Sir Lancelot (The Last Defender of Camelot)

Sir Lancelot is the titular main protagonist of "The Last Defender of Camelot," the second segment of the 24th episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone's 1985-1989 iteration, the episode airing in 1986. Said episode was based off a short story of the same name, written by Roger Zelazny in 1979. He is an adaptation of the legendary Arthurian knight, one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table and close companion of King Arthur, made immortal and uniting with Morgan le Fay to stop Merlin from taking over the world.
In the episode, Lancelot was portrayed by the late Richard Kiley. In the original short story, Lancelot had also been seeking the Holy Grail as a means to end his immortality, and died at the end of the story, where he finally saw a vision of the Holy Grail, unlike in the episode.
== Biography ==
=== Arthurian era ===
Lancelot lived in the early middle ages, first as lord of Joyous Gard, before moving to England, meeting King Arthur in what is now known as Cornwall, where he served as one of the Knights of the Round Table, dutifully defending the kingdom of Camelot as a knight-errand, taking up an oath to right wrongs and punish the wicked. He presumably lived through most of the classic Arthurian tales, becoming hailed as one of the greatest knights of Camelot, befriended the wizard Merlin, who he held great respect for, and fathered a son named Galahad, who joined him as a Knight of the Round Table. However, Merlin grew more obsessed with a pursuit of what he thought was peace and order, provoking several wars to unify the realm, something Lancelot refused to acknowledge, while Lancelot himself grew too close to Queen Guinevere, wife of King Arthur, the two having an affair.
Eventually, Lancelot and Guinevere's affair was exposed by Morgan le Fay, prompting King Arthur, who had been gradually brainwashed by Merlin into unquestionably following his laws, to have Guinevere burned at the stake. Lancelot managed to rescue Guinevere, seeing what had happened to Arthur, and seeing Merlin withdraw to supposedly enter a thousand-year sleep. Then, Arthur's treacherous son, Mordred, took the opportunity to betray the king and take over the kingdom. When Arthur and Mordred faced each other in the Battle of Camlann, Lancelot rushed to Arthur's aid, but arrived too late, seeing Arthur and Mordred kill each other on the battlefield. With that, Camelot fell, and when Guinevere eventually died, Lancelot believed he would soon follow, but despite growing old, he simply kept living, far beyond a natural human lifespan.
=== Wandering mercenary ===
In the years after the fall of Camelot, Lancelot began to wander the world, deciding to uphold his knightly oath, and thus served as a mercenary that wandered the world throughout the centuries, even serving in the Crusades. Throughout history, he saw the vast changes in the world, from weapons technologies to greater societal developments, such as the decline of monarchies and rise of democracy, although as time went on, Lancelot found that it became harder to discern what was wrong, and who was wicked. After centuries of war and bloodshed, seeing the world develop both for better and for worse, Lancelot gave up on war, seeing the World Wars and subsequent conflicts pass without his involvement. Throughout his long life, while his external appearance aged, he retained his youthful strength and fighting skills.
=== The Last Defender of Camelot ===
In 1986, Lancelot lived in London under the name Mr. Lake. One night, he got a strange desire to take a vacation in Cornwall, but as he prepared to depart, he was suddenly assaulted by a group of thugs who tried to take him with them. However, Lancelot easily fought them off, managing to grab one of them, a young man named Tom. Tom pleaded for his life, saying that they were only ordered to bring Lancelot to "her." Lancelot demanded to be taken to "her," and was led to a nearby psychic's shop, where a woman sitting in shadows awaited him. Lancelot confronted the woman and demanded to know what she wanted, but she revealed that she knew his name. When asked if he believed in magic, Lancelot had Tom sent away, and when the woman called him a knight and champion, Lancelot turned on a nearby light, revealing the woman as Morgan le Fay, who asked if he had any smile for an old friend. Lancelot, still regarding Morgan as an enemy of Camelot, rebuked her, and stated that he thought he was the last of Camelot, starting to tell her about the other wars he fought in, before stopping himself. He then told Morgan that he felt tired, but believed that his immortality was a curse he must bear due to his sin, referring to his affair with Guinevere. When Morgan questioned it, Lancelot told Morgan that she had no morals, but Morgan brushed it aside, instead showing Lancelot an image of Merlin, still alive, in a magic-induced sleep in Cornwall, revealing that she had him lured there to make him sleep forever, and that Merlin's own powers were influencing Lancelot, inciting him to go to Cornwall.
Morgan also said that Merlin was the one who made Lancelot immortal, likely for a loyal champion, a friend in a strange time, and cannon fodder. Lancelot said that he could forgive Morgan after seeing the vision, but Morgan told him to save it, saying that Merlin was the one who needed forgiveness. When Lancelot tried to protest, Morgan told him how Merlin was willing to commit or pardon any crime that served his policies, how he started as many conflicts as needed to make Camelot strong, and how he helped Uther Pendragon rape her mother. When she brought up Arthur trying to execute Guinevere, Lancelot tried bringing up Merlin's law, making Morgan remind him that adultery was against Merlin's law as well. Lancelot, angered, stood up, but Morgan apologized, Lancelot saying that Merlin could not have intended for all that came to pass. Morgan tried to say that Merlin was dangerous, but Lancelot still wanted to help his old friend, and asked to take Tom with him. Morgan accepted, and teleported the two to Cornwall after giving them flashlights.
After arriving, Tom was shocked by the display of magic, but Lancelot consoled him, also telling him of how Cornwall was where he first met Arthur. He then had Tom wait outside while he entered the nearby cave, finding an empty suit of armor, which he then saw move and point him to a chamber. Entering the indicated chamber, Lancelot found Merlin, who was beginning to awaken, and asked him for a nearby magic elixir. Lancelot had Merlin drink some of it, which revived him. Merlin, happy to see his old friend at long last, asked him about the state of the world. Lancelot responded that wars, injustice, and oppression still existed, which prompted Merlin to declare that they must not leave their task unfinished, summoning his staff while praising Lancelot's reliability and combat prowess. However, Lancelot told Merlin about how he gave up war, not knowing what any of them were for, or what they achieved. Merlin asked him about his oath, saying that Galahad wouldn't have abandoned his oath, and asked Lancelot if he would be at his side when he placed a new king on the throne of England. Lancelot instead clarified that kings had become mere figureheads, but Merlin was baffled by the concept of democracy, not believing that "peasants" could know what was right for them. Lancelot again told Merlin that things had changed drastically, citing nuclear weapons and states that dwarfed Camelot in size, saying the modern world had no room for mistakes. When Merlin claimed he made no mistakes, Lancelot reminded him that he slept through the fall of Camelot, recounting the battle of Camlann, and demanded to not be a part of Merlin's schemes, saying their power is gone. However, more of Merlin's powers returned, and he demonstrated by summoning a thunderstorm and making the animated armor, referred to as his hollow knight, walk over to him.
Lancelot clarified that he never doubted Merlin's good intentions or powers, only his judgement, so Merlin walked out with Lancelot, taking the walking armor with them as Tom entered. Merlin asked who Tom was, and when Lancelot said Tom was his squire, Merlin was disgusted, seeing that Tom lacked even the most basic aspects of classic knightly chivalry, saying he wanted to turn Tom into a goose on the spot. When Tom tried to protest, Lancelot clarified that magic was now unknown to the world, and Merlin ordered the two to follow him outside. Outside, Lancelot felt cold, briefly returning to the cave to retrieve his scarf. When Lancelot returned, Merlin then revealed that he had transported them to "true" Stonehenge, a barren interdimensional plane, and then told Lancelot that he purposefully had Lancelot bring someone "unworthy" to him to be sacrificed in order to fully regain his powers, asking Tom to step closer for a painless death. Tom tried to protest, but Lancelot, recognizing that Merlin could easily destroy Tom, intervened and said that he could not allow this. In response, Merlin had the hollow knight approach Tom. Lancelot said he did not fear an empty suit, as he believed he could easily dismantle it. Merlin, however, revealed that he had removed the spell that made Lancelot immortal, as Lancelot's power was something even a wizard feared. The hollow knight then restrained Tom, angering Lancelot, who demanded a sword and horse to fight the animated armor. Merlin mocked Lancelot, saying that he couldn't even lift a weapon, expressing that he had half a mind to let him try anyways. Just then, Morgan le Fay entered the plane, telling Merlin that he had half a mind and nothing else.
Merlin, outraged that Lancelot would work with a supposed sworn enemy of Camelot, ordered Lancelot to step forward to get his armaments, also having the hollow knight release Tom on Lancelot's command. Merlin then summoned Lancelot's armor and weapons, but rendered the armor black in color, denouncing Lancelot as a traitor to Camelot. Lancelot, unfazed, responded that it was not the color of the armor that mattered, just the man within, and had Tom help him put the armor on. Once dressed, Lancelot practiced with his sword, showing that he still had his strength. Merlin demanded to know how Lancelot still had his strength, and Lancelot revealed that he anticipated Merlin's actions, so when he went back for his coat, he drank the rest of Merlin's elixir, nullifying the effects of the spell's removal. With that, Merlin sent the hollow knight forward, where it dueled Lancelot in fierce combat, managing to knock Lancelot down and make him drop his shield. Lancelot recovered and kept fighting, cutting off one of the hollow knight's arms and its helmet, but it kept fighting regardless. Merlin then tried to empower the empty armor with his staff, prompting Morgan to attack him with her powers, but Merlin quickly overpowered and fatally wounded her with his own magic. Then, Lancelot managed to stab the hollow knight through the chest, undoing the spell that animated it and making it vanish. Merlin then attacked Lancelot directly, but Lancelot blocked with his shield as he advanced, where Merlin tried to cast a protective spell by holding out his staff, but due to his weakened power, Lancelot was able to cut clean through his staff. Merlin then asked Lancelot to finish the job and kill him, but Lancelot clarified that his killing days were done, throwing down his sword. Regardless, without his staff, Merlin lost his power, and began to rapidly age, bidding his old friend farewell as his body faded into nothingness.
With Merlin dead, Lancelot removed his helmet, and approached the dying Morgan, who only asked for some "good press" out of the events. Tom, trying to comfort her, wanted to believe she could survive, but Morgan instead directed the two to a magic road that would return them to London by taking the right fork, admitting that she finally saw what Guinevere saw in Lancelot. She then died in Lancelot's arms, and Tom, struck by grief, cursed at Merlin's empty robes. However, Lancelot silenced him, saying that Merlin was just an old man who had slept too long and dreamt too hard. After respectfully kissing the hand of Morgan le Fay, Lancelot removed his armor and departed down the road with Tom. However, when they reached the fork in the road, Lancelot saw a vision of a classic castle, possibly a reborn Camelot, down the left fork, becoming entranced by it. Ignoring Tom trying to tell him that London was down the right fork, Lancelot went down the left fork, soon followed by Tom.
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