The Gwen Show
It really is incredible how Merlin can make me want to both flail my arms around in glee and bang my head against a wall (or better yet, scream at someone on the writing team) in frustration. The S3 finale was a good episode, heavy on the glee and lighter than many episodes this series on the things that anger me, though the fail was definitely still present.
Watching the legend begin to really come together has me all bouncy with excitement. Arthur knighted Lancelot, Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival! When Arthur acts all noble and kingly like that, it almost makes me forget that last episode he was threatening a little boy so he could steal the Cup of Life from where the druids were keeping it safer than it was in his care. (Would he actually have hurt the little boy? No, but the threat alone was seriously not okay. WTF, Arthur?) Anyway, back on the squeeing, the somewhat hammy council of Elrond moment at the round table (ROUND TABLE! AT WHICH GWEN WAS ALSO SITTING! More on the awesomeness of Gwen later.) with everybody pledging themselves to Arthur made me happy.
Actually, almost anything with Lancelot in it makes me happy. I really liked the scene where Lancelot and Merlin whispered to each other like teenagers at a sleepover party. Lancelot can seduce ALL of Arthur's significant others! (Oh, man, the way he watched Gwen! *heartbreak*)
WE HAVE STRANGE WOMEN LYING IN PONDS DISTRIBUTING SWORDS! *punches air* THIS LOOKS LIKE A GREAT BASIS FOR A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT!
Speaking of systems of government, Morgana sadly appears to have learned everything she knows about governance from her father, and she wasn't even paying attention to the few good parts. She kept talking about wanting to get the populace behind her, but it seems like a good strategy for that might be to (a) let them know that magic is now legal, and (b) use magic to do good deeds for people in need. Somehow, I think shooting crossbows into crowds of civilians is not the best strategy to win hearts and minds.
I wasn't fond of the way S2 sidelined Morgana, but I've HATED the way S3 declared her utterly evil with almost the entire path from troubled and questioning but still good to total smirking villainy occurring offscreen when she was with Morgause. It pisses me off SO MUCH that she hasn't been allowed to ever question, however briefly, her new career goal of murdering everyone she once loved or have any nuance whatsoever. At least in 3x13 she got to monologue a bit about how Uther's treatment of magic users made her feel.
When I read this interview with executive producer Julian Murphy, I begin to share Morgana's rage. I previously hadn't paid anything to what the powers behind the cameras had to say about the show, and I think I will be happier if I go back to that behavior pattern. A salient quote when asked if he was going to "let" Gwen and Morgana do more swordfighting, as Angel Coulby and Katie McGrath have said they would very much like to:
“I do let them do a bit. Well, Morgana. They did do a lot more riding in this series. But, yes, I’m conscious of it, and I’d love for Gwen to do more action, but I think for the audience we’ve always got to stay within the bounds of fantasy credibility. If we can engineer it, we’ll do it. If we can’t, we have to be realistic.”
How the FUCK does having girls with swords disrupt the suspension of disbelief more than anything else that goes on in this show? (See, for instance, the medieval society where the dominant belief system is not Christianity but science.) Especially when the show already established that Morgana and Gwen know how to wield swords! There are many things to like about Merlin, but credibility and realism are nowhere on the list. This is sexist bullshit. It's exactly what you'd expect from the person responsible for a show that so consistently shows powerful women as evil.
Time to take a deep breath and reread this excellent post by kalichan from about two weeks ago discussing how it is possible to recognize, call out, and fight prejudice in something (or someone) but still love that something. Merlin regularly makes my blood boil. That doesn't change the fact that some of it really speaks to me, and I fully intend to keep on watching next series.
In an effort not to end on a discussion of fail, I saved my biggest source of squee from 3x13 for the end of the post: GWEN! She went above and beyond her normally high standards of awesome in this ep. Be warned: I appear to be incapable of writing about her magnificence without ending almost every sentence with an exclamation point and occasional capslock. She was a covert operative in the occupied court of Camelot! (The fact that she and Morgana have betrayed each other breaks my heart, but that doesn't diminish my admiration for Gwen's spy skills.) She hatched a plan to spring Sir Leon out of prison! SHE USED TOTALLY BADASS BLACKSMITHING SKILLS TO MAKE A KEY FOR THE ESCAPE! She made Sir Leon crossdress! She wore trousers! (Any episode in which Gwen and/or Morgana wears trousers is automatically at least three times better. Trufax!) She sat at the round table! She and Arthur made their feelings public in front of their allies! She is SO brave, wise, and overall fantastic.
Can we please have next series be The Gwen Show? The others can make guest appearances.
Also, I totally called that Merlin was going to stick Excalibur in a stone. Huzzah! Legends, even highly modified, make me a happy geek.
Watching the legend begin to really come together has me all bouncy with excitement. Arthur knighted Lancelot, Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival! When Arthur acts all noble and kingly like that, it almost makes me forget that last episode he was threatening a little boy so he could steal the Cup of Life from where the druids were keeping it safer than it was in his care. (Would he actually have hurt the little boy? No, but the threat alone was seriously not okay. WTF, Arthur?) Anyway, back on the squeeing, the somewhat hammy council of Elrond moment at the round table (ROUND TABLE! AT WHICH GWEN WAS ALSO SITTING! More on the awesomeness of Gwen later.) with everybody pledging themselves to Arthur made me happy.
Actually, almost anything with Lancelot in it makes me happy. I really liked the scene where Lancelot and Merlin whispered to each other like teenagers at a sleepover party. Lancelot can seduce ALL of Arthur's significant others! (Oh, man, the way he watched Gwen! *heartbreak*)
WE HAVE STRANGE WOMEN LYING IN PONDS DISTRIBUTING SWORDS! *punches air* THIS LOOKS LIKE A GREAT BASIS FOR A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT!
Speaking of systems of government, Morgana sadly appears to have learned everything she knows about governance from her father, and she wasn't even paying attention to the few good parts. She kept talking about wanting to get the populace behind her, but it seems like a good strategy for that might be to (a) let them know that magic is now legal, and (b) use magic to do good deeds for people in need. Somehow, I think shooting crossbows into crowds of civilians is not the best strategy to win hearts and minds.
I wasn't fond of the way S2 sidelined Morgana, but I've HATED the way S3 declared her utterly evil with almost the entire path from troubled and questioning but still good to total smirking villainy occurring offscreen when she was with Morgause. It pisses me off SO MUCH that she hasn't been allowed to ever question, however briefly, her new career goal of murdering everyone she once loved or have any nuance whatsoever. At least in 3x13 she got to monologue a bit about how Uther's treatment of magic users made her feel.
When I read this interview with executive producer Julian Murphy, I begin to share Morgana's rage. I previously hadn't paid anything to what the powers behind the cameras had to say about the show, and I think I will be happier if I go back to that behavior pattern. A salient quote when asked if he was going to "let" Gwen and Morgana do more swordfighting, as Angel Coulby and Katie McGrath have said they would very much like to:
“I do let them do a bit. Well, Morgana. They did do a lot more riding in this series. But, yes, I’m conscious of it, and I’d love for Gwen to do more action, but I think for the audience we’ve always got to stay within the bounds of fantasy credibility. If we can engineer it, we’ll do it. If we can’t, we have to be realistic.”
How the FUCK does having girls with swords disrupt the suspension of disbelief more than anything else that goes on in this show? (See, for instance, the medieval society where the dominant belief system is not Christianity but science.) Especially when the show already established that Morgana and Gwen know how to wield swords! There are many things to like about Merlin, but credibility and realism are nowhere on the list. This is sexist bullshit. It's exactly what you'd expect from the person responsible for a show that so consistently shows powerful women as evil.
Time to take a deep breath and reread this excellent post by kalichan from about two weeks ago discussing how it is possible to recognize, call out, and fight prejudice in something (or someone) but still love that something. Merlin regularly makes my blood boil. That doesn't change the fact that some of it really speaks to me, and I fully intend to keep on watching next series.
In an effort not to end on a discussion of fail, I saved my biggest source of squee from 3x13 for the end of the post: GWEN! She went above and beyond her normally high standards of awesome in this ep. Be warned: I appear to be incapable of writing about her magnificence without ending almost every sentence with an exclamation point and occasional capslock. She was a covert operative in the occupied court of Camelot! (The fact that she and Morgana have betrayed each other breaks my heart, but that doesn't diminish my admiration for Gwen's spy skills.) She hatched a plan to spring Sir Leon out of prison! SHE USED TOTALLY BADASS BLACKSMITHING SKILLS TO MAKE A KEY FOR THE ESCAPE! She made Sir Leon crossdress! She wore trousers! (Any episode in which Gwen and/or Morgana wears trousers is automatically at least three times better. Trufax!) She sat at the round table! She and Arthur made their feelings public in front of their allies! She is SO brave, wise, and overall fantastic.
Can we please have next series be The Gwen Show? The others can make guest appearances.
Also, I totally called that Merlin was going to stick Excalibur in a stone. Huzzah! Legends, even highly modified, make me a happy geek.