Merlin 5x03 Post
Okay, second watch through and let's do a review/reaction post!
Title: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon
Streaming source: putlocker via tv-links.eu
Intro
John Hurt reminds us, for the eighty-millionth time, that the fate of Camelot rests on Merlins shoulders. WE KNOW! WE GET IT! JEEZ. (I will laugh so hard if they put a different random character at the end one time - like a Leon centered episode and it zooms into Rupert's eye - I would pay the producers to do that).
There's a sneezing Merlin, who we promptly forget about because he doesn't get a cold and this is never ever mentioned again. Instead they hear - is it a bird? is it a plane? No! It's an old woman about to be burnt at the stake! (Side note: some one should so make a comic about all the other times it was "never just a bird") Luckily, despite Arthur not being able to kill anything on his hunt, he's in a good mood. He shows this small town he isn't the tyrant his father used to be and rescues the old woman, despite the one random guy from the village who thinks she has magic. One old woman saved, only to die that night.
She gives her thanks by handing over the very magical horn that had been hidden away to protect it from the Pendragons. Oh well, she's about to die, figure she can do whatever the hell she wants (more likely she was sure Arthur wouldn't mind since he didn't condemn her for witchcraft). Unfortunately she dies before she can explain how it works/the dangers. Otherwise we wouldn't have our episode!
And all of this happens before the opening credits roll!
Before Arthur uses Magic:
History of Magic 101 - Where's Prof. Binns when you need him? Luckily Gaius is obscenely old, and he knows all about magical dohickeys. Seriously though - you know Camelot has really changed it's stance on magic when Gaius can talk so freely about his magical past with someone other than Merlin. But there is no time for more reminiscing, there is a party to go brood at!
And boy, does Arthur brood, even the new guy Mordred notices. BTW, was anyone else noticing how Elyan seems to be taking Mordred under his wing? Sitting next to him at roundtable, explaining their emotionally unstable ruler to him? I saw we start another ship - because this fandom doesn't have enough yet. Arthur gives Gwen a small peck on the cheek and he's gone dragging his manservant off with him. Poor Arthur/Gwen fans - the characters don't spend too much on-screen time together do they? But at least you got a peck on the cheek? Yeah? No? Sorry?
Anyways, Arthur goes off to brood some more over his father's grave. Which is a tomb, which doesn't seem to even be under the castle with the rest of the dead guys that Morgana resurrected that one time. Nope, Uther got his very own death room (not that he seems grateful at all for it). Lovely scene though, and I am so happy there was no dialogue. Bradley was perfect too - I love when shows have scenes like this that make you appreciate how fortunate we are to have the talented actors we have playing the characters we love.
I also love that Merlin's knock interrupted Arthur's dramatic music. It made me giggle. And then laugh when Arthur tossed the apples to cover up his brooding, intense preoccupation with the magical horn. In fact, this entire scene made me smile. "Because I'm the King of Camelot and I told you to." You can hear the weariness of that statement - like Arthur knows that none of that will ever matter to Merlin. And the spoon? You just know that this will spark a whole slew of fanfictions about what Arthur did with that spoon. Whatever it was it made Merlin agree to going, once again, into the unknown with Arthur.
And so we enter the field of no-trees and see Stonehenge - or whatever they are calling it - and Merlin's spidey senses are tingling. Nice bit of foreshadowing here, "because I value my life and I don't want to die a horrible death." I would also like to point out that Merlin waited until they were RIGHT in front of the stones before asking what they were.
As much as Arthur is an honourable king - remember, he saved the old woman - he's a bit of a hypocrite. I mean, he still has magic outlawed, but it's okay for him to go and use a device he KNOWS is magical? Obviously this is before the "no one's above the law" became popular. Nice moment about father's there, but it freaks me out because ... how much does Arthur know about Merlin's dad? When they first meet Merlin said he had never met his father, but now it seems that Arthur knows that Merlin's father is dead too. A bit confusing. (I also really like Colin's hair in this scene)
Enter the Land of the Dead
Well ... it's a bit grey and funky back lighting makes people look like aliens from afar. It's cool though, no aliens (that was last weeks episode), it's only Uther. And it's nice to see that Uther has reverted back to season one with his ruthless, disapproving self. Seriously, you get ONE more chance to see your son and you bitch at him because you think he could be a better ruler? It's a damn good thing he said he loved him as Arthur was leaving, otherwise I would want to whack Uther over the head. Also, Uther why aren't you bitching him out about using MAGIC to see you again? Maybe it's a Pendragon thing: Magic is outlawed, unless you are a Pendragon in that case we are awesome and can do whatever the hell we want - booyah!
I ain't afraid of no ghost!
Cue romantic campfire for two (and really, does no one question the fact their King never seems to be at the castle?) and we get a sweet moment between the boys. I do appreciate that Merlin asks if he wanted to talk about it - using more tact then simply asking right out, and giving Arthur the option. And that Arthur tells him what is probably one of the hardest things he's experienced (I couldn't imagine if my Dad suddenly passed away and I got a chance to talk to him a few years later and the only thing his spirit said was "I am so disappointed in everything you've done" - talk about devastating) is a real testament to how close they have become.
Leon bores us with statistical figures that even ghost Uther can't deal with (I love the guy beside him that's just full-out sleeping - haha, we should name him and try to find him through the rest of the series ... damn, think I just accepted my own challenge). Also, because I was curious to see how Gwaine was handling the Leons presentation, I was able to spot him in my second watch - he's sitting beside Percival. Interesting. Me thinks something might have happened in the hot shirtless man cave of Morgana's. Now where's the fanfic? KNIGHT (my sleeping knight) then gets quite a jump when Uther decides to try to break the round table and since the show already established the roundtable was the tradition of their ancestors - apparently the only tradition Uther is happy with is his own.
Down in the armory we get some more Gwaine/Percival moments. That cave definitely brought them together. Meanwhile, sleepy knight seems to have hurt his shoulder - wonder if Leon got some payback for falling asleep during his speech (at least I think it's the same guy). Then Uther decides to hurt Percival whose arms are so thick they save him from being killed by an axe. Also, good use of silence for the creepy moments in this episode. Helps raise the tension and not make it campy.
Luckily Merlin pieces it together and goes to tell Arthur. Can I just say that I love that Merlin and Arthur seem to be at the point where they don't keep anything from eachother? It wasn't too long ago that Merlin would have tried to fix this problem by asking vague questions and then doing something magical by himself.
*Note* Due to my long-time obsession with Supernatural (since '05) I figure that Uther being trapped in this world turned him into a vengeful spirit and going by the episode last season where Bobby's ghost was in that house and it explained how every spirit turned nasty, some sooner rather then later - that Uther's spirit went crazy fast. Because, jumping ahead of myself, that is the only reason Uther would try to kill Arthur. Personally, sane, alive Uther would have killed himself before harming Arthur - it's only twisted, vengeful-spirit Uther that is so far gone he would even consider it. I also know I shouldn't use the canon from one show as my headcanon for other shows - because I then end up confusing myself when a show "breaks" the rules (ex. Elyan was not saved by the salt circle because the circle was supposed to go around the whole bed - you're supposed to fit inside it!)
And to wrap up this review, because I am tired and yeah ... I am heading to bed.
Gwen gets attacked. Good for Gwen to put up such a good fight. It's too bad she didn't have any salt or iron on her (once again - in my head - Supernatural rules apply). Still, I really like Gwen, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. She barely said two words this episode ... actually ... "Is someone there?" She said three words. Well, unless you count screams, but even then it wasn't many. But hey - she lasted longer then Percival - and managed to dodge the flying stuff. And because I love Merlin/Gwen friendship - I was super happy he was the one to save her from the fire. Hopefully we get to see more of Gwen next week.
Poetry lessons ... oh my. Enough said.
Uther finds out about Merlin's magic. That was satisfying. Uther is the one person who Merlin truly feared above all else, he represented the threat towards magic and his people, and Merlin lived under that threat for so long - it was like the biggest F you. And the "even when you were King, there was magic at the heart of Camelot" line? Classic. I can also say this (so far) is the first time that the articles talking about BAMF! Merlin seem to actually be right. And I swear to god, if there isn't a magic reveal this season ... I don't even know. This was so satisfying, but it was also, when you think about it, a bit of a copout. Uther finding out about the magic is actually completely pointless for overarching story and has absolutely NO consequences for any future episodes. We can hope that Arthur might wonder what Uther was trying to say, but seeing as how he didn't seem that concerned about it in the final scene, I don't think we can rest much hope on it.
Overall ...
One of my favourite stand-alone episodes of Merlin. Second time watching was as fun as the first and there was a perfect balance between dark and funny. The writers seem more comfortable about writing our knights into the scripts too. They flow more seemlessly into the episodes then they did last season I find.
Next time ...
I don't even know what is happening, but I'm excited!
So I will leave you all with this little gem ...
Title: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon
Streaming source: putlocker via tv-links.eu
Intro
John Hurt reminds us, for the eighty-millionth time, that the fate of Camelot rests on Merlins shoulders. WE KNOW! WE GET IT! JEEZ. (I will laugh so hard if they put a different random character at the end one time - like a Leon centered episode and it zooms into Rupert's eye - I would pay the producers to do that).
There's a sneezing Merlin, who we promptly forget about because he doesn't get a cold and this is never ever mentioned again. Instead they hear - is it a bird? is it a plane? No! It's an old woman about to be burnt at the stake! (Side note: some one should so make a comic about all the other times it was "never just a bird") Luckily, despite Arthur not being able to kill anything on his hunt, he's in a good mood. He shows this small town he isn't the tyrant his father used to be and rescues the old woman, despite the one random guy from the village who thinks she has magic. One old woman saved, only to die that night.
She gives her thanks by handing over the very magical horn that had been hidden away to protect it from the Pendragons. Oh well, she's about to die, figure she can do whatever the hell she wants (more likely she was sure Arthur wouldn't mind since he didn't condemn her for witchcraft). Unfortunately she dies before she can explain how it works/the dangers. Otherwise we wouldn't have our episode!
And all of this happens before the opening credits roll!
Before Arthur uses Magic:
History of Magic 101 - Where's Prof. Binns when you need him? Luckily Gaius is obscenely old, and he knows all about magical dohickeys. Seriously though - you know Camelot has really changed it's stance on magic when Gaius can talk so freely about his magical past with someone other than Merlin. But there is no time for more reminiscing, there is a party to go brood at!
And boy, does Arthur brood, even the new guy Mordred notices. BTW, was anyone else noticing how Elyan seems to be taking Mordred under his wing? Sitting next to him at roundtable, explaining their emotionally unstable ruler to him? I saw we start another ship - because this fandom doesn't have enough yet. Arthur gives Gwen a small peck on the cheek and he's gone dragging his manservant off with him. Poor Arthur/Gwen fans - the characters don't spend too much on-screen time together do they? But at least you got a peck on the cheek? Yeah? No? Sorry?
Anyways, Arthur goes off to brood some more over his father's grave. Which is a tomb, which doesn't seem to even be under the castle with the rest of the dead guys that Morgana resurrected that one time. Nope, Uther got his very own death room (not that he seems grateful at all for it). Lovely scene though, and I am so happy there was no dialogue. Bradley was perfect too - I love when shows have scenes like this that make you appreciate how fortunate we are to have the talented actors we have playing the characters we love.
I also love that Merlin's knock interrupted Arthur's dramatic music. It made me giggle. And then laugh when Arthur tossed the apples to cover up his brooding, intense preoccupation with the magical horn. In fact, this entire scene made me smile. "Because I'm the King of Camelot and I told you to." You can hear the weariness of that statement - like Arthur knows that none of that will ever matter to Merlin. And the spoon? You just know that this will spark a whole slew of fanfictions about what Arthur did with that spoon. Whatever it was it made Merlin agree to going, once again, into the unknown with Arthur.
And so we enter the field of no-trees and see Stonehenge - or whatever they are calling it - and Merlin's spidey senses are tingling. Nice bit of foreshadowing here, "because I value my life and I don't want to die a horrible death." I would also like to point out that Merlin waited until they were RIGHT in front of the stones before asking what they were.
As much as Arthur is an honourable king - remember, he saved the old woman - he's a bit of a hypocrite. I mean, he still has magic outlawed, but it's okay for him to go and use a device he KNOWS is magical? Obviously this is before the "no one's above the law" became popular. Nice moment about father's there, but it freaks me out because ... how much does Arthur know about Merlin's dad? When they first meet Merlin said he had never met his father, but now it seems that Arthur knows that Merlin's father is dead too. A bit confusing. (I also really like Colin's hair in this scene)
Enter the Land of the Dead
Well ... it's a bit grey and funky back lighting makes people look like aliens from afar. It's cool though, no aliens (that was last weeks episode), it's only Uther. And it's nice to see that Uther has reverted back to season one with his ruthless, disapproving self. Seriously, you get ONE more chance to see your son and you bitch at him because you think he could be a better ruler? It's a damn good thing he said he loved him as Arthur was leaving, otherwise I would want to whack Uther over the head. Also, Uther why aren't you bitching him out about using MAGIC to see you again? Maybe it's a Pendragon thing: Magic is outlawed, unless you are a Pendragon in that case we are awesome and can do whatever the hell we want - booyah!
I ain't afraid of no ghost!
Cue romantic campfire for two (and really, does no one question the fact their King never seems to be at the castle?) and we get a sweet moment between the boys. I do appreciate that Merlin asks if he wanted to talk about it - using more tact then simply asking right out, and giving Arthur the option. And that Arthur tells him what is probably one of the hardest things he's experienced (I couldn't imagine if my Dad suddenly passed away and I got a chance to talk to him a few years later and the only thing his spirit said was "I am so disappointed in everything you've done" - talk about devastating) is a real testament to how close they have become.
Leon bores us with statistical figures that even ghost Uther can't deal with (I love the guy beside him that's just full-out sleeping - haha, we should name him and try to find him through the rest of the series ... damn, think I just accepted my own challenge). Also, because I was curious to see how Gwaine was handling the Leons presentation, I was able to spot him in my second watch - he's sitting beside Percival. Interesting. Me thinks something might have happened in the hot shirtless man cave of Morgana's. Now where's the fanfic? KNIGHT (my sleeping knight) then gets quite a jump when Uther decides to try to break the round table and since the show already established the roundtable was the tradition of their ancestors - apparently the only tradition Uther is happy with is his own.
Down in the armory we get some more Gwaine/Percival moments. That cave definitely brought them together. Meanwhile, sleepy knight seems to have hurt his shoulder - wonder if Leon got some payback for falling asleep during his speech (at least I think it's the same guy). Then Uther decides to hurt Percival whose arms are so thick they save him from being killed by an axe. Also, good use of silence for the creepy moments in this episode. Helps raise the tension and not make it campy.
Luckily Merlin pieces it together and goes to tell Arthur. Can I just say that I love that Merlin and Arthur seem to be at the point where they don't keep anything from eachother? It wasn't too long ago that Merlin would have tried to fix this problem by asking vague questions and then doing something magical by himself.
*Note* Due to my long-time obsession with Supernatural (since '05) I figure that Uther being trapped in this world turned him into a vengeful spirit and going by the episode last season where Bobby's ghost was in that house and it explained how every spirit turned nasty, some sooner rather then later - that Uther's spirit went crazy fast. Because, jumping ahead of myself, that is the only reason Uther would try to kill Arthur. Personally, sane, alive Uther would have killed himself before harming Arthur - it's only twisted, vengeful-spirit Uther that is so far gone he would even consider it. I also know I shouldn't use the canon from one show as my headcanon for other shows - because I then end up confusing myself when a show "breaks" the rules (ex. Elyan was not saved by the salt circle because the circle was supposed to go around the whole bed - you're supposed to fit inside it!)
And to wrap up this review, because I am tired and yeah ... I am heading to bed.
Gwen gets attacked. Good for Gwen to put up such a good fight. It's too bad she didn't have any salt or iron on her (once again - in my head - Supernatural rules apply). Still, I really like Gwen, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. She barely said two words this episode ... actually ... "Is someone there?" She said three words. Well, unless you count screams, but even then it wasn't many. But hey - she lasted longer then Percival - and managed to dodge the flying stuff. And because I love Merlin/Gwen friendship - I was super happy he was the one to save her from the fire. Hopefully we get to see more of Gwen next week.
Poetry lessons ... oh my. Enough said.
Uther finds out about Merlin's magic. That was satisfying. Uther is the one person who Merlin truly feared above all else, he represented the threat towards magic and his people, and Merlin lived under that threat for so long - it was like the biggest F you. And the "even when you were King, there was magic at the heart of Camelot" line? Classic. I can also say this (so far) is the first time that the articles talking about BAMF! Merlin seem to actually be right. And I swear to god, if there isn't a magic reveal this season ... I don't even know. This was so satisfying, but it was also, when you think about it, a bit of a copout. Uther finding out about the magic is actually completely pointless for overarching story and has absolutely NO consequences for any future episodes. We can hope that Arthur might wonder what Uther was trying to say, but seeing as how he didn't seem that concerned about it in the final scene, I don't think we can rest much hope on it.
Overall ...
One of my favourite stand-alone episodes of Merlin. Second time watching was as fun as the first and there was a perfect balance between dark and funny. The writers seem more comfortable about writing our knights into the scripts too. They flow more seemlessly into the episodes then they did last season I find.
Next time ...
I don't even know what is happening, but I'm excited!
So I will leave you all with this little gem ...
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