Picspam of Epic Epicness
Should I be worried that Uther/Morgana is taking over all of my icon space? Damian Lewis is very angry about this. First he was pushed out by Merlin/Arthur, and now Uther/Morgana are making him their bitch. Not cool, guys, not cool. By the way, if anyone finds or makes me an awesome header of the billowing cape scene with a width of 760 pixels, I will love you forever and ever and ever. I tried making my own, but I am just completely clueless when it comes to filters/textures/whatever that makes things prettier than they already were. So hopefully one will pop up soon. Or I'll figure out how to make a decent looking one...
Anyway, To Kill a King. I didn't think anything could top my love for Excalibur, but I was so very wrong. And I really didn't think anything could top the Uther/Morgana goodness in The Beginning of the End, but oooooooh lordy was I wrong there. So, so wrong. This episode was amazing. From start to finish my stomach was all tied up in knots. Now, this could have been because I wasn't feeling well yesterday, but I'm fairly certain it was because I was extremely excited and everything was so edge-of-your-seat awesome. Just as The Moment of Truth was the episode confirming on all accounts that Merlin and Arthur need each other to fulfill their destiny, this episode confirmed that Uther and Morgana desperately need each other and are forever linked together whether they like it or not. Now, understandably, it wasn't anything close to fluffy like it was for Arthur and Merlin, and that's exactly how it should be. Uther/Morgana is all about a battle of wills and manipulation and betrayal and love and hate and regret. They bring out both the worst and best in each other. They make each other see their own faults. They hurt each other deeply and yet they are forever drawn to each other. Ooooh, this episode. It gave me so much more than I had ever expected to get. Uther/Morgana is screwed up in so many ways, their affection for each other borders on inappropriate in that it comes across as a mix between surrogate father/daughter and heated lovers, and that gives their relationship this incredibly interesting dynamic that I'm not even sure was originally intended, but oh how I love it. And the fact that they often end up wanting to literally kill each other just adds to my love.
Also, before I get to the in depth review, I have to say, the cinematography for this episode was AMAZING. I don't usually notice cinematography, but the lighting was simply beautiful, and the cape scene was so gorgeous with the wind and the clouds and the kind of dream-like haze that suddenly surrounds them and the capes flowing around them in this perfect dance and it was ridiculously romantic with that music and the shots of Merlin watching from the grass and... GAH! SO BEAUTIFUL!
First off, it was cruel to make Tom so damn lovable with his total of about 3 scenes in the entire series and then just kill him off. So not cool. He was so adorable in his excitement over buying Gwen a new dress. :'( And I love that in that scene we see that Gwen was the real caretaker in their household while Tom was off making shady deals and feeling invincible. And in every single one of Gwen's scenes with her father, you really feel how much they love each other, and it's just so incredibly touching, and it's such a great contrast between Morgana's relationship with Uther. Gwen and Tom were all about kindness and forgiveness and self-blame and what was best for each other, while Uther and Morgana are extremely self-centered and stubborn and unforgiving and they refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, and they are always fighting to control each other's will.
I'll admit right now that I have an Uther drinking fetish. Perhaps it's carry-over from my Damian Lewis teacup fetish? I don't know, but that man drinks in the most sexy way possible, and I had to show the full body shot. I love that he appears a little tipsy, because this shows right off the bat that he was feeling betrayed by Tom and he didn't want to kill him, but he believed that it was something he HAD to do. And Morgana berating him about it just egged him on into convincing himself that it was the right thing.
I love this shot SO MUCH because he looks all righteous and determined and he's SO desperate to stand tall against Morgana's verbal assault. He knows she has valid points, but he doesn't want to acknowledge that.
Uther's look of shock at Morgana's immediate dismissal of whatever he says is so freaking hilarious, I must say. It only lasts for a second though, because he immediately hits her back with another point in his favor, and Morgana just gets more and more desperate as the argument goes on.
There's this one bit where Uther closes his eyes for a second in a look of annoyance/frustration/possibly a little pity at her desperate attempts, and then he kind of softens in both condescension and perhaps a little understanding, because he gets where she's coming from. But at the same time, he refuses to back down from his stance on the issue, and naturally Morgana looks to Arthur and she instantly goes from desperate rage into her classic damsel-in-distress voice because she knows Arthur is a sucker.
But alas, Uther just twists Arthur's words to satisfy his own agenda and he looks directly at Morgana when he answers, a little more venomous because he's not too fond of her when she plays her manipulation games with him.
"If you execute Gwen's father, I will never forgive you. Never."
Is that fear I see in Uther's eyes? I think it is. I love how this contrasts with his scene in The Beginning of the End where Arthur tells him that Morgana will never forgive him if he kills Mordred. That sends Uther into a fury because he knows it's true and it's something he doesn't want, and he hates that he feels that way because she's the one who betrayed him, and so he's a little overzealous in his denial of caring. But here, when he fully knows that he's in the wrong, you can see the fear there. Morgana means the world to him, and she's fully aware of her power over him or else she wouldn't know how to use it, but I don't think she fully realizes how much he actually loves her.
And since Uther couldn't control Morgana, he turns to Arthur and blows up at him, because he knows he can control Arthur and he takes solace in that. Both Uther and Morgana do this, and it makes me feel so much for poor Arthur. He's always being pulled in opposite directions by these two, and it kills him to go against either one of them, particularly his father. And this is yet another reason why I tend to view Morgana more as Arthur's mother figure than his romantic interest, and it just adds to the feeling of "Morgana and Uther are totally married." But again, I do think that Morgana is in love with Arthur (or at least she thinks she should be, but Uther is the one that gets her passion going), so obviously the entire family dynamic of the Pendragons is seriously screwed up.
Merlin's psychic connection to the magic stone made me crack up laughing every single time. EVERY TIME! So ridiculous. I love it.
Morgana sees Gwen sobbing over her dead father's body in the courtyard and she is filled with a hatred for Uther that is pretty dang intense. But let me just point out, Morgana was the proponent in Tom trying to escape, and the reason why he was instantly killed was because he tried to escape, and there was a tiny chance that Uther could have changed his mind during the trial. Likely not, but it could have happened. So Morgana has blood on her hands right along with Uther, but she never acknowledges this fact.
God, how I squee when she calls him Uther Pendragon. SHE IS GIVING THE FREAKING KING A LECTURE! AND IT IS GLORIOUS AND PASSIONATE!!!
I just really love the lighting in this shot. It's like there's this heavenly light beaming in and making Uther this all powerful being, and then he has Morgana towering over him and the beams are basically pointing towards her and it just... it adds to their OTPness. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's like they've both been given this power of life and death and they both choose to kill, and they are standing in this beautiful light that exposes their sins. I don't know, I'm probably looking too far into it. It was just the way the sun was coming into the castle. But it was pretty. &hearts Anyway, I love that Uther calmly reminds her that she's addressing her king, and she has no qualms about shooting down his merits and giving him reasons why he doesn't deserve the respect he wants.
"It's my responsibility to protect this land from its enemies."
"Then the kingdom is doomed. For one by one you make enemies of us all!"
"You speak treason, Morgana."
"Only a madman hears the truth as treason."
Oooooh, snap!
"Take care child, or I'll have you restrained." [said in an inappropriately sexy voice]
"You just try." [said in an inappropriately breathy voice]
Good god, that scene was hot. I'm sorry, but when they fight? Hotness. WHY IS THERE NO PASSIONATE HATE SEX FIC YET? WHY? THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY! Their entire dynamic is about a battle of wills, therefore, it would make for the hottest hate sex ever. Especially since Morgana doesn't want to love him but she does. COME ON, FANDOM! DO NOT FAIL ME NOW!
Anyway, when you challenge Uther, you can bet he'll take you up on it. Especially when bondage is involved.
"And you will remain here, until you've learned your lesson." [once again, inappropriately sexy]
"Then release me, because I've learned it already! That you care not for me, or anyone but yourself! Because you're driven mad with power and you are a tyrant."
He just looks so ominous with that red background that I couldn't resist throwing in the shot of him walking away. I love this scene so, so much. At first Uther is all about showing her who's boss. She tested him, and he wasn't going to let her win. But then he has this look of devastation when she rattles off her dialog about him not caring about her. The fact that she sees him as a tyrant hurts him so much, and so he steels himself quickly and treats her coldly, trying to show her just how cruel he can be if that's what she wants. And then the shot of Morgana as Uther leaves:
Man, that kills me. She is so SHOCKED and utterly hurt that he would actually leave her there chained up in the dungeon, and this proves that she in fact did NOT believe in her heart of hearts that he was as uncaring as she said he was. But now that, in her mind, she got confirmation of his evilness, this sets her over the edge. It was demeaning and their arguments had never gone that far before, and it allows her to block out the tender parts of Uther in order to do what she believed was best for the kingdom and for Gwen, and that was to kill the "tyrant." I know that Morgana is supposedly pure of heart and she did have many good reasons, but I think a very large proponent in her wanting Uther dead was that he had hurt her pride and he had ripped away any semblance of love that they shared. She couldn't stand for that, and she wanted to get back at him in the ultimate way.
THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW???
Oh, also, I forgot to cap it, but the scene between Arthur/Gwen I thought was really well done. I know fandom is down on Gwen/Arthur, but I actually really like how the show is handling them. They're taking it extremely slowly, and I personally see plenty of chemistry between them, at least on a platonic level at this point, and I find their interactions a tiny bit adorable. For one thing, Arthur's the only person that calls her Guinevere, and for some reason that gets me. Plus, Gwen is basically the female version of Merlin, therefore, Merlin/Arthur subtext. As long as Gwen/Arthur never becomes the focus of the show, then I'm cool with it. Merlin/Arthur is the heart of the show, and I'm pretty certain the writers will never screw that up.
Anyway:
One night in prison made Morgana just a tiny bit insane. Was it one night, or more? I guess they never really said. She was all dirty and her dress was ripped, and of course that provides very dirty fodder for our very dirty minds. Anyway, Arthur comes to release her, but she blows up at him, belittling him purely because he's Uther's son, and also because she can't stand him to see her when her pride has been ripped away from her. Genuine vulnerability is something she doesn't like letting Arthur see in her, probably because it undermines her ability to manipulate him. Luckily, Morgana realizes her mistake in grouping him with Uther and calls him a better man than his father. And I am left baffled as to why I love Uther/Morgana so much because she freaking hates the man, but she was SO HURT that he did this to her, which means she loves him, no matter how much she hates him. Yeah, yeah, how can you hate and love the same person? Easy, apparently. Her love for him just makes her hate him more. I'M SERIOUS! I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, OKAY? IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE IN THE SUBTEXT! IT IS!
FEMMESLASH!!!!!! Gotta hear it for the girls. It was a pretty big ep for this ship, too. Again, I'm not much of a femmeslasher, but these two are wonderful. MORGANA RILED UTHER FOR HER! Seriously, Gwen and her father set off all this lovely Morgana/Uther, and I can't help but love her a little for that. But Gwen/Morgana is one of the genuinely loving relationships on this show. There are no pretenses of any kind with these two. They love each other deeply and loyally, and it will KILL me if Lancelot ends up getting between them.
So, Morgana goes to see Strangle Guy and we get this wonderfully suggestive shot. Apparently this guy can't stop being suggestive. THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW, DUDE! STOP IT!
Morgana wants to help Strangle Guy kill Uther. Why? Because she got bruises, AND THEY WERE ALL UTHER'S DOING! THAT BEAST! THAT SEXY, SEXY BEA... I MEAN, THAT HORRID, HORRID BEAST!
She volunteers herself to be the inside man. She's close to Uther and she knows his weaknesses, therefore, she knows how to manipulate him to death. Oddly enough, she herself is his weakness. AND SHE STILL DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THAT HE LOVES HER WITH ALL OF HIS HEART!
Another dinner scene. This is definitely their thing. And a total callback to The Beginning of the End, right down to Morgana wearing the exact same dress and hairstyle. The difference here is that Uther is quietly hurt, and possibly feeling a tad bit guilty, as evidenced by his on-guard, questioning voice when he quietly says, "I didn't expect to see you." And Morgana, instead of doing the big, dramatic, fake, "I was completely in the wrong" apology, she is quietly simmering with anger and her apology is strained.
And Uther, being the big self-important jerkface who insists on saying and doing all the wrong things, answers her with "Good."
Morgana is not amused. And for some reason I find her use of the word "rile" in reference to Uther to be ridiculously sexy. And then she starts talking about Gwen.
And Uther isn't buying it.
So Morgana pulls out the dead daddy card and it hits him right where she wanted it to. It's a confirmation that he was never able to replace her father and he never will, and that makes his duty unfulfilled.
He insists that he had nothing to do with her father's death, which gives evidence that this has been an issue with them ever since he took her into his care, and Uther's fierce insistence is usually a sign that he feels tremendously guilty and he's just in denial because he's too weak to handle the truth.
She insists that he was indeed responsible for her father's death, basically implying that his incompetence as a king was the culprit. He is devastated.
She basically tells him that everyone he kills is like killing her father all over again, and he is even more devastated and he can't believe he's hurt her this much and that she believes he's responsible for his best friend's death and he is SO beside himself with shock and guilt and he can't believe she's saying all of this.
And she leaves him with tears, but in actuality it was all part of her evil plot and she's quite proud of herself. It was almost too easy.
And Uther is left questioning himself and wanting more than anything to make things right with her.
He's even sexily leering at her from the window. And it's hot. Really, really hot. And I love the shot where he closes the window and looks down in regret. He is so desperate to repair the love that he's lost. Or gain the love that he's never had. OH, MY HEART!
Okay, now he's just stalking her. For real. But it's still sexy.
He's so gentle here. He's treading softly for Morgana. That's pretty huge. He is so very much like a husband trying to make up with his wife, or an admirer trying to gain the courage to ask her out, or to show her his merits. This scene actually had me exclaiming, "OH MY GOD!!!" at least three times for the blatant lovers' quarrel feel that it had. And like the classic husband character, he gets it SO WRONG, and like the classic wife character, she sarcastically lets him believe that he's exactly right and he's made everything all better. Anyway, the dialog. So, so good. "You have no idea how much it pains me to be at odds with you." GAH!!!!!! And then he gets desperately hopeful when she says, "And I with you."
Hotness. You can feel their friction as Uther brushes by her. I know this is just the actors being their hot selves, but damn, it was really hot.
This cape makes me laugh. If Anthony and Katie weren't so awesome, it probably would have distracted me way too much.
Uther apologizes for being insensitive to her. Killing Tom opened old wounds for her, and for that he was sorry. Any other time this may have cut it, but Uther, stupid stupid Uther, she wants you to be sorry for killing an innocent man, not for being insensitive to Morgana by killing an innocent man. ARGH, HOW YOUR OBTUSENESS PLAGUES ME!
Morgana makes him think that he's said exactly the right thing, and he so wasn't expecting that, but it makes him RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY, so happy, in fact, that he doesn't even suspect that she's manipulating him. I just love how they were so restrained in this scene, and then they just quickly come together here, both staring into each other's eyes, and they grasp hands and it's quite... romantic. So wrong, but so very right.
She asks him to go to her father's grave with her and put the past behind them, and he is freaking ecstatic and SO IN LOVE with her and he can't believe that's all it will take to gain her forgiveness and he gazes into her eyes and says, "Nothing would give me greater happiness." *dies*
Plans to visit a grave at dawn have never been so incredibly romantic before. And Uther pretty much goes skipping off in glee to arrange it all and he's on top of the world.
And Morgana is all, "You must DIE, UTHER PENDRAGON!"
And despite his complete sexiness, she still confirms the plan to kill Uther. HOW CAN SHE DO THIS? ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS SO DAMN GIDDY?
And so they set off for their trip to the grave, and Uther is even more giddy. He even looks back at Morgana with a huge smile as they're riding:
SO ADORABLE! And of course she's all seething with bottled anger and convincing herself that she's doing the right thing.
They touch a lot and look all coupley. DO YOU SEE HOW CONSIDERATE HE IS OF HER?
And then Morgana kneels down and Uther whips out his sword and pierces the ground and it's all kind of... well, full of sexual subtext, even though I know it's so that he doesn't have his sword on him for a future scene. But seriously, how can they put that in there, and film it the way they did, and not expect me to see a sexual metaphor?
Do I even need to elaborate on the sexual metaphor that I see here? Probably not. So, not only do we get a subtextual sex scene, but we get an incredibly huge love confession.
"When he died, and I took you into my care, you fought me from the beginning." DO YOU SEE HIS SMILE AS HE SAYS THIS?
"Your will is as strong as my own. You challenge me as a friend must. As your father did in his time." He sees her as his equal. HE SEES HER AS HIS BEST FRIEND! HOLY CAJOLIES! HE LOVES HER! HE LOOOOOOVES HER!!!!
"And when I do you clap me in irons." She's still hurting about this. Which... is pretty understandable, but not reason enough to kill him.
"I know I'm not an easy man. My temper... blinds me sometimes, there are things that I regret."
"Gwen's father?" (Morgana's last test for him, his one chance to redeem himself, and she's positive he'll fail)
"Yes."
Say what?
"Yes."
Oh god what have I done what have I done what have I done?
Why didn't Strangle Guy come sooner? Oh right, he was busy stunning Merlin with super-dramatic music. I almost forgot Merlin was in this ep. Pfft, this show should be called Morgana.
And now comes the love confession/wedding vows (you know, if you take out the daughter part):
"I will strive to listen to you more and quarrel with you less."
"You've been a blessing to me, Morgana. You are the daughter I never had. Your counsel is invaluable, as is your friendship, and your love. Without you I cannot hope to be the king this land deserves."
"My lord..."
"Please forgive me, Morgana."
NOOOOOOOO DON'T KILL MY HUSBAND!
The only real bit of man on man action in this episode, sadly. Uther definitely looked like a goner, but then...
We finally find out the significance of Morgana pulling that ridiculous knife out of her cleavage back in The Poisoned Chalice. Yay for continuity! And yay for Morgana redeeming herself! The awesome thing here is that Uther couldn't redeem himself without Morgana, and Morgana couldn't redeem herself without Uther. Let's just forget that the whole reason why Morgana was in this moral dilemma in the first place was because of Uther. Anyway, Morgana saving Uther's life was basically equivalent to a love confession from her.
The looks here were simply beautiful. Uther's trying to catch his breath and he's looking up at her with this look of complete love and he's sort of rolling his eyes at her in a "Oh lordy, what am I going to do with you?" way and he should be angry at her for her attempted MURDER plot but his love wins out, and she's looking down at him with this lost look on her face and she couldn't believe all that she had done, and then we get the most beautiful scene from anything that I have ever come across:
Merlin's watching through the grass, ready to defend Uther or Morgana if he needed to, but instead he sees this:
Uther opens his arms and they slowly walk to each other, and he just engulfs her in his big red cape and she hangs onto him and I am bawling like a little baby.
And Merlin is as fascinated with this as the audience is, and he gets this guilty look on his face like he's watching something so deeply intimate that he shouldn't be watching it, so he slips away unnoticed.
And we are left with this beautiful image of Morgana clutching onto Uther and turning her head to Uther's neck and he lays his cheek on top of her head and I have goosebumps and I am crying even harder and I have my hand to my heart and even though technically it's not supposed to be romantic, I find it to be one of the most romantic scenes of anything that I have ever seen.
And because the cape scene is too gorgeous to just capture in pics, I had to YouTube it:
*blows nose*
*dreamy sigh*
God, I loved that episode. So, so much.
Anyway, To Kill a King. I didn't think anything could top my love for Excalibur, but I was so very wrong. And I really didn't think anything could top the Uther/Morgana goodness in The Beginning of the End, but oooooooh lordy was I wrong there. So, so wrong. This episode was amazing. From start to finish my stomach was all tied up in knots. Now, this could have been because I wasn't feeling well yesterday, but I'm fairly certain it was because I was extremely excited and everything was so edge-of-your-seat awesome. Just as The Moment of Truth was the episode confirming on all accounts that Merlin and Arthur need each other to fulfill their destiny, this episode confirmed that Uther and Morgana desperately need each other and are forever linked together whether they like it or not. Now, understandably, it wasn't anything close to fluffy like it was for Arthur and Merlin, and that's exactly how it should be. Uther/Morgana is all about a battle of wills and manipulation and betrayal and love and hate and regret. They bring out both the worst and best in each other. They make each other see their own faults. They hurt each other deeply and yet they are forever drawn to each other. Ooooh, this episode. It gave me so much more than I had ever expected to get. Uther/Morgana is screwed up in so many ways, their affection for each other borders on inappropriate in that it comes across as a mix between surrogate father/daughter and heated lovers, and that gives their relationship this incredibly interesting dynamic that I'm not even sure was originally intended, but oh how I love it. And the fact that they often end up wanting to literally kill each other just adds to my love.
Also, before I get to the in depth review, I have to say, the cinematography for this episode was AMAZING. I don't usually notice cinematography, but the lighting was simply beautiful, and the cape scene was so gorgeous with the wind and the clouds and the kind of dream-like haze that suddenly surrounds them and the capes flowing around them in this perfect dance and it was ridiculously romantic with that music and the shots of Merlin watching from the grass and... GAH! SO BEAUTIFUL!
First off, it was cruel to make Tom so damn lovable with his total of about 3 scenes in the entire series and then just kill him off. So not cool. He was so adorable in his excitement over buying Gwen a new dress. :'( And I love that in that scene we see that Gwen was the real caretaker in their household while Tom was off making shady deals and feeling invincible. And in every single one of Gwen's scenes with her father, you really feel how much they love each other, and it's just so incredibly touching, and it's such a great contrast between Morgana's relationship with Uther. Gwen and Tom were all about kindness and forgiveness and self-blame and what was best for each other, while Uther and Morgana are extremely self-centered and stubborn and unforgiving and they refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, and they are always fighting to control each other's will.
I'll admit right now that I have an Uther drinking fetish. Perhaps it's carry-over from my Damian Lewis teacup fetish? I don't know, but that man drinks in the most sexy way possible, and I had to show the full body shot. I love that he appears a little tipsy, because this shows right off the bat that he was feeling betrayed by Tom and he didn't want to kill him, but he believed that it was something he HAD to do. And Morgana berating him about it just egged him on into convincing himself that it was the right thing.
I love this shot SO MUCH because he looks all righteous and determined and he's SO desperate to stand tall against Morgana's verbal assault. He knows she has valid points, but he doesn't want to acknowledge that.
Uther's look of shock at Morgana's immediate dismissal of whatever he says is so freaking hilarious, I must say. It only lasts for a second though, because he immediately hits her back with another point in his favor, and Morgana just gets more and more desperate as the argument goes on.
There's this one bit where Uther closes his eyes for a second in a look of annoyance/frustration/possibly a little pity at her desperate attempts, and then he kind of softens in both condescension and perhaps a little understanding, because he gets where she's coming from. But at the same time, he refuses to back down from his stance on the issue, and naturally Morgana looks to Arthur and she instantly goes from desperate rage into her classic damsel-in-distress voice because she knows Arthur is a sucker.
But alas, Uther just twists Arthur's words to satisfy his own agenda and he looks directly at Morgana when he answers, a little more venomous because he's not too fond of her when she plays her manipulation games with him.
"If you execute Gwen's father, I will never forgive you. Never."
Is that fear I see in Uther's eyes? I think it is. I love how this contrasts with his scene in The Beginning of the End where Arthur tells him that Morgana will never forgive him if he kills Mordred. That sends Uther into a fury because he knows it's true and it's something he doesn't want, and he hates that he feels that way because she's the one who betrayed him, and so he's a little overzealous in his denial of caring. But here, when he fully knows that he's in the wrong, you can see the fear there. Morgana means the world to him, and she's fully aware of her power over him or else she wouldn't know how to use it, but I don't think she fully realizes how much he actually loves her.
And since Uther couldn't control Morgana, he turns to Arthur and blows up at him, because he knows he can control Arthur and he takes solace in that. Both Uther and Morgana do this, and it makes me feel so much for poor Arthur. He's always being pulled in opposite directions by these two, and it kills him to go against either one of them, particularly his father. And this is yet another reason why I tend to view Morgana more as Arthur's mother figure than his romantic interest, and it just adds to the feeling of "Morgana and Uther are totally married." But again, I do think that Morgana is in love with Arthur (or at least she thinks she should be, but Uther is the one that gets her passion going), so obviously the entire family dynamic of the Pendragons is seriously screwed up.
Merlin's psychic connection to the magic stone made me crack up laughing every single time. EVERY TIME! So ridiculous. I love it.
Morgana sees Gwen sobbing over her dead father's body in the courtyard and she is filled with a hatred for Uther that is pretty dang intense. But let me just point out, Morgana was the proponent in Tom trying to escape, and the reason why he was instantly killed was because he tried to escape, and there was a tiny chance that Uther could have changed his mind during the trial. Likely not, but it could have happened. So Morgana has blood on her hands right along with Uther, but she never acknowledges this fact.
God, how I squee when she calls him Uther Pendragon. SHE IS GIVING THE FREAKING KING A LECTURE! AND IT IS GLORIOUS AND PASSIONATE!!!
I just really love the lighting in this shot. It's like there's this heavenly light beaming in and making Uther this all powerful being, and then he has Morgana towering over him and the beams are basically pointing towards her and it just... it adds to their OTPness. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's like they've both been given this power of life and death and they both choose to kill, and they are standing in this beautiful light that exposes their sins. I don't know, I'm probably looking too far into it. It was just the way the sun was coming into the castle. But it was pretty. &hearts Anyway, I love that Uther calmly reminds her that she's addressing her king, and she has no qualms about shooting down his merits and giving him reasons why he doesn't deserve the respect he wants.
"It's my responsibility to protect this land from its enemies."
"Then the kingdom is doomed. For one by one you make enemies of us all!"
"You speak treason, Morgana."
"Only a madman hears the truth as treason."
Oooooh, snap!
"Take care child, or I'll have you restrained." [said in an inappropriately sexy voice]
"You just try." [said in an inappropriately breathy voice]
Good god, that scene was hot. I'm sorry, but when they fight? Hotness. WHY IS THERE NO PASSIONATE HATE SEX FIC YET? WHY? THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY! Their entire dynamic is about a battle of wills, therefore, it would make for the hottest hate sex ever. Especially since Morgana doesn't want to love him but she does. COME ON, FANDOM! DO NOT FAIL ME NOW!
Anyway, when you challenge Uther, you can bet he'll take you up on it. Especially when bondage is involved.
"And you will remain here, until you've learned your lesson." [once again, inappropriately sexy]
"Then release me, because I've learned it already! That you care not for me, or anyone but yourself! Because you're driven mad with power and you are a tyrant."
He just looks so ominous with that red background that I couldn't resist throwing in the shot of him walking away. I love this scene so, so much. At first Uther is all about showing her who's boss. She tested him, and he wasn't going to let her win. But then he has this look of devastation when she rattles off her dialog about him not caring about her. The fact that she sees him as a tyrant hurts him so much, and so he steels himself quickly and treats her coldly, trying to show her just how cruel he can be if that's what she wants. And then the shot of Morgana as Uther leaves:
Man, that kills me. She is so SHOCKED and utterly hurt that he would actually leave her there chained up in the dungeon, and this proves that she in fact did NOT believe in her heart of hearts that he was as uncaring as she said he was. But now that, in her mind, she got confirmation of his evilness, this sets her over the edge. It was demeaning and their arguments had never gone that far before, and it allows her to block out the tender parts of Uther in order to do what she believed was best for the kingdom and for Gwen, and that was to kill the "tyrant." I know that Morgana is supposedly pure of heart and she did have many good reasons, but I think a very large proponent in her wanting Uther dead was that he had hurt her pride and he had ripped away any semblance of love that they shared. She couldn't stand for that, and she wanted to get back at him in the ultimate way.
THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW???
Oh, also, I forgot to cap it, but the scene between Arthur/Gwen I thought was really well done. I know fandom is down on Gwen/Arthur, but I actually really like how the show is handling them. They're taking it extremely slowly, and I personally see plenty of chemistry between them, at least on a platonic level at this point, and I find their interactions a tiny bit adorable. For one thing, Arthur's the only person that calls her Guinevere, and for some reason that gets me. Plus, Gwen is basically the female version of Merlin, therefore, Merlin/Arthur subtext. As long as Gwen/Arthur never becomes the focus of the show, then I'm cool with it. Merlin/Arthur is the heart of the show, and I'm pretty certain the writers will never screw that up.
Anyway:
One night in prison made Morgana just a tiny bit insane. Was it one night, or more? I guess they never really said. She was all dirty and her dress was ripped, and of course that provides very dirty fodder for our very dirty minds. Anyway, Arthur comes to release her, but she blows up at him, belittling him purely because he's Uther's son, and also because she can't stand him to see her when her pride has been ripped away from her. Genuine vulnerability is something she doesn't like letting Arthur see in her, probably because it undermines her ability to manipulate him. Luckily, Morgana realizes her mistake in grouping him with Uther and calls him a better man than his father. And I am left baffled as to why I love Uther/Morgana so much because she freaking hates the man, but she was SO HURT that he did this to her, which means she loves him, no matter how much she hates him. Yeah, yeah, how can you hate and love the same person? Easy, apparently. Her love for him just makes her hate him more. I'M SERIOUS! I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, OKAY? IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE IN THE SUBTEXT! IT IS!
FEMMESLASH!!!!!! Gotta hear it for the girls. It was a pretty big ep for this ship, too. Again, I'm not much of a femmeslasher, but these two are wonderful. MORGANA RILED UTHER FOR HER! Seriously, Gwen and her father set off all this lovely Morgana/Uther, and I can't help but love her a little for that. But Gwen/Morgana is one of the genuinely loving relationships on this show. There are no pretenses of any kind with these two. They love each other deeply and loyally, and it will KILL me if Lancelot ends up getting between them.
So, Morgana goes to see Strangle Guy and we get this wonderfully suggestive shot. Apparently this guy can't stop being suggestive. THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW, DUDE! STOP IT!
Morgana wants to help Strangle Guy kill Uther. Why? Because she got bruises, AND THEY WERE ALL UTHER'S DOING! THAT BEAST! THAT SEXY, SEXY BEA... I MEAN, THAT HORRID, HORRID BEAST!
She volunteers herself to be the inside man. She's close to Uther and she knows his weaknesses, therefore, she knows how to manipulate him to death. Oddly enough, she herself is his weakness. AND SHE STILL DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THAT HE LOVES HER WITH ALL OF HIS HEART!
Another dinner scene. This is definitely their thing. And a total callback to The Beginning of the End, right down to Morgana wearing the exact same dress and hairstyle. The difference here is that Uther is quietly hurt, and possibly feeling a tad bit guilty, as evidenced by his on-guard, questioning voice when he quietly says, "I didn't expect to see you." And Morgana, instead of doing the big, dramatic, fake, "I was completely in the wrong" apology, she is quietly simmering with anger and her apology is strained.
And Uther, being the big self-important jerkface who insists on saying and doing all the wrong things, answers her with "Good."
Morgana is not amused. And for some reason I find her use of the word "rile" in reference to Uther to be ridiculously sexy. And then she starts talking about Gwen.
And Uther isn't buying it.
So Morgana pulls out the dead daddy card and it hits him right where she wanted it to. It's a confirmation that he was never able to replace her father and he never will, and that makes his duty unfulfilled.
He insists that he had nothing to do with her father's death, which gives evidence that this has been an issue with them ever since he took her into his care, and Uther's fierce insistence is usually a sign that he feels tremendously guilty and he's just in denial because he's too weak to handle the truth.
She insists that he was indeed responsible for her father's death, basically implying that his incompetence as a king was the culprit. He is devastated.
She basically tells him that everyone he kills is like killing her father all over again, and he is even more devastated and he can't believe he's hurt her this much and that she believes he's responsible for his best friend's death and he is SO beside himself with shock and guilt and he can't believe she's saying all of this.
And she leaves him with tears, but in actuality it was all part of her evil plot and she's quite proud of herself. It was almost too easy.
And Uther is left questioning himself and wanting more than anything to make things right with her.
He's even sexily leering at her from the window. And it's hot. Really, really hot. And I love the shot where he closes the window and looks down in regret. He is so desperate to repair the love that he's lost. Or gain the love that he's never had. OH, MY HEART!
Okay, now he's just stalking her. For real. But it's still sexy.
He's so gentle here. He's treading softly for Morgana. That's pretty huge. He is so very much like a husband trying to make up with his wife, or an admirer trying to gain the courage to ask her out, or to show her his merits. This scene actually had me exclaiming, "OH MY GOD!!!" at least three times for the blatant lovers' quarrel feel that it had. And like the classic husband character, he gets it SO WRONG, and like the classic wife character, she sarcastically lets him believe that he's exactly right and he's made everything all better. Anyway, the dialog. So, so good. "You have no idea how much it pains me to be at odds with you." GAH!!!!!! And then he gets desperately hopeful when she says, "And I with you."
Hotness. You can feel their friction as Uther brushes by her. I know this is just the actors being their hot selves, but damn, it was really hot.
This cape makes me laugh. If Anthony and Katie weren't so awesome, it probably would have distracted me way too much.
Uther apologizes for being insensitive to her. Killing Tom opened old wounds for her, and for that he was sorry. Any other time this may have cut it, but Uther, stupid stupid Uther, she wants you to be sorry for killing an innocent man, not for being insensitive to Morgana by killing an innocent man. ARGH, HOW YOUR OBTUSENESS PLAGUES ME!
Morgana makes him think that he's said exactly the right thing, and he so wasn't expecting that, but it makes him RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY, so happy, in fact, that he doesn't even suspect that she's manipulating him. I just love how they were so restrained in this scene, and then they just quickly come together here, both staring into each other's eyes, and they grasp hands and it's quite... romantic. So wrong, but so very right.
She asks him to go to her father's grave with her and put the past behind them, and he is freaking ecstatic and SO IN LOVE with her and he can't believe that's all it will take to gain her forgiveness and he gazes into her eyes and says, "Nothing would give me greater happiness." *dies*
Plans to visit a grave at dawn have never been so incredibly romantic before. And Uther pretty much goes skipping off in glee to arrange it all and he's on top of the world.
And Morgana is all, "You must DIE, UTHER PENDRAGON!"
And despite his complete sexiness, she still confirms the plan to kill Uther. HOW CAN SHE DO THIS? ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS SO DAMN GIDDY?
And so they set off for their trip to the grave, and Uther is even more giddy. He even looks back at Morgana with a huge smile as they're riding:
SO ADORABLE! And of course she's all seething with bottled anger and convincing herself that she's doing the right thing.
They touch a lot and look all coupley. DO YOU SEE HOW CONSIDERATE HE IS OF HER?
And then Morgana kneels down and Uther whips out his sword and pierces the ground and it's all kind of... well, full of sexual subtext, even though I know it's so that he doesn't have his sword on him for a future scene. But seriously, how can they put that in there, and film it the way they did, and not expect me to see a sexual metaphor?
Do I even need to elaborate on the sexual metaphor that I see here? Probably not. So, not only do we get a subtextual sex scene, but we get an incredibly huge love confession.
"When he died, and I took you into my care, you fought me from the beginning." DO YOU SEE HIS SMILE AS HE SAYS THIS?
"Your will is as strong as my own. You challenge me as a friend must. As your father did in his time." He sees her as his equal. HE SEES HER AS HIS BEST FRIEND! HOLY CAJOLIES! HE LOVES HER! HE LOOOOOOVES HER!!!!
"And when I do you clap me in irons." She's still hurting about this. Which... is pretty understandable, but not reason enough to kill him.
"I know I'm not an easy man. My temper... blinds me sometimes, there are things that I regret."
"Gwen's father?" (Morgana's last test for him, his one chance to redeem himself, and she's positive he'll fail)
"Yes."
Say what?
"Yes."
Oh god what have I done what have I done what have I done?
Why didn't Strangle Guy come sooner? Oh right, he was busy stunning Merlin with super-dramatic music. I almost forgot Merlin was in this ep. Pfft, this show should be called Morgana.
And now comes the love confession/wedding vows (you know, if you take out the daughter part):
"I will strive to listen to you more and quarrel with you less."
"You've been a blessing to me, Morgana. You are the daughter I never had. Your counsel is invaluable, as is your friendship, and your love. Without you I cannot hope to be the king this land deserves."
"My lord..."
"Please forgive me, Morgana."
NOOOOOOOO DON'T KILL MY HUSBAND!
The only real bit of man on man action in this episode, sadly. Uther definitely looked like a goner, but then...
We finally find out the significance of Morgana pulling that ridiculous knife out of her cleavage back in The Poisoned Chalice. Yay for continuity! And yay for Morgana redeeming herself! The awesome thing here is that Uther couldn't redeem himself without Morgana, and Morgana couldn't redeem herself without Uther. Let's just forget that the whole reason why Morgana was in this moral dilemma in the first place was because of Uther. Anyway, Morgana saving Uther's life was basically equivalent to a love confession from her.
The looks here were simply beautiful. Uther's trying to catch his breath and he's looking up at her with this look of complete love and he's sort of rolling his eyes at her in a "Oh lordy, what am I going to do with you?" way and he should be angry at her for her attempted MURDER plot but his love wins out, and she's looking down at him with this lost look on her face and she couldn't believe all that she had done, and then we get the most beautiful scene from anything that I have ever come across:
Merlin's watching through the grass, ready to defend Uther or Morgana if he needed to, but instead he sees this:
Uther opens his arms and they slowly walk to each other, and he just engulfs her in his big red cape and she hangs onto him and I am bawling like a little baby.
And Merlin is as fascinated with this as the audience is, and he gets this guilty look on his face like he's watching something so deeply intimate that he shouldn't be watching it, so he slips away unnoticed.
And we are left with this beautiful image of Morgana clutching onto Uther and turning her head to Uther's neck and he lays his cheek on top of her head and I have goosebumps and I am crying even harder and I have my hand to my heart and even though technically it's not supposed to be romantic, I find it to be one of the most romantic scenes of anything that I have ever seen.
And because the cape scene is too gorgeous to just capture in pics, I had to YouTube it:
Click to view*blows nose*
*dreamy sigh*
God, I loved that episode. So, so much.