this show is getting closer and closer to being actual fanfic
Recently I've been teaching my kids about tone in writing. Today's Merlin episode: a really good example of not being able to figure out what the hell your tone is. The show has always been inconsistent in terms of tone, and it feels like this season has undergone a pretty significant mood shift. But tonight's episode was like they took three different genres and mashed them together into forty minutes. Not that it wasn't thoroughly enjoyable, because I was grinning like a loon through the whole thing - just for different reasons.
The first part was like it had fallen straight out of fanfic. I had to pause and watch it a couple of times before I could even go onto the rest of the episode. The knights being knightly! Arthur's face, when he sees Merlin on the ground. Merlin being brave and stoic. Arthur telling Merlin that he's a good servant. "A servant who's extremely brave. And incredibly loyal, and to be honest, not at all cowardly." *____* OH MY HEART. This is where I had to pause the second time so my sister and I could wibble at each other for a while.
Also enjoyed defiant wet Merlin hanging from a pole. Um, hello. And Morgana being cloyingly evil, of course, except for that surprisingly lovely bit: "Don't think I don't understand loyalty just because I have no one left to be loyal to." Ugh, I wish they wrote Morgana with motivations and personality more often, rather than making her personality just evilness. The bit at the end where she tried to sway old!Merlin by telling him that under her rule, he could be open about her magic was a nice reminder that somewhere under all the evilness, she has an actual motive that could by some people be considered just. Too bad the writers can't remember that. (I have to turn off the part of my brain that likes Morgana when I watch this show, otherwise I get too annoyed - this is the reason I stopped watching for a year in the middle of season 3. Someday I want to write the story from the POV of magic people where Morgana is the hero saving the kingdom from a genocidal king.) Loved her at the end, too, afraid of old!Merlin, facing him in a duel.
Then the rest of the episode turned into ridiculous shenanigans. After the poisoning scene, which just made me extremely uncomfortable on everyone's behalf, it was really a lot of fun - of course Merlin is the most incompetent assassin ever, and Arthur doesn't even notice - but because it was coming on the heals of serious, heart-to-heart relationship stuff, I kept on hoping they'd move past the silliness and give us more talking. Gwen's expressions during the bath scene were really hysterical, though - it's so nice to see her with something fun to do, instead of just mournfully pining. She should get more comedy scenes. And I really appreciate how Colin Morgan had a whole different demeanor for brainwashed!Merlin - his expressions and timing were totally different from normal.
(Speaking of which, I just, like, yesterday, read a fic where Morgana magically-brainwashed Merlin into doing her bidding. This has left me so confused. The scene with George - also in fifty million fanfics. Arthur doesn't want a competent servant, he just wants Merlin!)
Also enjoyed old!Merlin, especially when interacting with the knights. He's so cranky, and so clearly enjoying the opportunity to pick on them for a change. (Although my sister and I have a difference of opinion: I thought there was something significant when he told Gwaine "You are not what you seem." She maintains that the show is not that subtle. ETA: Possibly this refers to him being actually noble? I hope so, it might mean Gwaine is getting some plot!) I do wish we got more depth with the knights; I feel like the writers haven't quite figured out what to do with them, so they hang around a lot but don't get much more than one-liners. I mean, I like that they're alluding to relationships, like when Gwaine tries to steal food from Merlin, or Leon laughs off Merlin and the crossbow, but I wish we'd get more than allusions. Then again, Gwaine and Arthur ride out in the forest together and have a conversation about what they like about Merlin. <3
In conclusion, is it next week yet? When did I start looking forward to Merlin so much?
The first part was like it had fallen straight out of fanfic. I had to pause and watch it a couple of times before I could even go onto the rest of the episode. The knights being knightly! Arthur's face, when he sees Merlin on the ground. Merlin being brave and stoic. Arthur telling Merlin that he's a good servant. "A servant who's extremely brave. And incredibly loyal, and to be honest, not at all cowardly." *____* OH MY HEART. This is where I had to pause the second time so my sister and I could wibble at each other for a while.
Also enjoyed defiant wet Merlin hanging from a pole. Um, hello. And Morgana being cloyingly evil, of course, except for that surprisingly lovely bit: "Don't think I don't understand loyalty just because I have no one left to be loyal to." Ugh, I wish they wrote Morgana with motivations and personality more often, rather than making her personality just evilness. The bit at the end where she tried to sway old!Merlin by telling him that under her rule, he could be open about her magic was a nice reminder that somewhere under all the evilness, she has an actual motive that could by some people be considered just. Too bad the writers can't remember that. (I have to turn off the part of my brain that likes Morgana when I watch this show, otherwise I get too annoyed - this is the reason I stopped watching for a year in the middle of season 3. Someday I want to write the story from the POV of magic people where Morgana is the hero saving the kingdom from a genocidal king.) Loved her at the end, too, afraid of old!Merlin, facing him in a duel.
Then the rest of the episode turned into ridiculous shenanigans. After the poisoning scene, which just made me extremely uncomfortable on everyone's behalf, it was really a lot of fun - of course Merlin is the most incompetent assassin ever, and Arthur doesn't even notice - but because it was coming on the heals of serious, heart-to-heart relationship stuff, I kept on hoping they'd move past the silliness and give us more talking. Gwen's expressions during the bath scene were really hysterical, though - it's so nice to see her with something fun to do, instead of just mournfully pining. She should get more comedy scenes. And I really appreciate how Colin Morgan had a whole different demeanor for brainwashed!Merlin - his expressions and timing were totally different from normal.
(Speaking of which, I just, like, yesterday, read a fic where Morgana magically-brainwashed Merlin into doing her bidding. This has left me so confused. The scene with George - also in fifty million fanfics. Arthur doesn't want a competent servant, he just wants Merlin!)
Also enjoyed old!Merlin, especially when interacting with the knights. He's so cranky, and so clearly enjoying the opportunity to pick on them for a change. (Although my sister and I have a difference of opinion: I thought there was something significant when he told Gwaine "You are not what you seem." She maintains that the show is not that subtle. ETA: Possibly this refers to him being actually noble? I hope so, it might mean Gwaine is getting some plot!) I do wish we got more depth with the knights; I feel like the writers haven't quite figured out what to do with them, so they hang around a lot but don't get much more than one-liners. I mean, I like that they're alluding to relationships, like when Gwaine tries to steal food from Merlin, or Leon laughs off Merlin and the crossbow, but I wish we'd get more than allusions. Then again, Gwaine and Arthur ride out in the forest together and have a conversation about what they like about Merlin. <3
In conclusion, is it next week yet? When did I start looking forward to Merlin so much?