Merlin 2x04 - Lancelot and Guinevere
Oooooh, you guys, Merlin was so, so exquisite today. It made me laugh like a mofo, and the Lancelot/Gwen/Arthur was all so amusingly soul hurty that I couldn't not love it. Particularly when the big meaty guy (whose name coincidentally sounds like Angus) mocked Lancelot's romanticism. Bwahahahahaha. Oh, that was awesome. THE MERLIN/ARTHUR-NESS WAS EPIC. EPIC FOR SEASON 2, ANYWAY. Particularly the very end. *heart melts* Morgana was fierce in her chemise. ♥ I will not lie, I was hoping she'd burst into the court (and into Uther's arms) wearing nothing but that chemise, but alas, the show refuses to make my hopes and dreams a reality. And this episode neglected Uther and Morgana way too much, especially after they threw us that one tiny scene that was an angst fest of epic proportions.
Oh, you guys, I love Morgana's gowns and all, but HOLY CRAP. Is it any wonder that Uther is worrying his pretty little head off?
I think not.
REUNITED! HAPPILY!!! For a second.
He is even looking over her wounds! *coughandherboobs* Oh, and note that Uther's exact words are, "I couldn't bear the thought of anyone harming you."
But then she's like, "We need to save Gwen," and for some warped reason Morgana actually believes that Uther will save the day and be her hero, because for all of their arguments and ill will towards each other, she still looks to him to make her world right.
And Uther is still surprised by her naive view of the world in general. "It would take a small army to defeat Hangust. How many men do you expect me to send to save a servant?"
"AS MANY AS IT TAKES, BITCH!"
Uther is... well, sort of amused/turned on by her spirit and her lack of fear in contradicting the king IN PUBLIC. But he also doesn't want to hurt her and knows that she's going to be angry at him for a long, long time and wishes he could be what she wants him to be, but he can't, and so he is gentle through this entire scene.
When Morgana points out the fact that Gwen risked her life to save Morgana, Uther just tries to brush her off and avoid the whole conversation all together.
And Morgana isn't having any of that, no sir. She grabs him just as she did in The Beginning of the End, but the difference here is that Uther isn't the angry one. And Morgana gets his attention, and there's just this moment of... he looks at her hand on his arm, and if she was anyone else, he wouldn't stand for it. He just wouldn't. But since she's Morgana, he let's it happen. IN PUBLIC. And he is finally up front with her. It was like the arm grab was a reminder that, hey, Morgana is his equal and she deserves to be listened to. (I so completely love that random shot of Gaius, and Uther glaring at him for even daring to lift that judgey eyebrow of his).
"She is more than just a servant. She's my friend."
"I fear she may be dead already."
That's not the right answer. Not at all. And Morgana roughly breaks away from him, and even though Uther won, he lost. Horribly.
Morgana goes to Arthur and Uther turns away, defeated, hating seeing Morgana disrespect him, but at the same time, feeling helpless in helping her. And Morgana gets dragged away screaming, because she will fight for Gwen to the end. Which is why it makes no sense that Morgana didn't go with Merlin and Arthur. Although, with Morgana getting "kidnapped" two weeks in a row, I suppose Uther was probably extra protective of her. Sometimes I hate that this show does not fill in the blanks for Uther and Morgana, but I sort of don't hate it, because that gives the fandom so much leeway to play with their relationship.
Anyway, this is all we got in the way of Uther/Morgana, but I completely adored every second of it. We got desperately worried Uther, we got desperately relieved Uther rushing to embrace Morgana (unfortunately all they really did was hold hands. I guess we are not allowed to get a hug two episodes in a row), we got Morgana faithfully believing in Uther's love for her, we got Uther denying her what she needs due to circumstance, we got Morgana resenting Uther for (what she views as) his cowardice, we got Morgana glaring daggers at Uther and Uther not being able to take it, we got ARM TOUCHING, and just... it was wonderful. It basically epitomizes their entire relationship. They love each other deeply, but it's never enough for either one of them. Uther's love for Morgana isn't strong enough to put Camelot in danger in order to give her what she wants, and Morgana's love for Uther isn't strong enough to sacrifice what she wants/needs in order to see things from his viewpoint. Uther is far too practical, and Morgana is far too idealistic. Uther is always trying to hold onto Morgana, and Morgana always ends up breaking herself away from his grasp. As the show goes on, he will just be holding onto nothing, and it will kill him. She's damn near gone already, and he's just now realizing that he simply cannot live without her. Sadly, he totally fails at understanding the things that are most important to her. Gwen is her everything, and Uther just cannot even fathom the concept of a servant being anything more than a servant. The more Uther tries to hold onto Morgana, the more she is ready to leave him and never look back. It is all so very TRAGIC. I am hoping that, when the day comes, Morgana leaves Camelot of her own accord and leaves Uther heartbroken. I just... I just would not be able to bear it if Uther instantly decides he has to execute Morgana. I want her to leave him, I want him to know that she left him and was not kidnapped, I want him to be confused as to why she would leave him but sort of know in the back of his mind, I want him to be in denial for awhile, and then I want him to face Magical Morgana head on while she storms the castle or something and he can finally accept that, yes, she's a sorcerer, and it breaks his heart irreparably. THIS IS WHAT I WANT.
Oh oh! Back to the episode. So, the bit where Arthur admits his feelings for Gwen:
How can I admit that, I think about her all the time, or that I care about her more than anyone? How can I admit that I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her? Nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings, knowing that, hurts too much.
These are all things that Uther has said about Morgana at one point or another (for the most part) and I couldn't help but go, "Oh my god, this is so about Uther/Morgana." Even though, you know, it was Arthur, talking about Gwen. But, pffft, we all know that EVERYTHING goes back to Uther/Morgana.
Some closing thoughts that have nothing to do with Uther/Morgana:
1. Lancelot is dreamy. Like, really dreamy. Especially when he is being all heroic and stuff.
2. There were many moments in this episode that made me gawk and say, "OMG, I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FAMILY PROGRAMMING."
3. People fall in undying love on this show super quickly.
4. Jealous Arthur kind of breaks my heart, especially when, for once, he believes himself to be inferior. Oh, Arthur, you poor, poor fool.
5. I have no idea if I'm supposed to be rooting for Arthur/Gwen or Lancelot/Gwen. Is it possible to root for both? No? Well, I think I am more on the side of Arthur/Gwen simply because I want Arthur to be happy, but can Gwen truly love Arthur as much as he loves her? Hmm...
6. Arthur still has Merlin. This, my friends, is the moral of each and every episode. No matter what happens, no matter where Arthur goes or what he does or says, no matter who hurts or betrays Arthur, Merlin will be there by Arthur's side to let him know he's not alone. Gwen may be Arthur's greatest love, but Merlin is the one that keeps his heart together. Merlin is the one who matters most, always has and always will, no matter what a besotted Arthur might think.
ETA:
Oh, you guys, I love Morgana's gowns and all, but HOLY CRAP. Is it any wonder that Uther is worrying his pretty little head off?
I think not.
REUNITED! HAPPILY!!! For a second.
He is even looking over her wounds! *coughandherboobs* Oh, and note that Uther's exact words are, "I couldn't bear the thought of anyone harming you."
But then she's like, "We need to save Gwen," and for some warped reason Morgana actually believes that Uther will save the day and be her hero, because for all of their arguments and ill will towards each other, she still looks to him to make her world right.
And Uther is still surprised by her naive view of the world in general. "It would take a small army to defeat Hangust. How many men do you expect me to send to save a servant?"
"AS MANY AS IT TAKES, BITCH!"
Uther is... well, sort of amused/turned on by her spirit and her lack of fear in contradicting the king IN PUBLIC. But he also doesn't want to hurt her and knows that she's going to be angry at him for a long, long time and wishes he could be what she wants him to be, but he can't, and so he is gentle through this entire scene.
When Morgana points out the fact that Gwen risked her life to save Morgana, Uther just tries to brush her off and avoid the whole conversation all together.
And Morgana isn't having any of that, no sir. She grabs him just as she did in The Beginning of the End, but the difference here is that Uther isn't the angry one. And Morgana gets his attention, and there's just this moment of... he looks at her hand on his arm, and if she was anyone else, he wouldn't stand for it. He just wouldn't. But since she's Morgana, he let's it happen. IN PUBLIC. And he is finally up front with her. It was like the arm grab was a reminder that, hey, Morgana is his equal and she deserves to be listened to. (I so completely love that random shot of Gaius, and Uther glaring at him for even daring to lift that judgey eyebrow of his).
"She is more than just a servant. She's my friend."
"I fear she may be dead already."
That's not the right answer. Not at all. And Morgana roughly breaks away from him, and even though Uther won, he lost. Horribly.
Morgana goes to Arthur and Uther turns away, defeated, hating seeing Morgana disrespect him, but at the same time, feeling helpless in helping her. And Morgana gets dragged away screaming, because she will fight for Gwen to the end. Which is why it makes no sense that Morgana didn't go with Merlin and Arthur. Although, with Morgana getting "kidnapped" two weeks in a row, I suppose Uther was probably extra protective of her. Sometimes I hate that this show does not fill in the blanks for Uther and Morgana, but I sort of don't hate it, because that gives the fandom so much leeway to play with their relationship.
Anyway, this is all we got in the way of Uther/Morgana, but I completely adored every second of it. We got desperately worried Uther, we got desperately relieved Uther rushing to embrace Morgana (unfortunately all they really did was hold hands. I guess we are not allowed to get a hug two episodes in a row), we got Morgana faithfully believing in Uther's love for her, we got Uther denying her what she needs due to circumstance, we got Morgana resenting Uther for (what she views as) his cowardice, we got Morgana glaring daggers at Uther and Uther not being able to take it, we got ARM TOUCHING, and just... it was wonderful. It basically epitomizes their entire relationship. They love each other deeply, but it's never enough for either one of them. Uther's love for Morgana isn't strong enough to put Camelot in danger in order to give her what she wants, and Morgana's love for Uther isn't strong enough to sacrifice what she wants/needs in order to see things from his viewpoint. Uther is far too practical, and Morgana is far too idealistic. Uther is always trying to hold onto Morgana, and Morgana always ends up breaking herself away from his grasp. As the show goes on, he will just be holding onto nothing, and it will kill him. She's damn near gone already, and he's just now realizing that he simply cannot live without her. Sadly, he totally fails at understanding the things that are most important to her. Gwen is her everything, and Uther just cannot even fathom the concept of a servant being anything more than a servant. The more Uther tries to hold onto Morgana, the more she is ready to leave him and never look back. It is all so very TRAGIC. I am hoping that, when the day comes, Morgana leaves Camelot of her own accord and leaves Uther heartbroken. I just... I just would not be able to bear it if Uther instantly decides he has to execute Morgana. I want her to leave him, I want him to know that she left him and was not kidnapped, I want him to be confused as to why she would leave him but sort of know in the back of his mind, I want him to be in denial for awhile, and then I want him to face Magical Morgana head on while she storms the castle or something and he can finally accept that, yes, she's a sorcerer, and it breaks his heart irreparably. THIS IS WHAT I WANT.
Oh oh! Back to the episode. So, the bit where Arthur admits his feelings for Gwen:
How can I admit that, I think about her all the time, or that I care about her more than anyone? How can I admit that I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her? Nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings, knowing that, hurts too much.
These are all things that Uther has said about Morgana at one point or another (for the most part) and I couldn't help but go, "Oh my god, this is so about Uther/Morgana." Even though, you know, it was Arthur, talking about Gwen. But, pffft, we all know that EVERYTHING goes back to Uther/Morgana.
Some closing thoughts that have nothing to do with Uther/Morgana:
1. Lancelot is dreamy. Like, really dreamy. Especially when he is being all heroic and stuff.
2. There were many moments in this episode that made me gawk and say, "OMG, I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FAMILY PROGRAMMING."
3. People fall in undying love on this show super quickly.
4. Jealous Arthur kind of breaks my heart, especially when, for once, he believes himself to be inferior. Oh, Arthur, you poor, poor fool.
5. I have no idea if I'm supposed to be rooting for Arthur/Gwen or Lancelot/Gwen. Is it possible to root for both? No? Well, I think I am more on the side of Arthur/Gwen simply because I want Arthur to be happy, but can Gwen truly love Arthur as much as he loves her? Hmm...
6. Arthur still has Merlin. This, my friends, is the moral of each and every episode. No matter what happens, no matter where Arthur goes or what he does or says, no matter who hurts or betrays Arthur, Merlin will be there by Arthur's side to let him know he's not alone. Gwen may be Arthur's greatest love, but Merlin is the one that keeps his heart together. Merlin is the one who matters most, always has and always will, no matter what a besotted Arthur might think.
ETA: