Merlin - Arthur's Bane
Word of caution. One, this is full of spoilers. Two, half of this will be me going "alsgrdbvinsd;vam" from the feels, and the other half will be... me crying. Also over feels. Maybe with some actual intelligent commentary interspersed. So if you're looking for actual deep stuff, this is not the place to find it.
Running Merlin! I was hoping for this lighthearted beginning like with season 4, but the beginning already looks darker. I mean... it's not. But it definitely sets a different tone for the entire series. I was all nervous, like... what's going on? Who's dead? Why's Merlin frantic? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING???? YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME AFTER MONTHS OF WAITING. GIVE ME ANSWERS NOW.
Okay.
This room. Why is there only one throne?
I'm a little disappointed we start with more antagonistic bickering between Merlin and Arthur. And the bickering's over Gwen too. Sigh. Gives me the feeling they're gonna be shoving Gwen in our faces when she isn't needed again.
Haha. Awkward servants. I have a bad feeling about that girl. I just do.
FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. IT'S THE FUCKING ROUND TABLE. YESSSSSSS. But I'm so sad that Merlin doesn't get a seat. I mean, c'mon, Gaius gets a seat. Gwen gets a seat. And everyone else sitting there is a knight. GIVE MERLIN A FUCKING SEAT, ARTHUR. There's an empty one right there! Whose seat is it? And why is only one empty? Both Gwaine and Percival aren't there. I'm very confused.
Gwaineeeeeeee!!!!! I love Gwaine leading.
AND SNOOOOOOOW!!!!
Aww... poor Merlin's face when Arthur says it's as if Gwaine and his men have vanished.
NOOOOOO!!!!! GWAINEEEEEE!!! Also, that's a cute wolf.
Wish they changed the title sequence.
Katie's acting is looking a lot more polished.
There are A LOT of quotes/scenes from the trailer in the first episode. I'm pretty surprised.
I love Morgana/Gwaine confrontations. So tension-filled. It's beautiful.
Okay. So about Gwen. This new Gwen is a lot stronger, a lot more confident, a lot more the Gwen I've been wanting to see. I'm finding myself warming to her all over again. And of course, need I even mention her wardrobe? Her dresses are gorgeous. Well.... there's actually one I don't like that much, but I'll probably get into that later. The red one tho. God. My favorite by far. I could gush about that dress for ages. Red velvet really suits Angel. Absolutely gorgeous.
Anyway. Back to Gwen. I'm liking the change. I'm liking the fact that this character development actually seems to work. But. When they were talking about Arthur going after his knights in Ismere. Are we really to believe that with Arthur, Elyan, Leon, and Gaius there, it never occurred to ANY of them to TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE? C'mon. This is Arthur, who chose to take the tunnels beneath the Castle of Fyrien to rescue Elyan. And he's ARTHUR. He's been training for this all his life. He's not dumb enough to not realize that if all his men are being ambushed on a certain route, YOU TAKE A DIFFERENT ONE. Elyan and Leon are trained knights. And Gaius, being one of Uther's advisors, I'm sure has sat in on many of these types of meetings. So seriously. Gwen was the ONLY one to realize that taking a different route would be a smart strategy? Props to her for suggesting it and all, but I just don't think it's plausible that Gwen was the one to come up with a solution among three trained knights.
Love this picture. Gorgeous Colin.
This was just too sweet. Merlin doesn't seem as awkward around girls anymore, does he? Aww.... my baby's growing up.
YES for Merlin riding right beside Arthur as they leave.
"The knight of the round table, it's a bond we share."
"I understand."
"If it was you who disappeared, Merlin, I wouldn't bother."
Except... we know that he would. XD We know that he'd turn the kingdom upside down looking for Merlin. Thank you A Servant of Two Masters.
Helloooo gratuitous topless shots.
Merlin seems a lot more sure of himself. He seems a lot more like BAMF!Merlin who killed Agravaine than the Merlin who said "I'm not entirely useless, you know." It seems as if he's grown into his power a bit more. Seems a bit more at home in his own skin.
"Unless you act quickly, Emrys, even you cannot alter the never ending circle of fate."
Soo... he can alter it if he acts quickly enough? That gives me a little hope for Arthur. And "circle"? Oo... are we going with the possible reincarnation and Avalon thing?
I won't deny it. I cried. Arthur looked stricken when he saw Mordred come after him. Clearly, he trusts Mordred with his life, as he does all his knights. Arthur's gone through too much betrayal in his life. He deserves people loyal to him. But... but... Arthur can't fall! *sob* When I heard that sword go through Arthur... oh god. If that actually happens I don't know what I'll do. After this scene I ripped my headphones out of my ears and started pacing my room, hyperventilating. I was walking circles around my room, tears streaming down my face, muttering "no, no, this can't happen. Noooooo!" I was a wreck.
And then the abrupt, "Is he alive?" from currently alive!Arthur. Oh god. And then Merlin's stricken face. Poor baby's got enough to deal with without having Arthur's imminent death hanging over his head. Destiny is a cruel, cruel thing.
The red background looks somewhat similar to Morgana's prophecy in which she reaches out to Emrys for help. But... the battleground looks different. Maybe Morgana wasn't dreaming about the Battle of Camlann? Cuz I will die if Merlin hasn't revealed his magic by Camlann.
I've been fangirling over Colin bulking up for so long that I didn't even mention it yet! Helloooo muscular Colin. God, the man couldn't be unattractive if he tried!
"Now it is you, and you alone, that can keep Arthur safe."
Right. So what's new?"
Merlin looks so worried about Arthur. Arthur really is his entire life. Who could stand by and let their best friend die though?
Queen Annis! I love her! So glad she's back.
"Now I think it's time for some entertainment. I would love to see your fool perform. Given all his failings, he must have some skills."
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?"
"I'm not a fool."
"That's debatable."
"And I don't have any skills."
Haha, I loved this exchange.
I love how Merlin looks around the table for help, but Leon and Elyan are both just trying not to laugh. Oh sweetie.
Aww... Look at our baby juggle. So those juggling pictures were actually for the show. Awesome.
And then Arthur's reluctantly impressed face. Yay! Merlin's finally managed to make Arthur appreciate him. Even if it's in such a small way.
"I'm not sure that we should go to Ismere."
"Didn't you hear Annis? My men are alive."
"You don't know that."
It both warms and breaks my heart that Merlin truly does place Arthur above everything in his priorities. Among those missing is Gwaine, arguably Merlin's best friend aside from Arthur, but Merlin still wants Arthur to call off this mission. Merlin's terrified that Arthur's going to die. So terrified that he's willing to leave Gwaine there to die just to save Arthur.
"See? Explain that."
"Wish I could."
Poor baby. He sounds so bitter... It's a simple explanation. Magic. But it's the one thing he can't tell Arthur.
Sefa. Poor girl, she seems to just be following her father's orders. It seems as though she's willing to do anything to get her father's approval. I'm not even sure if she realizes what she's doing.
This dress. This is the one I don't like very much. I don't especially like the princess sleeves. But that's a personal thing. And since Gwen is queen, she can pull it off. Mostly, it's the fabric I have a problem with. When I first saw this dress, it was over the summer from pictures at Pierrefonds when Angel was outside. In the bright sunlight, the fabric looked really washed out and kinda cheap actually. Not to say it is cheap! The appearance of the fabric just bothered me. It didn't seem... queenly enough. Indoors and onscreen, the color looks so much better. Purple looks great on Angel, I just wish it were richer fabric. Like the red velvet dress.
I like that Gwen isn't JUST Queen Gwen. I like that you can still clearly see her servant roots. That's what makes her Gwen. I like that she still says "please" and will ask a servant to sit with her at her table. I like that she tries to develop a relationship with her servant and wants to know about her life. I like that she truly can understand the difficulties of being a servant. Watching Gwen's scenes this time around doesn't make me cringe the way they did last season anymore. Now that Gwen's finally gone back to having a character, I'm liking her a lot more.
I love that Arthur leaves his men to come comfort Merlin. Merlin's important.
It's the scene Merlin Official released! AHHH!!!
"I understand."
"I wish I didn't but I understand."
*long lingering glance*
Psh. Right. Not gay at all. Arthur's totally in love with Gwen. Uh huh. Whatever you say.
Okay, Arthur. When someone tells you you're surrounded, you don't run. Because you CAN'T.
In this battle, I was genuinely afraid for Leon's life. Noooo! Immortal!Leon must not die!
You know, seeing this sequence in the trailer, I expected this big epic battle where Arthur's trying to be everywhere at once and just being epic in general. I figured they just wanted the battle to look cool in slow-mo and all. I never thought Arthur might actually be running to save someone. It adds a whole new layer to the scene to know that his desperation is because he's running to the rescue.
This was just terrifying.
And this. The way Merlin quite literally runs single-mindedly into the battle to save Arthur. He could've been run through fifty times the way he wasn't even looking around himself.
Very nice parallel to A Servant of Two Masters.
"You saved me."
"Yes. And I can juggle. I keep telling you, I have many talents."
Oo. Merlin finally seems to be reaching the end of his patience. Maybe magic reveal isn't as far off as I expected.
"You know if Morgana doesn't kill you, I will."
"Killing your king is treason."
"What about threatening an ass."
"I heard that."
Oh your banter. Babies, I love your banter.
Hey! No more ominous "there's a traitor in our midst." I was completely expecting that line until Gwen said "someone betrayed us." Yay for Gwen being smart!
Aww... Can they please wake up snuggled together? This is the closest they've ever slept. Gah. This show is going to kill me one day.
GAH. I honestly thought Merlin was going to tell Arthur about his magic here. "I need to tell you something." C'mon! Just do it, Merlin!
"To betray our beliefs, Merlin. That is what would destroy everything we strive for."
O.M.G. THEY BOTH USED THE WORD "WE." ARTHUR INCLUDES MERLIN IN BEING A PART OF THE BUILDING OF THE CAMELOT ARTHUR WANTS. O.M.G.
And Arthur's truly opening up to Merlin. He's not afraid of telling Merlin his deepest thoughts. This is beautiful. One of my favorite moments.
Awww... They really have kind of snuggled together. So adorable. I love it. Thank god Merthur is still going strong.
This is just too cute.
"If only we had a horse."
"Or a pig."
"You can't ride a pig."
I love that Arthur just accepts what Merlin said and replies, "you can't ride a pig." Doesn't even question why Merlin brought it up.
OMG NET EMBRACE. FIRST EPISODE. ASLDFNSJFISDJV. YES. ASLFJOSEJFO.
Oo. I adore commanding, powerful, regal Gwen.
I love that Gwen is very soft-spoken until Sefa really starts to not cooperate. Then she goes all BAMF and it's epic.
What I don't like though is that Gwen says, "you leave me no choice." There is always a choice, as Gwen herself said.
What I didn't understand was Elyan's face when Gwen sentenced Sefa to death. I thought it was perfectly reasonable. She was a traitor. She has every reason to sentence Sefa to death. I agree with her completely.
OMG. They've been stuck there all day. Oh my god. This is beautiful.
OMG. The grunts and yells and panting and just EVERYTHING. When I saved this picture, I called it "net sex." Cuz that is SERIOUSLY what it sounded like. I can already see the videos being made. This must have been wonderful to film. Colin and Bradley left in that net. Take after take. *stares at screen dreamily*
And then... "Where'd the other rabbit go?" OH GOD. MERLIN. I LOVE YOU SWEETIE.
Hold up. Is Merlin actually sitting across Arthur's lap? Cuz that would just be every Merthur shippers dream come true. DOES IT NOT LOOK LIKE MERLIN IS ON ARTHUR'S LAP? DOESN'T IT???
HOLY FUCKING FUCK. CREEPIEST THING EVER. I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw this.
Have fun snuggling, boys? XD
OH MY GOD. THEY WERE STUCK IN THAT NET ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. I hoped for a couple hours at most. BUT OH GOD THEY HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND AND GIVEN US SO MUCH MERTHUR. YES. IF THIS CONTINUES I WILL BE SO HAPPY.
I just love this shot.
Merlin, use your magic! I love that even while Arthur's restrained, he was going to try and save Merlin when the guy pointed his sword at Merlin. As this was happening I was actually wondering if Merlin was going to use his magic and save them. My mind was just going, "ASOJFKFSKFHG. I DON'T EVEN CARE IF ABOUT THE CLIFFHANGER AS LONG AS MERLIN REVEALS HIS MAGIC. OMG IS IT ACTUALLY GONNA HAPPEN????? AKSDFIHIEHGIEG."
"STOP." And my hopes were dashed.
Well, hello, Mordred at least. It's something.
Oh god, it's like Merlin's worst nightmare's come true. Mordred, the man who will kill Arthur, has just shown up. Poor Merlin.
Merlin! Baby! What are you doing? Gah... I need this next episode.
Okay. Okay. OKAY. WHAT ARE YOU BOYS DOING??? WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS???? WHY ARE YOU TORTURING US??? THIS HAS TO BE MERLIN AND ARTHUR. OH MY FUCKING GOD. COULD THIS SHOW GET ANYMORE SUGGESTIVE??? AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!