I loved your review, as ever! And I agree with it 100%. The ep didnt have bells and whistles but it had something more important in my book - character movement & continuity from past episodes. OK its frustrating as a viewer to see Arthur listening to Agravaine when he seems so obviously The Bad Guy to us, but your analogy of Iago is spot on. He knows Arthur's buttons (ooh matron! :p) and he pushes them unerringly. In fact he seems a pretty sound judge of character all round (his distraction for Merlin for example - a present that'd please Arthur). Also the advice Agravaine gives is, on the surface, sound - as far as Arthurs experience goes. Its the advice Uther would give probably.
It's plot necessity that Arthur has to appear trusting and (because we know the truth about Argravaine) naive, but Bradley is SO good at showing, just from body language, how much the advice he's following goes against Arthur's own instincts and preferences - huge contrast with Uther who would have provided such fertile ground for Agravaine. Like you I really rate Nathaniel Parker though I wish they would give him some believable reason for backing Morgana as he does. I get from his tears that hes meant to care about him but she treats him like a dog, ALL the time.
Merlin-Arthur was again a joy; its just amazing how good they're allowing it to be! Incredibly they're not resetting the relationship button with each ep as they used to (end of ep - 'you were right/wise/brave Merlin'. Beg of next ep - 'you never get anything right/are a total coward Merlin'). The relationship now is beautifully written (whereas in Season 3 only the extraordinary chemistry between Bradley and Colin was keeping it alive, if on life support imo).
From the opening scenes of essential equality, trust and affection to the scene after Gaius interrogation, we can see this is not a king and subject interacting, or a master and servant, but 2 people who are incredibly close. In the throne room scene they're both defending and believing in their mentor. But you can see very clearly how Merlins pain hurts Arthur, that Merlin isnt just worried about Gaius, he's gutted that Arthur is listening to Agravaine and not him.
The main joy of the ep for me though was the understanding of each character. The line Agravaine uses to Arthur in front of Merlin: 'its not the magic is it? Its the constant lies?' Ouch. So brilliant though to hear that articulated outside fanfic. Gaius finally vocalising the truth about Emrys/Merlin's greatness and destiny which I don't think hes even told Merlin- does Merlin know these things about himself/Emrys? Then the sorceror bowing to him, at last giving him a reason to believe he's doing the right thing beyond his simple love for Arthur.
I have huge love too for the final scene - closing the plot outrage at the end of the ep where Uther dies, Arthur blames Dragoon & Gaius says nothing - and giving a chink of hope that they're not going to turn Arthur into Uther for the reveal. I loved that they also included Merlin in the apology (still surprised Agravaine did that) and allowed us to see Arthur trying to make amends in the typical Merthur way. Then allowing a simple, honest human exchange between Gaius and Arthur - the type of realistic human interaction the show has tended to ignore too often. PLus this writer even remembered that Gwen and Gwaine are Merlin's friends and as friends they would do what they could to comfort him. Shock! Its like a totally different show from last year!
There were the usual daft bits of course - the Middle Eastern bazaar where Morgana found the wizard from the Central Belt of Scotland; the white stallion/My Little Pony (why would Gaius choose to flee under cover of darkness on the most conspicuous horse in the universe?); the Sorcery for Dummies book Agravaine planted ; the dust on the boots/Sat Nav device. But all in all - I thought it was a beezer of an ep! So far Series 4 is a joy! :D
It's plot necessity that Arthur has to appear trusting and (because we know the truth about Argravaine) naive, but Bradley is SO good at showing, just from body language, how much the advice he's following goes against Arthur's own instincts and preferences - huge contrast with Uther who would have provided such fertile ground for Agravaine. Like you I really rate Nathaniel Parker though I wish they would give him some believable reason for backing Morgana as he does. I get from his tears that hes meant to care about him but she treats him like a dog, ALL the time.
Merlin-Arthur was again a joy; its just amazing how good they're allowing it to be! Incredibly they're not resetting the relationship button with each ep as they used to (end of ep - 'you were right/wise/brave Merlin'. Beg of next ep - 'you never get anything right/are a total coward Merlin'). The relationship now is beautifully written (whereas in Season 3 only the extraordinary chemistry between Bradley and Colin was keeping it alive, if on life support imo).
From the opening scenes of essential equality, trust and affection to the scene after Gaius interrogation, we can see this is not a king and subject interacting, or a master and servant, but 2 people who are incredibly close. In the throne room scene they're both defending and believing in their mentor. But you can see very clearly how Merlins pain hurts Arthur, that Merlin isnt just worried about Gaius, he's gutted that Arthur is listening to Agravaine and not him.
The main joy of the ep for me though was the understanding of each character. The line Agravaine uses to Arthur in front of Merlin: 'its not the magic is it? Its the constant lies?' Ouch. So brilliant though to hear that articulated outside fanfic. Gaius finally vocalising the truth about Emrys/Merlin's greatness and destiny which I don't think hes even told Merlin- does Merlin know these things about himself/Emrys? Then the sorceror bowing to him, at last giving him a reason to believe he's doing the right thing beyond his simple love for Arthur.
I have huge love too for the final scene - closing the plot outrage at the end of the ep where Uther dies, Arthur blames Dragoon & Gaius says nothing - and giving a chink of hope that they're not going to turn Arthur into Uther for the reveal. I loved that they also included Merlin in the apology (still surprised Agravaine did that) and allowed us to see Arthur trying to make amends in the typical Merthur way. Then allowing a simple, honest human exchange between Gaius and Arthur - the type of realistic human interaction the show has tended to ignore too often. PLus this writer even remembered that Gwen and Gwaine are Merlin's friends and as friends they would do what they could to comfort him. Shock! Its like a totally different show from last year!
There were the usual daft bits of course - the Middle Eastern bazaar where Morgana found the wizard from the Central Belt of Scotland; the white stallion/My Little Pony (why would Gaius choose to flee under cover of darkness on the most conspicuous horse in the universe?); the Sorcery for Dummies book Agravaine planted ; the dust on the boots/Sat Nav device. But all in all - I thought it was a beezer of an ep! So far Series 4 is a joy! :D
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