Merlin: Episode 4.12 The Sword in the Stone Part 1

[tanous]

Oh dear. I wish I could get the get the producers of this show - the Twu Lurve Obsessives I mean, not the other ones who know what they're doing - in a small room with a large bucket of haddock with which I could beat them repeatedly around the head. (Thats actually not as kinky as it sounds.) Eventually perhaps, they'd explain WTF they're thinking

Comments

[fee_folay]

Hmmmm. Stumbled across this and decided to leave a quick note. I am not actually watching Season 4 yet, as I am still making my way through Season 3. At the beginning of Season 4, I was so excited, because reading reviews let me know that no matter how bad it got in Season 3, there were better days ahead.

Now?

Not so much.

I am not strictly a "Merthur" fan, if by Merthur you mean slash - but I am definitely a "Bromance" fan - and not just when it comes to Merlin. I have been a fan of good "Bromance" or het friendship fics since I was a child. I have always found intense non-romantic friendships fascinating. And I have always found het romances boring and predictable - when my middle school friends were reading Harlequin, I had my nose stuck in sci/fi adventure novels.

In my opinion most writers do a poor job of characterization when it comes to romance.... it is like their characters become noting more than plot devices to further the true love. Even worse, the entire show tends to start centering on the importance of bringing the characters together. We have all met those individuals who can't seem to function without being able to claim some significant other hanging on their arm. Most of them are young and naive, but romance writers never seem to outgrow that take on relationships. It is paint by numbers romance and the characters from one het romance to another seem almost interchangeable, they are so bland ... the female characters seem to set aside any personal desire or ability or individual strength in order to fulfill the role of girlfriend, and male characters turn into emasculated, ineffectual basket-cases unless their "true love" is at their side.

Does this happen every time? No. There are some well developed, complex romantic relationships in media that allow their characters to keep their integrity intact, but OC by "het" happens often enough that I have shed tears over the loss of potential of many a once proactive well-rounded character. Too many good shows have gone down the path to ruin after the introduction of the "het". "Het" fans clamor for it, crow in triumph when it happens, quickly grow bored (because face it, UST is much more interesting that true love - which is like fudge- sweet in small doses but too rich in large amounts) and move on to something new. Meanwhile, what made the characters interesting individuals is pretty much destroyed as they become passive plot devices in service of the romance - the show flounders along for another year or so, and dies an unremarked death.

"Bromance" and or het "friendships" on the other hand, rarely gets beyond the UST level in media portrayals, so the characters never succumb to the "I have totally lost my mind and my function other than a romance plot device" level of deterioration. Bromance characters can continue to grow, change, express their individuality, and remain pro-active while treating each other like real people and not romantic plot devices.

I hate to think that yet another show I enjoy has decided to head down that treacherous path...

[tanous]

Hey Fee - Im so glad you stopped by.:) I hope I haven't spoiled S4 for you! The first 7 eps really will make you cheer I think so you have that to look forward to! Your analysis of what happens with the whole 'het' thing is fascinating too. I wonder if thats what'll happen now they've got A and G together - not that there was the tiniest scintilla of doubt that thats what was coming all along. The only possible complication was Lancelot and they even disposed conclusively of that. I wonder if the producers may have been aware of the 'bored now' thing too - maybe thats why they forced us to go through the pitifully contrived ' parting' before the inevitable reunion - to try to put some life into it before the happy ever after.

"It is paint by numbers romance and the characters from one het romance to another seem almost interchangeable, they are so bland ... the female characters seem to set aside any personal desire or ability or individual strength in order to fulfill the role of girlfriend, and male characters turn into emasculated, ineffectual basket-cases unless their "true love" is at their side."

That is a textbook description of what they've done to Arthur this season and Gwen since S3. I wonder now if the Arwen enthusiasts will lose interest as you suggest happens because - lets face it its was boring and conflict free even when they were meant to be estranged. Just what new heights of depths of dullness can it reach now? Sometimes though it feels as if the producers and writers themselves are of the same mindset as the 'het' fans you describe to be honest - the juvenile fairytale take on romance that steamrollers all else before it - characterization, plot development, other character relationships. They've chosen this path and they've chosen a direction for the programme that prioritises that over the legends and Arthur's and Merlin's journey. Sadly.
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