Merlin ep 3.13
12/5/10 06:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
green_appleIt was not perfect, I'll give you that right off the bat. The things that didn't quite work for me, were small in comparison to the ones that did. And there was a lot packed into this one episode, so it's not small feat, methinks.
What Worked.
GWEN. As usual, let's start at the beginning. She was perfect. Effective, resourceful, steadfast and clever. Complete with the provision of gender-reversals in ways I was not expecting. I mean, she's the moleand it does not involve her bedding the person she's spying on. She plans the scape and handles the details and the execution of it entirely on her own. It was a Sound Plan, only mildly foiled by Morgana's distrust. The best pre-reunion visual for me, though, has to be her smithing a spare key in her kitchen, wearing her pink dress. Like, who needs swordfights when you can be this much of a BAMF without singing steel?
And then, she wears the pants while Leon wears the dress. In case ya hand't noticed who the rescuee/damsel in distress was here. We also get her taking her place at the Round Table and while she does get left behind to tend for the old man and future potential wounded (code for 'safely out of danger'), she remains strong and steadfast, stoically accepting her part and gracefully assuming it, not to mention the fact that at this point she still thought there were appearances to maintain in front ofgod and everybody the knights. I loved how she didn't break down and begged for Arthur to make sure he came back to her, she knew the risks and still she hoped for the best because this is Gwen, but always, always steady and firm, because this is Gwen. This is what makes her strong.
Another interesting visual is her and Arthur's final scene where she is the one leading the knights into Camelot, the iconic image of this group of Knights with flowing red capes and shining armor entering the Castle's courtyard was not given to Arthur, but to her, she's at the head of the procession instead of in the middle of it as would have been expected for a mere escort (which in and of itself is quite HUGE in terms of what it says about her place in the future of Camelot). It's almost as though she's the one bringing these knights to Arthur and not them bringing her back.
Hearts. In my eyes.
MERLIN was in truly fine form too, sending out word to Lancelot which amounts to rallying allies for their cause, being there for Arthur to pep-talk him out of his depression and into action, having romantic (ish) redez-vouz with lost lovers. This scene was so touching, btw, especially because he didn't get to say goodbye, when he turned back around to the poodle, she was gone. His face when that sword emerged from the water. HIS FACE. The dragon was well used here, I think, for once his advice makes sense and Merlin sees how it does, he proclaims what we, the viewers, knew or suspected but Merlin did not, that his allegiance is to Merlin, not to Arthur or to a dreamed future Camelot, he helps because Merlin asks him to (this time it wasn't an order), not because of some abstract ideal, a nice touch that brings back the tenderness of his caring for Merlin back in 3.02.
I was a bit peeved that he got to wield Excalibur and Arthur didn't even see it. But then there was the Motherfucking Sword in the Motherfucking Stone and I lost that train of thought really quickly. This is the clearest message the episode sent to me that Arthur is a)not ready to assume Kingship and b)will get there. I think he will only get Excalibur once he's been crowned, and obviously he'll only be crowned after Uther passes. More on this later. I'm being organized.
Everything with Lancelot. I'd forgotten how hard I ship them. So hard. Maybe harder than Gwaine/Merlin, which is as shocking to me as it is to you. Mostly though, I think Lancelot needs someone to lighten him up, so if he still wants his triangle/three ways, he can get on with Gwaine and Merlin, I'm sure neither will object.
The final scene with Morgana was a really well done moment between the two because he was both cruel and caring, it hurt so good because Morgana is bad news and he knows it, but he also knows that an important part of her spleen comes from his own actions and I do believe he is genuinely sorry for the part he's had to play there.
ARTHUR was rather awesome here, I didn't get the self-questioning moment I was hoping for, where he got introspective about the fact that he enabled this cup to land in the wrong hands and so he's partly to blame for it (I was aiming for some distancing himself from the ruthlessness displayed with the druid boy, which mirrors Uther's behavior to a t, alas). However, he got to be depressed and then allowed himself to be helped out of his funk, once more listening to Merlin and accepting help when offered, which means he acknowledges his need for help. Which falls down nicely in place with the acceptance of the motivations of these men to offer themselves up for a suicide mission, he did not ask them to go in for The King, he was all about Camelot, the kingdom, and when they informed him that they were in it for him, because it was him, Arthur nearly cried, right there in front of them and everything. If he cried, you guys, I'd've cried.
He gets his cute moments with Merlin which include BFFery and teasing but exclude flying objects and diminishing comments. A fucking +. See, writers? Everyonelives wins!
As I wrote earlier, he cannot be crowned until Uther's absolutely out of the picture, but that doesn't mean there'll be no kingmaking in his near future. I think the point of him not knowing what's up with Uther hints at severe damage on Uther's end. Emotionally, the man was left a wreck, his son presumed dead, his daughter a boiling pot of hatred for him, his kingdom destroyed literally in front of very eyes, it's understandable he'd be such a mess. Now, I think that after this experience he'll cling even tighter to the crown, he's already had it forcibly taken away from him by his offspring, I don't think he'll be too keen on seeing a repeat performance of that one, but this doesn't mean he'll be fit to rule, which leaves the door open for Arthur to step in more firmly into the role, even if the throne is not yet vacated. This is what I'm hoping will be Arthur's arc with respect to his father in the future, anyway.
Now, on the reveal. I was not expecting one, and I'm glad we didn't get one, because as I wrote to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xxkenziexx Arthur is not ready to deal with this. He's just coming down from a tremendous betrayal, which as far as he might be able to surmise was aided in no small part by magic, not to mention the fact that Camelot was taken over through a magical artifact. He's not really in any position to be objective enough about the nature of magic and the human factor involved in it. He needs proof, incontrovertible proof at that, that magic can be used for good, that not all magic users are inherently evil or ill-wishing; he needs to see magic people as part of his kingdom, as subjects to whom he owes the same measure of respect, justice and protection as he owes the non-magic people of Camelot. Had Merlin come out as a magic user at this point, maybe say by saving their lives, or Gwen's (which seems to be a fandom favorite) or in any way being overtly helpful and appropriately chastised for his previous lack of trust/secret-keeping, and had Arthur 'forgiven' him/accepted him as is (after well-deserved raging and angsting, of course), it would not be better than Uther's hypocrisy, it would be seeing good in magic only when useful to see good in magic, only when beneficial to Arthur and only because of the bond with Merlin. But even this hypothetical scenario would have been nigh impossible to take place in the heels of the Morgana revelation, not only had his father kept this from him, she'd kept it from him, the person he grew up with and indeed thought of as a sister (as far as s2-3 is concerned, it seems) decided it was a great idea to tear his entire world down, forcibly take over control of his kingdom and actively pursue Arthur to kill him; this person he trusted with his life and vulnerability on more than one occasion chose someone else, an enchantress who has brought nothing but grief to Camelot and especially Arthur in a very personal way, over the people she's known and loved/loved her her entire life.
Suppose Merlin also decided to demonstrate just how far his own betrayal of Arthur's trust goes. What do you think would have happened?
Uh, gotta run now, but I still have thoughts on Morgana (whom I think was actually sympathetic here), Morgause and what didn't quite work for me when I get back. Besides, this is long enough already... ::headdesk::
ETA: I have decided that I'm not eloquent enough to articulate my feelings about Morgana and so I'll point you in the direction ofselenak's reaction post in which she says everything I wanted to say with 100% less rambly incoherence and 110% more accuracy than I could ever manage.
What Worked.
GWEN. As usual, let's start at the beginning. She was perfect. Effective, resourceful, steadfast and clever. Complete with the provision of gender-reversals in ways I was not expecting. I mean, she's the mole
And then, she wears the pants while Leon wears the dress. In case ya hand't noticed who the rescuee/damsel in distress was here. We also get her taking her place at the Round Table and while she does get left behind to tend for the old man and future potential wounded (code for 'safely out of danger'), she remains strong and steadfast, stoically accepting her part and gracefully assuming it, not to mention the fact that at this point she still thought there were appearances to maintain in front of
Another interesting visual is her and Arthur's final scene where she is the one leading the knights into Camelot, the iconic image of this group of Knights with flowing red capes and shining armor entering the Castle's courtyard was not given to Arthur, but to her, she's at the head of the procession instead of in the middle of it as would have been expected for a mere escort (which in and of itself is quite HUGE in terms of what it says about her place in the future of Camelot). It's almost as though she's the one bringing these knights to Arthur and not them bringing her back.
Hearts. In my eyes.
MERLIN was in truly fine form too, sending out word to Lancelot which amounts to rallying allies for their cause, being there for Arthur to pep-talk him out of his depression and into action, having romantic (ish) redez-vouz with lost lovers. This scene was so touching, btw, especially because he didn't get to say goodbye, when he turned back around to the poodle, she was gone. His face when that sword emerged from the water. HIS FACE. The dragon was well used here, I think, for once his advice makes sense and Merlin sees how it does, he proclaims what we, the viewers, knew or suspected but Merlin did not, that his allegiance is to Merlin, not to Arthur or to a dreamed future Camelot, he helps because Merlin asks him to (this time it wasn't an order), not because of some abstract ideal, a nice touch that brings back the tenderness of his caring for Merlin back in 3.02.
I was a bit peeved that he got to wield Excalibur and Arthur didn't even see it. But then there was the Motherfucking Sword in the Motherfucking Stone and I lost that train of thought really quickly. This is the clearest message the episode sent to me that Arthur is a)not ready to assume Kingship and b)will get there. I think he will only get Excalibur once he's been crowned, and obviously he'll only be crowned after Uther passes. More on this later. I'm being organized.
Everything with Lancelot. I'd forgotten how hard I ship them. So hard. Maybe harder than Gwaine/Merlin, which is as shocking to me as it is to you. Mostly though, I think Lancelot needs someone to lighten him up, so if he still wants his triangle/three ways, he can get on with Gwaine and Merlin, I'm sure neither will object.
The final scene with Morgana was a really well done moment between the two because he was both cruel and caring, it hurt so good because Morgana is bad news and he knows it, but he also knows that an important part of her spleen comes from his own actions and I do believe he is genuinely sorry for the part he's had to play there.
ARTHUR was rather awesome here, I didn't get the self-questioning moment I was hoping for, where he got introspective about the fact that he enabled this cup to land in the wrong hands and so he's partly to blame for it (I was aiming for some distancing himself from the ruthlessness displayed with the druid boy, which mirrors Uther's behavior to a t, alas). However, he got to be depressed and then allowed himself to be helped out of his funk, once more listening to Merlin and accepting help when offered, which means he acknowledges his need for help. Which falls down nicely in place with the acceptance of the motivations of these men to offer themselves up for a suicide mission, he did not ask them to go in for The King, he was all about Camelot, the kingdom, and when they informed him that they were in it for him, because it was him, Arthur nearly cried, right there in front of them and everything. If he cried, you guys, I'd've cried.
He gets his cute moments with Merlin which include BFFery and teasing but exclude flying objects and diminishing comments. A fucking +. See, writers? Everyone
As I wrote earlier, he cannot be crowned until Uther's absolutely out of the picture, but that doesn't mean there'll be no kingmaking in his near future. I think the point of him not knowing what's up with Uther hints at severe damage on Uther's end. Emotionally, the man was left a wreck, his son presumed dead, his daughter a boiling pot of hatred for him, his kingdom destroyed literally in front of very eyes, it's understandable he'd be such a mess. Now, I think that after this experience he'll cling even tighter to the crown, he's already had it forcibly taken away from him by his offspring, I don't think he'll be too keen on seeing a repeat performance of that one, but this doesn't mean he'll be fit to rule, which leaves the door open for Arthur to step in more firmly into the role, even if the throne is not yet vacated. This is what I'm hoping will be Arthur's arc with respect to his father in the future, anyway.
Now, on the reveal. I was not expecting one, and I'm glad we didn't get one, because as I wrote to
xxkenziexx Arthur is not ready to deal with this. He's just coming down from a tremendous betrayal, which as far as he might be able to surmise was aided in no small part by magic, not to mention the fact that Camelot was taken over through a magical artifact. He's not really in any position to be objective enough about the nature of magic and the human factor involved in it. He needs proof, incontrovertible proof at that, that magic can be used for good, that not all magic users are inherently evil or ill-wishing; he needs to see magic people as part of his kingdom, as subjects to whom he owes the same measure of respect, justice and protection as he owes the non-magic people of Camelot. Had Merlin come out as a magic user at this point, maybe say by saving their lives, or Gwen's (which seems to be a fandom favorite) or in any way being overtly helpful and appropriately chastised for his previous lack of trust/secret-keeping, and had Arthur 'forgiven' him/accepted him as is (after well-deserved raging and angsting, of course), it would not be better than Uther's hypocrisy, it would be seeing good in magic only when useful to see good in magic, only when beneficial to Arthur and only because of the bond with Merlin. But even this hypothetical scenario would have been nigh impossible to take place in the heels of the Morgana revelation, not only had his father kept this from him, she'd kept it from him, the person he grew up with and indeed thought of as a sister (as far as s2-3 is concerned, it seems) decided it was a great idea to tear his entire world down, forcibly take over control of his kingdom and actively pursue Arthur to kill him; this person he trusted with his life and vulnerability on more than one occasion chose someone else, an enchantress who has brought nothing but grief to Camelot and especially Arthur in a very personal way, over the people she's known and loved/loved her her entire life. Suppose Merlin also decided to demonstrate just how far his own betrayal of Arthur's trust goes. What do you think would have happened?
Uh, gotta run now, but I still have thoughts on Morgana (whom I think was actually sympathetic here), Morgause and what didn't quite work for me when I get back. Besides, this is long enough already... ::headdesk::
ETA: I have decided that I'm not eloquent enough to articulate my feelings about Morgana and so I'll point you in the direction of
selenak's reaction post in which she says everything I wanted to say with 100% less rambly incoherence and 110% more accuracy than I could ever manage. 
