At Last! - Merlin S1 and S2 Blanket Rewind

[mymuseandi]

For the three weeks or so I've been sucked into the world of Merlin. And for this I must thank a few of my flisters, who have watched them and extolled the show's virtues (and vices) so what else can I do but to go along with the flow?

[My first time using the spoiler tag. Does this work? Spoilers for both season.]
S1 Blanket Rewind

Right, so the highlights of this first season:

• Arthur and Merlin's relationship. It was not really smooth-going at first, but by the end of the season you can see the dynamics change a little as they become closer to friends rather than that of a prince-servant one. Arthur can still be a prick though haha. I know in the episode of the poisoned chalice he risked his life to get the flower to cure Merlin, but I think it was more out of gratitude and debt than an actual fondness.
• The dragon Kilgarrah. Voiced by John Hurt, he's such a delight, especially when he laughs. I always joined in when he laughed, for whatever reason. It's contagious.
• The laughable special effects. These improved in season 2, but during the first season they were really bad. When Arthur wanted to kill this mythical (read: CGI-ed) creature I can see his sword stabbing into nothingness, but the creature still bellowed like it had been stabbed or hurt in some way.
• Uther Penndragon. I think he's the most complex character in the series. I hate him for the majority of the time, but for the rest of it I can see his love for both Arthur and Morgana, and his strive to do the right thing for the people. He's the king, he's not there to make popular decisions, he's there to make the right ones for the majority of Camelot.
• The capes and cowls. I generally like the costumes for the show, but oh I love those capes that have cowls with them that the characters would wear whenever they went out/riding/to hide their faces.They are gorgeous,especially the velvety-looking ones. But I'm not sure if they're practical, because most of them touch the ground when they were worn, and won't they get dirty, sweeping through the forest like that? God knows what they might sweep along their wake.
• Lack of a main story arc. Apart from trying to hide his magic from Uther, I can see no main story arc. It's not bad per se, because sometimes main story arcs can distract you, and so far it has crippled the show in any way.
• The castle is really easy to get into/escape from. Sometimes I think that there are no need for guards because they rarely stop people from coming in or going out anyway, and when they did, it's usually the wrong person.

S2 Blanket Rewind

• Gwen's hair. In S1, I was a bit obsessed with Gwen's hair. She had in up in a rather loose bun, with trails of it hanging down like curtains by the side of her face. I just wanted to sweep her hair all up, because it looks messier than it really is, and also I thought it might show her great facial bone structure. But in S2 she wore them in a half ponytail, and it looks so much better. And in the second episode she threaded little flowers - can't see it that well, but I think that's what they are - into her hair, and it looks absolutely wonderful
• Lancelot! He actually appeared first in S1, but I must confess that particular episode is one of the most boring ones for me, don't ask why because I don't know. But I did notice how dishy he was, and he got even dishier when he appeared for the second time in this season. I know he's the one that came in between Arthur and Gwen, and I guess you need a gorgeous person both in body and heart to be able to match Arthur and to lure Gwen away.
• The most disgusting episode: Beauty and the Beast. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. And GAG Not a big fan of fart jokes, and this one has them in spades. And the troll eat horse dung! And Uther slept with her!
• Merlin falling in love and finding his father. Both episodes are heartstrings-tugging. In both episodes Merlin was so sad in the aftermath, and he was weeping, and it seemed so unfair that he only got to know them for a short amount of time - and as viewers we got less than an episode with them - before they're dead. There was this scene when we see Merlin kissing her and a tear fell from his eye. It rather moved me, again I don't know why. And the scene when he was trying to tell Balinor that he was his son. I was biting my lips at that, anxious.
• Arthur and Gwen's relationship. I'll be honest, it moves too fast for it to be believable. Gwen had a bit of a crush on Merlin in the first half of S1, but by the end of the season you can see the first buds of their relationship starting to blossom. I would have liked it to be developed more in depth rather than throwing it out there. But they are cute together. The chemistry is there.
• Morgana being so gullible. I don't understand why she chose to believe all the strangers instead of Uther or Gaius. Yes, you just found out you have magic, yes, you formed a special bond with Mordred the druid boy because you both have magic, yes, Uther had been lying to you about magic from day 1, yes, you're probably misunderstood, because you have magic and only a 'servant' knows about it, and you feel that no one understands you except for other people who have magic. But seriously woman, stop and use your brains for a bit. You also blamed everyone but yourself. Guess nurture wins this round. Or was it nature, because that's what Uther did as well? 
• Where's the whole 'lesson learnt' thing for Merlin in The Witchfinder episode? Because he used magic carelessly, the witchfinder came, Gaius was arrested and tortured and almost burnt at the stake, and a whole lot of incidents could be avoided had Merlin just look around him before he made that smoke turn its shape into a horse. There should be an admonition from Gaius, and he should be apologizing profusely, but maybe it's just me. LOL Although Gaius scolding Uther was a delight, because it's about time and that man needed someone to stop him from going witchhunt-crazy.
• Arthur and Morgana's relationship/Merlin and Morgana's relationship. I wish they'd expand on these relationships, because at the moment Morgana is like the convenient scapegoat for everything. Plus, Merlin did kno about Morgana having magic, and it wasn't spoken of until the second-to-last episode, which is a waste. AndArthur and Morgana are practically siblings, so that relationship isn't explored.

There might be some points I'm forgetting, Generally, it's not totally excellent but the acting's rather solid but the script can be silly at times, and occasionally the actors overact/underact, but it's a pleasant show to marathon. But now it's on to S3!