MOTHERFUCKING PENDRAGONS

[heathershaped]

THE GREATEST THING

THE GREATEST THING I HAVE EVER

+ REMEMBER THAT TIME WHEN ELENA WAS ADORABLE AND FUNNY AND CUTE AND DELIGHTFUL AND BEAT ARTHUR AT RACING

AND HOW THEY BOTH LIKED EACH OTHER BUT DIDN'T LOVE EACH OTHER AND IT WAS DONE IN SUCH A MATURE WAY WITH THE WRITERS NOT FEELING A NEED TO VILLIFY ELENA AT ALL

AND HOW GWEN WAS KIND OF ENDEARED BY HER TOO AND WAS ALL FAIR AND NOBLE ABOUT IT

EVEN THOUGH IN HER HEART SHE WAS ALL 'NOOOOO DNW FML' AND HER HEART WAS BREAKING

AND SO WAS ARTHUR'S

AND THEY PROCEEDED TO SPEND THE WHOLE EPISODE GLANCING AT EACH OTHER THROUGH THEIR PAIN



AND MORGANA COULD TELL BECAUSE SHE ACTUALLY NOTICED THINGS AS OPPOSED TO 2X10

AND SHE AND GWEN HAD A REAL CONVERSATION, WHATEVER HER SHADY MOTIVES WERE



AND THEN GWEN VISITED ARTHUR WITH THE INTENTION OF REASSURING HIM THAT SHE UNDERSTANDS THE SITUATION AND THAT HE SHOULDN'T FEEL BAD (BECAUSE THAT'S WHO SHE IS AUGH I LOVE HER) BUT THEN THEY COULDN'T COMPOSE THEMSELVES AND THEIR VOICES WERE SO UNSTEADY AND THEY HAD TEARS IN THEIR EYES AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO FUCKING MUCH AND THIS CONVERSATION HAPPENED



A: "Is what I want really that insane?"
G: "Yes, Arthur. From anyone's perspective, apart from... yours and mine...*choke*... it's completely insane."
A: "Then I'm happy being insane."

POP GOES MY HEART

BUT THAT WASN'T EVEN IT

BECAUSE THEN GWEN WAS ALL "I DON'T THINK SHE'D MAKE YOU MISERABLE. SHE HAS A GOOD HEART" (BECAUSE THAT'S WHO SHE IIIIIIS ♥♥♥) AND WAS BUSY TRYING TO STEEL HERSELF AGAINST THE INEVITABLE



AND THE NEXT DAY ARTHUR PROPOSED TO ELENA AND GWEN WAS IN THE BACKGROUND LISTENING TO HIM TALK ABOUT HIS LOVE FOR CAMELOT, AND YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE HER LITTLE DETERMINED FACE AS SHE TRIED TO FOCUS ON THAT VERY IMPORTANT THING WHILE HER HEART CRUMBLED




THEN, THEN, REMEMBER HOW THE PLOT MOVED ALONG AND MERLIN RESOLVED IT A) WITHOUT KILLING ELENA AND B) WITH ABOUT TEN MINUTES OF EPISODE LEFT TO SPARE

...SO THAT THE EPISODE, EFFECTIVELY, BECAME ABOUT ARTHUR DEVELOPING AND BEING A FUCKIN' MAN?

HE AND MERLIN HAD A TALK IN WHICH MERLS SAID EXACTLY THE RIGHT THING AND ARTHUR COULDN'T HELP BUT LISTEN TO HIM FOR ONCE AND IT WAS GREAT



THEN THERE WAS A WEDDING, AND ELENA WAS ALL CLASSY BUT STILL DELIGHTFUL, AND SO REASONABLE AND DIRECT AND TOTALLY ON THE SAME PAGE AS ARTHUR (AND ALSO NOTICING ARTHUR'S FREQUENT GLANCES IN GWEN'S DIRECTION)

AS GWEN TRIED NOT TO CRY



AND ARTHUR LOOKED LIKE THIS



OH KIIIIIDS

BUT HE STOPPED THE WEDDING, WITH ELENA'S FULL SUPPORT, AND THEY WERE ALL SO PALPABLY RELIEVED INCLUDING ELENA. AND UTHER TRIED TO YELL AT HIM ABOUT IT LATER BUT WHO EVEN CARES WHAT HE THINKS AMIRITE BECAUSE ARTHUR HAS TAKEN HIS FIRST BIG STEP AWAY FROM HIM, AND ALL BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR GWEN AND BECAUSE OF MERLIN'S SUPPORT

SO ELENA LEFT HAPPILY, NOT AS THE BUTT OF A JOKE THE WAY VIVIAN WAS, AND EVERYONE'S FEELING MUCH BETTER

BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN IT

BECAUSE THEN HE MEETS GWEN IN THE STAIRWAY AND THEY FLIRT A LITTLE BIT

WHICH IS ALL I HAVE EVER WANTED IN LIFE TO SEE


Arthur: I'm still a single man.
Gwen: Indeed.


Gwen: I don't think you deserve her, actually. She's really very lovely.


Arthur: Hm. Well, I had hoped to have forsaken her for someone equally as lovely. Perhaps even...more so.
Gwen: I do not know of such a person.
Arthur: Me neither.
Arthur: But, I guess...only time will tell.

AND THEN ARTHUR SKIPPED UP THE STAIRS

SKIPPED. UP. THE. STAIRS


AND THE EPISODE ACTUALLY ENDED WITH THE TWO OF THEM WHICH HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE EVER

AND THEN NEXT WEEK'S TRAILER MADE ME FALL OUT OF MY FUCKING CHAIR

REMEMBER THAT TIME ALL OF THIS HAPPENED IN THE SPACE OF 43 MINUTES

BECAUSE I REMEMBER THAT TIME

IT WAS AWESOME

+ OTHER POINTS:

- LOL @ THE SIDHE WANTING TO KILL ARTHUR IN THE FIRST SEASON, BUT APPARENTLY HAVING A 20-YEAR PLOT TO BRING HIM INTO THE FAMILY AT THE SAME TIME, WHATEVER, WHATEVER

- WHAT WAS WITH ELENA'S POSSESSED!HAIR AS OPPOSED TO HER REAL HAIR, WTF ARE Y'ALL TRYING TO SAY

- THE GRUNHILDA/GAIUS SUBPLOT WAS MADE OF FAIL, OF THE GENDER VARIETY

- MORGANA'S REACTION TO UTHER ASKING HER ABOUT WHETHER GIRLS LIKE A FUSS:


"LOOOOOOL WHAT THE FUCK DO I KNOW, MY GIRLFRIEND AND I SWORDFIGHT AND MAKE OUT OVER CAULDRONS"

- GWEN GROPING ARTHUR DURING FEASTS: CANON


- ALSO GAIUS WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS



AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS EPISODE

THIS SEASON IS THE GREATEST

(All gifs made my the amazing stunning flawless peopleareshapes)

Comments

[shewhohashope]

I'm all aflutter about Elena and spoilers for next week!

Also Gaius why is Merlin pretending that your medieval dildo is his tongue? WHY IS THIS?

[heathershaped]

Elena! I want her to come back, and I want fic, and I love her so very very much. ♥

LMAO MEDIEVAL DILDOS ARE HARDCORE THO, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT ONE HAS LIKE BUCKLES OR SOME SHIT ON THE HANDLE THERE

[such_heights]

HAHAHA, OH MY GOD. *dies of lol*

But primarily, oh man, Heather, CAN WE TALK ABOUT GWEN'S FACE SOME MORE. BECAUSE REALLY, REALLY, HOW IS SHE REAL. When she's at the wedding, and she is trying SO HARD to not cry and instead to be proud of Arthur and SUDDENLY IT IS RAINING ON MY FACE. HOLY MOTHERFUCKING QUEEN OF CAMELOT I CAN'T EVEN.

I, um, have a lot of feelings on this subject.

[heathershaped]

ANGEL SHOULD TAKE OUT A HEFTY INSURANCE POLICY ON HER FACE.

HER WHOLE. FACE.

FEELINGS, OMG FEELINGS

[emei]

I just want to say yes, and yes, and yes to this post. So much better things in this episode than I was expecting! Gweeeen. How I love her unselfish, stoic heart and that she got proper screentime to have feelings and a conversation with Morgana, and Elena was rather delightful.

Though we really, really could've done without the Gaius/Grunhilda subplot of genderfail and ridiculing older people's sexuality, and the faily hair thing. I would really like for this show to take a step away from ugly/not confirming to established norms (especially re:beauty & grace for women)= EVIL CREATURE.

Am still mostly starry-eyed over Gwen.

[heathershaped]

Oh, her stoic heart ♥ I love the way you put things into words.

The Gaius/Grunhilda plot, ugh! Making fun of both old-people-sex AND older women being sexually aggressive.

BUT YES GWEN. OH, LOVE.

[copracat]

YES. EXACTLY. THIS.

<3 <3 HE SKIPPED UP THE STAIRS <3 <3

[heathershaped]

WHEEEE *TWIRLS*

[brightfame]

I am laughing so much at that 'WTF?!' moment you reblogged on tumblr. Bradley James, what were you thinking!

[heathershaped]

HAHA Bradley James can't be expected to control his ridiculous face okay. ♥

FOR POSTERITY

[florahart]

*watches like 12 hours later* OH MY GOD. I am in full agreement with your capslockiness! And aw! They had tears! And brave coping! And lookings! And Elena was (aside from her hair which I guess was as clumsy as her feet? I dunno) totally appealing with no evilness, nastiness, impure motivation... Wait, how did this happen? (Although actually I didn't hate her crazy!hair either because hey, girls that climb trees and ride horses don't have perfect wavy waves, yanno, and not all of us are good at neat braids. *nods*)

I choose to interpret Gaius's medieval jesus christ what is that thing as the actual reason he found Grunhilda unappealing. His interests lie elsewhere, is all. Yes. And Merlin knows it (you know what, after all these years typing the word 'Merlin' coming out Ron Weasley's mouth, I do wish my fingers would have learned not to type 'Merline'), so his ew face is more, oh, Gaius, how awful for you. Yep.



.................It would be wrong to write fic in which Elena is the princess in the Frog Prince only this frog, when he touches her tongue, the unexpected happens. Right?

[heathershaped]

LOL NO, IT IS NOT WRONG, I kind of want to ROLL AROUND in Elenafic. And you should write that, you should really write that.

She's by far the best of the Blondes Arthur Is Contractually Obligated To Nearly Marry Per Season. I loved her crazyhair, and her bare feet, and also we are kind of the the same person!

Your Gaius interpretation is sound and I subscribe to it.

[woldy]

Yeah, I noticed that the Sidhe are clearly the worst planners ever.

But Angel! So awesome in this episode. I wish the Gwen-Morgana friendship wasn't so obviously over & that Morgana could have given Gwen a hug during the heartbreak instead of the evil intentions behind their talk, but apparently Morgana is all into her new girlfriend and Taking Over the World! Ah well, at least Gwen/Morgana will live on in fanfic.

Also, re. the possessed hair, my theory is that Grunhilda was just really bad with the hairbrush. Or there's some medieval equivalent of the Sleakeasy potion Hermione uses, & Gauis gave it to Elena because he felt bad they'd just killed her maid.

[heathershaped]

Or there's some medieval equivalent of the Sleakeasy potion Hermione uses, & Gauis gave it to Elena because he felt bad they'd just killed her maid.

At least someone felt bad they just killed her maid!

[briar_pipe]

SKIPPED UP THE STEPS

+ Unfortunately, the Gaius/Grunhilde fail was also ageist as all heck. WHY MUST OLD PEOPLE FLIRTING BE EITHER THE BUTT OF JOKES OR ALL SOPPY. WHY CAN WE NOT JUST LET A RELATIONSHIP FUCKING HAPPEN. Thank you. /steps off soapbox

+ WORD on the plot problems. Also, reused sets and scenery, anyone? Wait, I know that riverbend....

HOWEVER, that aside, if fandom doesn't adopt Elena YESTERDAY I will be so disappointed. This episode plus the last one have restored my faith that there are good times yet to be had. COME ON SHOW, YOU CAN MAKE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF. WE BELIEVE IN YOU, WE DO WE DO. *claps desperately*

[heathershaped]

Elena/Viv fic!

Haha, I lol'ed at the reused shot of Arthur and Merlin walking through the courtyard as Morgana watched them. But luckily that was the only one I picked up on. XD

Also I really agree that Gaius should be allowed non-faily love. *nod*

[elanorelle]

I had let thinking about the fail of this episode (sexism! ageism! ugly duckling syndrome! Merlin's internalised anti-magic prejudice! jokes after killing people pixies! DEATH OF MORGANA/GWEN! DDDD:) overrun all the awesomeness that it contained, but NOW I READ THIS POST and I REMEMBER that Gwen and Arthur are SO SCHMOO and that Elena is made of win and that FAIL ASIDE it was really quite awesome. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

[heathershaped]

It's important to not lose sight of the fail, for there is always fail!

...but, if one is to keep watching the show, at least if one is me, it's CRUCIAL to not lose sight of the Pendragons and Elena cuteness.

Glad I could help!