Merlin 5.06 - "For A Moment I Didn't Think I Was Going To Win."
Hello! It's that time of the week again. My Merlin review, for episode six. You'll have to make your way through the Spoilers of Injustice and the Words of Weeping Fandom to...oh crap it, just click on the cut below...
( Read more... )
“Arthur never tells me anything”. She’s bob on there.
Yeah it's mystifying why Julian Jones put it there. It's probably nothing though as TPTB acknowledging their "It's complicated" status on FB is too unimaginable. Arthur not being with her might just as well be an accidental revelation. Also, this line, 'I feel like any minute Gwen and The Knights are going to pass by Merlin and Arthur having one of their fireside heart to heart chats.' Ha, that's priceless! XD
Arthur tells Merlin that he lost Guinevere once before. I have absolutely no memory of what he’s talking about.
I'd say it was that time after zombie-Lancelot but that one was more or less Arthur's doing so.... maybe it went back to as far as S2 where it was with the not-zombie-Lancelot? But wouldn't that mean the writers do remember what they wrote? Unthinkable.
He holds his hand out for Arthur to shake. Arthur apparently having only arrived on the planet, completely misses Merlin’s hand and shakes his elbow instead.
I wasn't sure what to make of this either. The same with all the 'promise' talk. I get that they tried to keep some continuity for the dynamic here but it just looked like they tried too hard. Still, I probably should be grateful it didn't look like a regress. Like you said, the scenes weren't terrible, just... flat. However, I was not very happy with Arthur from the point when they got out of the Forest onward. That tends to happen a lot whenever Gwen is involved so not surprising there, but I hated how impatient and reckless Arthur was this time. I get his tendency to risk himself for everything but this time he ran headfirst into a place whose death toll he has a pretty clear picture of, and despite it he disregarded Merlin's warning even after Merlin got them there in the first place. I hated how Arthur could have endangered his knights just because of lack of a clear head. I was okay with those times in the past because they mostly involved only Arthur and Merlin, the latter Arthur seemed to count as an extension of himself so it wasn't screaming 'uncaring' to me. Also not sure if it's lighting or something but when Merlin took a dive down the hill, Arthur's expression seemed detached (and a tiny bit annoyed?)
Talking of Dark Tower, let me backtrack a bit. Queen Mab. I'm not sure why we needed her here, as much as I found myself liking her. She spoke of another prophecy. This is where it felt like one more missed opportunity for me. Merlin could have been worried sick again. The Tower sequence was so short when it provided the perfect chance for Merlin to be all obsessed and protective of Arthur, again. Some impact from 5.05 could lend itself to this episode. In face, so many things could have been done to enhance it. Such a waste. Aside from that, I still haven't figured out what's the merit of foretelling Elyan's death. Surely it would be more impactful if we hadn't anticipated it? I guess what you said about scaring Merlin into believing prophecy really came true might be the point, but I have a feeling they only thought of that as they wrote the last scene, not when they brought Queen Mab in.
Reply
Maybe if I gave them fancier, adjective riddled names, they’d seem harder too. The Winged Ones Dwelling, The Decaying Green Life and The Seat of Misfortune.
LOL. That'd work brilliantly. Your mind is an interesting place aha. XD
It’s like sitting in the same seat at school everyday and then one day you have to sit up front of the class. It just doesn't feel right, your body and brain are telling you it’s not quite natural. I don’t think they were bad in the episode. It just wasn't about them. That automatically makes an episode problematic, because if it’s not about them, then I don’t really know who it’s about.
Ooh, nice analogy. You say it the best when it comes to MA. I don't know, it's like, aside from talking canon and making deductions, you have this instinctive way of knowing when to take which fact seriously or when one fact weights more heavily against the other, like last week between Arthur's arrogance and humbleness, and seeing a pattern before everyone else does, like Arthur making the best decisions instinctively (talking of which if the magic reveal ever gets resolved I'd love to see how A and M clashes in their ways of dealing with things when they're both equals.) That said, it feels great to read your review because I think you know how to let things slide to enjoy an episode and while your reviews most of the time seem more generous, things needed to be pointed out still get pointed out without verging on nit-picking or harsh criticism. Of course, the humour is a huge plus too. :D
Next week? What do you mean next week Gwen tries to kill Arthur? Next week is Castiel coming back! :P
Reply
I know a lot of people do think of Morgana as a 2D character, but I've always seen motivation and cause behind her actions, so I've never thought that. She does have the odd episode where she is just a moustache twirling baddie, but in the most part you can see more in her.
Yeah, I admit my reviews aren't the most harsh in the fandom. Merlin is my favourite show currently on air though, so a whole load of reasons, so I'm never going to be to harsh on it while I enjoy it so much. I only ever compare it to itself, not other shows, but I will pick and prod at it, as I know how good it can be. If it didn't have things in it that interest me though, I wouldn't write anything. While it still contains themes and characterisations that I think are excellent and thought provoking, I'll still write about it. Thank you very much for what you said. It's very humbling to think that someone actually understand the mess of ideas in my head!
I can't watch this week's SPN till Friday, but this is the one where Castiel comes back properly isn't it? Not just in purgatory flashbacks? (Yay!!)
Reply
I'm glad someone else is confused over when Arthur meant he lost Gwen. Because he didn't loose her after Zombie-Lancelot, he sent her away. It must have been with Regular Flavour Lancelot back in s2. It was an odd comment.
I didn't mind so much the idea that Arthur was a little impulsive when his wife went missing. It was just that they never went anywhere with it. He was a bit pissed off, but no more so than when Mithian's dad was missing or when sorcerer dude killed Sir Ranulph. Every action in the 'Neverending Forest' didn't seem to have any depth or meaning to it though. It was all a bit dead behind the eyes. Like you said, a good example of this is when Merlin threw himself down that hill. I don't understand the point of that. It seemed liked they had all these actions, but no meaning behind them.
Yeah, I think as they did 'spoil' us for Elyan's death, they should have made more out of it where Merlin was concerned. They only slightly implied it, when they could have really gone to town, and like you said, followed on from ep 5 and the rest of the season with Merlin dealing with Arthur's prophercy. I think as they didn't do that, it would have made a much greater impact if they hadn't warned us about Elyan.
Reply
Leave a comment