Thoughts on 4x10 - Spoilers
As I was re-watching "A Herald of the New Age" yesterday - in which Bradley James is acting his socks off - I was struck by a thought at the end of the episode (I was crying too much to think clearly at my first viewing, obviously).
When Arthur let Merlin follow him in the woods, he knows that at some point Merlin is going to learn what I think must be his darkest secret.
On top of that, instead of letting Merlin witness his atonement unfolding and drawing his conclusions, Arthur is brave enough to confess his crime to Merlin, not trying to find excuses.
I couldn't get over the fact that Arthur willfully let Merlin see him in a moment where he's very vulnerable and far from being under his best light. This is a very big proof of his trust and friendship.
That's why I couldn't help but cringe a lot when I thought that one day Merlin was going to reveal his magic to Arthur - because I still can't believe the writers are going to be stupid enough to not do a reveal and waste a good TV show.
At the beginning of the series, the reveal was all about Arthur's reaction to Merlin being a sorcerer, an evil magic user. It was all about Arthur having - or not having - Merlin executed because of this.
But I think that now this is worse. It's about trust and friendship. How do you think Arthur is going to react discovering that Merlin has been lying to him for years, has continued to do so even after Uther's death, and even after Arthur revealed one of his most guarded secrets to him? Could be what Arthur said about Gwen: that he could forgive, because he loved her, but that he would never be able to trust her again.
Either the writers cornered themselves by making the friendship between Arthur and Merlin really deepen, so much so that Arthur trusts him with things he wouldn't trust anyone else with. By doing so, they made a magic reveal almost impossible to deal with in a realistic way - I'm thinking about Arthur's reaction - without having Arthur definitely unable to trust Merlin again. Well, that's a LOT different from most of the legend's versions, isn't it?
Either they've decided since the beginning that there wouldn't be a magic reveal at all - unless it's in a movie I won't be paying for, thank you very much - and they deepened Arthur and Merlin's friendship on purpose to make a magic reveal impossible without dire consequences on said friendship. And again, Arthur and Merlin estranged is a LOT different from all the legends!
I'm holding unto a thread of hope since I've seen that some of the scenes they cut in this season were scenes that were putting their friendship on a whole another new level, especially Arthur's gift to Merlin. It could mean that they've realised they had gone a little bit too far and were basically shooting themselves in the foot with the magic reveal, that they had to let themselves a little more room to manoeuvre.
But well, even without the cut scenes, it's starting to look a little too much like Merlin missed his chance one time too many. Arthur reveals a big secret to him, swears he's going to protect people with magic and Merlin... says nothing!!!!
When Arthur let Merlin follow him in the woods, he knows that at some point Merlin is going to learn what I think must be his darkest secret.
On top of that, instead of letting Merlin witness his atonement unfolding and drawing his conclusions, Arthur is brave enough to confess his crime to Merlin, not trying to find excuses.
I couldn't get over the fact that Arthur willfully let Merlin see him in a moment where he's very vulnerable and far from being under his best light. This is a very big proof of his trust and friendship.
That's why I couldn't help but cringe a lot when I thought that one day Merlin was going to reveal his magic to Arthur - because I still can't believe the writers are going to be stupid enough to not do a reveal and waste a good TV show.
At the beginning of the series, the reveal was all about Arthur's reaction to Merlin being a sorcerer, an evil magic user. It was all about Arthur having - or not having - Merlin executed because of this.
But I think that now this is worse. It's about trust and friendship. How do you think Arthur is going to react discovering that Merlin has been lying to him for years, has continued to do so even after Uther's death, and even after Arthur revealed one of his most guarded secrets to him? Could be what Arthur said about Gwen: that he could forgive, because he loved her, but that he would never be able to trust her again.
Either the writers cornered themselves by making the friendship between Arthur and Merlin really deepen, so much so that Arthur trusts him with things he wouldn't trust anyone else with. By doing so, they made a magic reveal almost impossible to deal with in a realistic way - I'm thinking about Arthur's reaction - without having Arthur definitely unable to trust Merlin again. Well, that's a LOT different from most of the legend's versions, isn't it?
Either they've decided since the beginning that there wouldn't be a magic reveal at all - unless it's in a movie I won't be paying for, thank you very much - and they deepened Arthur and Merlin's friendship on purpose to make a magic reveal impossible without dire consequences on said friendship. And again, Arthur and Merlin estranged is a LOT different from all the legends!
I'm holding unto a thread of hope since I've seen that some of the scenes they cut in this season were scenes that were putting their friendship on a whole another new level, especially Arthur's gift to Merlin. It could mean that they've realised they had gone a little bit too far and were basically shooting themselves in the foot with the magic reveal, that they had to let themselves a little more room to manoeuvre.
But well, even without the cut scenes, it's starting to look a little too much like Merlin missed his chance one time too many. Arthur reveals a big secret to him, swears he's going to protect people with magic and Merlin... says nothing!!!!