heather11483 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heathershaped) wrote2009-12-05 05:31 pm
heathershaped) wrote2009-12-05 05:31 pm
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♫PAPA DON'T PREACH ♫
Merls 2X11, "The Witch's Quickening."
MY HEART, YOU GUYS, MY HEART
MUST GET THIS OUT SO I CAN FINISH WRITING BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START
MY HEAD IS FULL OF SUGGESTIVE MADONNA LYRICS ABOUT TEENAGE REBELLION, SEND HELP
Sooo, I think I'll go character by character? I don't know, I don't know. This isn't going to make any sense and if this were a piece of paper it would be blurred by my tearstains. SO:
Better start with Morgana: I really wish they'd done more with her this season to lead up to this episode. Given her more moments with her friends, more of a look into how isolated she's feeling, and shown more evidence of her concern for Arthur, Gwen, and Uther - even if Katie was busy or something they could've had one of the others at least reference how troubled Morgana is, etc. The only thing I can think of is that they are deliberately trying to write her in an unsympathetic way. :/
Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with Morgana anyway because I kind of love her and she's been isolated and lied to all season -- it pains me how easily ALL OF THIS could have been avoided if someone had simply talked to her. As it is, she has to turn to the only people who DO talk to her, all of whom appear to be evil at this point. But yes, right now she seems to be wholly focused on herself and not really concerned about anyone else. Very easily manipulated by a random guy to steal something from Uther, lies to Arthur and Merlin (can't blame her for that, he did it first), tries to manipulate Arthur into not going after Alvarr, manipulates Gwen re: the potion. Warns Alvarr and Co that the knights are coming so they can lay a trap, knowing Arthur would be there. When Alvarr tells Morgana that he wants to destroy everyone who's working for Uther, she seems worried but as soon as he touches her wrist and looks soulfully into her eyes it's all good.
I didn't think when she finally took some action it would be because of some guy. I didn't think when she finally broke up with Uther, it would be over some guy. This is the wrong week to be experimenting with heterosexuality sweetie, Morgause is just a hop and a skip away! I mean I get it; Morgana's been afraid and cut off from everyone and he came along (into her bedroom) at exactly the right time. But ... idk, did anyone else think she wasn't being motivated as much by justice for herself/magic users, but by her crush on him? In some scenes it seemed like it. Why was that even necessary, writers? I guess I don't like that her magical awakening (not that she did any magic) is seemingly tied to some kind of sexual one? (IDK, there must be some reason why I keep humming Madonna lyrics.) Morgana's full of her own motivations without some greasy dude manipulating her. And manipulate her, he did.
She's not thinking for herself, not even in this, and for that I blame the writers, because it is definitely within her to think for herself. I want her to have agency, to be a kickass villain in her own right if she simply MUST go bad. I was actually pleased when she went down to free Alvarr and actually succeeded in planning it and carrying it out - that's a first, and it's significant. But... the first time she has agency, it's because of her crush on the guy? Really, Show?
Even if it had been Mordred who was primarily motivating/manipulating her, at least they have history.
One final note on Morgana: All that being said I don't think it's out of character, anything she did. The lack of thinking things through, the tunnel vision when it comes to her own problems and causes that makes her disregard everything/everyone not directly involved. She loves and protects the people and things that she considers hers, but she's not a very outward-thinking girl and never has been, so that means she will also disregard them if they aren't a priority for her at the moment. And I really think she believes that by helping herself she's helping everyone. I can't quite explain but it's a consistent part of her character; I guess it's just come more to the forefront this season.
Mordred: KID IS CREEPY. I don't blame him at all, though. Last time we met him he was off in the woods ALONE because his mentor had been killed and Merls and Morgana had left him twisting in the wind. So McGreasy found him and was nice to him while he was still smarting over the massacre of his people. His wanting justice is NATURAL. I feel like the show constantly puts us in a position of rooting for the "bad guys" because they have made Uther one of the good guys. Or something.
I'm not totally mad at Alvarr either, for the same reason, but he's a manipulative douche who macked on Morgana when he had a perfectly lovely girlfriend already. Plus, he's greasy.
Did I mention I like the girlfriend? She was badass! And adorable! And not greasy!
Merlin: Colin, as always, kicks ass. Merlin's suspicions, his fear, were so well-acted. I liked him handling the crystal and being so afraid of himself and the fact he's able to use it the way Mordred would have. He still should have talked to Morgana in 2x03 and avoided ALL OF THIS, so it's a little difficult to sympathize with his shock and dismay -- but you always get the feeling he's TRYING to do the right thing, but doesn't know what it is. Bad guidance, I suppose. Argh, still so frustrating. Still, great to see him becoming more powerful and using more of that skill he learned to wield in 2x03, even though it's jarring that we never ONCE saw Morgana try to use her own powers in this episode. Come on, Show, would it be so terrible? :(
And we saw the beginnings of this rift between Merls and Mordred. Which apparently stems from Merlin tripping Mordred with a tree branch, as some of the ladies on another comm hilariously pointed out.
Mordred in ten years: "YOU TRIPPED ME. PREPARE TO DIE."
Gaius: I liked him in this ep, but I'm always thinking about what he did to contribute to all this. Still, he tried to protect Morgana by inventing the story, so. He's always so wrongheaded but it comes from a place of love.And self-protection.
Arthur: I'll be honest, I always give Arthur a handicap for his jerkiness in these episodes in which all he does is play muscle for his father. He is so utterly in the dark, ALL THE TIME, and the plot depends on making him look as dumb as possible and I want to hug him. Always being lied to. But yes, he was a jerk to Merlin. A big jerk. But I think he was channeling his fear of his father's disapproval a little - when the crystal went missing and Merlin went "Sorry!", then they cut right to Arthur saying "Sorry" to Uther, it felt deliberate. Arthur was impatient with Merlin's excuses because he knew Uther wouldn't accept his own. Or something?
I did like that Arthur lied for Merlin, which he was of course jerky about afterward, haha. Oh, Arthur.
Uther: I ... liked him this week? It was a weird week for me, I liked Gaius, the Dragon, AND Uther. But Uther wasn't exactly irrational in this one... someone broke into his castle and stole some powerful magical thing, of course he was going to sentence him to death. Business as usual, really. I still don't blame people wanting him dead and I never will, but he didn't do anything PARTICULARLY egregious this week. Far worse in my mind was his murdering the Druids, or sentencing Gaius, or even disinheriting Arthur - that should have led to a bigger falling out between him and Morgana, or at least some smaller arguments leading up to this. Even if the truth about Morgause had come out or something (which is what I thought it might be), that would've been awesome. But no, it's because Uther's going to kill her boyfriend. That's the last straw. McGreasy.
Er, that would be my inner Uther/Morgana shipper making herself heard SORRY, SORRY. Moving on.
It was NICE seeing their tension back, though, and Morgana's spine. Oh, I've missed it. It was a good scene, just broke my heart a little.
Also, Uther knew full well who had set Alvarr free, but didn't have the heart to do anything about it. ;___;
Slash Dragon: I like him more and more each week. He only wants Merls to hold up his end of the bargain. But I DON'T like his talking smack about Morgana. Enough with the self-fulfilled prophecies because this can all be avoided. "That witch this," "united in evil" that. Predestination SUCKS and the misogynistic lines the writers give the dragon are getting old.
Gwen: Well, she was barely in it and that's okay, but the small parts she did have were for the writers to KILL MY OTP WITH FIRE. THANKS, THANKS FOR THAT, SHOW. *criface* Morgana has always been manipulative, but she's never turned that toward Gwen. Katie's gone out of her way to mention this last season; that Gwen was the one person Morgana would never manipulate. Now that's scuppered. Not only does she snap at Gwen (while she was making her bed) to get rid of her, but then she manipulates Gwen into fetching the sleeping draught she no longer needs by pretending she had another nightmare. Gwen's little look of concern, you guys ... over a lie. I wish they'd just left Gwen out of this one and had Morgana fetch the potion herself. It was right across the room. But no, writers had to have Morgana call Gwen back, give me hope that there would be an apology, and then have Morgana lie again. :(
Whatever, whatever, that straight up DID NOT HAPPEN.
I'm just ... maybe because I ship it, I've been wrong about their relationship all along? It was like Gwen was just a random servant and not the girl who hugs her at night sometimes. Morgana has lied to Gwen before, as far back as 1x12, by telling her she was going to fetch the knights when she was really going off to meet Tauren. But I thought that she just didn't want to burden Gwen or something (same with Gwen not talking about her boy troubles). And they've comforted each other and sacrificed their lives for each other ... WHAT HAPPENED. *cries* They can't break up yet, and if they HAVE to break up it can't be like this, with no lead-in or explanation, just randomly pretending that they've never been close. Eff that. Gwen and Morgana's friendship has always affected them both, and their breakup should have an effect on them both, and damn it I want to SEE IT. They're two sides of their own coin!
SIGH.
/rant
Anyway.
General non character-specific thoughts:
+ There goes any hope of Merlin trusting Morgana. His judgey!face makes me sad.
+ Arthur/Morgana! Interacting the way they used to! I mean sure, she was only trying to manipulate him, but I've missed that so much.
+ The crystal! Only sees as far ahead as two episodes, apparently. Looks like Camelot will be burning and the Dragon will be free. Well, Merls, you promised.
+ Did I mention the Alvarr/Morgana was creepy? But I think it was meant to be.
+ Did I also mention that predestination SUCKS? Look, Gaius might've said that the future is fluid, but Show does not seem to think so.
+ The affection between Mordred and Morgana is cute! I always like seeing it, I wish she could be more of an influence on him rather than the other way round.
I guess the OT4 days are over. :( It was a good episode, just troubling in that I hate that everything's going to shit.
Sorry this is so heinously long.
MY HEART, YOU GUYS, MY HEART
MUST GET THIS OUT SO I CAN FINISH WRITING BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START
MY HEAD IS FULL OF SUGGESTIVE MADONNA LYRICS ABOUT TEENAGE REBELLION, SEND HELP
Sooo, I think I'll go character by character? I don't know, I don't know. This isn't going to make any sense and if this were a piece of paper it would be blurred by my tearstains. SO:
Better start with Morgana: I really wish they'd done more with her this season to lead up to this episode. Given her more moments with her friends, more of a look into how isolated she's feeling, and shown more evidence of her concern for Arthur, Gwen, and Uther - even if Katie was busy or something they could've had one of the others at least reference how troubled Morgana is, etc. The only thing I can think of is that they are deliberately trying to write her in an unsympathetic way. :/
Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with Morgana anyway because I kind of love her and she's been isolated and lied to all season -- it pains me how easily ALL OF THIS could have been avoided if someone had simply talked to her. As it is, she has to turn to the only people who DO talk to her, all of whom appear to be evil at this point. But yes, right now she seems to be wholly focused on herself and not really concerned about anyone else. Very easily manipulated by a random guy to steal something from Uther, lies to Arthur and Merlin (can't blame her for that, he did it first), tries to manipulate Arthur into not going after Alvarr, manipulates Gwen re: the potion. Warns Alvarr and Co that the knights are coming so they can lay a trap, knowing Arthur would be there. When Alvarr tells Morgana that he wants to destroy everyone who's working for Uther, she seems worried but as soon as he touches her wrist and looks soulfully into her eyes it's all good.
I didn't think when she finally took some action it would be because of some guy. I didn't think when she finally broke up with Uther, it would be over some guy. This is the wrong week to be experimenting with heterosexuality sweetie, Morgause is just a hop and a skip away! I mean I get it; Morgana's been afraid and cut off from everyone and he came along (into her bedroom) at exactly the right time. But ... idk, did anyone else think she wasn't being motivated as much by justice for herself/magic users, but by her crush on him? In some scenes it seemed like it. Why was that even necessary, writers? I guess I don't like that her magical awakening (not that she did any magic) is seemingly tied to some kind of sexual one? (IDK, there must be some reason why I keep humming Madonna lyrics.) Morgana's full of her own motivations without some greasy dude manipulating her. And manipulate her, he did.
She's not thinking for herself, not even in this, and for that I blame the writers, because it is definitely within her to think for herself. I want her to have agency, to be a kickass villain in her own right if she simply MUST go bad. I was actually pleased when she went down to free Alvarr and actually succeeded in planning it and carrying it out - that's a first, and it's significant. But... the first time she has agency, it's because of her crush on the guy? Really, Show?
Even if it had been Mordred who was primarily motivating/manipulating her, at least they have history.
One final note on Morgana: All that being said I don't think it's out of character, anything she did. The lack of thinking things through, the tunnel vision when it comes to her own problems and causes that makes her disregard everything/everyone not directly involved. She loves and protects the people and things that she considers hers, but she's not a very outward-thinking girl and never has been, so that means she will also disregard them if they aren't a priority for her at the moment. And I really think she believes that by helping herself she's helping everyone. I can't quite explain but it's a consistent part of her character; I guess it's just come more to the forefront this season.
Mordred: KID IS CREEPY. I don't blame him at all, though. Last time we met him he was off in the woods ALONE because his mentor had been killed and Merls and Morgana had left him twisting in the wind. So McGreasy found him and was nice to him while he was still smarting over the massacre of his people. His wanting justice is NATURAL. I feel like the show constantly puts us in a position of rooting for the "bad guys" because they have made Uther one of the good guys. Or something.
I'm not totally mad at Alvarr either, for the same reason, but he's a manipulative douche who macked on Morgana when he had a perfectly lovely girlfriend already. Plus, he's greasy.
Did I mention I like the girlfriend? She was badass! And adorable! And not greasy!
Merlin: Colin, as always, kicks ass. Merlin's suspicions, his fear, were so well-acted. I liked him handling the crystal and being so afraid of himself and the fact he's able to use it the way Mordred would have. He still should have talked to Morgana in 2x03 and avoided ALL OF THIS, so it's a little difficult to sympathize with his shock and dismay -- but you always get the feeling he's TRYING to do the right thing, but doesn't know what it is. Bad guidance, I suppose. Argh, still so frustrating. Still, great to see him becoming more powerful and using more of that skill he learned to wield in 2x03, even though it's jarring that we never ONCE saw Morgana try to use her own powers in this episode. Come on, Show, would it be so terrible? :(
And we saw the beginnings of this rift between Merls and Mordred. Which apparently stems from Merlin tripping Mordred with a tree branch, as some of the ladies on another comm hilariously pointed out.
Mordred in ten years: "YOU TRIPPED ME. PREPARE TO DIE."
Gaius: I liked him in this ep, but I'm always thinking about what he did to contribute to all this. Still, he tried to protect Morgana by inventing the story, so. He's always so wrongheaded but it comes from a place of love.
Arthur: I'll be honest, I always give Arthur a handicap for his jerkiness in these episodes in which all he does is play muscle for his father. He is so utterly in the dark, ALL THE TIME, and the plot depends on making him look as dumb as possible and I want to hug him. Always being lied to. But yes, he was a jerk to Merlin. A big jerk. But I think he was channeling his fear of his father's disapproval a little - when the crystal went missing and Merlin went "Sorry!", then they cut right to Arthur saying "Sorry" to Uther, it felt deliberate. Arthur was impatient with Merlin's excuses because he knew Uther wouldn't accept his own. Or something?
I did like that Arthur lied for Merlin, which he was of course jerky about afterward, haha. Oh, Arthur.
Uther: I ... liked him this week? It was a weird week for me, I liked Gaius, the Dragon, AND Uther. But Uther wasn't exactly irrational in this one... someone broke into his castle and stole some powerful magical thing, of course he was going to sentence him to death. Business as usual, really. I still don't blame people wanting him dead and I never will, but he didn't do anything PARTICULARLY egregious this week. Far worse in my mind was his murdering the Druids, or sentencing Gaius, or even disinheriting Arthur - that should have led to a bigger falling out between him and Morgana, or at least some smaller arguments leading up to this. Even if the truth about Morgause had come out or something (which is what I thought it might be), that would've been awesome. But no, it's because Uther's going to kill her boyfriend. That's the last straw. McGreasy.
It was NICE seeing their tension back, though, and Morgana's spine. Oh, I've missed it. It was a good scene, just broke my heart a little.
Also, Uther knew full well who had set Alvarr free, but didn't have the heart to do anything about it. ;___;
Slash Dragon: I like him more and more each week. He only wants Merls to hold up his end of the bargain. But I DON'T like his talking smack about Morgana. Enough with the self-fulfilled prophecies because this can all be avoided. "That witch this," "united in evil" that. Predestination SUCKS and the misogynistic lines the writers give the dragon are getting old.
Gwen: Well, she was barely in it and that's okay, but the small parts she did have were for the writers to KILL MY OTP WITH FIRE. THANKS, THANKS FOR THAT, SHOW. *criface* Morgana has always been manipulative, but she's never turned that toward Gwen. Katie's gone out of her way to mention this last season; that Gwen was the one person Morgana would never manipulate. Now that's scuppered. Not only does she snap at Gwen (while she was making her bed) to get rid of her, but then she manipulates Gwen into fetching the sleeping draught she no longer needs by pretending she had another nightmare. Gwen's little look of concern, you guys ... over a lie. I wish they'd just left Gwen out of this one and had Morgana fetch the potion herself. It was right across the room. But no, writers had to have Morgana call Gwen back, give me hope that there would be an apology, and then have Morgana lie again. :(
Whatever, whatever, that straight up DID NOT HAPPEN.
I'm just ... maybe because I ship it, I've been wrong about their relationship all along? It was like Gwen was just a random servant and not the girl who hugs her at night sometimes. Morgana has lied to Gwen before, as far back as 1x12, by telling her she was going to fetch the knights when she was really going off to meet Tauren. But I thought that she just didn't want to burden Gwen or something (same with Gwen not talking about her boy troubles). And they've comforted each other and sacrificed their lives for each other ... WHAT HAPPENED. *cries* They can't break up yet, and if they HAVE to break up it can't be like this, with no lead-in or explanation, just randomly pretending that they've never been close. Eff that. Gwen and Morgana's friendship has always affected them both, and their breakup should have an effect on them both, and damn it I want to SEE IT. They're two sides of their own coin!
SIGH.
/rant
Anyway.
General non character-specific thoughts:
+ There goes any hope of Merlin trusting Morgana. His judgey!face makes me sad.
+ Arthur/Morgana! Interacting the way they used to! I mean sure, she was only trying to manipulate him, but I've missed that so much.
+ The crystal! Only sees as far ahead as two episodes, apparently. Looks like Camelot will be burning and the Dragon will be free. Well, Merls, you promised.
+ Did I mention the Alvarr/Morgana was creepy? But I think it was meant to be.
+ Did I also mention that predestination SUCKS? Look, Gaius might've said that the future is fluid, but Show does not seem to think so.
+ The affection between Mordred and Morgana is cute! I always like seeing it, I wish she could be more of an influence on him rather than the other way round.
I guess the OT4 days are over. :( It was a good episode, just troubling in that I hate that everything's going to shit.
Sorry this is so heinously long.
no subject
AHHHH I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN DO THIS. MY SHOW, MY SHOW IS DYING. ;______;
no subject
LIKE RIPPING OFF A BANDAGE
FOR 45 MINUTES
OKAY SORRY I WAS TRYING TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT WATCHING AND FAILED, DIDN'T I
(no srsly, just watch, maybe it wasn't as heartbreaking as i thought? i'm not even saying it was a poorly done episode, just sadmaking)
no subject
I just loved that shit was finally happening.
It makes me like Merlin less and less, though. I just remember how his (traditional Merlin, that is) his wrong decisions are why everything is such a tragedy.
Morgana is so naive in a way. I don't think that she imagined warning Alvarr and Mordred would lead to slaughter, I think she maybe hoped they would get away. But you could see at the end she was really not caring what happened to those who supported Uther.
I did love that it freaked Merlin out and that he was afraid of her and for her.
Camelot goes through a lot of Redcloaks, though.
no subject
Morgana was pretty naive, yeah. I don't think she thought that the renegades would stick around and lay a trap when she went to seek them out, but then Alvarr told her that a battlefield is no place for her, and she had no objections. Maybe she figured there was nothing she could do at that point.
She's kind of been all over the map this season characterization-wise, and it's like a different person altogether from season 1 (up until the last couple of scenes in this episode that is). I kinda miss when I could believe everyone was sleeping together. *SIGH*
no subject
One thing I thought about her and Alvarr is that maybe he was there to make her relationship with creepy Mordred look less creepy by introducing another adult and suggesting a family triad?
no subject