Merlin
Last night's Merlin was very good. It's nice to see the dragon come into his own. I keep thinking that he really reminds me of someone, but I can't think who... Anyway, dragon was causing mayhem and generaly doomy death in Camelot (which was completely Uther's fault, having persecuted and committed genocide on not only the dragons but also the only people who can tame them - doh!), and Gaius cunningly pretended there was a 'rumour' about one of the Dragonlords (who were the dragon whisperers of their day) still being alive. Turned out it wasn't a rumour, and he only knew because said Dragonlord was Merlin's father, whom he had long ago smuggled away from danger in Camelot and left to cosy up with Merlin's mother (hence Merlin's existence) in Ealdor (did I spell that right?).
So, Arthur and Merlin go to find said Dragonlord, called Balinor (good fantasy name, that!), and when they do it leads to some sweet scenes between him and Merlin. I loved Balinor - he was like a homelier version of Aragorn or something. If only they'd had more time, his angst could have filled something feature-length, but because of the constraints of television he had to get over it rather quickly and go to aid his son. But it was very nice that he didn't find that out until after he decided to help. It's such a shame he ended up dying, but of course he had to because, as Gaius helpfully pointed out near the end, Merlin couldn't inherit his Dragonlord powers while his father was alive. Ah.
So, eventually Merlin has the powers, and he insists on riding out with Arthur. I'm starting to feel as though there's something missing between Arthur and Merlin - they're sort of close, and even Arthur admits that, and there's no denying that they have mutual respect even if they hardly ever admit it... but when they were in the inn I really thought Merlin could have confided in Arthur, and when they were about to go and die I really thought Merlin could have explained why he really had to go with him. Merlin might have done the awesome dragon-taming thing in the end, but he let people die first just because he kept hiding his power from Arthur until everyone was dead or unconscious. Merlin could have ridden out alone, but he risked Arthu's life by not doing that, didn't he? Hmm. But this was the only aspect of this episode that bothered me - I thought everything else was spot on. And yay for Arthur/Gwen. For goodness' sake, go and have sex already, before Lancelot shows up again.
Indeed, I thought this series was very good indeed, and much much better than the first series. The characters have developed nicely, with more believable strengths and weaknesses and traits and emotions. Morgana got some screentime, which was nice to see, and I'm very pleased to see her teaming up with Mordred, who's such a complete cutie. Her turning on Uther was a bit sudden and seemed a little disingenuous, but then maybe fickleness is going to be one of the traits she explores as she heads further towards the dark side. Uther's been dangerously stuck to his 'principles', and has also made some alarming mistakes (like marrying a troll). I wasn't pleased to see Lancelot stealing Gwen's heart in quite an early episode - I don't at all like the idea that she falls for him before her relationship with Arthur develops; but then I don't think I'm ever going to like her turning her back on Arthur and having an affair with Lancelot, so maybe on balance it's better that she did already have feelings for him...
From an episode point-of-view, I have to say that the penultimate one with the knights of wherever-they-were (the faux Nazgul) was the scariest and most tense and exciting. But to be honest there were lots of excellent episodes, with the first one very strong and perhaps scoring as my second favourite. There were also some wonderful guest turns, especially from Charles Dance and McKenzie Crook.
For Arthur and Merlin, I don't think there's been as much development as there could have been inasmuch as I reckon it's time Merlin told Arthur the truth about his powers and his destiny. But nevertheless there were some lovely moments between them, including a delightful hug, their manly pre-death banter in the last episode, and Arthur's helping Merlin to escape from his father at one point.
And what am I hoping to see next series? Well, here's my wishlist...
1) Merlin revealing his powers to Arthur - and Arthur responding to it as a friend, not as his father's son.
2) A proper relationship developing between Arthur and Gwen, not just all these glances and frustrated feelings.
3) No Lancelot - not yet!
4) If Uther has to die (which I guess he does at *some* point, though I don't know what their timescale is), then for his to get some final redemption for all the bad things he's done, and to show he's proud of Arthur before the end.
5) Evil Morgana and more Mordred. And more Morgause too, she's pretty and complex.
6) But no more characters beginning with 'Mor-' or it'll get confusing!
7) Lots more of the dark and complex stuff, with occasional bits of humour and slash thrown in, and less of the slapstick (like the troll episodes, which I thought were the weakest of the second series).
So, Arthur and Merlin go to find said Dragonlord, called Balinor (good fantasy name, that!), and when they do it leads to some sweet scenes between him and Merlin. I loved Balinor - he was like a homelier version of Aragorn or something. If only they'd had more time, his angst could have filled something feature-length, but because of the constraints of television he had to get over it rather quickly and go to aid his son. But it was very nice that he didn't find that out until after he decided to help. It's such a shame he ended up dying, but of course he had to because, as Gaius helpfully pointed out near the end, Merlin couldn't inherit his Dragonlord powers while his father was alive. Ah.
So, eventually Merlin has the powers, and he insists on riding out with Arthur. I'm starting to feel as though there's something missing between Arthur and Merlin - they're sort of close, and even Arthur admits that, and there's no denying that they have mutual respect even if they hardly ever admit it... but when they were in the inn I really thought Merlin could have confided in Arthur, and when they were about to go and die I really thought Merlin could have explained why he really had to go with him. Merlin might have done the awesome dragon-taming thing in the end, but he let people die first just because he kept hiding his power from Arthur until everyone was dead or unconscious. Merlin could have ridden out alone, but he risked Arthu's life by not doing that, didn't he? Hmm. But this was the only aspect of this episode that bothered me - I thought everything else was spot on. And yay for Arthur/Gwen. For goodness' sake, go and have sex already, before Lancelot shows up again.
Indeed, I thought this series was very good indeed, and much much better than the first series. The characters have developed nicely, with more believable strengths and weaknesses and traits and emotions. Morgana got some screentime, which was nice to see, and I'm very pleased to see her teaming up with Mordred, who's such a complete cutie. Her turning on Uther was a bit sudden and seemed a little disingenuous, but then maybe fickleness is going to be one of the traits she explores as she heads further towards the dark side. Uther's been dangerously stuck to his 'principles', and has also made some alarming mistakes (like marrying a troll). I wasn't pleased to see Lancelot stealing Gwen's heart in quite an early episode - I don't at all like the idea that she falls for him before her relationship with Arthur develops; but then I don't think I'm ever going to like her turning her back on Arthur and having an affair with Lancelot, so maybe on balance it's better that she did already have feelings for him...
From an episode point-of-view, I have to say that the penultimate one with the knights of wherever-they-were (the faux Nazgul) was the scariest and most tense and exciting. But to be honest there were lots of excellent episodes, with the first one very strong and perhaps scoring as my second favourite. There were also some wonderful guest turns, especially from Charles Dance and McKenzie Crook.
For Arthur and Merlin, I don't think there's been as much development as there could have been inasmuch as I reckon it's time Merlin told Arthur the truth about his powers and his destiny. But nevertheless there were some lovely moments between them, including a delightful hug, their manly pre-death banter in the last episode, and Arthur's helping Merlin to escape from his father at one point.
And what am I hoping to see next series? Well, here's my wishlist...
1) Merlin revealing his powers to Arthur - and Arthur responding to it as a friend, not as his father's son.
2) A proper relationship developing between Arthur and Gwen, not just all these glances and frustrated feelings.
3) No Lancelot - not yet!
4) If Uther has to die (which I guess he does at *some* point, though I don't know what their timescale is), then for his to get some final redemption for all the bad things he's done, and to show he's proud of Arthur before the end.
5) Evil Morgana and more Mordred. And more Morgause too, she's pretty and complex.
6) But no more characters beginning with 'Mor-' or it'll get confusing!
7) Lots more of the dark and complex stuff, with occasional bits of humour and slash thrown in, and less of the slapstick (like the troll episodes, which I thought were the weakest of the second series).