Entry tags:
~ Merlin 3x02 ~
After watching this episode, I kind of felt like that I hadn't seen anything all that great. Maybe I'm just in a weird mood about the show...but it's most likely that I was spoiled for what would happen and nothing really changed by the episode's end (Uther continues to be blind to Morgana's deception and there's more fuel for the "OMG, Merlin and Morgana would totally have angry!hate sex and it would be EPIC...oh, and the epic magical battle too *nods*... I, uh, meant to say that first...yes..." *whistles*).
And next week's episode will be a comedy episode/aka filler... (though I admit I LOLed at the preview scene where Merlin's all, "That's not Gaius. He's been possessed by a [beat] goblin"... Merlin's totally thinking, "I can not BELIEVE I'm saying this in front of others. Everyone's going to think I'm crazy now. OMG.")
The Merlin/Arthur scenes were all right this week...better than last week's at least. I guess since I know the writers are all FAILY on the magic reveal (at least Merlin revealing it to Arthur), then I might as well (sadly :() resign myself to scenes where Arthur ends it off with an insult... idiot/prat may mean "I love you" in Merlin/Arthur speak...but ergh, I don't deny that I'm increasingly bothered by Arthur NOT knowing about Merlin's magic. I could take Arthur calling Merlin an idiot, whatever, if he had full knowledge of Merlin's magic, accepts it, and THEN I'll be cool with the insults...
But as I said, the writers won't have the magic reveal happen in S3 (I'd be highly surprised if it does happen), so I'll just deal with Arthur's insults and continuing to have little clue about all that Merlin does to protect him. Though in the previous episode, Arthur did look suspicious at being saved and not knowing who helped him...and then he looked in Merlin's direction... I wonder if that scene in 3x01 was meant as a hint to the audience that Arthur's finally really bothering to figure out the cause of these strange occurrences that save his life. Maybe, maybe the writers don't fail as much as I first thought. We will see...
Though Bradley James did say in that recent interview with GeekSyndicate...that Arthur *will* be knocked unconscious a lot during S3 (at least there's no shortage of those scenes) and I'm guessing a main reason for that is to prevent him seeing Merlin's magic saving the day. *sigh*
I thought at first that the candlit scene...where Merlin's motivating Arthur and telling him that he will win this and he'll be a great King... I admit I didn't think much of that scene at first. I swear I thought it was a shoddy line delivery on Colin Morgan's part...the lines just sounded forced? It didn't sound like Merlin...BUT, BUT... I did go back and rewatch the scene and I changed my opinion for the better on it. First impression fail, maybe. Upon rewatch, I am quite fond of the scene (we could cut it off before Arthur's all, "Oh, don't look so pleased. The rest of the time you're a complete idiot" at Merlin...taking that out works for me, it's not necessary *nods*). I guess you could leave it to Merlin being in "Arthur is my Destiny" mode, so he was being all solemn about it. The Dragon has totally been rubbing off on Merlin. ;)
The Arthur/Gwen scene was there...I thought Merlin's encouraging words worked much better than hers... considering the placement -- Merlin gave his speech to Arthur after Gwen's talk with Arthur...and after Merlin spoke to him, that's when Arthur decided to go out there and kick some ass. You know, the writers could have had Gwen talk to Arthur right before the battle (versus Merlin doing so), so to leave an impression that *she* spurred him to be confident in his abilities and fight well as a result.
But the writers didn't do that because on this show, slash always wins the coin toss. Well, except sometimes the writers feel a little guilty and insert an obligatory Arthur/Gwen scene or two into an episode...AND if the writers are feeling especially guilty, they make an Arthur/Gwen-focused episode (doesn't seem to happen too much though, does it?).
All joking aside, I like that the writers are making Arthur/Gwen more of a slow build now...which IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN in S2, honestly. *eye rolls* It creates some interesting tension...well, er...interesting to other people because I'm in the Lancelot/Gwen camp (I WOULD DIE FOR YOU A HUNDRED TIMES OVER...I AM WEAK, I FELL FOR IT. Gwen did too :P)... and I'm going to distract myself with the awesomeness of Lancelot/Gawain or Gwaine (however you spell it, he looked goooood, so it doesn't matter) slash. I know there's Leon...but Lancelot/Gwaine seems like a brilliant idea to me. Knight slash FTW. I'm looking forward to the Gwaine episode. :) Lancelot and Gwaine probably won't share a scene, but that won't deter me...:P Photoshop manips, anyone? ;)
I did like that "domestic" scene between Arthur and Merlin in Arthur's room... that whole conversation was hilarious. That's some loving banter there. And ARTHUR WILL HAVE MERLIN FOR BREAKFAST.
Sounds appetizing. *whistles*
Also, Arthur mentions Merlin's backside at the end of the episode (Really, Arthur, your Merlin dependency is endearing, but give him a little break, would you? ;)).
That's the SECOND mention of Merlin's backside/bottom from Arthur. Remember 3x01, "Is your little bottom sore?"
...on a silver platter, everyone. Silver platter. IDEK, anymore. Arthur, it's getting obvious that you're checking out Merlin's er...backside with greater frequency. :P I believe Merlin was checking out Arthur during the sword fighting practice scene in 3x01...so the two of them are shameless in regards to backside/bottom admiring... (potential for analysis to be done about this? A pie chart maybe :P "how many times does Merlin check out Arthur -- compare: S1/S2/S3?...and vice versa for Arthur?")
MORGANA IS EVIL, in case you didn't know already. She doesn't even care about all the women and children dying because of her actions. *sad face* I suppose that it's a smart decision NOW on Merlin's part not to tell Morgana about his magic...because she hates his guts and she would definitely go to Uther and tell him about Merlin having magic and then Merlin would be a goner. :(
Love that Merlin got a ride on the Dragon (loved his cheeky smile over how he didn't plan to walk back). It was nice to see Merlin so happy, cheerful for once after all the crap he's been through in the second half of S2. :(
And the Dragon's "She is the darkness to your light, the hatred to your love" to Merlin about Morgana... was laying it on a bit thick. But aww, Merlin is all about love (loving Arthur, that is ;)). But the Dragon had a point about Merlin's striving to see the goodness in people would be his undoing (what led to Morgana's turn). Good point there.
The Dragon can't resist a Dragonlord? Kinda sounded dirty...but I think it was supposed to be more sweet...anyway, oh look...Arthur PenDRAGON. Does the Dragon find Arthur irresistible too? *winks* What am I saying? This is the SLASH Dragon after all. :P
Also, cheers for slow-mo Leon being all awesome and kicking ass. It's nice that there's a knight in the spotlight now. :)
ETA: I can't believe I didn't mention this here...but it was er, interesting...that Gaius assumed that Merlin was with Arthur when he didn't come home the previous night. So...apparently Merlin makes a habit of spending the night with Arthur then? Well, there is that antechamber he could sleep in...and servants do sometimes sleep in their master's rooms if they are told to do so (if their services might be required during the night *cough* *cough*). But I like the slashy reason better. :P LOL.
And next week's episode will be a comedy episode/aka filler... (though I admit I LOLed at the preview scene where Merlin's all, "That's not Gaius. He's been possessed by a [beat] goblin"... Merlin's totally thinking, "I can not BELIEVE I'm saying this in front of others. Everyone's going to think I'm crazy now. OMG.")
The Merlin/Arthur scenes were all right this week...better than last week's at least. I guess since I know the writers are all FAILY on the magic reveal (at least Merlin revealing it to Arthur), then I might as well (sadly :() resign myself to scenes where Arthur ends it off with an insult... idiot/prat may mean "I love you" in Merlin/Arthur speak...but ergh, I don't deny that I'm increasingly bothered by Arthur NOT knowing about Merlin's magic. I could take Arthur calling Merlin an idiot, whatever, if he had full knowledge of Merlin's magic, accepts it, and THEN I'll be cool with the insults...
But as I said, the writers won't have the magic reveal happen in S3 (I'd be highly surprised if it does happen), so I'll just deal with Arthur's insults and continuing to have little clue about all that Merlin does to protect him. Though in the previous episode, Arthur did look suspicious at being saved and not knowing who helped him...and then he looked in Merlin's direction... I wonder if that scene in 3x01 was meant as a hint to the audience that Arthur's finally really bothering to figure out the cause of these strange occurrences that save his life. Maybe, maybe the writers don't fail as much as I first thought. We will see...
Though Bradley James did say in that recent interview with GeekSyndicate...that Arthur *will* be knocked unconscious a lot during S3 (at least there's no shortage of those scenes) and I'm guessing a main reason for that is to prevent him seeing Merlin's magic saving the day. *sigh*
I thought at first that the candlit scene...where Merlin's motivating Arthur and telling him that he will win this and he'll be a great King... I admit I didn't think much of that scene at first. I swear I thought it was a shoddy line delivery on Colin Morgan's part...the lines just sounded forced? It didn't sound like Merlin...BUT, BUT... I did go back and rewatch the scene and I changed my opinion for the better on it. First impression fail, maybe. Upon rewatch, I am quite fond of the scene (we could cut it off before Arthur's all, "Oh, don't look so pleased. The rest of the time you're a complete idiot" at Merlin...taking that out works for me, it's not necessary *nods*). I guess you could leave it to Merlin being in "Arthur is my Destiny" mode, so he was being all solemn about it. The Dragon has totally been rubbing off on Merlin. ;)
The Arthur/Gwen scene was there...I thought Merlin's encouraging words worked much better than hers... considering the placement -- Merlin gave his speech to Arthur after Gwen's talk with Arthur...and after Merlin spoke to him, that's when Arthur decided to go out there and kick some ass. You know, the writers could have had Gwen talk to Arthur right before the battle (versus Merlin doing so), so to leave an impression that *she* spurred him to be confident in his abilities and fight well as a result.
But the writers didn't do that because on this show, slash always wins the coin toss. Well, except sometimes the writers feel a little guilty and insert an obligatory Arthur/Gwen scene or two into an episode...AND if the writers are feeling especially guilty, they make an Arthur/Gwen-focused episode (doesn't seem to happen too much though, does it?).
All joking aside, I like that the writers are making Arthur/Gwen more of a slow build now...which IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN in S2, honestly. *eye rolls* It creates some interesting tension...well, er...interesting to other people because I'm in the Lancelot/Gwen camp (I WOULD DIE FOR YOU A HUNDRED TIMES OVER...I AM WEAK, I FELL FOR IT. Gwen did too :P)... and I'm going to distract myself with the awesomeness of Lancelot/Gawain or Gwaine (however you spell it, he looked goooood, so it doesn't matter) slash. I know there's Leon...but Lancelot/Gwaine seems like a brilliant idea to me. Knight slash FTW. I'm looking forward to the Gwaine episode. :) Lancelot and Gwaine probably won't share a scene, but that won't deter me...:P Photoshop manips, anyone? ;)
I did like that "domestic" scene between Arthur and Merlin in Arthur's room... that whole conversation was hilarious. That's some loving banter there. And ARTHUR WILL HAVE MERLIN FOR BREAKFAST.
Sounds appetizing. *whistles*
Also, Arthur mentions Merlin's backside at the end of the episode (Really, Arthur, your Merlin dependency is endearing, but give him a little break, would you? ;)).
That's the SECOND mention of Merlin's backside/bottom from Arthur. Remember 3x01, "Is your little bottom sore?"
...on a silver platter, everyone. Silver platter. IDEK, anymore. Arthur, it's getting obvious that you're checking out Merlin's er...backside with greater frequency. :P I believe Merlin was checking out Arthur during the sword fighting practice scene in 3x01...so the two of them are shameless in regards to backside/bottom admiring... (potential for analysis to be done about this? A pie chart maybe :P "how many times does Merlin check out Arthur -- compare: S1/S2/S3?...and vice versa for Arthur?")
MORGANA IS EVIL, in case you didn't know already. She doesn't even care about all the women and children dying because of her actions. *sad face* I suppose that it's a smart decision NOW on Merlin's part not to tell Morgana about his magic...because she hates his guts and she would definitely go to Uther and tell him about Merlin having magic and then Merlin would be a goner. :(
Love that Merlin got a ride on the Dragon (loved his cheeky smile over how he didn't plan to walk back). It was nice to see Merlin so happy, cheerful for once after all the crap he's been through in the second half of S2. :(
And the Dragon's "She is the darkness to your light, the hatred to your love" to Merlin about Morgana... was laying it on a bit thick. But aww, Merlin is all about love (loving Arthur, that is ;)). But the Dragon had a point about Merlin's striving to see the goodness in people would be his undoing (what led to Morgana's turn). Good point there.
The Dragon can't resist a Dragonlord? Kinda sounded dirty...but I think it was supposed to be more sweet...anyway, oh look...Arthur PenDRAGON. Does the Dragon find Arthur irresistible too? *winks* What am I saying? This is the SLASH Dragon after all. :P
Also, cheers for slow-mo Leon being all awesome and kicking ass. It's nice that there's a knight in the spotlight now. :)
ETA: I can't believe I didn't mention this here...but it was er, interesting...that Gaius assumed that Merlin was with Arthur when he didn't come home the previous night. So...apparently Merlin makes a habit of spending the night with Arthur then? Well, there is that antechamber he could sleep in...and servants do sometimes sleep in their master's rooms if they are told to do so (if their services might be required during the night *cough* *cough*). But I like the slashy reason better. :P LOL.
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I was pretty happy with this episode, even with spoilers, but I tend to be upbeat anyway.
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Looking back on the episode now, I'm okay with it. I'm not in love with it, but the Merlin/Arthur moments were nice...and gave further evidence that Arthur has a growing Merlin-dependency. ;) Always a good thing to have some more material to work with. :) And I'm also glad that Morgana will have more of a role in S3...though I hope they develop her character more because she's not really a layered villain at the moment. And Morgause is definitely manipulating her. :(
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I agree that the Gwen/Arthur moment was done just right. Not too much. I agree season two should have build the relationship like this. I hope season three continues on this front with this pairing.
And Morgana...I liked her more in this episode then episode one. The lame evil grins felt less lame. Also she had that one moment that look like indecision (though it could have been fear about her abilitys) which I liked. I hated the line "women and children are dying! Good!" Why good? Why does she not care about anyone more? I'd like one or two scenes where she had feels bad about hurting people but deciding it must be done to win the war. I want something about Gwen. Why doesn't she care about her? Has her feelings just turned off for old friends? For Arthur? Even a tiny bit? I'd like to see these feeling now and then have them go away over the season as she becomes more evil. This blank year of now she's completely evil just doesn't do it for me. I like to be shown this kind of stuff. It's rather cheap and lazy to do it all off screen don't you think?
Leon rocks btw!
I like the Dragon more now he's free. I think he likes Merlin more now he's free too. He seemed like he did want to help him instead of just being forced to help him like before.
I liked the few moments of humor like Merlin getting Arthur food for months. I still don't get why Merlin wasn't dressed for battle? I think he should have been. Not just saving that because I think Colin looks hot like that.
Morgana's hair and dresses are getting more beautiful with each episode. Evil is clearly a good look for her. I wish I knew how to do her hair styles.
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Yes, the slow build of Arthur/Gwen is welcome after how the relationship was all "in your face" and rushed in S3. I think the writers have rethought how to develop that relationship in S3...a more gradual development is better in this case.
I hated the line "women and children are dying! Good!" Why good? Why does she not care about anyone more?
Oh, I completely agree! Her answer to that line bothered me greatly. There was no back up to support why in the world Morgana would be okay with women and children being killed as a result of her actions. Just because she hates Uther isn't a legit reason for being happy about vulnerable, defenseless people dying. :\ The writers didn't think through her answer there... I don't like how they tried making her pure evil here versus putting her in a grey area where you could still see some of the old Morgana shine through.
I agree about how not showing the audience the missing year is a detriment to Morgana's character -- she seems more cartoonish evil now because it's hard to match her up with the Morgana of the past who cared a lot about others (she worried about Arthur's safety, she treated Gwen like a good friend of hers). Morgause must have really brainwashed her within that year to make Morgana who she is now. Poor Morgana -- I do think she's insecure and her magic still being weak (a bit unbelievable since surely, over the space of a year, she would have developed her powers under Morgause's tutelage) doesn't help matters. And yes, it is cheap and lazy to keep that missing year off screen and the audience is denied seeing Morgana's character growth during that year. :(
I like the Dragon more too...he's able to do things more freely now because he has his freedom. He doesn't have a hidden motive anymore to use against Merlin (I'll give you the answers if you promise to release me), which is nice.
Yes, that is a little weird that Merlin wasn't dressed for battle. The one time he was was in 1x10 when they were in Ealdor. I wonder if he'll ever be properly dressed for battle in S3...then again, Merlin probably doesn't worry about that too much because he has his secret magic skills... A change in outfit though is always appreciated though. :)
Yes, evil does appear to suit Morgana rather well. ;) Her hair and different dresses = love. :D
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They really should have started the season off with Morgana in a some kind of a gray area. I mean there is no way the old Morgana would be happy about woman and children being hurt and killed. Why?! It just doesn't work at all.
Brainwashed...bewitched...enchanted... the change has that unreal feel to it because as you say it's a cartoonish evil. Lame evil grins, no feelings towards her love ones and not one drop of compassion left with in her. Morgana from S1/S2 had huge heart and was driven by strong passions. I can easily see that she would become 100% committed to destroy evil Uther cause over a year's time but I can't see her looking her heart. I need to see that happen to her.
I don't really love Merlin's outfit so any change is always good IMO lol. If only he's lose the kerchief.
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Poor Merlin trying to persuade people Gaius is possessed by a goblin.
I'm getting increasingly depressed by the lack of a magical reveal. I'm just not feeling a huge amount of devleopment on the Merlin and Arthur relationship front. Looking at spoilers there's a lto that's goign to be developed this season but it seems as if Arthur and Merlin are going ot be stuck calling each other names and having Arhur be titally oblivious to Merlin.
While the candlelit scene remindd me of tThe Last Dragonlord on a rewatch that idiot line bothered me more. Because in 2x13 Arthur didn't say anything like that. The scene was entirely emotional. Sure there was the joking abotu the armour but there was no inult no - you're a wimp/coward comment. I adored that scene in 2x13 and am sad to admit that on a rewatch the candlelit scene just doesn't quite compare or match up to it. It doesn't help it;s the sole serious Merlin/Arthur scene in the entire two parter. Whixh makes no sense given Camelot is at war/under seige. All the other characters primary interactions are of a serious nature but not Merlin and Arthur.
I am glad at least it was Merlin's words that spurred Arthur on. If Mlerin is goign to be this great advisor to the king it's about time we saw of that.
I'm saying nothing about A/G and speed having seen spoilers i wish I hadn't.
But knight slash is the way foward *nods*. I am looking foward to Gawaine. However you spell it.
Arthur really is very Merlin dependent. Bless. And he has a preoccupation with his backside.
The dragon is always laying it on thick and cryptic. I don't think he speaks English. ;-)
I really really really want to write a fic that deals with the whole Merlin is a Dragonlord and Arthur is a PenDRAGON thing. Except I want it to be good and long and I don't have the confidence to do it although I have plenty of ideas.
<3 for Leon.
Gaius's comments made me go - is he really saying what I think he is saying? Hee.
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I agree with you on the lack of magic reveal...it's making me sad and frustrated too at the lack of it. And yes, you're right -- there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of development for Merlin/Arthur...they have emotional scenes, true, and Arthur is growing quite close to Merlin (going by 2x13); but still they have a lot of comedic scenes...and right now in S3 (still early in the season, but still...), there are too many funny, light scenes between them. I mean, their serious scenes will lack a weight to them, right? Without the magic reveal driving the emotional scenes...we're left with Merlin saying something meaningful to Arthur (with him knowing all about the destiny that links him and Arthur) while Arthur doesn't have a clue about why he feels attached to Merlin. *sad sigh*
I do prefer the 2x13 scene. :)
Yes, I agree -- it was really nice that it was Merlin's words shown to spur Arthur into action. Love the signs of Merlin's future advisor role. :)
I saw those A/G spoilers I believe you're referring to. It's those images, right? I'm thinking that they may be a part of a "What if" scenario... My theory is Morgana and Morgause manage to take over Camelot while Merlin is tied up somewhere (Morgana and Morgause totally PWNing him...Merlin's left grumbling all alone in the Crystal Caves, perhaps). And so, all this stuff happens that includes Arthur/Gwen. Or it could be a simple flashforward (are the producers worried about the show not getting renewed? Who knows...).
Yes, knight slash is the best way to go! ;) I saw it spelled Gwaine for how the show is planning to spell it. Though I prefer Gawain. Leave it to the show to use an odd spelling for the name.
Oh yes, Arthur is undeniably Merlin dependent. It appears that during the year we weren't privy to, Arthur has been growing more and more dependent on Merlin (though he would deny it to anyone who asks ;)).
Haha, yeah...the Dragon is far too fond of cryptic words.
Yes, that whole Dragonlord + Pendragon connection would be a cool thing to explore in fic. Hopefully someone will write it. :)
Leon is the knight of the hour. :D
OMG yes...oh, Gaius...did you just say that? So he just confirmed that Merlin makes a habit of spending the night with Arthur. *dons thoughtful look* Very intriguing... ;)
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It's making me sad and frustrated too. There could be so much more to it than what we see. The lighter moments are so far clearly outweighing the serious ones. Like you say the serioous moments are undercut by the fact Merlin is saying al these things about destiny nad the future and protecting Arthur and Arthur doesn't have a clue. It would be really nice to see Arthur come to terms with this great destiny but perhaps need the boot of Merlin's faith in it. There's a whole new dynamic waiting to be explored in terms of the magic reveal.
If this year is meant to grow up a bit and become darker it is only fair that the Merlin/Arthur relationship gets some of that too.
The scene in 2x123 remains a favourite.
I want more future advisor Merlin moments.
Those are the ones. ALthough they are out of context and we don't know what episode or what context. There are definete hints of a Morgana and Morgause takeover at some point nad the crystal cave would provide an opportunity for Merlin to experience a flashfoward. I guess we'll see nearer the time.
I hope they are not worried about renewal although next year could be interesting with Doctor Who being split and half airing in autumn, It might give the Merlin producers longer to work on the showwhich given their tendency for last minute script re-writes at the end of a season might not be a bad thing.
Knight slash is something i am looking foward. I prefer Gawain as well. This show seems to use some odd spellings with names for some reason.
Hee hee yes. Arthur needs Merlin. I do wonder what the two of them got up to during the year we didn't see.
He is indeed.
I have a few ideas I;m gradually forming inot something. We'll see if they go anywhere.
He really is. I don't care that there wasn't technically a Sir Leon in Arthurian legend this one has earned his place.
He did indeed. I could hardly believe it. Hee.