the tears of uther pendragon, pt. 2
THIS EPISODE. THIS EPISODE. YOU GUYS.
- ...SO HAS KILGHARRAH JUST BEEN WATCHING MERLIN SLEEP THIS WHOLE TIME LIKE A CREEPER. I seriously had a moment of disjointedness because it looked like Merlin had fallen back asleep but Kilgharrah hadn't moved at all. I take back everything I've said about dragons in general and Kilgharrah in particular; I fucking love this dragon. I want more of him now that he's not chained up.
- MERLIN'S. LITTLE. SMIRK. SMIRKY MCSMIRKERSONS. "I have no intention of walking." sdflkghsdkflhs that is the BEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. THE BEST THING. I look forward to the day he makes dubious moral decisions wrt his power over the dragon, but I am kind of tickled that right now, abuse of the power of the Dragonlord = FREE RIDES!! p.s. blatantly rip off Harry Potter moar, guys. down to the little "whoa" and grabbing back on/rethinking this whole 'no hands' scenario.
- Tony Head, you are amazing. IGRAINE IGRAINE hey, is she wearing Arthur's- DOES ARTHUR WEAR HIS MOTHER'S RING?
- SIR LEON WITH YOUR WONDERFULLY EXPRESSIVE AND HANDSOME FACE. I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU CHOOSE TO BE.
- HAHAHA ARTHUR'S CHAMBERS. oh, bb, if this is what they look like after one day without Merlin you should really be more appreciative of him. though he seems pretty shocked as well so I am wondering if someone had a temper tantrum. god, this scene is golden. Arthur's rage really doesn't do much to disguise the fact that Merlin wasn't ANYWHERE TO BE FOUND and Arthur was beginning to WORRY ABOUT HIM only fretting isn't very manly so he decided to THROW THINGS ON THE FLOOR instead and now here Merlin is COMPLAINING ABOUT THE STATE OF HIS CHAMBERS and TOTALLY UNAPPRECIATIVE OF THE FACT THAT HE HAS TURNED ARTHUR INTO A GIRL APPARENTLY. also, Merlin. he has just surpassed cheeky, hasn't he? and yet I notice Arthur still didn't throw him in the dungeons. and, like. ahaha. "I'LL HAVE YOU FOR BREAKFAST." really, Arthur? REALLY. WILL YOU. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO. sdlfg.
- "I was thinking about what to wear." loooool, if I didn't know any better I'd think the writers were being ironic. Gwen's having none of it, though. she's all, don't talk to me like I'm not perfectly aware there's more to you than being pretty.
- so the spoilers for this season were a little misleading, for which I am glad, because I appreciate that we get to see the beginning of the war and aren't plopped down into the middle of it. certainly they haven't been at peace with Cendred, as Uther indicates in The Last Dragonlord, but no real fighting seems to have taken place. so we are getting to see all of these important character moments. I think perhaps the time jump was mostly for Morgana's benefit and moving the plot along without having to show her recovering and getting to know Morgause and molding her hatred for Uther (and Merlin). I still don't like it, especially in her case, but overall I can content myself with the idea of nothing much having happened to the other characters in her absence except that maybe Merlin got bitchier.
- you might remember last week when I said I get pinged by kingly!Arthur? this week it was like all of my dreams coming true before my eyes. at first, when he ordered that Camelot prepare for a seige, I was kind of anxious and unhappy (in the sense of being invested in the story, not like, with the writing) because everyone seemed to think this was a baaad decision and I thought he was only making it because it's what he thought Uther would do. and I think WWUD was a factor, but when he looked at Leon and said, "They will have their lives," I went, oh. because for a moment all I could process was how fucking sovereign he was; hello, vapours, hello, my king. and then, oh. because he was making the hard decision that no one else would want to make. I couldn't help but think that this was a different Arthur than the one we saw in The Labyrinth of Gedref, one willing to make the hard decisions and not willing to make Camelot appear weak, but still different from his father as well, because he ultimately makes his choices for his people.
- a feast that you will never forget BETWEEN MY LEGS.
- surprisingly, I really liked the scene between Arthur and Gwen. I felt like what she said to him was exactly what he needed to hear right then. I like that the focus was on what Arthur was doing and not their relationship, because I am ultimately more interested in Gwen's relationship with Camelot and how Arthur fits into that than the other way around. and, as much as Bradley seems to feel similarly to the fans who have been unsatisfied with the way A/G has been handled, I like that you wouldn't ever be able to tell that by his performance. Arthur is absolutely lovely and hopeful and yearning in their scenes together. also, was that actual sexual tension I detected? hm, I still want more Gwen, but I'm pleased she had actual dialogue in this episode. I mean, I guess she did in the first part as well, but it was all very reactionary. the same with her troubled thoughts regarding Morgana; the camera actually focused on them at one point rather than their being incidental. I want to hope this means we get some further focus on their relationship in the future.
- "I promise I won't let you down." um, my heart broke a little. Arthur, your daddy issues. :( this is such a layered little scene. I love the look Merlin gives him, like he's surprised to see him crying (and he should be, so, kudos). but it's really Bradley that knocked it out of the park. gosh, he just owned this episode.
- the scene. with the. you know, THE SCENE. I did some actual flailing with my actual limbs and then I cried a little. also, lol. Merlin's all like, 'you're going to kick so much ass they'll be feeling it in the 21st century,' and Arthur's just, 'right? you're so wise.'
- YOU'RE JUST DYING TO KNOW WHAT I THINK OF MORGANA, AREN'T YOU? basically, though the smirks were still there, I felt like we got something a lot subtler and more layered than in the first part, and it was basically exactly what I said I wanted in my last reaction post. I am very happy and have a lot more confidence that I won't feel so disconnected from her character in the future. though I'm a little peeved by all of the she's made her choice/I just feel sorry for her talk. SHE DIDN'T MAKE HER CHOICES IN A VACUUM, GUYS. MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY FOR NOT BEING MORE HONEST WITH HER?? I feel like I've said this a bajillion times, though. I feel conflicted about her fight with Merlin because at this point, yes, he does have much better motivation not to reveal his own magic, since her position is much more tenuous (to me, anyway) than before when they were friends and she actually sought him out for advice. but at the same time, if she wants him dead by Uther's hand she already has plenty of ammo for condemning Merlin to a slow and painful demise, so I felt a lot of the same frustration I always have when he hasn't shown her that trust. like, fuck the dragon and his voice of exposition, Merlin's downfall isn't going to be his insistence on seeing goodness in people (she DOES have goodness lksjfdglsdkf) and trusting them too much; it's going to be not trusting them. (if there's one thing that could and probably should damage Merlin and Arthur's relationship, in a world with perfect characterisation, it would be Merlin not trusting Arthur with his life enough to tell him about his magic.) I felt like this was kind of his last-ditch chance to be honest with Morgana. it may have made a difference, it may not have (though I am putting my money on the former CHRIST, SHE IS SAYING AND HAS SAID ALL ALONG THAT SHE JUST NEEDS A FRIEND WHO CAN UNDERSTAND HER, AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO FULFILLS THAT REQUIREMENT RN AS FAR AS SHE KNOWS IS MORGAUSE and Merlin of all people should be able to get it because for all that he has people who love him and care about him, just as she has, he still feels lonely and like none of them really know and understand him). and this point was critical enough that if she did find out (when she does, eventually), it will only fuel her hate. anyway, her armour was hot.
- LOL AT PEOPLE TRYING TO STAB THE SKELETONS, WTF. I'm glad they didn't have Uther fight them, because I'm pretty sure I would have lost it.
- for a moment there, I really, truly thought, not that Morgana had taken credit for saving Camelot, but that she had accused Merlin of being the traitor and told Uther she had caught him with the staff. in the end this is not that show, and as interesting as it could have been, I'm not sure this fandom has the constitution for Arthur showing any distrust in Merlin, even temporarily (I love you all, but you're a bunch of delicate flowers, don't lie, you can't handle buckets). but for a moment all I could think of were all the times Arthur asked Merlin about his whereabouts and never got a straight answer.
- DID THEY SERIOUSLY JUST END THIS EPISODE WITH MERLIN AND GAIUS GIGGLING TOGETHER. oh, SHOW.
- oh my god how do I even talk this much.
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