As usual (it would seem) I agree completely with your review!
The more I think about it, the more I simply ADORE this episode (though that's maybe not the best word to use, given the grim subject it touches upon...) Well, at any rate I like everything about it!
Initially I thought Merlin was a bit too shrill and insistent, the banter between him and Arthur a bit off and sort of trying too hard, the various characters' treatment of each other a tiny tad bit too callous and uncaring - in short, everything was a tiny bit jarring... BUT that fit perfectly with Arthur's mood here, with the underlying unnerving story of buried cruelty and mass-murder coming home to roost. There was a point to the subtly strange unease and tension that permeated many scenes. It was as if we were experiencing Arthur's troubled mind and guilt-ridden conscience most of the time, without even knowing it - even when he wasn't in the scene. So impressive!
Also I loved how easily Arthur gave up pretending he didn't want Merlin tagging along in the woods that night. He *needed* Merlin with him, couldn't go that last tough leg alone. That he let Merlin stand there and listen to his own distress, guilt, pleading - I know he had other things on his mind there than Merlin, but still that was Arthur showing Merlin an immense and instinctive trust, I felt. Trusting that whatever happened, whether he himself lived or died, Merlin would still care for and remember all the different aspects to him, the good and the bad, and not just see the child druid killer.
Wonderful too how Bradely managed to show how Arthur gained in quietly regal bearing and nobility from owing up to his past and solemnly promising to do better - the wise and just king was shining through.
I loved Merlin's freak-out at the cursed well. So well done! And Gaius was much less of an irritating fount of wisdom and more likably human once he atually ventured forth from Camelot's walls.
And OMG, Merlin not telling Arthur about his "Something about Mary" look with added gravy! That's taking the piss for good and real - Merlin had it coming there, the little minx, and he knew it.
He *needed* Merlin with him, couldn't go that last tough leg alone. That he let Merlin stand there and listen to his own distress, guilt, pleading - I know he had other things on his mind there than Merlin, but still that was Arthur showing Merlin an immense and instinctive trust, I felt. Trusting that whatever happened, whether he himself lived or died, Merlin would still care for and remember all the different aspects to him, the good and the bad, and not just see the child druid killer. YES. Though the child druid killer thing is important too: I think he needed Merlin to be a witness to his own darkness. A secret apology to the person wronged, with no one else ever knowing what Arthur did or holding him accountable - that would be getting away with it and living a lie, too, and I don't think the druid kid would have accepted that kind of apology as good enough. Arthur needed somebody living and caring to know, too.
The more I think about it, the more I simply ADORE this episode (though that's maybe not the best word to use, given the grim subject it touches upon...) Well, at any rate I like everything about it!
Initially I thought Merlin was a bit too shrill and insistent, the banter between him and Arthur a bit off and sort of trying too hard, the various characters' treatment of each other a tiny tad bit too callous and uncaring - in short, everything was a tiny bit jarring... BUT that fit perfectly with Arthur's mood here, with the underlying unnerving story of buried cruelty and mass-murder coming home to roost. There was a point to the subtly strange unease and tension that permeated many scenes. It was as if we were experiencing Arthur's troubled mind and guilt-ridden conscience most of the time, without even knowing it - even when he wasn't in the scene. So impressive!
Also I loved how easily Arthur gave up pretending he didn't want Merlin tagging along in the woods that night. He *needed* Merlin with him, couldn't go that last tough leg alone. That he let Merlin stand there and listen to his own distress, guilt, pleading - I know he had other things on his mind there than Merlin, but still that was Arthur showing Merlin an immense and instinctive trust, I felt. Trusting that whatever happened, whether he himself lived or died, Merlin would still care for and remember all the different aspects to him, the good and the bad, and not just see the child druid killer.
Wonderful too how Bradely managed to show how Arthur gained in quietly regal bearing and nobility from owing up to his past and solemnly promising to do better - the wise and just king was shining through.
I loved Merlin's freak-out at the cursed well. So well done! And Gaius was much less of an irritating fount of wisdom and more likably human once he atually ventured forth from Camelot's walls.
And OMG, Merlin not telling Arthur about his "Something about Mary" look with added gravy! That's taking the piss for good and real - Merlin had it coming there, the little minx, and he knew it.
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YES. Though the child druid killer thing is important too: I think he needed Merlin to be a witness to his own darkness. A secret apology to the person wronged, with no one else ever knowing what Arthur did or holding him accountable - that would be getting away with it and living a lie, too, and I don't think the druid kid would have accepted that kind of apology as good enough. Arthur needed somebody living and caring to know, too.
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