Merlin!
Wow. That was... different. But not a bad different.
Assassin Dude was a total badass and did not deserve the ending he got (seriously, he should have gotten away so that he could mysteriously show up every now and then and continue to be badass):
I mean, dudes, he was whipping out Kung Fu in an eerie medieval castle! It was awesome. Kung Fu makes everything better.
"I need you... to kill somebody. For me. Somebody SO unlikely that uber dramatic music must play as I tell you this. I want you to kill... wait for it... PRINCE ARTHUR PENDRAGON!" DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!
This was a complete shocker to us ALL, I'm sure.
WHAT'S THIS? OH, HELL TO THE NO! ARTHUR BEST NOT BE EATIN' IN MORGANA'S CHAIR! HOW UTTERLY RUDE! Argh, WHY DO UTHER AND MORGANA NO LONGER EAT TOGETHER? WHYYYYY?
"But why do you have to miss the tournament, Arthur? WHYYYYYYYYYY?" *stomps foot*
Uther's eye-rolliness at the dude who warned him about Badass Assassin Dude was just plain hilarious. Oh, I love him.
This guy was just wonderful. He made me giggle quite a bit.
UTHER/MORGANA ALERT!!!
She is totally checking him out, AS SHE USUALLY DOES. Seriously, her eyes always go to him, and then roam over him, and she just plays it cool. THEY ARE DOING IT. NOTHING WILL CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.
While I am happy that this year they are sitting in their own little box together, it saddens me that they are sitting way too far apart.
But then Uther stands up and Morgana is ogling him again, and suddenly I don't much care about the distance between their chairs anymore.
And then Uther continues to sex up my screen and I just don't have time for thinking, because UTHER FLIPPIN' PENDRAGON IS SEXING UP MY SCREEN:
He even cheers sexily!
I love that Uther's reaction to a knight getting knocked out is this:
While Morgana's is this:
Bwahahahahaha. A match made in heaven, yes?
Also, I love that Gaius' reaction to Merlin blowing up at him is much the same as Morgana's reaction to a knight almost being dead:
Extra Uther, just because I can:
Arthur's sadface! It quite rivals Merlin's kicked puppy face from last week, doesn't it? Anyway, I loved this scene, a lot. Gwen really makes Arthur reevaluate himself, and this isn't the first time she's done it, just... this was the most outspoken that Gwen has ever been. And it kind of hurt Arthur, but at the same time, he respected her for treating him as an equal rather than treating him like he's above her. Merlin has been the only other one to ever be that honest with him, and it is no wonder that he equates loving feelings with blunt honesty. Though, at this point, Gwen and Arthur were still being... er... not romantic? And Arthur basically just wanted to earn her respect rather than expect her to just hand it to him. This is definitely growth on Arthur's part, because he could have easily brushed her off and gone back to treating her like a servant, but he didn't, because Gwen was more honest with him than anyone else has ever been (including, unfortunately, Merlin, but it's not Merlin's fault that he has to keep secrets from Arthur!). Er... anyway, I really liked the awkward, resentful scenes between Arthur and Gwen that culminated in this epic rant that showed us how badass Gwen can be when she wants to be, and because she's Gwen, we know she's not being malicious, she's just being... honest. And it's interesting that the Merlin/Arthur bond started from a place of pure trust, and now Arthur/Gwen is starting from the very same place.
Uther is worried about the assassin getting Arthur, and...
UTHER TALKS TO MERLIN LIKE HE'S AN ACTUAL HUMAN BEING! In fact, he asks him if he's heard from Arthur.
And then he even shares this look with Merlin and says something like, "Well, let's be thankful that Arthur isn't in Camelot." He just... he totally gets the bond between Arthur and Merlin, even though he doesn't get it get it. He knows that the boys are unflinchingly loyal to each other and that Merlin's his best friend. He practically acknowledges this here (and, if you remember, back during Excalibur he explicitly acknowledged their bond. So, even though Uther is fond of calling Merlin an idiot, he totally loves him for loving Arthur).
So uh... back to Arthur/Gwen. This sappy romance that makes me surprisingly giddy because IT HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL SOUNDTRACK OF EPICNESS. Seriously, I think 85% of my love for this ship comes from the musical scores that are always playing in the background. Anyway, I was really, really enjoying what they were doing with their development in this episode, and I got all schoolgirl giggly when Gwen was seeing him off and handing him her favor, but then this happened:
WHUT? They... they spent ONE night being all chatty and pleasant with each other in a platonic manner, and then suddenly they are IN EPIC LOVE? I... I... I don't even know. The music totally saved it though, and... yes, even though I think this came on way too fast, I still sighed dreamily. It was totally the music. And the sunlight. And the awkwardness afterwards.
What seriously did bug me though was Gwen's line about, "You don't have anything to prove, especially to me." What? WHAT? I mean... dude, you guys kissed ONCE, that doesn't exactly mean that everything he does is all for you, you know? That was just ridiculous and out of place and so not very Gwen-ish. I don't know, I just really hated that line. It should have stopped at "You don't have anything to prove." That would have been wonderful and Arthur's line would have still had the same impact. Just... UGH, it's such a small thing, but it kind of ruined their epicness for me. Well, until the ending, but we'll get to that.
First:
UTHER/MORGANA!
FUNNY DUDE!
UTHER/MORGANA!
Of course, Uther is all like, "WE MUST KILL THAT DRAMATIC DUDE FROM WAY BACK IN THE BEGINNING! YOU KNOW, THE ONE FROM BEFORE THE OPENING CREDITS!"
And, naturally, Arthur says, "There's been enough bloodshed, Father. Let's leave it."
"I... But... Really? Well I... *SIGH* I suppose you're right."
*polishes nails* "Did anything else happen on your little... adventure or whatever it was?" *yawn*
And then Arthur and Gwen proceed to look at each other with hearts in their eyes and they are making me a big giant sap again.
AND THEN THIS BAMF WALKS DOWN THE HALL AND I LET OUT A CAT CALL!
And then Arthur and Gwen's brief trip into fairytale land comes to a crashing halt when they are back in the castle with rules and social classes and Uther and they both know that they can never be. CUE EPIC LOOKS OF ANGST!
OH, MY HEART! They are both being pulled in different directions, neither one truly believing in the hope that they can one day be together, and yet a part of them still does hope in spite of all the facts being stacked against them. GOOD SHOW, SHOW! Even though the romance bit was rushed, I still like how it turned out, and now they've made it more about the journey of overcoming their obstacles in order to be together rather than a journey of slowly falling in love. I think I maybe would have preferred the second one, but the way they've set it up now leaves room for much angst and awkwardness and repressed emotions, which I also love. So, I'm digging it. But I am so ready for a Morgana episode. I miss her like crazy. Most importantly though, I want some Uther/Morgana interaction.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this episode, but it is probably not a favorite of mine since my two favorite dynamics were barely in there. Still though, it was an awesome episode, and for some reason, Arthur seemed extra pretty. Romance looks good on him!
Assassin Dude was a total badass and did not deserve the ending he got (seriously, he should have gotten away so that he could mysteriously show up every now and then and continue to be badass):
I mean, dudes, he was whipping out Kung Fu in an eerie medieval castle! It was awesome. Kung Fu makes everything better.
"I need you... to kill somebody. For me. Somebody SO unlikely that uber dramatic music must play as I tell you this. I want you to kill... wait for it... PRINCE ARTHUR PENDRAGON!" DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN!
This was a complete shocker to us ALL, I'm sure.
WHAT'S THIS? OH, HELL TO THE NO! ARTHUR BEST NOT BE EATIN' IN MORGANA'S CHAIR! HOW UTTERLY RUDE! Argh, WHY DO UTHER AND MORGANA NO LONGER EAT TOGETHER? WHYYYYY?
"But why do you have to miss the tournament, Arthur? WHYYYYYYYYYY?" *stomps foot*
Uther's eye-rolliness at the dude who warned him about Badass Assassin Dude was just plain hilarious. Oh, I love him.
This guy was just wonderful. He made me giggle quite a bit.
UTHER/MORGANA ALERT!!!
She is totally checking him out, AS SHE USUALLY DOES. Seriously, her eyes always go to him, and then roam over him, and she just plays it cool. THEY ARE DOING IT. NOTHING WILL CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.
While I am happy that this year they are sitting in their own little box together, it saddens me that they are sitting way too far apart.
But then Uther stands up and Morgana is ogling him again, and suddenly I don't much care about the distance between their chairs anymore.
And then Uther continues to sex up my screen and I just don't have time for thinking, because UTHER FLIPPIN' PENDRAGON IS SEXING UP MY SCREEN:
He even cheers sexily!
I love that Uther's reaction to a knight getting knocked out is this:
While Morgana's is this:
Bwahahahahaha. A match made in heaven, yes?
Also, I love that Gaius' reaction to Merlin blowing up at him is much the same as Morgana's reaction to a knight almost being dead:
Extra Uther, just because I can:
Arthur's sadface! It quite rivals Merlin's kicked puppy face from last week, doesn't it? Anyway, I loved this scene, a lot. Gwen really makes Arthur reevaluate himself, and this isn't the first time she's done it, just... this was the most outspoken that Gwen has ever been. And it kind of hurt Arthur, but at the same time, he respected her for treating him as an equal rather than treating him like he's above her. Merlin has been the only other one to ever be that honest with him, and it is no wonder that he equates loving feelings with blunt honesty. Though, at this point, Gwen and Arthur were still being... er... not romantic? And Arthur basically just wanted to earn her respect rather than expect her to just hand it to him. This is definitely growth on Arthur's part, because he could have easily brushed her off and gone back to treating her like a servant, but he didn't, because Gwen was more honest with him than anyone else has ever been (including, unfortunately, Merlin, but it's not Merlin's fault that he has to keep secrets from Arthur!). Er... anyway, I really liked the awkward, resentful scenes between Arthur and Gwen that culminated in this epic rant that showed us how badass Gwen can be when she wants to be, and because she's Gwen, we know she's not being malicious, she's just being... honest. And it's interesting that the Merlin/Arthur bond started from a place of pure trust, and now Arthur/Gwen is starting from the very same place.
Uther is worried about the assassin getting Arthur, and...
UTHER TALKS TO MERLIN LIKE HE'S AN ACTUAL HUMAN BEING! In fact, he asks him if he's heard from Arthur.
And then he even shares this look with Merlin and says something like, "Well, let's be thankful that Arthur isn't in Camelot." He just... he totally gets the bond between Arthur and Merlin, even though he doesn't get it get it. He knows that the boys are unflinchingly loyal to each other and that Merlin's his best friend. He practically acknowledges this here (and, if you remember, back during Excalibur he explicitly acknowledged their bond. So, even though Uther is fond of calling Merlin an idiot, he totally loves him for loving Arthur).
So uh... back to Arthur/Gwen. This sappy romance that makes me surprisingly giddy because IT HAS ITS OWN SPECIAL SOUNDTRACK OF EPICNESS. Seriously, I think 85% of my love for this ship comes from the musical scores that are always playing in the background. Anyway, I was really, really enjoying what they were doing with their development in this episode, and I got all schoolgirl giggly when Gwen was seeing him off and handing him her favor, but then this happened:
WHUT? They... they spent ONE night being all chatty and pleasant with each other in a platonic manner, and then suddenly they are IN EPIC LOVE? I... I... I don't even know. The music totally saved it though, and... yes, even though I think this came on way too fast, I still sighed dreamily. It was totally the music. And the sunlight. And the awkwardness afterwards.
What seriously did bug me though was Gwen's line about, "You don't have anything to prove, especially to me." What? WHAT? I mean... dude, you guys kissed ONCE, that doesn't exactly mean that everything he does is all for you, you know? That was just ridiculous and out of place and so not very Gwen-ish. I don't know, I just really hated that line. It should have stopped at "You don't have anything to prove." That would have been wonderful and Arthur's line would have still had the same impact. Just... UGH, it's such a small thing, but it kind of ruined their epicness for me. Well, until the ending, but we'll get to that.
First:
UTHER/MORGANA!
FUNNY DUDE!
UTHER/MORGANA!
Of course, Uther is all like, "WE MUST KILL THAT DRAMATIC DUDE FROM WAY BACK IN THE BEGINNING! YOU KNOW, THE ONE FROM BEFORE THE OPENING CREDITS!"
And, naturally, Arthur says, "There's been enough bloodshed, Father. Let's leave it."
"I... But... Really? Well I... *SIGH* I suppose you're right."
*polishes nails* "Did anything else happen on your little... adventure or whatever it was?" *yawn*
And then Arthur and Gwen proceed to look at each other with hearts in their eyes and they are making me a big giant sap again.
AND THEN THIS BAMF WALKS DOWN THE HALL AND I LET OUT A CAT CALL!
And then Arthur and Gwen's brief trip into fairytale land comes to a crashing halt when they are back in the castle with rules and social classes and Uther and they both know that they can never be. CUE EPIC LOOKS OF ANGST!
OH, MY HEART! They are both being pulled in different directions, neither one truly believing in the hope that they can one day be together, and yet a part of them still does hope in spite of all the facts being stacked against them. GOOD SHOW, SHOW! Even though the romance bit was rushed, I still like how it turned out, and now they've made it more about the journey of overcoming their obstacles in order to be together rather than a journey of slowly falling in love. I think I maybe would have preferred the second one, but the way they've set it up now leaves room for much angst and awkwardness and repressed emotions, which I also love. So, I'm digging it. But I am so ready for a Morgana episode. I miss her like crazy. Most importantly though, I want some Uther/Morgana interaction.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this episode, but it is probably not a favorite of mine since my two favorite dynamics were barely in there. Still though, it was an awesome episode, and for some reason, Arthur seemed extra pretty. Romance looks good on him!