Merlin: 5.13 Commentary

[tanous]

I hadn’t quite intended on commenting on Julian Murphy’s eye-popping commentary on 5:13 because…well I thought it pretty much spoke eloquently for itself. But I reckoned of course without the formidable powers of denial and provocation within the Merlin fandom.  And the nagging powers of gatepromise :P So here I am again, dander up once more

Frankly, some of

Comments

[arwyn_t]

I will be brief.

I don't care we got a reveal.
I don't care if Merlin and Arthur loved each other.

Why?

Because it was too little too late.
Because Merlin never got the recognition and reward he deserved.
Because the whole thing was a failure, and the "once and future" thing a joke.
Because a last moment "thank you" does not suffice.
Because TPTB WERE BLOODY IDIOTS!!!

The 5x13 commentary completely turned me cold. Murphy is the most arrogant s.o.b, completely out of touch with his surroundings.

And, with all due respect, in my personal opinion, I don't care if Arthur and Merlin loved each other brotherly or romantically, the point is that their relationship was never truly honest or balanced. Merlin gave (selflessly/slavishly) till the very end and counting into our time, Arthur took. Arthur gave when it was convenient, all the other times he belittled and called names. "I don't know what I would have done"... WTF?!! That is love?!

My point is that the show never gave us Merlin and Arthur as EQUALS, the Sorcerer and the King side by side as it bloody is in the legends. And that denial, that robbery, that broken promise, is so heavy IMHO that no confirmed love of any kind can soothe it. In other words, OK, Merlin and Arthur loved each other... and that got them where?? Was there a point?? NO. I'm supposed to feel elated that Merlin failed, Arthur is dead, but hey they loved each other and Merlin is still waiting for Arthur to rise? Really???

At least Colin got the reward and recognition that Merlin never did...

And one more thing: I have every right to hate 5x13 as much as people have the right to love it. I have every right to say that it was too little too late, too cliche in dialog lines, too pushed in emotional level to make us forget the travesty of the plot. Yes, Colin and Bradley nailed it acting-wise. But as soon as the emotion fades, I personally see the worst reveal and 30 final minutes that the show could have had, complete with a conveniently incapacitated Arthur (they writers cannot handle a sober Arthur, they don't know how he reacts, his character is all over the place, so better have him as a simpleton or wounded, he's tamed thus. Hah.) I'm sorry, but I've had enough patronizing. I feel so betrayed that I'm never going to invest on another show ever again. :(

[tanous]

Of course you have every right to hate it? I dont think anyone is going to challenge your right to say what you feel about it here Id hope? I'd say lots of people hate it. Arwen fans hate it, Morgana fans hate it, Mordred fans hate it some Arthur fans hate it, some Merlin fans hate it... I can see you're still very angry. And you know I agree with you, but I also dont agree. You know from my past reviews how I felt about the massive waste of the show and the decision to end it on Camlann rather than setting up for the unification of Albion and the freeing of magic as openly promised. You know Ive been howling for a reveal for 2 seasons. But well before 5.13 we knew that almost all of that wasn't going to happen, as the producers calcified in their comfort zone till they ran out of time.

So I was braced for an ending that matched the rest of S5 - i.e. a massive disappointment. Maybe as I said above the whole show is a masterclass in managing expectations. But it wasn't a disappointment - not to me anyway. I wanted a reveal and yes I wanted a reveal that wasn't in Arthurs last days but still what I got was beautiful. I wont deny that it would have been alot different if Id had any say but all I can do is tell you my feelings about what we did get. I wouldn't describe my feelings after seeing 5.13 as elation by any means - I dont know anyone who was *elated*. Relieved perhaps, a bit stunned by how blatant it had been, pretty torn up by the beauty of part of it and the intensity of the acting- at least that was my reaction.

I personally did care that Arthur and Merlin loved each other. I always watched for their relationship at its core though as I said to GP I agree that the way they hung on to the abused Merlin thing was pitifully cowardly. There were MASSIVE flaws in the show - we know that. But in the end *I* felt we got a final episode that was true to the heart of the relationship between Arthur and Merlin - and that was love. And for me I discovered Merlin and Arthur WERE the show, not after all, Albion or freeing sorcery or a court role for Merlin.

I did my ranting about the show before 5.13 as I said; there was no way that last episode was going to make everything right that the producers made wrong and I had accepted that. By 5.13 I expected nothing and I got a lot. In 5'13 I was shown me overtly at last without the usual brakes and diversions the true love between Arthur and Merlin and I thought it was beautiful.