Merlin - Arthur's Bane

Oct 06, 2012 21:38


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.

Spoilers below. )

episode reaction, merlin: season 5, merlin

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tanoshi_ame October 7 2012, 13:51:47 UTC
Lovely review. This is actually the first review I read that addresses some issues I have with Gwen. To be honest, I wasn't bothered by her scenes as much as I'd thought I would. Her scenes with Sefa are good, though isn't it a bit rushed sentencing Sefa to death right away? Wouldn't it make more sense to question her for any information at all? Sefa did seem repentant enough. Though either way I'm pretty okay with it. The strategy discussing scene, on the other hand.... I'm wholeheartedly agree with you. It's bad enough we didn't see the 3 years she went from servant to Queen, suddenly now she's outthinking every single man in the room, men who know battles and strategy all their life... That I cannot accept. In fact, I feel pretty insulted by it. Did the writers feel they had to bring down other characters in order to BAMF-up Gwen?

In this battle, I was genuinely afraid for Leon's life. Noooo! Immortal!Leon must not die!
I laughed at this. So true, so true. XD

I'm very pleased with Merlin's attitude so far. He doesn't bother with pretended lightheartedness anymore, goes to show just how even more weary and lonely he is. As if it wasn't enough, can't wait to see the next blow comes in the form of Aithusa. Crushed by destiny indeed. :/

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seravia October 7 2012, 20:22:25 UTC
Thank you!

I had giant issues with Gwen's character (or lack thereof) in the past two seasons. I have to say, I expected a lot more kissing in from of sunlit windows and "I know you'll be a great king" scenes. It's refreshing that Gwen is actually Gwen and not just Arthur's love interest. So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself warming to her again. But like both of us mentioned, there were some scenes that had me going, "...what?" I like her interactions with Sefa. They show that she is still the same kind Gwen we knew and that just because she's Queen, she hasn't gone and gotten a big head. But I agree that maybe Gwen was a little hasty.

Glad you agree with me about the strategy discussing scene. At first I was pleased that Gwen seemed to know what she was doing in running Camelot. But then it hit me that... wait... We have three trained knights and they honestly didn't realize that if one route fails, you try another? This is something even a five year old knows. I could appreciate Gwen's insight if this were something to do with the way a village operates or something only a commoner would understand. But it's totally not.

I was disappointed with Merlin's lack of development, but at the same time, pleasantly surprised at how far he's come. Merlin is obviously still Arthur's manservant (and still wearing the same clothes), but he's definitely grown up. From Colin's appearance and voice to the way he acts, we can see that he's not a boy anymore. I was surprised at the delivery of some of his lines because they seemed to have a darker undertone. When Merlin said, "What about threatening and ass?" I expected a teasing tone, but instead Merlin sounded genuinely annoyed. Merlin isn't playing the fool as much this year, is he?

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