAS SO EVIL!).
But apart from the main, dark side of this episode, there was also some funny parts, like when Arthur threatened Merlin with a spoon, or when Merlin told sir Leon that he was teaching Arthur poetry!
The most dramatic part of this episode was when Uther was about to KILL ARTHUR(HOW COULD HE BE SO EVIL?), Merlin used his magic in front of Uther!!!!!! That scene is indescribably brilliant, let alone the episode!

So those are my favourite episodes from each series!

PS: I realise this is totaly un-Merlin related, but have you heard about the petition against a coal mine being build on the edge of the iMfolozi wilderness in South Africa? Find out more here. Once the petition is over, I will remove this text.