Merlin S5 Ep 3
The third episode of season five aired on SyFy Friday night, but as I was out enjoying a night of local theater (a cabaret night of Broadway standards to raise money for the Sandy Hook School Fund), I didn't watch it til this evening. Since the episode is called "The Death Song of Uther Pendragon," it's no surprise that Anthony Head guest-stars.
What is a surprise is just how brutally condescending and mean the writers let Uther be. I was not expecting a happy reunion twixt father and son here -- there's no doubt in any long-time viewers' mind that the decisions Arthur has made go completely against what Uther would have done -- but I was expecting some show of affection. Uther did love his son, and knowing how completely broken Uther was after the reveal that Morgana was his real daughter and not just his ward, I expected some slight remorse in how he handled himself as a father if not as a king. But the ghostly Uther we see (and thanks to the Horn, we know this is the real Uther and not some other malevolent spirit) is in full-on Righteous Indignation Mode -- nothing Arthur has done, from raising commoners to knighthood to marrying Gwen -- has pleased Uther, and even Uther's "I love you, son" delivered in the World Beyond sounds insincere. In fact, in retrospect, it seems manipulative, almost as if the dead Uther knows that by looking back, Arthur will draw him into the mortal world, where Uther would then be free to wreak havoc and "correct" Arthur's "mistakes."
There are a few touching moments in the episode. Bradley James delivers on that side of Arthur we don't seem to get often, the one that knows his heart but doubts his head. At this point, I've given up on Arthur and Merlin ever actually declaring that they are in fact each others' best friend but still found myself hoping in their scenes together. And Arthur's emotional pain at the way his conversation with Uther in the World Beyond goes, plus his pain at having to banish Uther's spirit at the end, all played very well.
Anthony Head could chew the phone book and I'd most likely be enthralled, and the writers really gave him the chance to chew the scenery, especially in the second half of the episode. His encounter with Merlin, the realization that Merlin has always been able to do magic and has thus always been a "traitor" in the court, and his last-ditch attempt to tell Arthur of Merlin's ability all played strongly. My only possible plot-hole question is: if Dead Uther knows that Arthur has elevated commoners to Knighthood, has married Gwen, and has failed to make the kinds of alliances Uther would have made ... how does Dead Uther NOT know of Merlin's magical abilities? And why does he not say a single word about Morgana?
But that's a minor quibble. Overall, I enjoyed the episode.
I didn't pay too much attention to the preview for next week, so I'm not sure what's going to happen beyond a woman asking Arthur for help for her father.
What is a surprise is just how brutally condescending and mean the writers let Uther be. I was not expecting a happy reunion twixt father and son here -- there's no doubt in any long-time viewers' mind that the decisions Arthur has made go completely against what Uther would have done -- but I was expecting some show of affection. Uther did love his son, and knowing how completely broken Uther was after the reveal that Morgana was his real daughter and not just his ward, I expected some slight remorse in how he handled himself as a father if not as a king. But the ghostly Uther we see (and thanks to the Horn, we know this is the real Uther and not some other malevolent spirit) is in full-on Righteous Indignation Mode -- nothing Arthur has done, from raising commoners to knighthood to marrying Gwen -- has pleased Uther, and even Uther's "I love you, son" delivered in the World Beyond sounds insincere. In fact, in retrospect, it seems manipulative, almost as if the dead Uther knows that by looking back, Arthur will draw him into the mortal world, where Uther would then be free to wreak havoc and "correct" Arthur's "mistakes."
There are a few touching moments in the episode. Bradley James delivers on that side of Arthur we don't seem to get often, the one that knows his heart but doubts his head. At this point, I've given up on Arthur and Merlin ever actually declaring that they are in fact each others' best friend but still found myself hoping in their scenes together. And Arthur's emotional pain at the way his conversation with Uther in the World Beyond goes, plus his pain at having to banish Uther's spirit at the end, all played very well.
Anthony Head could chew the phone book and I'd most likely be enthralled, and the writers really gave him the chance to chew the scenery, especially in the second half of the episode. His encounter with Merlin, the realization that Merlin has always been able to do magic and has thus always been a "traitor" in the court, and his last-ditch attempt to tell Arthur of Merlin's ability all played strongly. My only possible plot-hole question is: if Dead Uther knows that Arthur has elevated commoners to Knighthood, has married Gwen, and has failed to make the kinds of alliances Uther would have made ... how does Dead Uther NOT know of Merlin's magical abilities? And why does he not say a single word about Morgana?
But that's a minor quibble. Overall, I enjoyed the episode.
I didn't pay too much attention to the preview for next week, so I'm not sure what's going to happen beyond a woman asking Arthur for help for her father.