Questions, questions, read all about it - S05x01 - S05x06 Blanket Review

[mymuseandi]

So I thought I'd do a quick thoughts-and-review for the halfway mark of the last season of Merlin. They would all be in bullet points because I'm too lazy to expand much.

[Spoilers, obviously. Read at your own risk.]

• Why isn't there a magic reveal yet? It's already halfway, and no one is none the wiser about Merlin's magic. In episode 4, he leads Arthur, Percival, Mithian and her father to safety when the ceiling is coming down on them, and prevents Morgana from following them by knocking her into the wall. In episode 5, he knows that the cave is magic, and even when he's the last person to leave the cave, he isn't injured by the Triple Goddess. At all. In episode 6, he leads them out of the forest and into the desert with the Dark Tower by 'following the scent of the sea'. This coming from a person who doesn't even know how to track animals. Come on, pull up the blindfolds already. There's only 6 episodes left. You need to build up on it!
• Why does Morgana want the throne of Camelot specifically? In the premiere and subsequent episode, she already has a throne, although, damn, she needs to hire an interior designer. And she does nothing to her land but kidnap other citizens and make them dig a hole to find something that she isn't even sure existed. In episode 4, she has this elaborate plan to send Arthur to her partner-in-crime to be killed, which I thought is absurd, because she can just reveal herself when she's near to Arthur, and kill him. I mean, her partner in crime obviously doesn't want to wage war against an enchantress, and he does want Arthur dead. Her plan backfires instead, with Arthur negotiating a truce between their lands. See, problem solved. But she chooses to have elaborate plans. Come on, that's childish.
• I love that they are using the knights more in this season. In episode 1 and 2, Percival and Gwaine take centre stage, being kidnapped by Morgana. Subsequently, there's been a lot of quests and there are more interactions shown on screen than in previous seasons. I like that. Although when Elyan died in episode 6, I thought his death was both pivotal and senseless. Pivotal because that's how Gwen supposedly is pushed into becoming an enemy of Arthur, senseless because there doesn't have to be a death, and if what I suspect is true, that Gwen is bewitched anyway, so his death is an unnecessary red herring.
• I also love that they're highlighting Merlin and Gwaine's friendship. As one of my fellow Merlin fans noted in her review - hells_half_acre if you must know :) - their friendship is very fierce and is so different from his and Arthur's friendship, you can't help but cheer them on. Gwaine is protective of Merlin, and, I dare say, is more appreciative of him as a person, rather than Arthur, who I think takes Merlin for granted at times because he's his servant, and he knows how loyal he is to him.
• Mordred! Oh, I love that he looks a lot like Merlin's brother from another mother, and that he double-crosses Morgana without even blinking, and that he really believes that Merlin will make it better for all magic users. I love that he looks at Arthur with undisguised adoration, and Merlin with soft understanding and camaraderie, and that he's naive enough to fall for the knights' hazing in episode 5. I'm also apprehensive to the vision that the seer showed Merlin in the first episode, because I think the future can change. Or, at least I hope it will.
• Gwen is the Queen of Camelot, but except for the first two episodes, and that brilliant strategy in episode 4, she's so underused. In episodes 5 and 6, we finally see some couple moments between her and Arthur, and that one scene in the latest episode where we finally see them both together sleeping on the bed, there's been little interaction between them. I want to see more of them together!
• Merlin and Arthur. Oh boy, their interactions are golden, absolutely precious, this season. The maturity and wisdom on both their parts can clearly be seen, Their bantering has been spot on this season, and man, can the angst-filled scenes just stop, because I cannot see either of them crying, I will cry along as well. They are making difficult decisions every time, and you can see Arthur keeps on looking to Merlin for support. It's funny, because Merlin, to everyone's eyes, is just a servant, but Arthur treats him so much more. And I will just like someone else to acknowledge that, apart from Gaius. Maybe Gwen or Gwaine.

Wow, I did expand it a little. It's 1.30am here. I should go to sleep. Night all!