@F_F_Podcast, I'm a few episodes behind, so sorry in advance, but one thing a felt a little bereft on in Eye of the Phoenix was the way Arthur and Gwaine were described as "courage" and "strength" by the gatekeeper, Grettir (who I wish we saw infinitely more of in the episode).

Arthur is obviously courageous, in that it took a lot of courage to go on the quest to the Perilous lands. But he could also be Strength - he bore the weight of the eye of the phoenix across the Perilous lands, and still fought off a bunch of enemy knights, too.

There's also something to be said for the continual strength Arthur demonstrates throughout the series, finding the will to go on and lead Camelot after countless betrayals from those he loves.

And then, with regards to Gwaine... he's obviously much more than the just the muscle of the trio, and aside from killing that one wyvern, he doesn't do much sword-swinging during the meat of the quest. I think he does better as "Courage" here.

He's more annoyed than afraid when Grettir turns his sword into a bunch of lilies, and he demonstrates persistent calm with Merlin when they're camping and hear the wyvern nearby in the wilderness. That speaks more to me of his courageous qualities.

Basically, in an episode that was so structured around the classic fairy tale, where each little detail is meant to play a role in the overall story, I felt like the ambiguity of Arthur's and Gwaine's titles took away from that mostly clean-cut part of the episode.

AND ANOTHER THING. If we were to take "Magic" a little less literally here... Gwaine is the good luck charm that comes out of nowhere and gives Arthur and Merlin an edge over their enemies and the trials they face. Arthur's life has been shaped by magic, from birth and into

many of his later experiences (attempted assassinations, mostly). Merlin is magic (and there's something to be said about him being the Embodiment of Magic, for sure), but he's also incredibly courageous and has demonstrated a lot of emotional resiliency and strength in general.

The writers could have done something really, really cool with the ambiguity of Grettir's prophecy, but the lack of intentionality just makes the thing sort of fall flat. Otherwise, a great episode, and the music in the last minute of the Fisher King scene gives me CHILLS.