Thoughts on 4x09
At first, I was like "I really don't have the time to make an entry about that."
But I've reached a point where I cannot not write something about that episode.
First things first, I LIKED this episode.
There's only one thing that really bothered me so the things I liked outweigh the things I didn't.
1) The thing that really annoyed me and made me go "Oh please!" out loud:
Lancelot giving that enchanted bracelet to Gwen because suddenly it seems she no longer has feelings for him. Like, at all.
She was bawling at his funeral pyre and weeks after… nothing, absolutely nothing when she sees him? Hmmmph.
There's also that moment when she lies to Arthur - and even more to herself, I think - when she tells him she hasn't felt anything for Lancelot for years. Methinks it's a little more recent than that, Gwen.
I think that what annoyed me even more than the bracelet ploy was that they could have kept this idea, and still showed us Gwen being at least a little bit unsure about her feelings for Lancelot. Then the bracelet could have been used to really tip the balance. That's all I asked for. It would have made Gwen a little more believable in that aspect of the story, a little more human. Instead they chose to make her too… virtuous, too perfect, IMO.
BUT, this said, what I appreciated is that no one, not even Gwen, realises that she has been enchanted and wasn't acting on her own volition. Perhaps the bracelet lying in the corner of that dungeon cell is going to be found at some point, but meanwhile, the damage has been done.
I feared that the bracelet would be found before the end of the episode and Arthur would be "Oh, so you were enchanted! I forgive you!" Now I would have been furious at the writers.
2) I wasn't surprised by how they treated the love triangle. They've been pushing for Arthur/Gwen as a happy and in love couple since the beginning of the show so I didn't expect Gwen to elope with Lancelot at some point, especially since he's a bit, you know, dead (because they are pushing A/G. Oh well, you get my drift).
I wasn't really bothered by what they did to/with Lancelot because was clear to me during the whole episode that this thing wasn't Lancelot at all so I didn't even flinch when Gaius said he's killed himself (this was to be expected).
I think that Santiago did a great job making us feel it wasn't Lancelot, playing him a bit differently, a bit off. It's plain to see at the very end when he opens his eyes and you know it's really Lancelot speaking this time.
Since the beginning, they've been rewriting the legend as they saw fit so of course we're all bound to have "WTF!" moments because there are things we are personally more attached to and don't like to be changed.
I still remember when I watched the very first episode and realised that that young looking guy, younger than Arthur, was indeed Merlin, and that Gwen the maidservant was in fact Guinevere, the future Queen of Camelot! I didn't go "What is this sh*t?" I was so curious to see where they were going to go with all this that I kept watching the show. That's why I keep watching it.
3) What outweighs this are the freaking awesome scenes with freaking awesome acting we got in that episode.
- Arthur going berserk as he discovers Gwen and Lancelot kissing. The animalistic cry of rage and betrayal. Bradley has seriously upped his game this season.
- The scene between Arthur and Gwen in the Council Room. Hello impressive acting, hello carefully written dialog. Arthur's line about Gwen still kneeling ("Am I just your King?!") slew me on the spot.
And Gwen cannot even defend herself properly because she doesn't understand what came over her.
- The scene between Arthur and Merlin in the Great Hall as servants are taking away the wedding flowers. Gorgeous lighting and colours.
Merlin trying to make Arthur change his mind, even if he himself believes that Gwen really cheated on his friend. And at some point you wonder if he's not more defending his own - future - case than Gwen's. Arthur's final line about trust.
It's a joy to see Colin and Bradley at the top of their game.
- Gwen leaving Camelot. My heart broke.
Obviously it's not even dawn, she doesn't even have a horse to pull what looks like an heavy cart. She's lost everything, and she doesn't even understand what really happened with Lancelot.
I liked that Merlin was here. I'll have to rewatch the episode to decide if they should have had Merlin come to her and try to say something. Him helping her with the cart may seem like a good idea at first but I'm not sure how it would have come across on screen. Like him helping her to leave Camelot faster, lol.
- Lancelot's burial. It's Merlin's task again, and again he's all alone to do it. I was aching for him.
I loved that he chose the same place than for Freya, like reuniting two dear friends.
And then he uttered that spell - I think he got it from that necromancy book, probably to definitely free Lancelot's soul - and Lancelot's body opened its eyes, and it was really Lancelot speaking, and then I started to cry like a lunatic, and that's why I love that show.
And as Merlin made the boat go to the middle of the lake and set fire to it, I had that vision of an old Merlin burying his dear friend Arthur the same way, at the same place, and it was so fitting, so perfect. And then he would retire from the known world and mourn Arthur forever.
Sorry for the long entry but I get a Javascript error each time I try to do a LJ cut these days.
But I've reached a point where I cannot not write something about that episode.
First things first, I LIKED this episode.
There's only one thing that really bothered me so the things I liked outweigh the things I didn't.
1) The thing that really annoyed me and made me go "Oh please!" out loud:
Lancelot giving that enchanted bracelet to Gwen because suddenly it seems she no longer has feelings for him. Like, at all.
She was bawling at his funeral pyre and weeks after… nothing, absolutely nothing when she sees him? Hmmmph.
There's also that moment when she lies to Arthur - and even more to herself, I think - when she tells him she hasn't felt anything for Lancelot for years. Methinks it's a little more recent than that, Gwen.
I think that what annoyed me even more than the bracelet ploy was that they could have kept this idea, and still showed us Gwen being at least a little bit unsure about her feelings for Lancelot. Then the bracelet could have been used to really tip the balance. That's all I asked for. It would have made Gwen a little more believable in that aspect of the story, a little more human. Instead they chose to make her too… virtuous, too perfect, IMO.
BUT, this said, what I appreciated is that no one, not even Gwen, realises that she has been enchanted and wasn't acting on her own volition. Perhaps the bracelet lying in the corner of that dungeon cell is going to be found at some point, but meanwhile, the damage has been done.
I feared that the bracelet would be found before the end of the episode and Arthur would be "Oh, so you were enchanted! I forgive you!" Now I would have been furious at the writers.
2) I wasn't surprised by how they treated the love triangle. They've been pushing for Arthur/Gwen as a happy and in love couple since the beginning of the show so I didn't expect Gwen to elope with Lancelot at some point, especially since he's a bit, you know, dead (because they are pushing A/G. Oh well, you get my drift).
I wasn't really bothered by what they did to/with Lancelot because was clear to me during the whole episode that this thing wasn't Lancelot at all so I didn't even flinch when Gaius said he's killed himself (this was to be expected).
I think that Santiago did a great job making us feel it wasn't Lancelot, playing him a bit differently, a bit off. It's plain to see at the very end when he opens his eyes and you know it's really Lancelot speaking this time.
Since the beginning, they've been rewriting the legend as they saw fit so of course we're all bound to have "WTF!" moments because there are things we are personally more attached to and don't like to be changed.
I still remember when I watched the very first episode and realised that that young looking guy, younger than Arthur, was indeed Merlin, and that Gwen the maidservant was in fact Guinevere, the future Queen of Camelot! I didn't go "What is this sh*t?" I was so curious to see where they were going to go with all this that I kept watching the show. That's why I keep watching it.
3) What outweighs this are the freaking awesome scenes with freaking awesome acting we got in that episode.
- Arthur going berserk as he discovers Gwen and Lancelot kissing. The animalistic cry of rage and betrayal. Bradley has seriously upped his game this season.
- The scene between Arthur and Gwen in the Council Room. Hello impressive acting, hello carefully written dialog. Arthur's line about Gwen still kneeling ("Am I just your King?!") slew me on the spot.
And Gwen cannot even defend herself properly because she doesn't understand what came over her.
- The scene between Arthur and Merlin in the Great Hall as servants are taking away the wedding flowers. Gorgeous lighting and colours.
Merlin trying to make Arthur change his mind, even if he himself believes that Gwen really cheated on his friend. And at some point you wonder if he's not more defending his own - future - case than Gwen's. Arthur's final line about trust.
It's a joy to see Colin and Bradley at the top of their game.
- Gwen leaving Camelot. My heart broke.
Obviously it's not even dawn, she doesn't even have a horse to pull what looks like an heavy cart. She's lost everything, and she doesn't even understand what really happened with Lancelot.
I liked that Merlin was here. I'll have to rewatch the episode to decide if they should have had Merlin come to her and try to say something. Him helping her with the cart may seem like a good idea at first but I'm not sure how it would have come across on screen. Like him helping her to leave Camelot faster, lol.
- Lancelot's burial. It's Merlin's task again, and again he's all alone to do it. I was aching for him.
I loved that he chose the same place than for Freya, like reuniting two dear friends.
And then he uttered that spell - I think he got it from that necromancy book, probably to definitely free Lancelot's soul - and Lancelot's body opened its eyes, and it was really Lancelot speaking, and then I started to cry like a lunatic, and that's why I love that show.
And as Merlin made the boat go to the middle of the lake and set fire to it, I had that vision of an old Merlin burying his dear friend Arthur the same way, at the same place, and it was so fitting, so perfect. And then he would retire from the known world and mourn Arthur forever.
Sorry for the long entry but I get a Javascript error each time I try to do a LJ cut these days.