Merlin 9: Excalibur
Merlin 9: Excalibur
I’ve decided that this will be my episode of PIMP! Because really, really it has everything…SQUEE. I’d like to think that’s got it out of my system but really I suspect I shall be squeeing and flailing all over this post.
*Notes. I saw this about 2.00 in the morning in a state of wine and opera-itis and thought it was just the Carmen-effect spilling over but in the cold light o’day and on second viewing it still has me in a state of mild hyperventilation.*
Knights of the Red Shirts: Alas Sirs Owain and Belvedere we hardly knew you. Another Code to be coping with that no-one seems to have heard of. I think Uther should consider posting a simplified ‘Rules of this Kingdome’ on the wall outside the castle gates or something. At least Owain and Belvedere looked like they might actually be able to fight. But still, once again, you can see why Arthur was all over Lancelot. Finally a decent fighter!
I liked Morgana’s concern and her crimson favour fluttering in the dust - even while recognising the huge cliché.
Also liked Arthur’s ‘Know no one braver.’ And the little look he exchanges with Merlin that pretty much says ‘toast’.
And then Sir Belvedere dons the red shirt and Uther holds Arthur back because he’s crown prince and too important to loose and also because *sniffs* he is my son whom I love more than life. More of that later.
Tristan de Bois aka Mr Black Knight: Honestly you have to ask yourself if Camelot itself hasn’t had a dose of Gaius’ special mix. The Black Knight stands still for two knights in a row and it’s only by day three that people are starting to seriously question whether or not he might not be all he seems. Hmmmm. Haha! Run, Merlin, run! Poor babe really would do anything to save Arthur.
Destiny: The dragon is very bored under Camelot and playing with our boyz. “I’ll have no destiny.” The slash dragon is only playing with you, Merlin, of course he intends to help. He’s probably been considering designs for the last few weeks, trying a few mottos out for size.
Book of Beltane? Oh, this series must be the most fun in the world to write for. So. Much. Fun.
Gaius your castle potions dealer: Gaius really does have a book for everything along with a pretty picture. That Children in Need sketch was totally on the money. Gaius is so dry and funny. And he and Merlin understand each other so well. What is that potion of the strangely appealing after-effects? Gosh, Arthur drugs up nicely. Is it wrong to hope for an inhibition-reducing fic along these lines? Possibly not featuring Gaius though.
Fic note: Arthur’s door locks from the outside. That must be handy for days when the prison is already full. Wonder who had the unenviable task of freeing Arthur? Perhaps they just slipped the key under the door and ran.
Merlin: “You’ve got to pull out.”
If you say so. This relationship has come so far that both Merlin and Arthur are totally comfortable with each other. Arthur talks to Merlin as an equal. Let’s digress briefly into the washing of socks. Are these two actually married? It sometimes seems like it. The only reason I can see for Merlin to do the washing - although there is a chronic shortage of actual people in Camelot so maybe the laundry is understaffed - is that it’s featuring the kind of stains that you don’t wish to advertise. Forget it, Merlin. Everyone already knows. See Gwen opening scene.
Uther/Nimueh: Finally back story and one which makes some kind of sense. I’m liking Nimueh although it could just be the power of her eyes. I’m thinking perhaps Morgana’s mother? Uther RULES. *g* Well, he is king.
Merlin/Uther: “We have a bond.”
FLAILY FLAIL FLAIL. Thank you, show!! How sparkly and shiny is that? Really, if you were going to fanfic it you’d hesitate in case it was too OTT. But CANON does it for you. “Look after him!” Uther STILL rules.
Do those black gloves ever come off? I swear when Gaius was doing the whole shirt-off patching up operation they were still on. Next ep. I will be instigating black glove watch.
Uther/Arthur: Father/son time
“More precious to me than anything.”
“I thought I was a disappointment.”
FALLS ON SCREEN! We all kind of realised that this was the essential Uther/Arthur but the way it played out on screen was so satisfying. All those buttoned-up emotions threatening to come bubbling to the surface before being suppressed in a manly fashion. UTHER still rules here but Arthur is RULING alongside. The eye contact and looking away because it’s all too emotional for words. These two work very, very well together. I’m sure they’ll be all dysfunctional and angsty again next week but I don’t care. If I smoked I would probably have lit a cigarette at the close of scene.
I’ve rabbited elsewhere about how Uther/Arthur to me is the emotional heart of the show. I know it’s called Merlin an all, but Merlin does seem (more) centred in *who* he is. Arthur’s still worrying about trying to be the person he thinks Uther wants him to be, versus the person he wants to be and whether he’ll manage to make a decent stab being either.
Also Igraine (sp) and the whole magical conception thing. Did Igraine actually agree to this? Am thinking that she might not have been told. And Uther, did it ever occur to you that your son might feel guilty about being the cause of death of his mum? Probably this is one more of a long line of things that the Pendragons never talk about. Their dinner conversations must be something stilted.
Gwen: Poor Gwen would do anything for Merlin. She does keep on hoping but it’s totally a lost cause. We must be due for a Gwen-centric ep soon.
Morgana: Make your mind up. First you want Arthur to fight then you don’t want him to. Exposition alert. I’m sure anyone living in court - let alone in the kind of position Morgana occupies - has borrowed a scroll from the library and mugged up on how the codes work. Struggling to get a handle on this relationship because what’s shown on screen is so changeable. Am going for unstated attraction that won’t be stated just yet because the writers have not decided Morgana’s exact relationship to Arthur and don’t want to cross into incest territory.
Excalibur: Oh, the pretty. I may have squeaked a little. Often this series you can see the plots approaching carrying large banners and beating drums but I didn’t see how this would go. Poor Arthur never even got to see it. One day, one day.
Next week: The Moment of Truth