a post about Merlin that does not engage in any depth analysis whatsoever
Merlin is as lovely as everyone said, by the way. I've watched 6 episodes now; it's the perfect balm for the lethargy I'm experiencing post-semester, pre-serious-exam-study. It's kind of like Arthurian legend retold with a cast of puppies--they are all so cute and enthusiastic. I love how totally shameless they are in the nods to Merlin's Special Destiny, and I do find a certain reminiscence of the Merlin-Arthur relationship from the first volume of Once and Future King in Gaius's relationship with Merlin.
I do find myself yelling NO GAIUS YOU CANNOT HAS SCIENTIFIC METHOD rather a lot. I don't know why that bothers me when the rest of the disregard for historical/mythical accuracy is actually quite appealing, but there you go.
Regarding the fabulously excessive slashiness of Merlin/Arthur and Gwen/Morgana, as well as the very slightly irritating Arthur/Morgana and rather beautiful awkwardness of Gwen/Merlin (Morgana/Morgaine/Morgan le Fay is always my favourite character in Arthurian legend, but I like Gwen best in Merlin so far--and I usually find Guinevere intensely annoying. I think because she takes up a marginal position more like Morgan does than the queenly one she usually holds.* My opinion may change if and when Morgana gets witchy, though), I have a theory.
For those of you who are familiar with Ursula Le Guin's many wonderful works, do you remember her stories "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea," "Unchosen Love," and "Mountain Ways"? They're set in a world where the normative family form is the "sedoretu": a four-person committed partnership featuring two men and two women, where the men and the women form into two homosexual and two heterosexual couple formations simultaneously. I have decided that the ideal state of affairs would be for Merlin, Gwen, Morgana and Arthur to be the First Sedoretu of Albion. I mean, they basically already are. Although in Le Guin's version there is one couple who don't have sex in the relationship, and clearly that would not be very likely in the Merlin/Arthur/Gwen/Morgana sedoretu. *thinks happily of all the incesty and ritual sex in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon*
(My actual official favourite show right now is Sarah Connor Chronicles, and I even have plans afoot to vid it if I ever get off my metaphorical ass, but I can't seem to muster up the intensity of thought required to write anything about its complex awesomeness. Merlin is nice and simple and I don't feel the need to go deep.)
*There is, of course, a lot to say about casting politics, race, and that particular decision.
I do find myself yelling NO GAIUS YOU CANNOT HAS SCIENTIFIC METHOD rather a lot. I don't know why that bothers me when the rest of the disregard for historical/mythical accuracy is actually quite appealing, but there you go.
Regarding the fabulously excessive slashiness of Merlin/Arthur and Gwen/Morgana, as well as the very slightly irritating Arthur/Morgana and rather beautiful awkwardness of Gwen/Merlin (Morgana/Morgaine/Morgan le Fay is always my favourite character in Arthurian legend, but I like Gwen best in Merlin so far--and I usually find Guinevere intensely annoying. I think because she takes up a marginal position more like Morgan does than the queenly one she usually holds.* My opinion may change if and when Morgana gets witchy, though), I have a theory.
For those of you who are familiar with Ursula Le Guin's many wonderful works, do you remember her stories "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea," "Unchosen Love," and "Mountain Ways"? They're set in a world where the normative family form is the "sedoretu": a four-person committed partnership featuring two men and two women, where the men and the women form into two homosexual and two heterosexual couple formations simultaneously. I have decided that the ideal state of affairs would be for Merlin, Gwen, Morgana and Arthur to be the First Sedoretu of Albion. I mean, they basically already are. Although in Le Guin's version there is one couple who don't have sex in the relationship, and clearly that would not be very likely in the Merlin/Arthur/Gwen/Morgana sedoretu. *thinks happily of all the incesty and ritual sex in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon*
(My actual official favourite show right now is Sarah Connor Chronicles, and I even have plans afoot to vid it if I ever get off my metaphorical ass, but I can't seem to muster up the intensity of thought required to write anything about its complex awesomeness. Merlin is nice and simple and I don't feel the need to go deep.)
*There is, of course, a lot to say about casting politics, race, and that particular decision.