Merlin 4.05 "There's Something About You Arthur Pendragon"
It’s review time and we are five episodes into the season!! This shall be my last review as a sprightly, energetic 27 year old. Next week I reach my eighth and twentieth year. I don’t know if the effect of old age will take place immediately on the anniversary of my birth…but it’s good to be mentally prepared.
We start off this week with what we instantly recognise as a Knight of Camelot bounding up a hill. We don’t get a great view of who it is, truth be told. It’s like that ‘Guess the Sportsman’ game on ‘A Question of Sport’ where they’ve got a famous sports personality in fancy dress, but only show bits of their body or out of focus shots. Our Knight, looks quite a bit like Merlin and also runs quite similar to Merlin. I‘m going to take a wild stab in the dark, Sue. Is it Rafa Nadal?
No, of course it isn’t, it is in fact Merlin! Who’d have thunk?! What he is running away from, we have yet to see. My bet is that the role playing with the Knights got a bit frisky and he legged it. I am however wrong and Merlin is being chased by Generic Bandits of the Week. Apparently these bandits were extras on the Pirates of the Caribbean films as they seem to be doing a very piratey ‘Arrrrrh’ when in pursuit. I think I see one with a peg leg and a parrot in the back.
The Pirate Bandits follow Merlin into the same little alcove where the Knights hid from Dragon Stealer last week. I think it’s becoming Arthur’s version of a treehouse. He takes the knights and Merlin there and they have sleepovers and tell each other ghost stories. Gaius brings them out milk and cookies. However, at the moment Merlin seems to be cornered by the bandits and has no weapon. Well except that large Axe that one of the Pirate Bandits threw at him. Oh and the immense and powerful magic…but the axe though! That’s a keeper.
As it turns out Arthur has actually been using Merlin as a ferret to lure the prey out. The rodent theme continues as Arthur makes a flying leap off the bank, in what I can only describe as in the manner of a hamster jumping off a sofa in a bid for freedom. I’m still not sure why Arthur chose to approach the bandit in that way, but then I’m still not sure why twenty years ago, Hamlet the hamster felt it necessary to jump off the furniture and try to make an escape. I made him a maze out of toilet roll holders and everything. The hamster, that is, not Arthur. Although I’m sure Merlin would make him one if he asked nicely.
After the opening titles we see Arthur and his Angels leading the lead Pirate Bandit back to Camelot, I assume. Good Ol’ Uncle Aggie is there too and spots that the prisoner is wearing an I.D badge that identifies him as Kind Caerleon. They are all about the modern technology in other kingdoms. You can’t get in anywhere in Odin’s land without fingerprint scans. Camelot is so far behind the times.
Incidentally, I remember Caerleon being mentioned before, sometime last season. I don’t know if it was done intentionally or if the writers pulled it out of their Big Book of Arthurian Legend, but it was definitely in an episode. Send me your answers and I’ll give three points for the right one. I mean, I don’t actually know the right one…so three points for everyone! Yay!
It’s now nightfall and Uncle Aggie and Arthur are having a chat about the King Pirate Bandit. It seems he’s a bit of a wanderer and regularly ventures into Camelot. Agravaine suggests sinister motives for this, but I think it’s just because of The Rising Sun’s infamous karaoke night on a Tuesday. Uncle Scar convinces Simba Pendragon that while all of Camelot respects him for his rendition of ‘I Just Can’t Wait To be King’ last week, the enemies of the Kingdom may feel he is weak.
I thought Nathaniel Parker was very good here. Agravaine is obviously part of Arthur’s family and he has no reason not to trust him. He’s manipulating Arthur in a very rational and convincing way. At one point even I was going “Yeah, kill the King!!!! You tell him Uncle Aggie….oh wait no that’s wrong.” There was very much a contrast of the devil of Agravaine whispering in one ear, and the angel of Merlin whispering in the other.
Merlin wakes up and notices the other side of the bedroll hasn’t been slept on. Arthur clearly didn’t come to bed last night. This is a really nice scene actually, where now we have Merlin trying to convince Arthur to do the opposite of what Agravaine was saying. Whereas Agravaine was speaking to Arthur under darkness, Merlin is speaking to him when it is light. Nice contrast there show! I liked it! However, while Agravaine’s argument appealed to Arthur’s emotions about his father, Merlin’s does the opposite so, for the moment, Arthur is unwilling to listen.
Agravaine hands King Pirate Bandit a scroll. It’s the script to a new adaptation of Treasure Island. Either he agrees to the terms or the part goes to someone else. Oh and he gets killed. He’s having none of it though. This scene was very tense!!!! I liked it a lot. I like how in this episode they made Arthur so set in trying to follow in his father’s memory, that his grief was clouding the morals his father had and that in life he didn’t agree with them. It seemed a very ‘real’ thing for me.
They all return to Camelot. Agravaine watches while Arthur hugs Gwen. He doesn’t look happy. He’s fine with Arthur frolicking on the floor with Merlin last week, but not about any contact with Gwen. He’s clearly a Merlin/Arthur shipper. On another note, are Gwen and Arthur supposed to be dating? I’ve kind of forgotten. Did they kiss in the first episode in Uther’s room? I honestly can’t remember, I was too busy tuting to myself about how untidy Uther’s hair was. I was scanning the room for a hairbrush. It is the longest, dullest courtship in history isn’t it? I don’t mean that in a nasty way.
The next scene and Merlin appears to be taking Arthur’s used clothes from their travels and putting them back in the wardrobe. I should imagine he’ll be taking them down to the kitchen to hang dry later. Get that meaty smell back in them. Merlin’s trying to get Arthur to admit how he feels about executing a man. After the other week when Arthur called Merlin his friend, Merlin’s now run with the idea. I should imagine whenever he signs his name now he writes “Merlin (Arthur’s Friend)”. It was the highlight of his year. He brings it up again now when he tells Arthur that he needn’t push his friends away. Arthur tells him that the decisions are his and his alone. All my money is on Arthur’s song at the next Karaoke night being ‘All By Myself’.
King Pirate Bandit’s body is being taken back home to his castle. A lady, pulls back the blanket over his corpse. We assume this is the Queen as she is wearing a crown. Well…I say crown, more like an alice band that has slipped down. The budget for Baby Aithusa Dragon, last week, must have been so colossal that the crown budget for this season was £4.20. I don’t even want to mention that monstrosity that Arthur had at his coronation. I think I made a similar one from a design I saw on Blue Peter when I was five. I think I made it from two yoghurt pots, three paperclips and a toilet roll holder (left over from the hamster maze). Now this poor sod of a Queen has a crown so small, I initially though it was the sunlight beaming off her forehead. The next crown we see will be out of a Christmas cracker, you mark my words.
So Queen of the Week!!! Queen of the Week! I’ve never had a Queen of the Week before. Frankly the nominations for the end of season ‘Best King of the Week’ were looking pretty sparse, so to have two monarchs in one episode is a bit of a treat for me. Queen Pirate Bandit uncovers the body and immediately identifies that her husband was not killed by a battle wound. Woah there Quincy!! Man, that forensic technology is good in Caerleon’s kingdom. Camelot really does need to update itself. Gaius wouldn’t even been able to tell if this guy was dead!
Uncle Aggie tries to have a talk to Arthur about Gwen. He mentions that she is beautiful and a good person, but really the chemistry isn’t really there. He thinks the relationship is nice, but the main focus was on how it was forbidden. He hopes that the writers have intentionally made the relationship mundane, so that when they are married it becomes obvious why Gwen runs off with Lancelot. Agravine says that he hopes it is made clear by the show, that this is ultimately a marriage of nice convenience and that they beef Gwen’s character out a lot more by having her not just fall into Arthur’s arms all the time, even though she has major problems with the man he is. Agravaine thinks she is too docile and her only purpose is as a love interest, not as the autonomous woman she is supposed to be, who makes painful decisions so she can have what she wants.
(Ok…that may have been me, not Agravaine. He says something about her being nice, but not good for the Kingdom, but his eyes were saying the same as me!)
Arthur’s trying to work off some sexual frustration in the Camelot boxing gym when Sir Leon appears telling him that Caerleon’s army are on their way to Camelot. Everyone meets in the council chambers and Arthur’s got his board game of ‘Risk: Camelot’ out.
Oh look, there’s Morgana! Hi! *waves*. She seems busy sneaking into a castle. Well at least she’s out the shack. That’s progress. She’s looking very on-season trend in her gothic gear. It’s not because she’s evil, she just follows fashion. By spring she’ll be head to toe in peacock blue. Morgana goes to speak to The Queen and the monarch seems to know who she is? How is that possible when Arthur and Caerleon didn’t seem to know each other. Does she follow her on Twitter? FF: @morganaforqueen @queenoftheweek
Merlin’s hoping that his and Arthur’s last night before they go to war can be spent in bed together, but Arthur’s not in the mood. Poor Merlin, he really should have sensed that it wasn’t the best time to proposition Arthur. Although, the way he was hitting that punch bag earlier, you can’t really blame Merlin for trying. I think he’s be in with a shout though, but unfortunately Arthur’s got to get to Gwen’s so the show can repress any erotic component between two male characters with a heterosexual love story. I mean, I don’t think that was the stage direction in the script, but that’s pretty much the jist.
Arthur goes to Gwen’s house. Luckily she’s got her Lancelot shrine tucked away in a cupboard, so she invites him in. This is an interesting scene. It’s very devoid of passion. If someone I was seeing for five years, said that they couldn’t see me anymore then I’d be a bit pissed off to be frank. This kind of goes to my theory that the writers are deliberately making this relationship quite tepid. I’m not saying they should have Gwen and Arthur scream and shout and throw things at each other, but it would be interesting if Gwen was a little more annoyed here. Arthur’s not a docile character, but when it’s him and Gwen, he is. It’s a very polite, nice conversation. I’ve had conversations with my dentist that have more of a kick to them. I’m not saying Angel is doing anything wrong here, by the way. Like I said, I think the writers have to be doing this on purpose.
Wow! Look at all of Camelot’s men! There’s got to be about 200 of them in the courtyard. Where they all come from is a mystery and where they get horses for them all is a question I think will never be answered. Gwen, being the only girl in Camelot, has to resort to having a girly chat with Gaius. Actually, I think they must be the only two people left in Camelot. It’s either Gaius or Geoffrey.
A very nice shot there of Arthur standing on the edge of cliff. Maybe he’ll change his karaoke song to GaGa’s ‘Edge of Glory. JESUS!!! How many men do the other side have?!! They’ve got bloody thousands! Retreat!!!! Retreat!! For the Love of Camelot, RETREAT!!!!!
Arthur looks out from his tent at his Angels and Merlin sitting around the campfire. Sir Leon ruffles Merlin’s hair. He’s getting quite fond of Merlin isn’t he? I think Merlin’s in with a chance there. It’s a very sweet dynamic with him and the Knights. They all adore him. This is to obviously show how isolated Arthur is feeling. It’s interesting that this is a theme consistent with both Merlin and Arthur’s characters. They both feel they are in unique positions that no one else can relate to. Funnily enough though, even though those positions are different, if they were honest with each other they would have someone else to relate to. We’ve seen Merlin mess up, such as killing Uther, because he couldn’t get Arthur’s advice and rushed in with his heart without thinking. This episode we saw Arthur mess up because he was thinking too strategically and not with what his heart (and Merlin) was telling him.
Merlin’s flirting with all the Knights when he notices Arthur watching. The Knights have clearly had a bit to drink because they stumble into Arthur’s tent and give the Noble version of a drunken “I really love you I do.” speech. Later that night Arthur sneaks out in that hideous blue cloak again. Is that all the clothing he has? How far behind is Merlin in doing Arthur’s washing? I’ve got to say though Merlin’s comedy pratfall into the tent was hilarious. I can only imagine that it was Percival’s foot he tripped over. That arrow in his leg barely slowed him down last week, someone tripping over his foot must be nothing.
Arthur walks over to the other campsite, where it appears everyone has tents. It looks more like Glastonbury Festival. Caerleon’s army like to make a bit of an occasion out of their wars. They’ve got those circus folk from Arthur’s birthday performing on the main stage later. Merlin’s following, because he really can’t leave Arthur alone. You wouldn’t think he was an all powerful sorcerer, would you? He would just happily trot after Arthur all day. I think that makes sense though, as to why Merlin’s never gone over to the dark side, where he could have all the power he wants and have a land where magic could be free. He adores Arthur, he doesn’t want to be anywhere else.
Arthur meets with the Queen and does a quick “Ooops, sorry about your husband. My bad.” apology. He does however manage to negotiate a way so that hundred’s of people don’t get hurt, probably knowing that the body count will rise even further once Gaius gets his paws on them. Merlin is not as sneaky as he thinks he is and is dragged in the tent and Arthur gives him a look like he’s a puppy that’s followed him to work. It’s interesting that here, is probably the only time that Merlin hasn’t been needed. Arthur was doing a really good job all by himself. Merlin again tells Arthur he was looking out for him because he’s his friend. What’s the bet that for Christmas he’s giving Arthur a mixed tape with all songs that have ‘friend’ in the title. Or whatever the mixed tape equivalent is in Camelot. I should imagine having a lute player following you around, or such.
Arthur is getting ready for battle when he takes off his silver ring and hands it to Merlin. He asks him that if he dies then he should pass it on to Gwen. I should imagine she can melt it down and make a fancy frame for her Lancelot shrine. By the look on Merlin’s face, I don’t imagine it’ll get to Gwen if Arthur does die. To be frank, if Arthur get’s it back if he lives I’ll be surprised. Aww, bless Merlin, he’s so upset. I should imagine Arthur calling him ‘old friend’ made his week though. That’s going right in his diary/memory box with Arthur’s ring.
Was this Ultimate Champion guy made with CGI?? He’s huge. I should imagine they made him look a little bigger than he was with camera tricks, but he’s still massive. Merlin versus Morgana magic showdown though!!! Although it was all a secret, but still a little flash of what will come. I though Morgana was used well in this episode. I liked the reference the Queen made to Morgana being more like Uther, than Arthur is. It was interesting how both Arthur and the Queen were grieving and being manipulated in their emotional state, but both are actually fair rulers.
The role of Merlin to Arthur has definitely shifted a little more in this episode. He is an awful servant, but a very good advisor and Arthur seemed to acknowledge that. The only thing that troubled me about this episode is aren’t Merlin and Gaius supposed to be aware that Agravaine is over on the dark side? There wasn’t any reference to them knowing. This little scene in the courtyard seemed like a final scene to me. I was just about to get up to get more wine, when they added the Gwen/Arthur scene on the end.
I almost thought this scene was going to be a bit more dynamic. I thought after Arthur had dumped Gwen for being a chav, she wouldn’t accept his apology so easily. However, once that sunlight streamed through the window and those fiddlers amped up the sound, I figured which way the scene would go.
I’m sounding like a broken record, but I thought this was a really good episode again. Guest Star of the Week Lindsay Duncan was really good, I thought the character had nice depth which guest characters don’t always have. I liked how this episode reiterated how Morgana’s motivations are the product of her life. I adored the little Merlin and Arthur dynamic with regards to the themes of isolation they both share, as well as their contrasting ways of dealing with a crisis, where they need the other’s influence otherwise they go wrong.
I’m glad they didn’t just plough on the same way with Arthur as King. I liked that they had him tested and originally fail. Arthur is probably the most honest and truthful character on the show, caught up in the fights that surround him.
Next week Morgana enchants Merlin to kill Arthur. This actually looks funnier than I thought from the episode synopsis. It looks like neither of them are aware that Merlin is doing things that will harm Arthur. I think that’s going to be quite humorous. Also, is that Dragoon??!! I’m looking forward to this episode!