Merlin: 5:07 A Lesson In Vengeance

[tanous]

So, another episode down and six to go till the (bitter?) end of S5 and possibly, if rumours are to be believed, the entire show. And …where are we now?

Well, actually,  we’re back in S4. Or is it S3?  Deep anyway in the Merlin producers thumb-sucking comfort zone of ‘Merlin trying singlehandedly (save Gaius - the device to enable us to know his

Comments

[gatepromise]

Hey T--thanks (sort of) for bullying, bribing me and cajoling back into the exquisite agony that is being a Merlin watcher.
:P I kind of feel like I can't be hurt anymore after 5.5...so I'll just drift along, tossing acerbic remarks like rose petals and watch until the end. (Which, holy moly, is only 6 eps away...so WHY ARE THEY FREAKIN' WASTING TIME LIKE THIS????)

As usual, a bang-up and straight on review of this week's episode. Loving the discussion too and have to agree with most of what I'm seeing here. This didn't put me to sleep like last week and it didn't outrage and devastate like 5.5. It was...okay. It was an obvious attempt to pacify and appease Angel by giving her some scenery to chew on, but you know what? It's still not convincing, this recycle of plots past. Unlike most of those who've already commented, I was still bored by Gwen. Most of all though, I'm just wearily disappointed by what Arthur turns into whenever he's around her: A marshmallow. A milque toast. Pussy whupped. "Whatever you say, mummy".
Leon's speech to Gwen was just stupid. No one defended Merlin when he was accused, leading me to believe that everyone in bloody Camelot is brain dead. No one but Merlin and Arthur are ever allowed to be human and make mistakes, and the ones they make are often inexcusable at this point.

I really wonder what Bradley was going for here in his scenes with Colin--he just seemed exhausted in their scenes. Colin managed to return to his twinkle, but Bradley's broad approach to their banter has been dimmed. I almost get the impression that he's so fed up and discouraged with his character forever being made to look stupid that he's not even trying anymore. The whole "cross-dressing" scene was played fondly but without spark, imo.

Colin's acting when Merlin was trying to heal Arthur at his bedside just blew me away. I have to wonder just how uncomfortable that was to film--bouncing Bradley on the bed during it...weird--but his weeping was heartbreaking and overwhelming and utterly brilliant.

Mostly though, I'm just feeling impatient. Why the hell are they wasting all this time on filler eps that will not mean anything in four eps? They don't really expect us to believe that Evil!Gwen will have repercussions, do they? I know, I know, it's a show made for kids or brainless, fluffy viewing, but still. What about Aithusa? Mordred? The reveal? Anything of substance?

Those poor actors. Please, please find new work, guys. You deserve so much better.

[marvelpku]

Leon's speech to Gwen is not only stupid. I think it is treason.

[tanous]

You could be right actually. Leon was made to sound in that scene as if he couldn't wait for Arthur to pop his clogs - didn't seem too bothered about it either. Arthur was already on the funeral pyre as far as Leon was concerned, and he was off his mark deciding the succession himself. Yet another character hurled to the wolves, to wave big red childish plot flags.

[tanous]

Just consider me your Gwen figure. You're Arthur. You therefore follow all my advice however bad and tell me constantly how wise I am even when Ive made you make terrible mistakes. You also dont have the excuse of being enchanted like I am. Sooo... :-P

I agree with just about everything as ever, except that I don't think Arthurs behaviour around Gwen this episode was anything like normal. What they've shown us for 6 episodes when Gwen was saintly was Arthur actually ignoring what she says alot of the time and not telling her things. This week the relationship was suddenly transformed into its polar opposite - submissive pussy-whipped Arthur and dominant, (still platitude-spouting) Gwen.

I sort of agree about Bradley - he did seem a bit subdued but like you I cant blame him. And yeah - no repercussions for Gwen - just Arthur and Merlin. And - Id forgotten about Aithusa! Actually one of the teaser lines for this week sounded like it could be talking about her but they haven't let Merlin mention her at all have they? Sigh

[sforthewicked]

I'm glad to see you back! I missed you :(
Anyway, the Leon scene was inexcusable imo. As that cap summary pointed out, Arthur wasn't even dead yet and Leon took the INITIATIVE to what? Stage a coup or something? That's what it felt like anyway...

And Bradley, I think that because this episode he was supposed to play the "Arthur Pendragon: Victim" for the nth time in this show, its only natural he wouldn't be so crazy about it. Plus, what Tanous said... This year he really tries to make Arthur look more serious and "Kingly". I think that is why they have Merlin all of a sudden call him "Sire" so often instead of just Arthur. I'm just glad he keeps calling Gwen by her name. I don't think I could survive if they had Merlin call her 'Majesty'...

[mingaumatador]

Exactly, this year both Merlin and Arthur seem subdued where it makes no sense for them to be. The whole point of their characters is that they don't treat each other based on their stations because they're friends, because they bring the best and worst out of each other.

I don't get this sudden change at all, I suppose it's because how someone said earlier, one can't develop if the other doesn't. They can't have Arthur respecting Merlin and treating him like an equal all of sudden, because yes, while we can SEE where it would come from, in their writing they didn't set up for it at all, that would mean change and evolving, and that would naturally lead for a magic reveal.

Well, fuck, right Merlin writers?

This drives me insane.

[sforthewicked]

It bothers me to no end that, seeing where they are heading with this, it's very likely we'll never see Merlin get recognized for what he has done. He'll never become the Merlin of legends. And its so unfair, since the writers have done it(albeit poorly, but done it nonetheless) to every other character BUT Merlin. All because they don't know how to write a magic reveal and its aftermath. All because they don't want to "change what's already working". Well I've got news for them. It's not working anymore.

[mingaumatador]

They basically sacrificed the core of their show to make other inane stuff happen. They wanted Arthur/Gwen to be a thing so badly they just steamrolled all the other characters and their natural development.

I basically just don't get why someone would do it. Why would you develop two charcters with barely there chemistry in detriment of the namesake of your stupid show? Why would you waste precious episodes building up to story lines that in the end will have no pay off, when you have two characters that are essentially everything this show SHOULD be about, and you also are lucky enough they actually work so perfectly together you'd never need to force anything there. They'd give it to you.

God, you're PAID to care for these characters, what is wrong with you?

[sforthewicked]

I think that ultimately it's comes to talentless writers. They had no idea how to develop the Arthurr/Gwen romance as a secondary plot to the story, so since series 3 they pushed it to be the only continued story ark. Never mind they have no chemistry. Never mind they are boring beyond belief.
If it had stayed in the sidelines, as it should have, then Merlin would have time to develop as a character. But again, that would mean a magic reveal and that would also mean changing the cartoon-like appearance of the titular character. HAVEN FORBIT something like that would happen!
I hope they get the money for a sixth season just to be told to fuck of from Colin Morgan and Bradley James, whose characters had suffered the most through this series.
As for why wasting time in Gwen plots when they managed to make her Queen. I've read somewhere that A.C. wanted to leave the show since s4, so I'd say they did it to appease her.

[mingaumatador]

IKR, and they're doing the exact same thing with Mordred now, oh well, I guess we're supposed to care whatever the fuck happens to him and what are his reasons and motives. I obviously wouldn't be mad about it IF the other characters weren't being changed at whim to satisfy this plot. But yeah, can't have it all with those writers, can we?

I barely know of any gossip on the Merlin background, which is why things like that always take me by surprise. I don't blame her at all for wanting out, her character is so one dimensional and disrespected that it's basically a joke.

And right? I so hope they just say they're done, because yup, it's just a trainwreck at this point and I don't think they have the ability to fix it. (But If Bradley does end up in any show by Ryan Murphy I might have to rethink this.)

[tanous]

I agree with all of that - though the writers somehow managed to pull it out of the bag in 4.01-4.07. Whoever is deciding the tine and direction of the show is to blame IMO. The obsession with trying to push the romance to balance the bromance has been disastrous in all kinds of ways and we just have to look at what its doing to Arthurs character right now to see how damaging it is.

I had'nt heard Angel was threatening to leave, though it might explain why she's being indulged as she is this season? I thought they had 5 year contracts? But Im not that up on the actor's doings TBH.

[tanous]

The odd thing is that in S4 at the start, Arthur was treating Merlin as a kind of friend and equal - Arthur was very much the kind of character you could see developing into a great king in those few episodes. And there was complete logic behind it because why wouldnt Arthur respect and trust Merlin after all they'd done together? All the 'equality' and warmth those infuriating Cult Site reviewers on the Net talk about seeing this season was genuinely and believably there in those 7 episodes. Then something happened and they reset to Arthur viewing Merlin as a servant and no more, unable to remember week to week all Merlin had done for him and back we went to the worst of S3.

The relationship now - its hard to say really. Yes Arthur does listen to Merlin generally, though every so often he is required to respond to his advice as if Merlin is an annoying bug who is always wrong. The writers cant help themselves.

But theres a formality there that wasn't there in the first eps of S4 or indeed to be fair the first 3 eps this season. Colin until this episode has been playing it very solemnly and Bradley except for the first 2 episodes this season, and a bit of 5.05, has been doing the same. I wonder if they both decided to try to play 'older and tireder' or if they really are just fed up. Until now though, they've sort of matched each other but 5.07 Colin was back to twinkly lively Merlin (it was a good episode for him of course) while Bradley was very subdued. Again I wonder if he just hates having to play so very dumb in this arc - the way in fact he always has to play when they're pimping the Disney romance. It has a disastrous effect on Arthurs character but that seems to be very secondary in their decision making.