Posted by Jennifer Asencio | Published
The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of Merlin premiered on the Daily Wire on January 22, 2026. Billed as “not the Camelot you know, but the origin story of the legend itself,” it tells the story of Merlin, his father Taliesin, and his guardian Arthur. The Daily Wire has released the first two episodes for advanced viewing to its VIP subscribers and media, and Giant Freakin Robot is worth checking out.
Let’s cut to the chase: Produced by The Daily Wire The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of Merlinso there are certain expectations that go along with it. It’s not the same HBO prestige show Game of Thronesand is shown in a service known for telling stories in a linear fashion, e.g Run, Hide, Fight again Ladyballers.
Some viewers may not be able to handle heavy religious songs or characters that are authentic to the setting rather than freely engaging. If you’re looking for your own male and Christian fantasy, this is the show for you. If a classic Arthurian fantasy with Christian overtones offends you, Rings of Power it’s on Amazon Prime.
Atlantis is a Player in the Pendragon Cycle
source material, The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead, a men’s fantasy series based on Celtic and Arthurian mythology; it is a man’s answer to a strong woman Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The rise of Merlin includes the first two books, Taliesin again Merlin; The preview episodes follow the love between Merlin’s parents, Taliesin and Charis, and their conversion to Christianity amid warring states and an impending invasion.
The usual Camelot full of Mallory-inspired knights in shining silver armor is replaced by a historical background that focuses on the fourth to sixth centuries, which are, shall we say, “interesting times” in the British Isles. As the Romans were leaving, Christianity was coming in, and various Celtic tribes were fighting for dominance over England while at the same time trying to keep the original Irish. This confluence of religious, ethnic, and cultural conflicts sets the scene for Lawhead’s books.
We are shown the interaction of two displaced kingdoms, the Cymry and the Atlanteans, both moving to the same place after their territories were destroyed. Charis is a princess of Atlantis who lost faith in the gods of her people on the day her home’s destruction was predicted, while Taliesin is an abandoned orphan found on the banks of a river by Cymry’s heir and eventual leader Elphin, and trained all his life in the ways of the druids. He, too, lost his faith when he faced the old god Cernunnos, but he is gifted with bad luck who has realized that there is something else on the horizon.
However, as the couple grows closer, the world around them becomes more and more hostile. The Atlanteans and the Cymry do not get along, and there is a threat of an attack by Gaulish forces from across the sea. In addition, there is Morgain, Charis’ fierce sister, who has adopted the art of dark magic as a way to escape Charis’ shadow.
Prestige Worthy Material, Even If Not Made by Big Hollywood
Filled with court intrigue, political conflict, magic, and drama, the first episodes of The Pendragon Cycle offer a window into the world of what would have been a hit show if it had been made by a more established studio. It has the same production quality as the most ambitious projects of the SYFY channel in the 2000s, period FarscapeStargate shows, and Frank Herbert’s Dune.
I raise these examples to say that Daily Wire is still starting to develop as a high-quality film studio, but it has made its most ambitious project and demonstrated its potential. It has all the grand scale of an epic, spanning ages and using ancient and exotic settings.
Flaws in design are visible and sometimes glaring. Elphin, played by Duran Fulton Brown, has grown up in his twenties with the use of ugly wigs and a smart moustache. Siege is a combination of obvious CGI and amateurish set design, capped off by the comical appearance of its woad-encrusted attackers. The constant siege by the green-painted Picts was real, but the scene was made to look cartoonish. Don’t get me wrong, the siege is cool, but I found it did more to spark my imagination than impress me with what was on the screen.
However, in some places, the picture is strong and clear. The ancient gods of the Atlanteans and the Cymry are terrifying visions in the indifferent world of wild nature. They are compared to the wonderful light of Christian divinity. Rose Reid, as the king’s Charis, is introduced to the British in pure white, sitting in the middle of a ruined church found by the surrounding forest, emphasizing her earthy beauty.
Made for Christian Conservatives, But Sexy and Violent
Many other popular shows rely on shock and gags to keep the audience in suspense. Although The rise of Merlin made for a conservative audience, it does not ban violence or sensuality. Charis and Morgain are both attractive women, and we are teased with elaborately tailored costumes, but they are never shown anything in public, even when the couple ends their union.
The plot is compelling at times, moving through vivid scenes and situations. Emree Franklin feels Morgain’s heartbreaking pain well, and the couple’s plot and supernatural conflict moves as far as the two one-hour episodes allow.
However, The Pendragon Cycle and it suffers from the slow-moving effects that come from compressing the entire novel into two episodes. There are times when it feels rushed and confusing. Political complexities are easy to lose sight of. I had to look up the Cymry name because it wasn’t clear in the discussion. The scenes in Atlantis are strange until you realize it’s not supposed to be ancient Rome (the leaping bull it depicts is actually Minoan, from which Lawhead took his inspiration from the Atlanteans).
However the show is slow at times, sometimes lingering too long on their game scenes, making them feel like a soap opera. This is often punctuated by extreme anger, sad or apocalyptic crying, and a feeling of “get on with it already.”
Pendragon Mixes Ancient Magic and Come to Jesus Times
Although it pushes Christianity as the “One True God” during the actual coming of Jesus, it also acknowledges the power of the ancient gods, symbolizing both the Celtic god Cernunnos and the Atlantean god Bel. This battle of the gods reflects Anglo-Saxon thought, as reflected in a contemporary source that records traditional cures for “water elf disease” and the pain caused by hags and malevolent gods.
The show also doesn’t shy away from magic: the supernatural was a vital element in the Celts from which the Arthurian legend arose, and the text recognizes how much of a part of life it was, adding positive aspects to the pre-Anglo-Saxon spiritual world. Spiritual warfare was going on at all times of the day.
Morgain is such a formidable opponent that court magic refuses to train her, and her forays into the dark arts are said to be her powers. The point is not that magic and the old gods did not exist, but that the Christian god is better. It might be a bit of a stretch for this idea, but that’s canon.
King Arthur Must Be A Christian Legend
I am not a Christian myself, but I cannot ignore the strong Christian influence in the Arthurian legend as we know it. Mallory’s The Morte d’Arthur it’s where we get most of our ideas about mythology, about knights in silver and great castles. This image persists despite its origins in myths and legends cycles that go back almost a thousand years before the famous poem.
King Arthur has always been “chosen by God” to unite England, up to and including the famous quest for the Holy Grail, and even figures like Merlin and Morgana Le Fay who manipulate events. The outrage at the presence of Christianity in the Arthurian legend completely ignores the essence and purpose of creating the legends of King Arthur in the first place.
The Pendragon Cycle: The Rise of Merlin represents the Daily Wire’s latest attempt to cut Hollywood from entertainment. It’s an attempt at a celebrity show that doesn’t rely on sex and violence to drive it forward, but also doesn’t ignore those elements. It’s not poorly produced or poorly produced, and the effort is evident, but not enough to hide its low quality or over-preaching.
The Pendragon Cycle it’s interesting enough to justify checking out the other five episodes when they’re released on Daily Wire+. I never saw the shocking ending of the second episode. It has everything a good show could ask for, without the budget. But that hasn’t stopped other made-for-air shows from becoming hits, and it shouldn’t The rise of Merlinor.
The Pendragon Cycle: The rise of Merlin premieres on Daily Wire+ on January 22, 2026.
