About Merlin, 5x05, or: They Know What They're Doing
Yes, I have a (not-so) new obsession, and I fear I can't keep quiet about it any longer. ;)
In reaction to what could be the Merlin equivalent to Jantogate (kidding), I have a few thoughts to share under the cut
It amuses me greatly how people are saying that the show doesn’t know what it’s doing after this episode.
Let’s see ... We have people talking left and right about the episode, some hating Mordred, some loving him, some hating on Arthur and his so-called stupidity (as if they had never done that before), others despairing of Merlin and the hold-out on the magic reveal. Some declare their being fed up and vow to only keep watching because of ingenious Colin Morgan and brilliant Bradley James and their band of pretty, pretty knights. Others (me included) are sitting on the edge of their seats, gnawing at their fingernails, because we don’t see how this can turn out well ever and are fearing they’ll actually make us watch Arthur die. In other words: It’s all very exciting and suspenseful and - I repeat - everyone is talking about it, dying to know how it will turn out.
So, yeah, sure: The show doesn’t know what it is doing at all.
Ha, ha. They’ve got us eating out of their hands, even if we don’t always like what they are feeding us. Maybe some people are going to actually stop watching because they are frustrated, but I really think those are going to be in the minority.
As far as I am concerned, I think, just like episode 1 and 2 of series 5, this one was part of a bigger whole that I can’t yet see. Therefore, it’s hard to truly judge it, because I don’t yet comprehend where they are taking me with this. Personally, I didn’t like Arthur and the knights being that disrespectful of a holy place, but that’s a general squick for me. I don’t want characters disrespecting sanctuaries of any kind, especially not characters I like. Full stop. However, it happens every day and everywhere that people desecrate holy places simply because they don’t care enough and don’t know any better, and, on the whole, the message that you just don’t do that, no matter what you personally think of the religion in question, was conveyed quite effectively. Also, I liked that they made clear later that Arthur had truly no concept whatsoever of the holiness of the place, that he couldn’t feel it at all (plus, as far as we can see, Camelot is an entirely secular place, so any religious feeling is probably a completely foreign notion to him - but that is another can of worms I don’t want to open right now).
In regard to what seems another bone of contention, namely that both Arthur and Merlin acted stupidly, I can just say: Yes, they did, and it was entirely plausible. Arthur acted based on his narrow understanding of what magic/the old religion is, and from his point of view, he basically had to deal with a splinter group of fanatics, or, to use a fashionable term: terrorists. But instead of smiting them down indiscriminately, he goes to talk to them, trying to understand them (after some consideration, and he behaves like a bull in a china shop while he's at it, but still). That he doesn't bow down to an authority he doesn’t even recognize is understandable. The demands the Disir make might be for the best of all (although I’m not entirely convinced of that), but they basically use blackmail to try and have them met - first using Arthur’s own fate as a leverage (which was never going to work), and then Mordred’s life - which almost would have worked. But do you really want the Once and Future King to relent and legalize magic because he was under duress and gave in to blackmail?
Merlin’s dilemma was heartbreaking, and he made the mistake he always makes: He thinks to straightforwardly when dealing with soothsayers and believes if he just sacrifices himself enough, Arthur and Camelot can be saved. Plus, his field of vision has become even narrower than Arthur’s, so to speak, and the glimpses of the future he gets every now and then aren’t helping with that. At this point, Merlin doesn’t see anything but Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, and he would do everything to protect him. Everything. It seems to be his biggest weakness.
Although, show, if, at that point, you would have me believe that the text isn’t telling me loud and clear that Merlin is hopelessly in love with Arthur, then I’d take everything back what I said at the beginning of this post: Then, you truly wouldn’t know what you’re doing. ;P
That said: I actually did like it, but I don't want my Merlin to be Arthurian dark! I want it to be nice, achy dark, like 5x03, not with all the gloom and the doom and the breaking apart and the hurt and the God-No!!!!!!!! This Arthurian darkness has no business creeping in on my Merlin! It has nothing to do ... oh, wait, never mind. *pouts*
In reaction to what could be the Merlin equivalent to Jantogate (kidding), I have a few thoughts to share under the cut
It amuses me greatly how people are saying that the show doesn’t know what it’s doing after this episode.
Let’s see ... We have people talking left and right about the episode, some hating Mordred, some loving him, some hating on Arthur and his so-called stupidity (as if they had never done that before), others despairing of Merlin and the hold-out on the magic reveal. Some declare their being fed up and vow to only keep watching because of ingenious Colin Morgan and brilliant Bradley James and their band of pretty, pretty knights. Others (me included) are sitting on the edge of their seats, gnawing at their fingernails, because we don’t see how this can turn out well ever and are fearing they’ll actually make us watch Arthur die. In other words: It’s all very exciting and suspenseful and - I repeat - everyone is talking about it, dying to know how it will turn out.
So, yeah, sure: The show doesn’t know what it is doing at all.
Ha, ha. They’ve got us eating out of their hands, even if we don’t always like what they are feeding us. Maybe some people are going to actually stop watching because they are frustrated, but I really think those are going to be in the minority.
As far as I am concerned, I think, just like episode 1 and 2 of series 5, this one was part of a bigger whole that I can’t yet see. Therefore, it’s hard to truly judge it, because I don’t yet comprehend where they are taking me with this. Personally, I didn’t like Arthur and the knights being that disrespectful of a holy place, but that’s a general squick for me. I don’t want characters disrespecting sanctuaries of any kind, especially not characters I like. Full stop. However, it happens every day and everywhere that people desecrate holy places simply because they don’t care enough and don’t know any better, and, on the whole, the message that you just don’t do that, no matter what you personally think of the religion in question, was conveyed quite effectively. Also, I liked that they made clear later that Arthur had truly no concept whatsoever of the holiness of the place, that he couldn’t feel it at all (plus, as far as we can see, Camelot is an entirely secular place, so any religious feeling is probably a completely foreign notion to him - but that is another can of worms I don’t want to open right now).
In regard to what seems another bone of contention, namely that both Arthur and Merlin acted stupidly, I can just say: Yes, they did, and it was entirely plausible. Arthur acted based on his narrow understanding of what magic/the old religion is, and from his point of view, he basically had to deal with a splinter group of fanatics, or, to use a fashionable term: terrorists. But instead of smiting them down indiscriminately, he goes to talk to them, trying to understand them (after some consideration, and he behaves like a bull in a china shop while he's at it, but still). That he doesn't bow down to an authority he doesn’t even recognize is understandable. The demands the Disir make might be for the best of all (although I’m not entirely convinced of that), but they basically use blackmail to try and have them met - first using Arthur’s own fate as a leverage (which was never going to work), and then Mordred’s life - which almost would have worked. But do you really want the Once and Future King to relent and legalize magic because he was under duress and gave in to blackmail?
Merlin’s dilemma was heartbreaking, and he made the mistake he always makes: He thinks to straightforwardly when dealing with soothsayers and believes if he just sacrifices himself enough, Arthur and Camelot can be saved. Plus, his field of vision has become even narrower than Arthur’s, so to speak, and the glimpses of the future he gets every now and then aren’t helping with that. At this point, Merlin doesn’t see anything but Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, and he would do everything to protect him. Everything. It seems to be his biggest weakness.
Although, show, if, at that point, you would have me believe that the text isn’t telling me loud and clear that Merlin is hopelessly in love with Arthur, then I’d take everything back what I said at the beginning of this post: Then, you truly wouldn’t know what you’re doing. ;P
That said: I actually did like it, but I don't want my Merlin to be Arthurian dark! I want it to be nice, achy dark, like 5x03, not with all the gloom and the doom and the breaking apart and the hurt and the God-No!!!!!!!! This Arthurian darkness has no business creeping in on my Merlin! It has nothing to do ... oh, wait, never mind. *pouts*