~ Merlin 3x06 ~

[dk323]

S3 | E6 ~ The Changeling

I really liked Elena and I'm glad that she was written sympathetically. It was nice that she left Camelot with a bright future ahead of her, now free of the Sidhe curse on her. I hope to see her return. I liked that she beat Arthur at horse racing -- mostly because it makes me lol when a girl beats Arthur at something. ;)

Merlin is definitely taking more of an initiative in S3, or at least, in this episode. Like getting in there and making Elena drink the potion when she wasn't drinking it fast enough. And we had badass!Merlin with the Sidhe staff to attack the pixie/Sidhe fairy. Except I don't know if I could have suspended disbelief when he was brandishing that staff in a corridor within the castle that really anyone could have come down -- Merlin could have easily been caught. I thought it was a bit ridiculous that no one would see him with a clearly magical weapon attacking an old woman... *resigned sigh* That's the show for you...

And awww at the "don't leave me again" line from Arthur -- he doesn't want Merlin to leave him. How cute. And Merlin's teasing about how he thought Arthur wanted a little alone time with Elena. LOL. Good one there.

The pillow fight in Arthur's chambers -- and Uther walking in on Arthur and Merlin...haha, awkward...I'm sorry that the pillow fight was cut short...it could have led to even more er...interesting things. *whistles*

I liked that Arthur asked Merlin to give him advice, and when Merlin did so, Arthur actually listened to what Merlin had to say and acted accordingly (calling off the wedding). I love that Arthur is continuing to show that he listens to Merlin's advice/words now and takes what he says to heart (i.e. the goblin episode where Merlin's accusation of Gaius being a goblin prompts Arthur to investigate further and not disregard Merlin's suspicions *hearts*).

The Arthur/Gwen scenes were all right... the teasing one at the end was cute. I have a distinct lack of enthusiasm for them though... though I do feel bad for Gwen when she looks all teary-eyed. Poor Gwen. :(

And Morgana reminds us that she's on Team Evil (like we needed the reminder) and she weeds information out of Gwen to get confirmation that she and Arthur like each other... and then Morgana proceeds to emphasize that 200 years of history can't be changed, that Gwen should stop getting her hopes up. This is why the S1 Merlin DVD set (yes, I still haven't bought it yet...or S2 even *hides*) is the only Merlin DVD set I'll consider buying. At least all of the OT4 (Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Morgana) are all reasonably likable in the first series.

~ Next Episode:
We meet Gwen's estranged brother, Elyan, and Morgana's information gathering on Arthur/Gwen results in trouble for both Arthur and Gwen. But yay -- Cendred returns! I kind of want him to win (unlikely, but still...) because he's kinda awesome. *nods*

And it looks like there is a tiny Merlin and Gwen scene based on the preview...it looks sweet. :) I always appreciate Merlin/Gwen friendship scenes where they show they care for each other. :) Considering those scenes have been lacking since S1, I take any moment I can get.

Comments

[oxymoronics.livejournal.com]

"The pillow fight in Arthur's chambers -- and Uther walking in on Arthur and Merlin...haha, awkward...I'm sorry that the pillow fight was cut short...it could have led to even more er...interesting things. *whistles*" Girl, you read my mind ;) I'm sure someone will write it.

Awesome review, as always :D
x

[dk323.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm glad we see eye-to-eye on the interrupted pillow fight. ;) I hope someone will write it. :)

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. :D

[oxymoronics.livejournal.com]

I found one that sort of hits the right note :D
http://community.livejournal.com/commenalitys/1466.html

I'm hoping for more soon! :D

[dk323.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. :) That was an awesome story. ♥ I hope there are plenty more too. *nods*

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

I loved that Arthur listened to Merlin's advice and even sought it out. Made me all warm and wanted to hug them both and pat them on their heads and tell them what good boys they are. :D

[dk323.livejournal.com]

Oh, I completely agree with you. :) It was definitely a lovely scene and made me smile. ♥

[superfluous-emi.livejournal.com]

I ended up really liking Elena---I'm glad it turned out the way it did. She looked so pretty all done up.

All the Merlin/Arthur stuff was so good this ep.

Sidenote: Yay Loreena McKennitt--I love her so much.

[dk323.livejournal.com]

I grew fond of Elena too. I'm glad that everyone seems to have liked her (big improvement over Lady Vivian). I would love to see her again. And yes, she looked very pretty done up for the wedding. :) I do hope Elena does find her Prince Charming one day -- she deserves a good one. ;)

I loved the Merlin/Arthur scenes in this ep...especially the "do not leave me again" from Arthur. Awww, Arthur can't be without Merlin. But of course Merlin wanted to be "polite" and let Arthur have some time alone with Elena. *giggles* Oh Merlin. And the destiny talk before the wedding was great too -- maybe even better than the destiny talk in 3x02. It's a close second.

I love Loreena McKennitt -- glad to see someone else who likes her on my FList. :) My favorite song by her is "The Mystic's Dream."

[superfluous-emi.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I'd love to see Elena again--preferably happily married. :D

*hearts* the destiny talk. I think that's one of my favorite M/A moments ever.

I love the song, "The Lady of Shallott". :)

[dk323.livejournal.com]

Yes, it would be a nice finale for Elena to see her happily married the next time she appears. :)

That destiny talk before the wedding will definitely be on my list of top 5 Merlin/Arthur scenes for S3. ♥

"The Lady of Shalott" is a good song. After seeing a really nice vid to her song, "The Highwayman", I'm quite fond of that song (though the song tells a tragic story :(). But Lady of Shalott is a nice tribute to that part of Arthurian legend. :)

[a8c-sock.livejournal.com]

I really liked Elena too. To the point where I wanted her and Arthur to get married. I do hope she comes back at some point.

Merlin being in charge was great but yes he was rather obvious carrying a magical staff about. Oh Merlin.

Arthur never wants Merlin to leave him ;-)

I would have liked to see more of that pillow fight.

It was great to see Arthur listening to Merlin. That was a really nice scene. I hope they keep that interaction up.

I too have little to no enthusiasm abotu A/G. The end scene was their best in the episode.

I wish I knew what Morgana's motivations were. I'm just not feeling it. Next week looks even worse.

Cendred is awesome.

I do enjoy the Merlin/Gwen friendship.

[dk323.livejournal.com]

Aw yes. Even if I knew it wouldn't happen, I kind of did want Arthur and Elena to get married. I'd prefer her for Arthur over Gwen at least, which feels a bit wrong to say since the writers have been trying (key word: trying) to sell Arthur/Gwen...I'm left with wanting Elena, who we've only seen in one episode, to be with Arthur. Doesn't speak well of the writers that I want Arthur with a one-off character versus Gwen after the writers have been doing their best to make Arthur/Gwen look good.

I loved in charge!Merlin, but yes... I was really surprised that he was just so casually carrying that staff around. And of course since most people in Camelot fail to see the obvious, no one noticed him wielding an obviously magical weapon. Oo

More reminders of clingy!Arthur are much appreciated. ;) And that pillow fight would have been epic, yes. Wish Uther hadn't interrupted it. :\

I hope so too that Arthur will continue to listen to Merlin throughout S3. It has become a nice trend so far in S3. :)

I liked the little bit of Arthur/Gwen in S1...but with how it has been developed, my interest in it has waned significantly. The writers really shot themselves in the foot by rushing the development of their relationship. :( The teasing in the end scene was nice. Although I read a comment that it looked like Merlin was a bit annoyed when he left Arthur and Gwen so they could have their chat. While it has been shown that Merlin supports Arthur/Gwen, maybe now Merlin is not shipping it as strongly as before? It probably doesn't mean anything (slash goggles seeing things again, quite possibly ;)).

I'm really disliking this evil!Morgana who will most likely prove next week that the old!Morgana is completely gone. I just wish she would still care for someone back in Camelot (Merlin and Uther are definitely out, but there's still Arthur and Gwen) because that'll give her a grey area. Are we really supposed to think that Morgause brainwashed Morgana so well during that year away that any hints of the old!Morgana have been eradicated? That's just sad. It'll only work if we find out she's possessed by some evil spirit.

I'm looking forward to seeing Cendred again. Yay. ♥

I'm always glad to see Merlin and Gwen interact and have their friendship highlighted. Especially since that seems so rare nowadays. My favorite is when they play detective agency. *love* :D

[a8c-sock.livejournal.com]

Doesn't speak well of the writers that I want Arthur with a one-off character versus Gwen after the writers have been doing their best to make Arthur/Gwen look good.

True but I totally agree. I thought Elena and Arthur would have worked as an arranged marriage. The fact I was rooting for them and not once have I rooted for A/G speaks volumes. I mean Elena was in one episode, her interaction with Arthur onscreen can be counted in minutes and yet she and Arthur worked in a way A/G hasn't. It's poor reflection on the writing if the big epic love story of two regular characters they are trying to sell was outdone by an arranged marriage one episode storyline.

And fandom seems to love Elena too which must be a first. There's been a surge of Arthur/Elena interest (even just as friends) which is a huge impact for a one episode character. Especially a female one.

And of course since most people in Camelot fail to see the obvious, no one noticed him wielding an obviously magical weapon. Oo

I swear Camelot is actually enchanted so no-one notices magic. Myabe Merlin went back in time to change things after the witchfinder incident.

More reminders of clingy!Arthur are much appreciated. ;) And that pillow fight would have been epic, yes. Wish Uther hadn't interrupted it. :\

Indeed they are. Always. I am sure they ended up having a pillow fight later when Merlin returned it ;-)

The writers really shot themselves in the foot by rushing the development of their relationship. :(

I'm exactly the same as you. I liked the bit on S1 but then it all became rather rushed and messy. I doubt I'll ever have much interest in it alas. No matter ehat they do now I'll never be able to get over how badly it was done in S2.

it looked like Merlin was a bit annoyed when he left Arthur and Gwen so they could have their chat.

It did look lie that to me. Obviously Mlerin wanted his alone time with Arthur. Or perhaps he ships Arthur/Elena now? It is interesting.

I'm really disliking this evil!Morgana who will most likely prove next week that the old!Morgana is completely gone.

Once again we agree. I just feel we've totally lost her motives along the way. I get she's evil but I'm still not sure why. And why does she suddenly hate Gwen so much when she has not wronged her at all? And neither has Arthur. Someone made a comment that it seems as if she suddenly doesn't care about anyone who is not magical and that's sort of how it is feeling. But I don't get why. I can't see Morgause being that good at brainwashing. I would love for there to be another explaination but with this writing...

I'm looking forward to seeing Cendred again. Yay. ♥

Yes. I think that's the main reason I shall be watching this week. The plot does not interest me.

I'm always glad to see Merlin and Gwen interact and have their friendship highlighted.

It's such a lovely realtionship. A real nice friendship and they work well together.