By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 1 minute ago

When I reviewed the first two episodes of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin, I said it wasn’t a prestige show. I was wrong.

The Pendragon Cycle Gives Merlin A Magical Presence

Episode 3 of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin picks up an unspecified number of years after the end of episode 2. The baby Merlin is now a golden-eyed adult, played by Tom Sharp, who has been riding with the “Sons of Constance,” Aurellius and Uther, in their quest to unite the fragmented England into a single kingdom under a high king. The last high king didn’t fare so well, and the three men are hoping to install Aurellius in his place. They go to Ynis Avallach for a well-deserved rest before Merlin and Uther take off to go rally more aid.

Aid is needed because the Saxons have been threatening and raiding along the coast. Ynis Avallach is weakened and unable to provide military support, but has been harboring refugees among the Britons. Everyone, from Avallach to the Maridunum and Belgae monarchies to Morgain, who is married and living on the Isle of Fear, is afraid of the Saxon threat and is protecting themselves by hoarding resources or isolating themselves.

Politics are tense, and negotiations are happening just as often at the end of a sword as by diplomacy. War is about to erupt, and divided, the regional kings of England are not strong enough to defend themselves. In the midst of all this is an aloof Merlin, initiated in the ways of his people but sure that something is missing, and having visions of a young woman. He is also certain of another magical presence observing his every move.

The Rise Of Merlin Delivers Beautiful People And Gorgeous Vistas

This third installment of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is a vast improvement over the other two. The effects are awesome, treating us to ornate castles and frightening visions; gone are the cheesy CGI keeps of the first two episodes. They are embedded in sweeping shots of gorgeous vistas of seaside cliffs, lush valleys, and primeval forests. The Britons live in very well-designed sets built to resemble period wooden keeps. Visually, this episode knocks it out of the park.

Awesome natural views are not the only things that make the episode beautiful. Ynis Avallach is awash in white and green, with Charis managing the crisis there in her usual stunning, ethereal white. She takes on even more of the unearthly air that defined her in the first episodes, even as her character is more grounded in the events around her. Morgain, in contrast, is dressed in rich greens and feathery blacks, an earthy combination that honors her femininity as much as it remains modest.

The men, more active in the story, are clad in the blacks and browns of travelers rather than the rich robes of those they’ve left behind. This gives them a chance to go hunting and camping, get dirty, and for Myles Clohessy as Uther to show off his shirtless physique, muscular but not overbuilt. Even with the significant influence of the two Atlantean ladies involved in events, this episode is all about the men and their quest.

Incredible Performances Carry This New King Arthur Show

There’s even a great buddy comedy between Uther and Merlin’s steward, Penelaus, which is a great cue to talk about the acting. One of my only three complaints about the episode and the performances of the numerous actors who appeared was that, once or twice, someone let out an anguished cry or a shout that was out of place and overemphatic.

Otherwise, the acting is incredible: Merlin’s smoldering intensity, Uther’s fiery temper, the hesitant nervousness of King Taldric, the grim determination of Rose Reid’s Charis, and Arellius’s idealism are all to be commended. An intense negotiation between some of the men builds significant tension because it is so well-performed (except for a single Anakin Skywalker “Noooooooo!”).

In the first two episodes, my favorite performer was Emree Franklin for her layered, nuanced portrayal of Morgain. In this episode, she doesn’t disappoint, emanating strong feminine power and demonstrating that she has her husband and sons wrapped around her finger without breaking a sweat. Rose Reid represents her foil, using her dignified strength to portray Charis as she handles things her own way.

But the show is stolen by Alex Laurence-Phillips as Pelleas. This actor conveys more with his face in scenes with no lines than a thousand lines of dialogue. His reactions to what is happening around him are priceless, and his banter with Uther is comic relief for what could have been a very heavy episode.

A Tale Of Two Amazing Scenes

While the majority of The Rise of Merlin’s third episode is focused on diplomatic negotiations between leaders who are proud, angry, and desperate, the political maneuvering is engrossing. The comic relief between verbal battles is essential to the flow of the episode, otherwise you’d need a Xanax by the end.

However, there are two scenes in particular that I need to single out for their excellent screenwriting and the framing by which they were presented.

The first is a presentation of two opposing points of view in two different conversations. The perspective of this intertwined scene shifts between the two discussions, comparing and contrasting how they relate to one another and to the show’s complicated politics. The technique of aligning these conversations side by side rather than as separate scenes is riveting and relevant because it shows how these perspectives bypass and misunderstand one another.

The second tandem scene that deserves recognition is a feast of production value, featuring two battles that unfold concurrently. With tight frames, we are brought closely into the action in the same way as some of the hardest-hitting battles in Game of Thrones (I was reminded specifically of the “Battle of the Bastards”). Once again, our perspective is switched from one fight to the other, brilliantly centered in all the action. The color contrast between the two skirmishes makes them easy to follow, even in all the chaos. The tandem presentation connects all the episode’s events into a beautiful, unified whole.

Room For Improvement In The Pendragon Cycle

For all the praise I have lavished upon this episode, there were some glaring flaws. I already mentioned the occasional overacting. This was further amplified by the inclusion of so many characters that I lost track of some of their names (e.g. I think his name was King Taldric?). All the important characters are easily identifiable, but ancillary characters are easy to get lost in, and conversations drop names of people that I’m not sure turned up on-screen.

Another major issue is that Merlin’s eyes look fake. The character is said to have golden eyes, similar to those of the bird he was named for. The problem is that the contact lenses the actor is wearing look more like bad CGI in many scenes. I’m not sure they weren’t. Since Merlin is the main character of the show, it is very distracting when his eyes are highlighted in a way that makes them stand out more than they normally do.

How Christian Is This Christian King Arthur Show?

One other thing to note is that while magic is discussed and used in the episode, Christianity is not as prominently emphasized. This is somewhat of a break from the first two episodes, which were very preachy.

Magic and the pagan gods have not been disrespected in this series so far, but have been shown as primal and demanding forces of nature, contrasted with a giving and benevolent Christian god. However, little of that is featured in this episode, and Merlin is still wearing his druidic spiral on his cheek. Future episodes will pick that thread back up, but so far, I have been impressed with how religion has been handled by a show that was expected to be very heavy-handed.

The Pendragon Cycle Levels Up In Episode Three

Overall, Jeremy Boreing has done a wonderful job adapting this story, and the third episode shows that The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is learning and improving. As it goes along, production values are becoming sharper and the majority of its effects are getting better. If the next four episodes are as good as this one was, The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin will absolutely earn its place among prestige epics.

THE PENDRAGON CYCLE EPISODE 3 REVIEW SCORE

The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is streaming on Daily Wire+. Episodes drop on Thursdays.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will be easy if you’re a fan of pro racing and tennis.

As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Football Positions, Abbreviated

• Green: Members of the 500-HR Club

• Blue: First Names of QBs to Throw 500 Career TDs

• Purple: ___500

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #500 is…

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Football Positions, Abbreviated – CB, OT, S, TE

• Members of the 500-HR Club – BANKS, BONDS, FOXX, KILLEBREW

• First Names of QBs to Throw 500 Career TDs – AARON, DREW, PEYTON, TOM

• ___500 – ATP, DAYTONA, INDY, WTA

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 5 Pips

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 5. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally; 5-2, placed vertically; 5-4, placed vertically.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 5-4, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this orange space must be equal to 0. The answer is 1-0, placed vertically; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 5 Pips

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-5, placed vertically; 2-2, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-2, placed vertically.

Equal (2): Everything in this green space must be equal to 2. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically; 3-2, placed vertically.

Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 1-2, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 5 Pips

Number (5): Everything in this orange space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-1, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to 5. The answer is 5-1, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed vertically.

Number (18): Everything in this space must add up to 18. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 6-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 6-0, placed vertically.

Number (5): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Everything in this purple space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 4-3, placed vertically; 4-2, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this green space must be equal to 2. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this light blue space must be equal to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally; 3-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this dark blue space must be equal to 0. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 2-5, placed vertically; 0-5, placed horizontally.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.