dk323 | ~ Merlin 4x07 ~ The Secret Sharer

I loved the twist that Alator decided not to reveal Emrys' true identity to Morgana. I sort figured it would go that route when Gaius started talking about all the good Emrys aka Merlin would do for Albion. Luckily that was enough for Alator to keep Merlin's secret because he wanted to insure Merlin lived long enough to fulfill his destiny of a magic-accepting world. After all, Alator said he was sick of being persecuted for his magic, so of course he's going to offer his services to the one who could hopefully make his life easier. All Morgana gave him was a bracelet after all. :p

I'm glad that Alator was more reasonable than Morgana could ever be now. (I do admit I get willingly distracted by her prettiness and I just let her evilness go over my head...IDEK. *my shallow side can't resist :p*).

The scene after Gaius had been abducted and Arthur & Agravaine were discussing Gaius running away...and Merlin standing there taking it all in. It was all just so emotionally charged at least from Merlin's perspective. You could just see how tense he was...particularly during the bit where Arthur's going on about Gaius being a trusted servant for years, so how could he deceive Arthur now? And as that is said, the camera pans to Merlin's reaction -- you can imagine Merlin's thinking that he has been a trusted servant too for years...and how would Arthur take Merlin's betrayal?

And sadly, when Merlin tries to tell Arthur that Agravaine is making the story up -- of course Arthur doesn't believe him because Agravaine is his uncle and for some vague reason, Arthur trusts him. But nevermind, let's not question Arthur's faulty reasoning for trusting the uncle we've heard nothing of until S4. Oh show. *shakes head in resignation*

And now Gaius and Merlin have decided that the only thing they could really do in proving Agravaine's traitorous actions is providing Arthur with undeniable evidence. Hopefully that'll work out...

Arthur didn't want to lose Merlin as a friend too. Awww. *pets* Seriously, is the eventual magical reveal going to break my heart or what? Arthur will be such a sad, betrayed puppy when it happens. :(

I enjoyed the little Merlin & Gwen scene in this episode. One of the few times this season where I've liked Gwen and didn't want her to go away. It was nice that she agreed with Merlin about Agravaine being suspect, but that unfortunately, since Agravaine was Arthur's uncle, it certainly wouldn't be easy to sway Arthur's opinion against Agravaine. Anyway it was a good bit of support from Gwen toward Merlin.

♥ Gwaine kind of reminded me of a sad, rejected puppy when he was just sitting there when Merlin came in. Merlin had every right to be frustrated and preoccupied at the time, so it's understandable why he sort of pushed Gwaine away. Fortunately Gwaine was able to help out Merlin, which definitely made me smile. :) Mostly because I couldn't take sad faced!Gwaine anymore. He had only wanted to be a friend to Merlin and support him with Gaius gone under questionable circumstances.

I love that Gwaine and Merlin got to go questing together. Awww. *grins* And Agravaine thinks Gwaine is a hothead. Whatever you want to call him, Agravaine, he'll kick your ass with a sword. :p I love that Gwaine was suitably suspicious of Agravaine having a dagger on Gaius and that he didn't buy the checking that Gaius was breathing bit, that he had to ask how Agravaine knew where to go to find Gaius... unfortunately, Agravaine had a decent reason/convincing lie for that. Cheers for wary!Gwaine. I like smart knights. :)

Gaius finally told Arthur that the sorcerer hadn't killed his father, that he had been trying to save him, but unfortunately his father was already dying and there was nothing the sorcerer could do to save him. I do like that Arthur found that out finally even if he still isn't getting the full story. But Gaius' words carry with Arthur, so hopefully once the shit hits the fan and he discovers Dragoon's real identity, Arthur would accept the truth a little more easily...

THE LOLS

This was the preview scene before the episode aired, but oh, the Merlin/Arthur domestic moment still makes me giggle. Like Merlin stuffing Arthur's mouth with the bread and Arthur falling out of bed. OMG. And the loooong speech on polishing (take that, Arthur, for putting Merlin through George's lesson on polishing :p).

Next Episode:

The next episode looks interesting. Mind control, Merlin's an enemy of a girl who is a bit unstable, I think...

~ * ~

In other news, I finished my merlin_holidays fic and I sent it to be beta-ed. I may not have to ask for an extension this year. I'll be editing it on Monday. Fun times. I looked at my word count for my last year's merlin_holidays fic and I feel kind of bad for asking for an extension for that fic when it didn't turn out to be that long. This year's fic is longer and I'm pretty happy with it. :)

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I really enjoyed this episode. Loved the domestic stuff but Agravaine really stood out for me as this slimy manipulative man who is really good with coming up with reasonable explanations.

I enjoyed the episode too. :) That domestic scene between Merlin & Arthur was gold. Such great M/A moments this season. :D

Yes I agree -- Agravaine can be a pain, but he does come up with reasonable explanations (unfortunately for Merlin & Gaius who want to get rid of him :().

Yeah, I liked that Alator wasn't vengeful or power hungry over magic folk's persecution. He has to know that Merlin is in cahoots with Arthur and chose to put his faith in Merlin trying to build something, than Morgana trying to knock something down.

In the Merlin/Agravaine/Arthur scene, Merlin was deathly quiet. He didn't speak up until after Agravaine had left, and even then he couldn't properly articulate his arguement. There was so much guilt and fear on his shoulders there.

The eventual reveal is going to absolutly going to break our hearts. It's not going to be the pure shouty 'off with his head' reaction to magic and betrayal that Uther has, because Arthur is an entirely different creature altogether. It's going to be a complete mish mash of emotion. There will, I'm sure be some shouting and anger, but also a lot of the reaction in this episode. Arthur very much internalises his feelings and so it's going to be angst galore. the angst fiend in me really can't wait.

I think Gaius' to Arthur words in the end are going to help soften the reveal blow once we get there. It's going to add another emotion to it, because deep down Arthur will realise the loyalty.

They better give me a decent reveal. The season's gone so well, don't start fluffing about now, show! I want my reveal!

I like that Alator was reasonable in that sense and decided his best bet would be to side with Merlin. Too bad that Morgana's too far gone to do anything like that.

My heart broke for Merlin then. :( Yes, you could definitely feel the guilt and fear Merlin was dealing with during that scene.

Oh yes -- I agree that it'll be angst galore. I like some angst too. Though I always like to have an ultimately happy ending after the angst. But Arthur will definitely feel hurt at the betrayal... I keep thinking that he'd allow Merlin to just go into exile. After all, with the Gaius matter, Arthur just said to let him run. He didn't do the Uther thing of going after him. It sort of gave me hope. Though with Merlin, it'll be a different can of beans. That betrayal will hurt more, I think.

Yes I think it'll soften the blow too. I'm glad that Gaius brought it up because of that. I'm sure Arthur will take Merlin's loyalty very much into consideration. That should help for Merlin's sake.

I hope for a decent reveal too. I agree that this season is going so well that I'd hate it if the actual reveal doesn't hold up to the standard of S4 thus far.

Morgana is too far gone now. She show's glimmers of guilt and regret, but it's like she's been so poisoned, that it's impossible for any more of that to come through.

Yeahh, I think it will be a happy ending after the initial angst of the reveal. Even though, like you said, the betrayal will hurt so much more, I think that maybe Arthur would let Merlin go into exile. However, I don't think that Merlin would ever go.

I really feel that they are workeing up to a reveal this season. I did think this in season two as well though. I was so wrong...

Yes, I agree. Morgana's definitely been so poisoned that there's not much hope for her redemption. :(

I'm hoping for a happy ending. *crosses fingers* It'll certainly make the angsty bits more bearable. Yes, Arthur will feel very betrayed, but not want to hurt Merlin by killing him. So exile would be the alternative option. Of course, like you say, I doubt Merlin would ever leave Camelot. He'd be too concerned about making sure Arthur's protected -- that even if Arthur is upset with him, Merlin would still want to remain to keep Arthur safe.

I agree that I think they are working up to a reveal. It would have been nice if it had been in S2 instead, but it seems they love the "keep the magic secret" tagline too much to have the reveal happen too soon. At this point, it really should happen now. It has been too long already.

Yeah, there's no way that Merlin's leaving Camelot. There's going to be lots of anger there I think, over the betrayal, and I should imagine lots of confusion on Arthur's part. It'll all turn out ok in the end though. What says I'm sorry better than telling someone they have a baby white dragon?

I think it's definitely time for a reveal. I think they've done well (kinda...) to drag it out for 4 seasons, but it's really time to give it up. As long as they don't do it as a cliffhanger and then at then start season 5 one year later, then I'll be a happy bunny. I want at least an episode dedicated to the immediate fallout. I'll be fine if they do the cliffhanger and then start S5 directly after, but I will be so annoyed if they skip another year again.

Arthur didn't want to lose Merlin as a friend too. Awww. *pets* Seriously, is the eventual magical reveal going to break my heart or what? Arthur will be such a sad, betrayed puppy when it happens. :(

I'm so excited for the reveal, I can't even tell you. Scenes like the one in the throne room that kind of hint at it are so tense for me! But in a good way; I'm all giddy.

I thought Gwaine was a like a puppy too! Merlin was so mean to him at first! I'm glad they went off questing for Gaius. It was a great return to S3 Gwaine. :D

YAY FOR MERLIN HOLIDAYS <3

I look forward to the magic reveal too. :) There have been quite a few emotionally tense moments between Merlin & Arthur that makes me wonder how the magic reveal will go.

Gwaine was great in this episode. Glad to see I wasn't the only one who got puppy vibes off him. This is the Gwaine I first fell in love with. I'm glad to see him back. Even better that he helped out Merlin and went questing with him. Awww. ♥ Yes, it definitely was a great return to S3!Gwaine. *grins*

Thank you! I'm so excited about this year's Merlin Holidays. I think my fic came out nicely. Now I have to decide what other fic to work on. I have some holiday fics to write for a few people. Must get on that. And of course my Merlin Reverse fic. :)

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I wish I hadn't been right. :( Looks like Morgana's plan fell through again. That flying pig gif was awesome though! ;)

There were some really nice strong emotional scens in this one. And it did feel like we are getting hints as to what will happen when the reveal comes.

Yes, there definitely were. And those emotional scenes were beautifully acted too. Bradley James is getting some real good material this season. :)

I agree that some scenes gave hints to how the reveal would go. Especially when Arthur was discussing Gaius running away and how he felt about that. Certainly felt like it could echo what he would say about Merlin -- although there would be a lot more angst/complicated emotions when he finds out about Merlin of course.

(BTW, I sent you an email asking about your overall opinion about my merlin_holidays fic. Just generally whether the story was good or not. You can answer it when you can. I'll be submitting the story this evening either way. I'm just interested in what you thought about it. Thank you for your beta work on it. :))

~ Merlin 4x07 ~ The Secret Sharer

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