One show down...
So, I finished Merlin.
Academically, I can admit that the series was not wrapped up as well as it could have been. Too many themes brought up and hammered in our heads... and then brought to nothing.
That said, I was still weeping like a baby throughout. Any novice to Arthurian legend knows every version ends the same way: Arthur dies. I had always hoped the series would end well before that point, with Arthur ushering in his golden age and Camlann well in the future. And despite my reservations about the series as a whole, I still was still attached enough to Arthur to dread the inevitable. (And not just because he's pretty.)
And oh, Arthur/Gwen. Another one of my OTPs ends tragically. My headcanon says that last fade-out tent scene was the conception of a bitty baby Pendragon, because the idea of A/G having so little happy married time together just bums me out further. Though that is one thing I will credit the series for: presenting Arthur and his Queen as the real love story (aside from the A/M bromance), and making all that Lancelot crap - probably my least favorite part of Arthurian legend - a merely irritating footnote.
I suppose we're meant to assume that magic became freely accepted under Queen Gwen's reign, but, again, that feels cheap. Five years of buildup of Merlin fighting desperately to keep Arthur alive to usher in the golden age of Albion and free reign of magic... and Arthur dies with the rest of that not really happening. Morgana - pointless, non-dimensional villain who goes out like a punk. Aithusa - again, what was the point? Mordred - turned against Arthur at the last minute by annoying plot-device chick. Meh. I wish they hadn't wasted four episodes on that possessed-Gwen arc that accomplished nothing and instead used them to tie up more storylines. The finale was very rushed.
Good things: Camelot being left in the hands of a smart and noble Queen; Arthur/Merlin's bromance concluded very touchingly (I was almost bawling when Arthur said "Thank you") - again, except for that whole "Merlin sacrificed it all for nothing" feeling you're left with.
Can you tell I have very, very mixed feelings about this finale?
But between this and the upcoming Clone Wars finale arc - which I suspect will emotionally wring me out even more than this - I think this will about do it for me and TV for a good while.
Academically, I can admit that the series was not wrapped up as well as it could have been. Too many themes brought up and hammered in our heads... and then brought to nothing.
That said, I was still weeping like a baby throughout. Any novice to Arthurian legend knows every version ends the same way: Arthur dies. I had always hoped the series would end well before that point, with Arthur ushering in his golden age and Camlann well in the future. And despite my reservations about the series as a whole, I still was still attached enough to Arthur to dread the inevitable. (And not just because he's pretty.)
And oh, Arthur/Gwen. Another one of my OTPs ends tragically. My headcanon says that last fade-out tent scene was the conception of a bitty baby Pendragon, because the idea of A/G having so little happy married time together just bums me out further. Though that is one thing I will credit the series for: presenting Arthur and his Queen as the real love story (aside from the A/M bromance), and making all that Lancelot crap - probably my least favorite part of Arthurian legend - a merely irritating footnote.
I suppose we're meant to assume that magic became freely accepted under Queen Gwen's reign, but, again, that feels cheap. Five years of buildup of Merlin fighting desperately to keep Arthur alive to usher in the golden age of Albion and free reign of magic... and Arthur dies with the rest of that not really happening. Morgana - pointless, non-dimensional villain who goes out like a punk. Aithusa - again, what was the point? Mordred - turned against Arthur at the last minute by annoying plot-device chick. Meh. I wish they hadn't wasted four episodes on that possessed-Gwen arc that accomplished nothing and instead used them to tie up more storylines. The finale was very rushed.
Good things: Camelot being left in the hands of a smart and noble Queen; Arthur/Merlin's bromance concluded very touchingly (I was almost bawling when Arthur said "Thank you") - again, except for that whole "Merlin sacrificed it all for nothing" feeling you're left with.
Can you tell I have very, very mixed feelings about this finale?
But between this and the upcoming Clone Wars finale arc - which I suspect will emotionally wring me out even more than this - I think this will about do it for me and TV for a good while.