Merlin 5.10 - 5.13
Yes, I had the chance to watch the finale now. Before getting drafted for more family visits, let me write down my impressions of the last four episodes.
The final three left me so sentimental about the show right now that they blotted out most of 5.10 in my memory, so let me simply say that 5.10. to me encapsuled a lot of the s5 weaknesses, and the show's weaker points in general, with nearly one of the virtues. I remember thinking the next time someone says "one day...", I wish someone else would punch them, also that death by undestroyed secret message was exceedingly stupid, that other magic users sacrificing themselves for Merlin would be more impressive if he'd actually done something to deserve that loyalty from them (the show occasionally remembers this, so the boy sacrificing himself a few eps before that was not only given reason by Merlin being very kind to him but also another reason because of his guilt. But the two in 5.10 had only prophecy, and that doesn't do anything emotionally for me. In conclusion, the only scene I liked was the one between Merlin and Kilgarrah, did I mention that? Oh, Kilgarrah, you wily old dragon, I'll miss you. And no Smaug until next year, either. But enough about 5.10.
5.11. was unexpectedly superb. Mordred totally wins at well motivated change of side in this show, both times, at the start of the season and now in this one. It was far better handled than the transition of Morgana herself (I don't mean Fire of Idrisholas, which I liked, I mean that starting with 3.01. she was unrelentingly evil and never had a second of doubt or split loyalties or feelings. Whereas Mordred was shocked by Kara's killling of the guards and classifying them as collateral damage, distinctly uneasy with Morgana using a fellow sorceror as her guinea pig in 5.12. and expressing this out loud, receiving his sword from Morgana with actually the oath of the knights of Camelot (nice touch), and fighting Arthur by sword, not by magic once he found him at the battle. Best of all, though, was that 5.11. itself managed to be an episode where everyone's motivations were understandable and everyone had a point. Cara was right that Arthur is as responsible as Uther for the fact she spent her life being persecuted, and her choice to not take the mercy he offered (both because she did not recognize his right to decide about her life in the first place and because she thought she had nothing to repent) and rather die than be saved by him was made without raving and with a clear head. It was both couragous and fanatic, because the same attitude let Cara completely disregard any other life but hers and Mordred's; the show made the point twice, both with the dead farmers at the beginning and the guards later. Meanwhile, Arthur was both right in pointing out she wasn't on trial for magic (he hadn't even known she was a Druid before she said it) but for the people she killed, and wrong to ignore that attitudes like Cara's were inevitable as long as, vaguely peaceful druid situation not withstanding, magic itself was still outlawed. Both wilfully blind re: the effect on Mordred, and doing his best in listening to Merlin and trying to find a way out of condemming Cara by offering her her life against repentance and a pledge not to kill anymore. Merlin's bias against Mordred from the start was wrong (Mordred was sincerely loyal to Arthur and Camelot), but he did try (successfully) to persuade Arthur to mercy for Cara.
Most crucially: the inevitable clash of loyalties in Mordred in a scenario where Arthur would condemn a fellow druid he cared about to death was really well played out. It was a good choice to make Cara someone Mordred knew already, and to have Mordred, too, try to find an alternate way out of this through the episode until the death of Cara, with the outburst of telekinesis which both visually and emotionally was a call back to the death of his druid (foster?) father all the way back in the first season and to the last episode with child!Mordred in s2. Which was also when we got our first of the two long awaited reveal scenes: Mordred going straight away to Morgana and telling her that Merlin was Emrys. Incidentally, note Mordred's utter lack of interest in Merlin during the last two episodes after this; it's Morgana who is obsessed with her nemesis, for Mordred the Merlin = Emrys revelation was simply a first step to killing Arthur, who'd become his central emotional focus both good and bad during the season. (It's up in the air whether or not Mordred, had he been present when Arthur offered Cara a reprieve and heard her refuse, would have acted differently; I'm inclined to think not, because Mordred is very much the road not taken for Merlin, who also lost Freya to Arthur in a situation where Arthur was out of other choices but responsible for her death nonetheless. Mordred loved Arthur, too, but he is the Merlin who didn't forgive Arthur, both for the particular - Cara - and the general - failing to live up to the expectations.)
5.12 and 5.13, The Diamond in the Cave, was what every Arthurian myth eventually ends up being: a tragedy with a sense of hope. Not perfect (for starters, if we bring back one of Merlin's parents for inspiration, what's wrong with Hunith? Okay, okay, ghost!SiriusBalinor makes sense in that he also had magic and their one day of a relationship started in a cave where Merlin talked him back into action, but still), but really well done, and btw proving you can do a two parter which focuses on the Arthur/Merlin relationship and still do splendidly right by Gwen, both as herself and in her own relationship with Arthur and Merlin (would have liked a goodybe scene there, but thanks, show, for letting Gwen figure out the Merlin = Emrys thing on her own and expressing her confidence in him both before and after). I really appreciated that throughout, we saw her at her best, quietly strong, smart, supportive when needed and ruthless when necessary, and that Arthur's confidence she'll succeed him and be the best ruler Camelot could have could be shared both by characters and audience, with her last scene in the show being her succession, Gwen taking care of the future of Camelot and Albion.
Basically the fifth season started and ended doing right by Gwen; I really wish the three episodes with her brainwashed/possessed in the middle had been better written, but I can live with that now, because the ending is good, and also there are plenty of ways for fanfiction to fill the gaps, starting with the most obvious one - giving Gwen a transition period from 5.09 to 5.10 where she can deal with her ordeal and what she did during it. Also, I have now all the information I need to write my long planned between s4 and s5 piece, though given after the holidays Darth Real Life will be back, I don't know when I will be able to do so. Anyway: All hail Queen Guinevere!
The Merlin and Arthur scenes in in the final two parter were blessedly three of unfunny slapstick though not of humor, early on (the game at the start was an example of how to do a funny Merlin and Arthur scene right), and after Arthur received his lethal wound unabashedly romantic in the old sense of the word. As for the long awaited reveal, Arthur reacted like about half the stories predicted he would; at first appalled, then working through it, then grateful. Our two leads acted their socks off and were absolutely heartbreaking in the best way, and btw, thanks for letting Merlin make the reveal early on in the last episode so that the working through it could happen in more than just the final two scenes or so. And good lord, the love. Arthur asking Merlin to hold him was one of those scenes that executed differently could have felt hokey as hell but instead made me damn near bawl.
Morgana's death scene was good, too (Btw, I'm on board with Merlin taking some, but not all responsibility for what she became; unevenly written as it was, I always thought the majority of this responsibility was Morgana's, with Merlin's biggest sin against her not that he didn't tell her about his powers - he didn't owe her that, and he brought her to the druids so she could talk to other magic users - but poisoning her in Idrisholas.) It would not have felt right if she'd died at Camlann, and letting her die at the shore of Avalon was a good nod to the myth (as this Morgana could not have brought Arthur there in a believable way).
Gwaine and Percival: damn, and aw. I hadn't expected the show to kill Gwaine, though he's one of the knights who bite the dust in most versions I know. I did love he was helpful and a friend to Merlin one last time in 5.12. Percival, otoh, clearly is Titus Pullo with stronger ethics and thus born to survive.
Very last scene: Aaaaaaand immortal Merlin is canon now! Every Immortal Merlin/returning-or-reincarnated Arthur fic ever can be, too. I just read one or two other reveals and in the middle of feeling sentimental was inappropiately amused that people appear to be sulking over the fact Merlin looks old in the 21st century. Ageism, people, ageism. Older men can be sexy as hell, see also: Jeremy Irons. Besides, given the complete control Merlin has over his appearance in the last season it's pretty obvious to me he can look however he wants to. Also, may I express the hope we get a bit fewer AUs and a bit more Merlin-living-through-one-and-three-quarters-millennia tales?
All in all: ave atque vale, show. I sometimes was furious with you, but I loved you a lot, and thankfully your ending allowed me to continue to do so.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/852591.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
The final three left me so sentimental about the show right now that they blotted out most of 5.10 in my memory, so let me simply say that 5.10. to me encapsuled a lot of the s5 weaknesses, and the show's weaker points in general, with nearly one of the virtues. I remember thinking the next time someone says "one day...", I wish someone else would punch them, also that death by undestroyed secret message was exceedingly stupid, that other magic users sacrificing themselves for Merlin would be more impressive if he'd actually done something to deserve that loyalty from them (the show occasionally remembers this, so the boy sacrificing himself a few eps before that was not only given reason by Merlin being very kind to him but also another reason because of his guilt. But the two in 5.10 had only prophecy, and that doesn't do anything emotionally for me. In conclusion, the only scene I liked was the one between Merlin and Kilgarrah, did I mention that? Oh, Kilgarrah, you wily old dragon, I'll miss you. And no Smaug until next year, either. But enough about 5.10.
5.11. was unexpectedly superb. Mordred totally wins at well motivated change of side in this show, both times, at the start of the season and now in this one. It was far better handled than the transition of Morgana herself (I don't mean Fire of Idrisholas, which I liked, I mean that starting with 3.01. she was unrelentingly evil and never had a second of doubt or split loyalties or feelings. Whereas Mordred was shocked by Kara's killling of the guards and classifying them as collateral damage, distinctly uneasy with Morgana using a fellow sorceror as her guinea pig in 5.12. and expressing this out loud, receiving his sword from Morgana with actually the oath of the knights of Camelot (nice touch), and fighting Arthur by sword, not by magic once he found him at the battle. Best of all, though, was that 5.11. itself managed to be an episode where everyone's motivations were understandable and everyone had a point. Cara was right that Arthur is as responsible as Uther for the fact she spent her life being persecuted, and her choice to not take the mercy he offered (both because she did not recognize his right to decide about her life in the first place and because she thought she had nothing to repent) and rather die than be saved by him was made without raving and with a clear head. It was both couragous and fanatic, because the same attitude let Cara completely disregard any other life but hers and Mordred's; the show made the point twice, both with the dead farmers at the beginning and the guards later. Meanwhile, Arthur was both right in pointing out she wasn't on trial for magic (he hadn't even known she was a Druid before she said it) but for the people she killed, and wrong to ignore that attitudes like Cara's were inevitable as long as, vaguely peaceful druid situation not withstanding, magic itself was still outlawed. Both wilfully blind re: the effect on Mordred, and doing his best in listening to Merlin and trying to find a way out of condemming Cara by offering her her life against repentance and a pledge not to kill anymore. Merlin's bias against Mordred from the start was wrong (Mordred was sincerely loyal to Arthur and Camelot), but he did try (successfully) to persuade Arthur to mercy for Cara.
Most crucially: the inevitable clash of loyalties in Mordred in a scenario where Arthur would condemn a fellow druid he cared about to death was really well played out. It was a good choice to make Cara someone Mordred knew already, and to have Mordred, too, try to find an alternate way out of this through the episode until the death of Cara, with the outburst of telekinesis which both visually and emotionally was a call back to the death of his druid (foster?) father all the way back in the first season and to the last episode with child!Mordred in s2. Which was also when we got our first of the two long awaited reveal scenes: Mordred going straight away to Morgana and telling her that Merlin was Emrys. Incidentally, note Mordred's utter lack of interest in Merlin during the last two episodes after this; it's Morgana who is obsessed with her nemesis, for Mordred the Merlin = Emrys revelation was simply a first step to killing Arthur, who'd become his central emotional focus both good and bad during the season. (It's up in the air whether or not Mordred, had he been present when Arthur offered Cara a reprieve and heard her refuse, would have acted differently; I'm inclined to think not, because Mordred is very much the road not taken for Merlin, who also lost Freya to Arthur in a situation where Arthur was out of other choices but responsible for her death nonetheless. Mordred loved Arthur, too, but he is the Merlin who didn't forgive Arthur, both for the particular - Cara - and the general - failing to live up to the expectations.)
5.12 and 5.13, The Diamond in the Cave, was what every Arthurian myth eventually ends up being: a tragedy with a sense of hope. Not perfect (for starters, if we bring back one of Merlin's parents for inspiration, what's wrong with Hunith? Okay, okay, ghost!SiriusBalinor makes sense in that he also had magic and their one day of a relationship started in a cave where Merlin talked him back into action, but still), but really well done, and btw proving you can do a two parter which focuses on the Arthur/Merlin relationship and still do splendidly right by Gwen, both as herself and in her own relationship with Arthur and Merlin (would have liked a goodybe scene there, but thanks, show, for letting Gwen figure out the Merlin = Emrys thing on her own and expressing her confidence in him both before and after). I really appreciated that throughout, we saw her at her best, quietly strong, smart, supportive when needed and ruthless when necessary, and that Arthur's confidence she'll succeed him and be the best ruler Camelot could have could be shared both by characters and audience, with her last scene in the show being her succession, Gwen taking care of the future of Camelot and Albion.
Basically the fifth season started and ended doing right by Gwen; I really wish the three episodes with her brainwashed/possessed in the middle had been better written, but I can live with that now, because the ending is good, and also there are plenty of ways for fanfiction to fill the gaps, starting with the most obvious one - giving Gwen a transition period from 5.09 to 5.10 where she can deal with her ordeal and what she did during it. Also, I have now all the information I need to write my long planned between s4 and s5 piece, though given after the holidays Darth Real Life will be back, I don't know when I will be able to do so. Anyway: All hail Queen Guinevere!
The Merlin and Arthur scenes in in the final two parter were blessedly three of unfunny slapstick though not of humor, early on (the game at the start was an example of how to do a funny Merlin and Arthur scene right), and after Arthur received his lethal wound unabashedly romantic in the old sense of the word. As for the long awaited reveal, Arthur reacted like about half the stories predicted he would; at first appalled, then working through it, then grateful. Our two leads acted their socks off and were absolutely heartbreaking in the best way, and btw, thanks for letting Merlin make the reveal early on in the last episode so that the working through it could happen in more than just the final two scenes or so. And good lord, the love. Arthur asking Merlin to hold him was one of those scenes that executed differently could have felt hokey as hell but instead made me damn near bawl.
Morgana's death scene was good, too (Btw, I'm on board with Merlin taking some, but not all responsibility for what she became; unevenly written as it was, I always thought the majority of this responsibility was Morgana's, with Merlin's biggest sin against her not that he didn't tell her about his powers - he didn't owe her that, and he brought her to the druids so she could talk to other magic users - but poisoning her in Idrisholas.) It would not have felt right if she'd died at Camlann, and letting her die at the shore of Avalon was a good nod to the myth (as this Morgana could not have brought Arthur there in a believable way).
Gwaine and Percival: damn, and aw. I hadn't expected the show to kill Gwaine, though he's one of the knights who bite the dust in most versions I know. I did love he was helpful and a friend to Merlin one last time in 5.12. Percival, otoh, clearly is Titus Pullo with stronger ethics and thus born to survive.
Very last scene: Aaaaaaand immortal Merlin is canon now! Every Immortal Merlin/returning-or-reincarnated Arthur fic ever can be, too. I just read one or two other reveals and in the middle of feeling sentimental was inappropiately amused that people appear to be sulking over the fact Merlin looks old in the 21st century. Ageism, people, ageism. Older men can be sexy as hell, see also: Jeremy Irons. Besides, given the complete control Merlin has over his appearance in the last season it's pretty obvious to me he can look however he wants to. Also, may I express the hope we get a bit fewer AUs and a bit more Merlin-living-through-one-and-three-quarters-millennia tales?
All in all: ave atque vale, show. I sometimes was furious with you, but I loved you a lot, and thankfully your ending allowed me to continue to do so.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/852591.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.