Episode 10 begins with a pleasant moment for our heroine — the calm before the storm. She awakens in the arms of her young lover, Arthur (Devon Terrell). The two have finally consummated their season-long flirtation, and just in time, since Nimue has agreed to turn herself into the detestable King Uther (Sebastian Armesto) in exchange for the safety of her people. She is still the Queen of the Fey — for at least one more day — and she's going to make it count.
Outside the city wherein Nimue and Arthur organize the terms of their surrender, King Uther and the Red Paladins, led by the sadistic Father Carden (Peter Mullan), wait impatiently for the Fey to throw in the towel. They have the occupied city surrounded and overwhelmed, and have only offered terms to Nimue to avoid a lengthy siege. But there is dissension within the enemy ranks. Whereas Uther only wants to get his grubby little hands on Excalibur, Carden's Paladins maintain a zealous hatred of the Fey, and would like to see every last one of them exterminated. Carden proposes a fanciful, public execution of Nimue, which Uther declines.
Uther discovers his spine just in time to stand up to Carden and avoid making Nimue a martyr. The squirrely King of the Britons has already poisoned his mother to death, an act of savagery that he follows by ordering his men to run Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård) through, as well. All that, after Merlin finally told Uther he was proud of him. Without any adults in the room to advise him, Uther agrees to let the Fey escape north by ship, unharmed, as long as Nimue turns herself in and surrenders the city. Nimue agrees, but not before secreting Morgana out of the city with Excalibur to prevent the magical sword from falling into nefarious hands.
