heather11483 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heathershaped) wrote2009-12-19 03:51 pm
heathershaped) wrote2009-12-19 03:51 pm
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Merls season 2, episode 13. OF THIRTEEN.
The Last Dragonlord.
So that was... good, I guess? Classic Merlin episode. Classic Julian Jones Merlin episode. Which has many meanings for me, haha.
Anyway, I find myself uninspired to write as much as I have for other episodes. We'll see.
Some general thoughts:
+ NO MORE MERLIN FOR TEN MONTHS OR SOMETHING. I'm sad! But at least I can actually get things done on Saturdays now.
+ I don't know why, but I didn't expect the episode to launch directly into the Dragon carnage. I was hoping that there'd be a bit of a transition, that the Dragon would chillax for a while and then strike so that there would be some time for the fallout from Morgana's disappearance, etc. (LOL @ me.) But no, right into the action. Given how much they had to pack into the episode, I guess it's not surprising. There had to be room for the all the questing, and then more questing, and then the questing after that.
+ Speaking of which, they packed too much into one episode and as a result, a lot got shortchanged. In other news, water is wet.
+ HUNITH! GET IT, GIRL. I wish we'd seen her in this episode, or at all this season. We all knew she kicked ass, but she REALLY kicks ass, doesn't she? She stood up against Uther and all. Great taste in men, too. It was also nice to see more about how Gaius knew Hunith in the first place. Yay for backstory even though I reeeeeally wanted to see her.
+ I didn't expect Morgana to be in this episode, and this certainly isn't even the first week for that to have happened, but it's still strange. At random intervals I was wondering what she was doing and where she was. At least the show somewhat acknowledged her absence, unlike other weeks.
+ ROUND TABLE HELL YEAH. That was a nice bit of symbolism and a pretty epic moment for the show. BUT THEN THE ENTIRE ROUND TABLE DIED. LOOOOL OH SHOW.
+ Also, I would like to acknowledge![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
threemeows for this making this point in her post that I agree with so hard that I'm just going to c/p it: I love the theme of forgiveness. BUT SHOW, OH SHOW. SO THE DRAGON IS FORGIVEN FOR MASSACREING SCORES OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND TERRORIZING THE CITY FOR HOW MANY DAYS? AND MORGANA IS NOT FORGIVEN FOR … DOING ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOTHING.
Yes that's right kiddies, SHE CHOSE HER PATH AND THERE'S NOTHING ELSE FOR IT. Dragon gets a pass, Morgana had to be put down for the sake of Camelot. That about cover it? Just checking, just checking.
+ I know the show's called Merlin and is about Merlin and Arthur, but this really was the Bro Hour this week, and in case I wasn't clear above the questing bored me a little in spots. My favorite episodes have more of an ensemble feel. The boys are awesome, but if everyone else is decoration, you get two 3D characters living in a very 2D world, and that's no fun.
Okay, character-by-character:
Balinor. I actually really liked him, and the actor who played him, very much -- but I suspect I missed the point because I liked him MORE when he was refusing to help. Why should he help? He didn't know about Merlin at that point, and had no need or desire to help the man who betrayed him and hunted him down. I LIKED that he was a good guy who for once wasn't all about Camelot (good guys are always about Camelot) and I kind of resented that he was framed as selfish or something, when he'd been forced to give up everything. Then he just randomly changed his mind, seemingly for Gaius but mostly so that Merlin could get to know him and then he could die, and Merlin could be the last Dragonlord.
+ Speaking of which, Merlin: GIVE THIS KID A BREAK, JESUS CHRIST. I wish he could be happy for like two seconds. I like angst as much as the next girl but this is getting ridiculous. That poor boy. In the space of an episode he finds out he has a father, meets him, wins him over, gets to know him, is happy for 1.5 seconds, then loses said father right in front of him. It's like the Freya episode in that way. I just want to hug him forever.
Colin delivered another amazing, emotional performance and I can't help feeling for him even though I can't for the life of me figure out why he freed the Dragon in the first place. What's the worst that would have happened if he hadn't, seriously. But Colin made me not want to shake him that hard, damn it. :P
He's becoming so closed-off, Merlin. I can't get over the character transformation from last series. It makes sense because every week his secrets weigh more heavily on him and all of his relationships. But it's heartbreaking all the same.
+ Arthur: Hm, what to say about Arthur this week. He really was spectacularly brave and kingly and I love him. It was also great to see him stand up to Uther again, quietly, the way he did in 2x06 about the taxes. I love him when he's like that. At the same time, it didn't feel the same as last week, when he seriously made me choke up with his dedication and bravery. I don't know why I didn't feel it as much. I think it's because at the same time, he got no real character development. That all went to Merlin, and Arthur was suitably heroic and well-placed as a romantic lead, but a little one-note. :/ The writers don't move him forward as a character. I see a lot of reactions this season about how Merlin is no longer the focal point of the show, but I've never bought that, and that's part of why. Which brings me to
+ Arthur/Merlin: So on the surface, they were really quite sweet, but beneath the buddytimes, I think that their relationship is in a pretty sorry state right now. :( Particularly in this episode: all of their interactions went toward forwarding Merlin's development. It wasn't about the two of them as friends; if anything it highlighted how far apart they really are despite the fact they clearly care about each other. Every time Arthur said something along the lines of "you're the WORST servant ever, but doggone it I like you!", it felt like every time; just a little bit repetitive at this point. Their relationship isn't moving forward; It's Merlin who is changing, becoming more shut-down to Arthur's overtures of friendship, more sure that he can never reveal his secret, and much less friendshippy than he was last season. For good reason from his perspective, don't get me wrong - but it's sad how Arthur increasingly thinks they're better friends, but that isn't the case.
It's a set pattern this season. We always see Merlin at his most evasive when Arthur is at his sweetest, and that's not saying anything bad about either of them, but I do think it's deliberate by the writers. They can't keep going like this.
To say nothing of how Arthur will react to find out that most of the things he's done... he did not actually do. And all the other lies, and secrets, and...
Sigh. Moving on.
Gwen: My girl, my girl. I guess I should be glad she was there? Usually that is enough to make me happy, and I'm still always thrilled when she's on my screen, but I'm annoyed that the last time I get to see her for nearly a year, she didn't get to do anything not Arthur-centric. I love Arthur/Gwen and I'll get to that, but I'm still constantly annoyed at the low priority the writers place on her as an individual, especially considering the heavy amounts of characterization that get heaped onto any given male character in any given episode.
ANYWAY. She is still so very brave you guys, going out to get fresh water, running in the opposite direction of everyone else. ♥ I really liked that scene with Gaius as well: first because I was a little in love with the shot of her standing alone on the ramparts, looking out (over her future kingdom) and quietly despairing. She loves Camelot and the people in it as much as Arthur, and she is so very, very alone now especially with Morgana gone. (Not that it was Morgana's fault in the slightest, but people keep leaving this girl. STOPPIT, IT MAKES HER SAD. It is also not surprising that she doesn't want to lose Arthur as well.)
I also like Gaius-Gwen interaction in general. The mention of Morgana was more than I was expecting to get so yay for that, but I wish it hadn't turned so quickly to Arthur. Another indication of the show's priorities (eff you, Julian Jones). I'm SO thankful for Angel Coulby on this show, for reals. Another case where she adds something to the scene that wasn't there in the script; you can clearly see the pain on her face when Gaius brought up Morgana, and at the same time a reluctance to think and talk about things she can't change. So much in Gwen's life is out of her control and she chooses to throw herself into the things that aren't. Of course she cares, she's the only character who consistently has been concerned for Morgana all season -- all series.
It breaks my heart, so hard. She's up a creek without a paddle. I want to know so much more: where is she working, what is she doing, how's she coping? Why doesn't the show give a shit?
Arthur/Gwen: Always lovely, and Brads and Angel have so much chemistry. Their scenes this week were a little too much about HIM for my tastes, more than they ever have been and certainly more than they were in 2x10. Arthur was firmly in the role of Romantic Hero this episode, and most of his interactions were in keeping with that. He saved the girl, he saved the city (or so he thought), he comes home to said girl in the end. I didn't mind that he saved her in the beginning because he pretty much did EXACTLY what Gwen did for him in 2x01. It's the lack of Gwen outside of that, that bugs me even if it doesn't surprise me.
That said, I kind of loved the scene where he placed her hand over his heart, and the hug was reeeeally nice. I've kind of been dying for them to hug. Gwennnnnn, up on her toes, not caring who saw because she was glad that she hadn't lost Arthur (...TOO). And the look on Arthur's face was lovely; I like that he wasn't expecting it. It makes sense that the moments when they're least guarded are the ones where there's no time to remember what's keeping them apart. <3 I'm just going to imagine the other things Gwen did while Arthur was off questing. Arthur and Gwen as a couple holds ENORMOUS potential for me, particularly in comparison to nearly all of Arthur's other relationships, which are so heartbreakingly predicated on a lack of trust. I think I'm going to do some kind of post-mortem post on the series as a whole, in which I will have more things to say about that relationship and all the other relationships/characters on the show, the angles I wish had been explored that weren't, and what I hope to explore in fic, at least a little, over the hiatus.
I think that's all I've got. Basically, it was fine, and there were way too many dicks on the dance floor. But that's our show, innit. I'm zen about it at this point.
Bye for now, Merls!! It's been real. I look forward to loads of hiatus!fic.
know how I said I wasn't inspired to write as much? I LIEEED.
So that was... good, I guess? Classic Merlin episode. Classic Julian Jones Merlin episode. Which has many meanings for me, haha.
Anyway, I find myself uninspired to write as much as I have for other episodes. We'll see.
Some general thoughts:
+ NO MORE MERLIN FOR TEN MONTHS OR SOMETHING. I'm sad! But at least I can actually get things done on Saturdays now.
+ I don't know why, but I didn't expect the episode to launch directly into the Dragon carnage. I was hoping that there'd be a bit of a transition, that the Dragon would chillax for a while and then strike so that there would be some time for the fallout from Morgana's disappearance, etc. (LOL @ me.) But no, right into the action. Given how much they had to pack into the episode, I guess it's not surprising. There had to be room for the all the questing, and then more questing, and then the questing after that.
+ Speaking of which, they packed too much into one episode and as a result, a lot got shortchanged. In other news, water is wet.
+ HUNITH! GET IT, GIRL. I wish we'd seen her in this episode, or at all this season. We all knew she kicked ass, but she REALLY kicks ass, doesn't she? She stood up against Uther and all. Great taste in men, too. It was also nice to see more about how Gaius knew Hunith in the first place. Yay for backstory even though I reeeeeally wanted to see her.
+ I didn't expect Morgana to be in this episode, and this certainly isn't even the first week for that to have happened, but it's still strange. At random intervals I was wondering what she was doing and where she was. At least the show somewhat acknowledged her absence, unlike other weeks.
+ ROUND TABLE HELL YEAH. That was a nice bit of symbolism and a pretty epic moment for the show. BUT THEN THE ENTIRE ROUND TABLE DIED. LOOOOL OH SHOW.
+ Also, I would like to acknowledge
threemeows for this making this point in her post that I agree with so hard that I'm just going to c/p it: I love the theme of forgiveness. BUT SHOW, OH SHOW. SO THE DRAGON IS FORGIVEN FOR MASSACREING SCORES OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND TERRORIZING THE CITY FOR HOW MANY DAYS? AND MORGANA IS NOT FORGIVEN FOR … DOING ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOTHING. Yes that's right kiddies, SHE CHOSE HER PATH AND THERE'S NOTHING ELSE FOR IT. Dragon gets a pass, Morgana had to be put down for the sake of Camelot. That about cover it? Just checking, just checking.
+ I know the show's called Merlin and is about Merlin and Arthur, but this really was the Bro Hour this week, and in case I wasn't clear above the questing bored me a little in spots. My favorite episodes have more of an ensemble feel. The boys are awesome, but if everyone else is decoration, you get two 3D characters living in a very 2D world, and that's no fun.
Okay, character-by-character:
Balinor. I actually really liked him, and the actor who played him, very much -- but I suspect I missed the point because I liked him MORE when he was refusing to help. Why should he help? He didn't know about Merlin at that point, and had no need or desire to help the man who betrayed him and hunted him down. I LIKED that he was a good guy who for once wasn't all about Camelot (good guys are always about Camelot) and I kind of resented that he was framed as selfish or something, when he'd been forced to give up everything. Then he just randomly changed his mind, seemingly for Gaius but mostly so that Merlin could get to know him and then he could die, and Merlin could be the last Dragonlord.
+ Speaking of which, Merlin: GIVE THIS KID A BREAK, JESUS CHRIST. I wish he could be happy for like two seconds. I like angst as much as the next girl but this is getting ridiculous. That poor boy. In the space of an episode he finds out he has a father, meets him, wins him over, gets to know him, is happy for 1.5 seconds, then loses said father right in front of him. It's like the Freya episode in that way. I just want to hug him forever.
Colin delivered another amazing, emotional performance and I can't help feeling for him even though I can't for the life of me figure out why he freed the Dragon in the first place. What's the worst that would have happened if he hadn't, seriously. But Colin made me not want to shake him that hard, damn it. :P
He's becoming so closed-off, Merlin. I can't get over the character transformation from last series. It makes sense because every week his secrets weigh more heavily on him and all of his relationships. But it's heartbreaking all the same.
+ Arthur: Hm, what to say about Arthur this week. He really was spectacularly brave and kingly and I love him. It was also great to see him stand up to Uther again, quietly, the way he did in 2x06 about the taxes. I love him when he's like that. At the same time, it didn't feel the same as last week, when he seriously made me choke up with his dedication and bravery. I don't know why I didn't feel it as much. I think it's because at the same time, he got no real character development. That all went to Merlin, and Arthur was suitably heroic and well-placed as a romantic lead, but a little one-note. :/ The writers don't move him forward as a character. I see a lot of reactions this season about how Merlin is no longer the focal point of the show, but I've never bought that, and that's part of why. Which brings me to
+ Arthur/Merlin: So on the surface, they were really quite sweet, but beneath the buddytimes, I think that their relationship is in a pretty sorry state right now. :( Particularly in this episode: all of their interactions went toward forwarding Merlin's development. It wasn't about the two of them as friends; if anything it highlighted how far apart they really are despite the fact they clearly care about each other. Every time Arthur said something along the lines of "you're the WORST servant ever, but doggone it I like you!", it felt like every time; just a little bit repetitive at this point. Their relationship isn't moving forward; It's Merlin who is changing, becoming more shut-down to Arthur's overtures of friendship, more sure that he can never reveal his secret, and much less friendshippy than he was last season. For good reason from his perspective, don't get me wrong - but it's sad how Arthur increasingly thinks they're better friends, but that isn't the case.
It's a set pattern this season. We always see Merlin at his most evasive when Arthur is at his sweetest, and that's not saying anything bad about either of them, but I do think it's deliberate by the writers. They can't keep going like this.
To say nothing of how Arthur will react to find out that most of the things he's done... he did not actually do. And all the other lies, and secrets, and...
Sigh. Moving on.
Gwen: My girl, my girl. I guess I should be glad she was there? Usually that is enough to make me happy, and I'm still always thrilled when she's on my screen, but I'm annoyed that the last time I get to see her for nearly a year, she didn't get to do anything not Arthur-centric. I love Arthur/Gwen and I'll get to that, but I'm still constantly annoyed at the low priority the writers place on her as an individual, especially considering the heavy amounts of characterization that get heaped onto any given male character in any given episode.
ANYWAY. She is still so very brave you guys, going out to get fresh water, running in the opposite direction of everyone else. ♥ I really liked that scene with Gaius as well: first because I was a little in love with the shot of her standing alone on the ramparts, looking out (over her future kingdom) and quietly despairing. She loves Camelot and the people in it as much as Arthur, and she is so very, very alone now especially with Morgana gone. (Not that it was Morgana's fault in the slightest, but people keep leaving this girl. STOPPIT, IT MAKES HER SAD. It is also not surprising that she doesn't want to lose Arthur as well.)
I also like Gaius-Gwen interaction in general. The mention of Morgana was more than I was expecting to get so yay for that, but I wish it hadn't turned so quickly to Arthur. Another indication of the show's priorities (eff you, Julian Jones). I'm SO thankful for Angel Coulby on this show, for reals. Another case where she adds something to the scene that wasn't there in the script; you can clearly see the pain on her face when Gaius brought up Morgana, and at the same time a reluctance to think and talk about things she can't change. So much in Gwen's life is out of her control and she chooses to throw herself into the things that aren't. Of course she cares, she's the only character who consistently has been concerned for Morgana all season -- all series.
It breaks my heart, so hard. She's up a creek without a paddle. I want to know so much more: where is she working, what is she doing, how's she coping? Why doesn't the show give a shit?
Arthur/Gwen: Always lovely, and Brads and Angel have so much chemistry. Their scenes this week were a little too much about HIM for my tastes, more than they ever have been and certainly more than they were in 2x10. Arthur was firmly in the role of Romantic Hero this episode, and most of his interactions were in keeping with that. He saved the girl, he saved the city (or so he thought), he comes home to said girl in the end. I didn't mind that he saved her in the beginning because he pretty much did EXACTLY what Gwen did for him in 2x01. It's the lack of Gwen outside of that, that bugs me even if it doesn't surprise me.
That said, I kind of loved the scene where he placed her hand over his heart, and the hug was reeeeally nice. I've kind of been dying for them to hug. Gwennnnnn, up on her toes, not caring who saw because she was glad that she hadn't lost Arthur (...TOO). And the look on Arthur's face was lovely; I like that he wasn't expecting it. It makes sense that the moments when they're least guarded are the ones where there's no time to remember what's keeping them apart. <3 I'm just going to imagine the other things Gwen did while Arthur was off questing. Arthur and Gwen as a couple holds ENORMOUS potential for me, particularly in comparison to nearly all of Arthur's other relationships, which are so heartbreakingly predicated on a lack of trust. I think I'm going to do some kind of post-mortem post on the series as a whole, in which I will have more things to say about that relationship and all the other relationships/characters on the show, the angles I wish had been explored that weren't, and what I hope to explore in fic, at least a little, over the hiatus.
I think that's all I've got. Basically, it was fine, and there were way too many dicks on the dance floor. But that's our show, innit. I'm zen about it at this point.
Bye for now, Merls!! It's been real. I look forward to loads of hiatus!fic.
know how I said I wasn't inspired to write as much? I LIEEED.
no subject
*snorfles*
Yay, Hunith! Though don't you love how her importance in this episode revolves entirely around establishing and confirming a father-son relationship? (This episode reminded me *so* much of the escape from Troy in the Aeneid, where the wife/mother just disappears and no one notices and it's okay that we never see her again because the important thing is that you have all the male generations present and accounted for.)
BUT THEN THE ENTIRE ROUND TABLE DIED. LOOOOL OH SHOW.
Ahahaha, yes! Poor Arthur. He's just gotten them all trained up and inspired and... it's time for a new batch. (Maybe someday he'll learn tactical maneuvers that do not result in a massive death toll. Except... no, that's pretty much how his story ends, isn't it?.)
Dragon gets a pass, Morgana had to be put down for the sake of Camelot. That about cover it? Just checking, just checking.
I'm admittedly a bit hazy on exactly what happened with Morgana (just going off random spoilers) but I cannot say I am surprised by this. Sad, but not surprised.
the questing bored me a little in spots
They're giving you time to refill your popcorn! If you didn't make popcorn you're just not taking this seriously enough.
Re: Balinor. Yes! I liked him most when he was pointing out the problems with what Merlin was asking.
Gwennnnnn, up on her toes, not caring who saw because she was glad that she hadn't lost Arthur (...TOO).
I have to admit I loved that moment. The Heroes Returning Home was wayyy too much, but something about Gwen flinging caution to the winds and letting herself show her emotions like that... awesome. Pure awesome.