Merlin: 5:12 The Diamond of the Day Part 1

[tanous]

And here we are… the beginning of the end. I don’t know what I was expecting but… it wasn’t what we got. I think I expected something special, all the stops pulled out and the boats pushed out; all the sophistication and maturity they couldn’t be bothered to bring to the rest of S5. What we got was…one of the best eps in S5 but is that saying much

Comments

[tanoshi_ame]

I made the mistake of marathoning Firefly, of all things, right before Merlin aired. Didn't recover from the sudden absence of sophisticate writing fast enough to take it seriously, silly story devices and all. So it was back to watch for Merlin's scenes alone. They're very, very good, the acting, mostly. Also, Arthur whispering Merlin's name in the Arwen bed (how did they bring it there anyway?), is that supposed to be funny? Because it's bloody is.

So in case you haven't read this already, this bit bears some good news for you tanous (lol who am I kidding, it's for all of us really):

(from doylefan22)
Anonymous wrote: "Do you think Merlin stays old forever? Because that's what Balinor basically confirmed,right? At least that's what I got from his lines."

He doesn’t, no. Balinor did basically confirm Merlin was immortal but the whole ‘walk into the light and find your true self’ and then seeing Old Merlin is misleading and daft because that ISN’T true Merlin. He’s still in disguise. He goes to the battle in disguise and no one knows it’s him. He then spends the rest of the ep as his normal self.
-----

From all the spoilers guess we all know no Albion, but one reviewer said the ending indicated some distant hope. I see one good thing about it. Albion won't be happening under GWEN's rule. I'll take maybe-somehow-modern-day-Albion over that any day.

That said, there are some questions left which a review at ScifiBulletin said:
The producers are to be commended for giving us a final episode that deals with some of the questions raised by the series so far - What is Merlin’s destiny? Will Arthur learn of Merlin’s magic (and we know from the throw forward that someone does)? Will other people guess or be told? Why has Merlin stayed as a servant all these years, and not used his powers more openly?

Guess I can live with it. I'm dying to know what the heck the REAL Merlin is (maybe he comes to term that he is Magic's and not Arthur's at last?). The last question is a huge bonus too, provided that the answer makes any sense at all.

[tanous]

Thanks Thien for the Old Merlin thing. Thats really encouraging yes. :) Im still worried about the last shot though. How will we deal with it if we're left with Old Merlin on the road doddering along having spent eternity waiting for Arthur? I keep asking - how would someone immortal age that much - he'd be dead soon after from ironically, old age. :P

I wonder too what is the real Merlin. Do you think we'll find out?

Never thought of Arthur dreaming about Merlin in bed with Gwen - but I did think it was a bit cruel to Arwen people still desperately awaiting their kiss, that Arthur tore out of bed shouting 'it felt like Merlin,' and left Gwen sitting there protesting, IF, as is rumoured, thats their last scene together. After the Overcompenstion arc we had to sit through and the distortion of S4 it feels oddly deserved though I have to admit :P.

[tanoshi_ame]

I've been worried about that too. Still, the Old Merlin in the future I think was purely Sandy's guess. From the original slip-up the guy at Odyssey Film only said it's a modern shot where a lorry passed by. No mention of Old Merlin. For now I'll rest my faith on doylefan's "the rest of the episode" bit.

About the real Merlin, yeah for "the producers are to be commended" I think that question must be answered. A while back Colin also said something among the lines of "coming to term with what his destiny is supposed to be" and it's "not a nice thing to go through" so I guess that's a different animal from what we've always known of his destiny.

Yeah I think it's a slap to Arwen people. Though it still amazes me that the question each week was always "will they kiss", even when half of their OTP is about to kick the bucket. People asked whatever they wanted but honestly I have had it up to here with their insistence.

[tanous]

Haha! I know - the priorities were bloody hilarious! I actually thought they were taking the piss for a while - until I realised they were deadly serious. Still harmless compared with the militant Brangel shippers on Youtube though - they redefine scary. One in particular could give Morgana a run for her money :P

Not just Sandi's guess- Ive been fretting about it for ages, along with Merlin being trapped as an old man somehow. Old Merlin is just my bugbear. :( If its old Merlin in the last modern day shot I'll have to believe he's in disguise again- because immortals dont age. If they did they wouldnt be immortal - they'd crumble sometime. Vampires for example, don't? Maybe Merlin would need to use his ageing spells, to hide now and again, that he doesn't change? Im getting my excuses in already, just in case :P

[tanoshi_ame]

I'm starting to believe Alex when he said that it became a love story between MA. Take a look at the new teasers (and the comments too, not good for Arwen): http://insidemediatrack.com/2012/12/12-teasers-for-merlin-5-13-the-diamond-of-the-day-part-2-finale/

[merlenhiver]

If this is for real, it will be a real Christmas treat for all Merthur shippers! :D *crosses fingers*

[kleio_caissa]

Did you see the unpleasant homophobia one of them came out with on the TV.com spoiler thread after learning that a certain moment may be with Merlin and not...*gasp* Mary Sue?

[gatepromise]

Where's the discussion thread? It doesn't surprise me at all. Arwen fans seem to be particularly homophobic.

[kleio_caissa]

http://www.tv.com/shows/merlin/forums/series-5-spoilers-thread-90585-3342857/?page=143

[gatepromise]

Thanks for this...and oh my freakin' god, it's that particular Arwen whose asked for the kiss EVERY. FUCKING. WEEK. For some reason, being homophobic and an Arwen fan seem to go hand in hand.

[kleio_caissa]

I thought it was just me who couldn't stand her! No one else seems to have picked up that she uses the thread as a pratically an Arwen propaganda machine. Even though it's meant for spoilers, not shipping. I wonder if she's ever done a post that wasn't about Arwen. And that annoying icon!

Maybe it's something to do with the MarySueish ness of the ship? I remember a lot of Harry Potter Mary Sue writers were homophobic at the dawn of that fandom.

Gwen is perfect for them - she has no personality so they can subtly imagine themselves as her, rather than having to go all out and write fics about a Princess VioletEyes Crystal McPendragon, Arthur's long-lost sorceress cousin. So perhaps maybe a deficit in imagination correlates with a deficit in intellect, hence the homophobia?

[marvelpku]

Dreaming about Merlin is Ok. I think why the Arthur and Gwen's relationship was so BAD is because there was no real connection, no real development and all kinds of superficial romantic gestures, which was as pushed as Gwen's bra.
I kept thinking about all those important moments in Arthur's life, the sins of the father (the father and son fighting), face the Great dragon, before the quest to the fish king (Merlin waited whole night outside), Arthur lost Uther (Merlin waited whole night outside), Exalibur pulled out from the stone and this episode the pep talk before the battle (which as you said was a MUST moment in every heroic movie and we knew why Merlin still watched Arthur like an guardian angel from far far away), where were Gwen in these moments? Well, she must be sleeping (I am sure she was sleeping in her sweet Arwen dreams when Arthur pulled out Exalibur in 412 from the stone and Arthur did the pep talk in this episode). These were the moments made me never buy their bad written romance. All the material moments in Arthur's life, this so called romantic interest (or Gay beard) was never there. Their relationship was so superficial to a level I never seen in any TV and movie.