Merlin - The Disir
Can we all appreciate the irony that the fate of Arthur is in a coin? Two sides of the same coin, anyone?
“If I’m not mistaken, he’ll be one of the finest.”
Okay, where exactly is the evidence for this? Why does Arthur have this man-crush on Mordred? Is he being paternal? Because he is at least ten years older than Mordred. This buddy-buddy relationship Arthur and Mordred have befuddles me. Why does Arthur have such faith in Mordred? Why does Arthur always implicitly trust the people who will hurt him? Why has he not learned yet? It made sense with Agravaine and Morgana. At least they were family. But Mordred? I hope the writers will one day realize “because we said so” isn’t a good enough justification for something happening in the episode.
Why is Gaius so set on believing Mordred is good? Because he’s a nice young man? Well, Morgana was a nice young lady before she went bat shit crazy too.
Sir Ranulf. Oh goody. More faceless knights that apparently Arthur is best friends with.
“We knew each other as boys.”
Oh really? *put chin in hands* Do tell me more. Really though. Anything at all. Some background would be much appreciated.
“He has all the makings of an excellent knight.”
How???? Cuz he’s excited to go on his first patrol???
“I do believe you’ve grown fond of him.”
“It’s one of those things I do.”
Indeed it is, Arthur. One of “those things” you do to get yourself killed, that is.
Gwen and Merlin’s little exchange was sweet. But… I really wish we got some Gwen/Merlin interactions. Especially ones not involving Arthur. Might be difficult, I know. Both their lives revolve around him. Sigh. But their dynamic seems… stilted somehow? It’s not the same easy way they used to have with each other. I miss their friendship.
Was this really necessary? We didn’t go through this with anyone else. It was funny as hell, don’t get me wrong. But all it did was make Mordred the butt of the jokes. And c’mon, the kid’s got enough to deal with.
“You are a sorcerer, a heretic, and a murderer.”
That broke my heart a little. Gwaine was supposed to be the one who wouldn’t spout crap like this. I’m so glad Merlin wasn’t around to hear this.
“You have waged war on the people of the Old Religion.”
He has? Has he continued Uther’s crusade? Why have the writers not deemed it necessary to tell us any of this?
“The circle of fate begin to close. For even as Camelot flowers, the seeds of her destruction are being sown.”
*sob* Circle of fate. Noooooo!
“Sorcerer’s are not permitted marked graves.”
So… they’re permitted unmarked graves? And how the fuck would anyone know the pile of rocks was the mark of a grave?
“It’s all right, Merlin. I’d have done the same. He was one of us after all.”
Aww… bonding boys.
“It won’t always be like this. One day we’ll live in freedom again.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I do.”
Moreover, Mordred, shouldn’t you believe that? Isn’t that why you serve Arthur? Would you willingly serve a man that will continue to kill your kind until the end of his days? Had Mordred resigned himself to serving a king blinded by hatred of magic? What is Mordred’s reason for serving Arthur? I know Merlin believes in Arthur’s potential to bring magic back to the kingdom. But more and more I doubt Arthur deserves Merlin’s loyalty. He hasn’t become a king that will go down in history. He hasn’t proven himself. Before I can get behind Albion and Arthur being the Once and Future King, the writers had better show us that Arthur IS that man.
Arthur, you prat. It’s like, oh Merlin, I’m going to be nice to you and offer you a drink. Oh jk, I just wanted you to toast Mordred, the man who’s going to kill me. Cheers!
Why the fuck is Arthur overflowing with praise for Mordred? Someone please tell me why Mordred deserves it.
“If he died and was granted eternal happiness, I do believe he’d find reason to be miserable.”
Arthur’s little smile and Merlin after this line was adorable. I love that Arthur was trying to cheer Merlin up, and not tear him down. Even if Merlin clearly took it as the latter.
When Arthur threw the coin at Merlin, as it flipped through the air, I thought that was going to mean something. Judgment and fate and all, right? I thought maybe one side was judgment, the other fate. Maybe that would have something to do with what ultimately happened. Two sides of the same coin. C’mon. I can’t help it. But no. That would be too complicated.
Ivy round a tree. Really. You really love your metaphors don’t you? Where’s the coin in this metaphor? Where’s Merlin?
Yay for Gwen bringing Arthur food personally!
Yes, Arthur, let’s throw away the coin that supposedly has your judgment and fate. Good plan.
Why is Arthur so familiar with Mordred? I really don’t understand. What happened in the time between Mordred became a knight and now? Why is Arthur so devastated? With Arthur’s sudden attachment to Mordred, if I were Merlin, I’d be pretty fucking annoyed too. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Arthur was enchanted.
“If Mordred is destined to take Arthur’s life, then why has he just saved it?”
Uh… because people change? Gaius, you’ve been alive long enough to know that what’s true in this moment will not be true until eternity. How can you know for certain that just because Mordred hero-worships Arthur now, he won’t turn on him in the future? A lot can happen between now and Arthur’s death (whenever that may be).
“What happened to the young boy who came into my chambers just a few years ago?”
A few years? Whaaaaat?
“He grew up. And he learned the meaning of duty.”
OMG. Sobbing. Colin Morgan, you deserve all the fucking awards in the world.
Yay for more Gwen scenes. But really, she can serve a better purpose than to stroke Arthur’s ego. Come on.
“I’ll go to them. Beg for mercy.”
Arthur, after all these years, you still don’t know the meaning of restraint. IT was endearing years ago. Now, it’s just foolish.
“It’s fated, it doesn’t matter what I do does it, it’ll still happen.”
And herein lies the problem of the entire show.
This episode could so easily be the turning point in this show, the point where Arthur realizes his father’s stance on magic is wrong. SO EASILY. But no. The writers chose the few minutes of drama and heartstrings-tugging over giving us what the show so desperately needs. They just keep digging themselves into a deeper hole. So many times, Merlin has had the chance to change Arthur’s perspective. Before, something or someone else got in the way. This time, Merlin let his love for Arthur get in the way. Once again, it’s Merlin who causes Arthur’s ultimate fate. It’s completely unfair that the writers are sticking so close to this idea of destiny. What happened to free will? Creating your own path? Every time someone tries, it’s apparently only a step in the direction destiny wanted anyway. Why even try. AT this point, they might as well all kill themselves. But oops, they probably wouldn’t die. Cuz destiny says so. UGH.
Sigh. Part of me wants Arthur to change his views here. But part of me still feels it’s not the right time. Not the way they set up this episode. Arthur essentially goes to beg the Disir for forgiveness to save Mordred. But he doesn’t believe he’s wrong. He’s willing to admit it. But he doesn’t truly believe it. Even if Merlin told Arthur to accept the Old Religion, and Arthur listened, it still wouldn’t have been right. It still wouldn’t have been the magic reveal we wanted, or the Albion we want. I personally think that Arthur needs to come to these conclusions himself But he never will if the writers keep making Merlin make mistake after mistake that leads to Arthur hating magic more and more.
For that one moment, Merlin let himself believe he wasn’t so alone, and then Arthur went and fucking crushed his hopes and dreams. I really wanted to slap Arthur in that moment.
“Before my father outlawed magic, Camelot was almost destroyed by sorcery.”
Whoa, what? Why is this the first we’re hearing of this?
“What would you do? In my place?”
Well, it’s a new take on the question this time, I guess. More open ended. But the way Arthur asks, he takes it for granted that Merlin will advise him. He’s comfortable with asking Merlin for advice.
“Sorcery would reign in Camelot. Is that what you’d want?”
OMG, if I were Bradley in this moment, I would’ve slapped myself. I would’ve rather bashd myself in the head to not say those words.
“There can be no place for magic in Camelot.”
That’s it. I’m dead. I can’t even. I can’t even comment on this. I actually can’t. Too busy trying to not sob my eyes out.
Worst fucking moment of Merlin’s life.
I wonder if Mordred finds out about Arthur’s decision… Or Merlin’s role in it. I wonder if this is the turning point.
That “how could I have been so stupid?” I initially thought that was us hearing Merlin’s thoughts. Ithought it was a nice touch. Then we get Merlin and Gaius. Gah.
This scene. So unnecessary. How is this at all in character for Arthur? Around Mordred, Arthur has suddenly become so OOC. Why, writers, why?
The only good (and terribly heartbreaking) thing about Merlin telling Arthur he can’t accept magic is that we see that Merlin truly puts Arthur above EVERYTHING.