Merlin 5x01: Arthur's Bane Part One
I have misgivings posting about this when the rest of the fandom is so far ahead of me (never mind that this episode seems to need its second half more than many other two-parters), but I do adore this show. Nice to see it back!
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I think we're supposed to see that Gwen is right but also feel pity for Sefa. She's definitely presented as pitiable as opposed to admirable--and above all, weak, the tool of her father. And I think there's a subtle point being made for those who might have thought Guinevere's sweet and kind persona would make her too much of a pushover as queen; she can handle the hard stuff.
Actually, I take the scene in which she condemns Sefa as a great rebuttal to the claim that Guinevere doesn't have real power because it all comes from her marriage to Arthur; she is actively governing in all senses of the word, and this fits well with what we've seen of Queen Annis, who certainly ruled and led in the absence of her husband.
I wrote this before I saw Part 2, but have since seen it (though no more), and I have much more to say about Guinevere's thoughts on magic in Part 2.
Ooh, you are making me curious. Not that Merlin being excluded doesn't make sense, but it does surprise me a bit that so little has changed for him--he's been an outsider so long.
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I agree with this. Though I think Uther has been just as consistent in his development, just in the opposite direction, from a position as a strong if seriously flawed ruler to a man made increasingly weaker by his love for his children and own flaws. Like Gwen's arc, his movement from the strong villain we all fear to the pathetic man who has bequeathed a troubled world to his heirs is a strong through-line from S1 to S2, where so many other hitches occur.
Very interesting--I saw Arthur reaching out to Merlin more as a sign of character growth on Arthur's part, but you make a good point that it may in fact be the deepening of their friendship.
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