Arthuriana -- all things King Arthur ! discussion

I am falling behind but here is the topic header for anyone ready for this part of the book! I gotta catch up!

It's getting messy now.
Merlin looking weak and Lance looking very shifty.
I think very bad things loom on the horizon...least of all may be Derfel losing his left hand (with the scar).
I notice a whole bunch of couples in this book so far: the 2 bad seeds of Arthur; the 2 druids; the 2 saxon chiefs; Lance's woman that is Gwen's double...significant?
I wonder if Tris and Izy will get a mention later. King Mark is going through brides at an alarming rate, only a matter of time before he sends Tris off to fetch another.

I think Arthur's ideas are coming off worse when he is forced to deal with the world of realpolitik. His rigid ideas of honour and oaths start crumbling when faced with peace or war. Wereas earlier he risked all for Gwen he now plays the long game. Age and experience over the folly of youth?
Having said that, his ideas (battered as they are) still seem fairly intact and very naive...it's their implementation that has become more difficult.