Merlin day is happy day
I'm going to talk about these two as one, since I saw them close together and especially since they actually work very well in sequence. Ben said "They're almost a two-parter really" and I am inclined to agree with him.
Evil Merlin! All he needed was a goatee :) Seriously though, possessed Merlin was both hilarious and just enough like normal Merlin to be really creepy. It puzzled me at first why he didn't use any magic while he was possessed - which would be the very easiest way to kill Arthur - but I think it must be because his personality was essentially distilled from what Morgana knows about him. Morgana has experienced sassy Merlin and speaks-his-mind Merlin, but she hasn't knowingly experienced magic Merlin, and so all the possessed version said and did was what Morgana thought he would say and do.
How hot were those scenes between bondage!Merlin and Morgana? MORE FIC NOW PLEASE. Very impressed with the way Colin uses his body - when she threw the water over him and he was twisting and struggling like a fish on a line, and then when she was outlining his plans and he was holding himself very very still and just using his eyes - that was very effective at conveying both helplessness and strength. I love it when Colin has an opportunity to play Merlin's real strength and power - when Merlin can effectively be himself, express himself more honestly than he can when fettered by the requirements of his role. That "I can die happy" was low-key but positively humming with strength.
Later when Morgana came into her hut, saw Old Merlin and backed out in abrupt terror, that was a great reaction. It's exactly what you would do if you walk into the place where you feel safe to find the boogeyman you've seen in your nightmares waiting for you. And while I'm getting a little sick of Old Merlin being used so often, I think it really was effective here, with not just the comic moments but some really powerful stuff when he was standing over Morgana in the forest and she asked if Arthur sent him. Again it was all in the eyes; well done, Colin.
I don't know why Morgana doesn't see the power in Merlin. It seems strange that she keeps referring to him as "just a serving boy" when by her own admission he's thwarted her most ambitious plans. This goes double after 'The Secret Sharer' when Alator directed his comments that he knew who and where Emrys was directly to Merlin rather than to Morgana herself. Surely that's got to make her suspicious? Surely she's got to think that the only reason Alator would direct those comments to Merlin was that they had some significance to Merlin. But perhaps she's both blinded and comforted by her class privilege and that's her subconscious defence mechanism; 'serving boy' meqans she can classify him as unimportant, easy to despatch at any moment. He's a "thorn in her side" rather than a true threat; she can almost convince herself that she just hasn't been bothered to get rid of him yet.
Boys have feelings. With every episode in season 4 I am more convinced that we will see a magic reveal at the end of this season and that the final season will be the fallout of Merlin and Arthur dealing with that. Merlin's becoming indispensable; he's clearly now becoming Arthur's personal secretary as well as his manservant - writing his speeches, going through his daily schedule with him, etc. There is a real buildup to something here. Arthur's both demonstrating and verbalising that he needs Merlin more than almost anyone else right now. As King, of course, he needs a lot of people - but in terms of having someone on a personal level, Merlin provides him with not just "service" but with everything he needs from a friend - reassurance at the right time, affection, understanding of his non-verbal communication, a confidante and a sounding board. His whole reaction to Merlin's presumed death in 4.06 shows this - unlike other situations where he's saved Merlin this isn't out of duty or honour. It's personal.
And of course, while 4.06 had all that classic fanfic-type h/c going on and openly spoken, there was so much unspoken stuff going on in 4.07 - like that wonderful scene with Merlin silently ghosting in the background, trying to hold himself together and raging the steel into his soul, while Agravaine blithely implicates Gaius and Arthur listens. Nnngh. I've had my heart broken enough today, Merlin. And the unspoken cues at the end of that ep.
At the same time as the relationship between Arthur and Merlin is being re-defined and emphasised, so is Arthur's situation as a young king trying to firm up his rule, establish his own style of leadership and balance his life. We're getting a lot of establishing of Arthur's loneliness - again, both verbally expressed by Arthur himself, and shown to us via little vignettes like the campfire-tent scene in 4.05. I suspect we are going to find Arthur in a situation of more vulnerability and more reliance on Merlin than ever before, and that means that even if his attitude to magic in general softens, he'll find it devastating to discover who Merlin really is.
Having said that, I am SO glad that Gaius had his little tete-a-tete with Arthur at the end of 4.07 and actually told him that 'Dragoon' was not deliberately trying to kill Uther. I only wish he'd shown him the damn enchanted pendant. Still, it's a start. It goes against so much of Gaius' nature, which usually tends towards the most resolute keeping of the status quo and not rocking the boat. Perhaps Gaius is also beginning to realise that the old ways are dying and that with Arthur, there is hope for change, but that you need to bend a little yourself to find flexibility in another.
Richard Wilson did a marvellous job in 4.07, I thought; his utterances about the age of Albion were just beautifully on the right note, solemn and momentous but not pretentious. The situation at the end where Merlin is sitting by Gaius' bedside and Gaius says he's ashamed is a role reversal and quite a sweet scene. And of course it was lovely to have Gaius tell Arthur he loves him - and this time it was Bradley who got to play the response so beautifully and mostly in his eyes.
Bits and pieces. Nice to see Gwen get something to do which wasn't directly related to Arthur, even if it was just hitting Merlin over the head (in one episode) and squeezing him a bit (in the other). I notice the edge of her bra peeking out when she talked to Merlin after Gaius was kidnapped; which is a little like the waistband of Merlin's undies showing up in 4.06 :) She has some great comedy faces, and what's more she looks gorgeous making them, which isn't something you can say for everyone.
Nice also to see Gwaine play a part which isn't pure comic relief. I love that he endured Merlin being a bitch to him and knew exactly what was going on with him, and helped him anyway.
- Nathaniel Parker, while he's no Tony Head, does an awesome job of "smile and smile and yet be a villain". Agravaine is very believable in his denials and insistence, and he thinks on his feet. What I don't understand is why he's in league with Morgana. I really have nothing to go on here. He seemed quite emotionally distraught when he found her knocked out in the forest, and he's clearly tender in his care of her; but why? Given that Arthur is related to him by blood and Morgana is not, and that he even points out himself that Arthur is the only remnant of his lost sister - what's going on? I can understand him hating Uther but not Arthur. I really hope the writers are going somwehere with this.
The scene where Alator offered his allegiance to Merlin was very powerful, not least because the actor was so intense all the way through that there was a real weight and dignity to his speech and actions. It's also good to see Merlin being genuinely helped and supported by another magic user in this way. The Druids are aware of him but they seem to have kept their distance and remained fairly neutral, and most of the other magic users we've encountered have been anti-Camelot. I would like to see Merlin gather a secret force of supporters, but I suppose that may lead to rumours of some kind of magic conspiracy? Hmmm.
We're over halfway through the season now. Alas!