Uther/Morgana subtext in A Remedy to Cure All Ills
I've recently been rewatching some of the earlier eps of Merlin and I shamelessly say it's to spot the Uther/Morgana goodness that I took for granted the first time around, and last night it was A Rememdy to Cure All Ills, and I was just curious what everyone else's thoughts are on this episode in regards to Uther/Morgana.
I remember in my original watch, I didn't like this ep as much as the others (probably because Uther was being a doofus about Gaius), but on rewatch, I realized that it had monumental amounts of Uther/Morgana. Yes, it was more of an Uther/Gaius ep and it laid the subtext for them being the older version of Arthur/Merlin, but Uther was freaking out in this episode simply because he came so close to losing Morgana, and the only reason why he even contemplated letting Gaius go was because of his utter fear of losing Morgana, and this fear completely blinded him to the fact that Edwin was untrustworthy. Morgana is quite possibly Uther's greatest weakness, and this ep showed that beautifully. He was absolutely devastated when she was sick, and he was at her bedside CONSTANTLY, always giving her tortured looks, and he was pretty much incapable of making any decisions, so Arthur took charge. You really see how much Uther loves her in this episode, and it kind of shocked me this time around.
I tried to take out some of my fangirly-ness for this community post and insert some intelligence, but um... it's really hard to not go into fangirl mode, so I apologize ahead of time:
1. The Gloveless Touch
This is obviously the ultimate form of Uther love. HE TOOK HIS GLOVE OFF TO CARESS HER HAND! HE NEEDED THAT CONNECTION! In the very next shot, once he's off the bed, his glove is back on. And he is seriously, seriously freaking out to Gaius. He's basically at his wit's end.
2. Unabashed Giddiness
When Morgana is cured, Uther is spazzing out. He's having SO MUCH trouble containing his happiness and he's basically going up to everyone and saying, "OMG SHE'S AWAKE!!! DO YOU SEE HER? OMG, MORGANA I LOVE YOU!" Only... well, he doesn't say that. It's more like, "This is a miracle! She's... I thought... I..." Repressed emotions, naturally. But not too repressed:
3. The Chaste Forehead Kiss
He kisses her forehead in absolute relief and glee, and he holds onto her hand as she says her comment about not getting rid of her that easily, and he really doesn't want to leave her side. I love how she knew what he was going to say, and I love that all of his emotion is put into that one little innocent kiss. This is definitely the most fatherly he's ever been to her (and probably their most chaste moment, because usually there's sexual tension galore, although, technically, since neither one of them had eyes for anyone else in this scene, it could be interpreted otherwise).
4. Wrist Touches and Sex Eyes
Pretty self-explanatory. There was A LOT of hand-touching in this ep. With and without gloves. I'm pretty sure this is the only ep where Uther was seen without gloves. I could be wrong though.
5. Uther is Pretty.
He just looks all pretty and kingy here. *dreamy sigh* Sorry, moving on.
6. Must Never Be Parted Again
Look at how they're leaning towards each other. THEY HAD TO BE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AT EVERY WAKING MOMENT! THEY FEARED NEVER SEEING EACH OTHER AGAIN AND NOW CAN'T EVEN BEAR TO SIT TOO FAR APART! EPIC! THEIR LOVE! IT'S FREAKING EPIC!
7. One Step Away From Smooching
Morgana very pointedly looks at Uther's lips after he tells her that he can't risk losing her again, even if that means replacing Gaius. THIS WAS HUGE! HUGE!!! And Morgana can't argue because she's touched but he's being stubborn and that annoys her BUT HE'S ACCIDENTALLY REVEALING HIS LOVE FOR HER AND SHE CANNOT RESIST!
Oh, these two. They are hopeless. Doomed for all eternity. Morgana is sure to be the death of Uther in one way or another, especially since this ep and The Beginning of the End (ep 8) emphasize how much of a weakness he has for her. Even when he's being all forceful and brutish with her in ep 8 and threatening to kill her, you can see the hardness disappear for just the slightest second and you can tell that he wouldn't be able to go through with it, and you can see in Morgana a defiant need to test him to his limits and beyond, and she's pretty confident she'd win (although you can see fear in her too, because Uther is ruthless, and he had basically told her that she wasn't his own blood, therefore he'd have no problem killing her). Gah, this ship. It plagues my mind. So let's close on this note:
&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts
I remember in my original watch, I didn't like this ep as much as the others (probably because Uther was being a doofus about Gaius), but on rewatch, I realized that it had monumental amounts of Uther/Morgana. Yes, it was more of an Uther/Gaius ep and it laid the subtext for them being the older version of Arthur/Merlin, but Uther was freaking out in this episode simply because he came so close to losing Morgana, and the only reason why he even contemplated letting Gaius go was because of his utter fear of losing Morgana, and this fear completely blinded him to the fact that Edwin was untrustworthy. Morgana is quite possibly Uther's greatest weakness, and this ep showed that beautifully. He was absolutely devastated when she was sick, and he was at her bedside CONSTANTLY, always giving her tortured looks, and he was pretty much incapable of making any decisions, so Arthur took charge. You really see how much Uther loves her in this episode, and it kind of shocked me this time around.
I tried to take out some of my fangirly-ness for this community post and insert some intelligence, but um... it's really hard to not go into fangirl mode, so I apologize ahead of time:
1. The Gloveless Touch
This is obviously the ultimate form of Uther love. HE TOOK HIS GLOVE OFF TO CARESS HER HAND! HE NEEDED THAT CONNECTION! In the very next shot, once he's off the bed, his glove is back on. And he is seriously, seriously freaking out to Gaius. He's basically at his wit's end.
2. Unabashed Giddiness
When Morgana is cured, Uther is spazzing out. He's having SO MUCH trouble containing his happiness and he's basically going up to everyone and saying, "OMG SHE'S AWAKE!!! DO YOU SEE HER? OMG, MORGANA I LOVE YOU!" Only... well, he doesn't say that. It's more like, "This is a miracle! She's... I thought... I..." Repressed emotions, naturally. But not too repressed:
3. The Chaste Forehead Kiss
He kisses her forehead in absolute relief and glee, and he holds onto her hand as she says her comment about not getting rid of her that easily, and he really doesn't want to leave her side. I love how she knew what he was going to say, and I love that all of his emotion is put into that one little innocent kiss. This is definitely the most fatherly he's ever been to her (and probably their most chaste moment, because usually there's sexual tension galore, although, technically, since neither one of them had eyes for anyone else in this scene, it could be interpreted otherwise).
4. Wrist Touches and Sex Eyes
Pretty self-explanatory. There was A LOT of hand-touching in this ep. With and without gloves. I'm pretty sure this is the only ep where Uther was seen without gloves. I could be wrong though.
5. Uther is Pretty.
He just looks all pretty and kingy here. *dreamy sigh* Sorry, moving on.
6. Must Never Be Parted Again
Look at how they're leaning towards each other. THEY HAD TO BE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER AT EVERY WAKING MOMENT! THEY FEARED NEVER SEEING EACH OTHER AGAIN AND NOW CAN'T EVEN BEAR TO SIT TOO FAR APART! EPIC! THEIR LOVE! IT'S FREAKING EPIC!
7. One Step Away From Smooching
Morgana very pointedly looks at Uther's lips after he tells her that he can't risk losing her again, even if that means replacing Gaius. THIS WAS HUGE! HUGE!!! And Morgana can't argue because she's touched but he's being stubborn and that annoys her BUT HE'S ACCIDENTALLY REVEALING HIS LOVE FOR HER AND SHE CANNOT RESIST!
Oh, these two. They are hopeless. Doomed for all eternity. Morgana is sure to be the death of Uther in one way or another, especially since this ep and The Beginning of the End (ep 8) emphasize how much of a weakness he has for her. Even when he's being all forceful and brutish with her in ep 8 and threatening to kill her, you can see the hardness disappear for just the slightest second and you can tell that he wouldn't be able to go through with it, and you can see in Morgana a defiant need to test him to his limits and beyond, and she's pretty confident she'd win (although you can see fear in her too, because Uther is ruthless, and he had basically told her that she wasn't his own blood, therefore he'd have no problem killing her). Gah, this ship. It plagues my mind. So let's close on this note:
&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts