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Merlin: s2|e4: "Lancelot and Guinevere"
Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot
First things first, the Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot love triangle... this episode totally reminded me of how lovely Lancelot and Gwen are together. They just... *work* for me. If ever there was a knight in shining armour, Lancelot would definitely be it. Tell me, how could Gwen not be taken in by him - she has an actual chance with him - no trying to work around the class issues. Hell, they could have gotten together officially by the end of this episode or even by the end of the season... if Lancelot didn't leave her and disappear off to who knows where. I completely understood his need to leave...it was nice of him to not wish to rock the boat and be a rival for Guinevere's heart opposite Arthur. It shows that Lancelot respects Arthur enough...and knows when to not pursue something that will inevitably cause conflict. Though we all know as the legend goes, the betrayal is still a distant drumbeat away... there's still the chance it'll happen...
Now that doesn't mean I'm all gung-ho about wanting Lancelot and Gwen to get together and hurting Arthur in the process. Definitely not! But still, I think at this point, Gwen is a little baffled and frustrated by Arthur...he still has some growing up to do and their relationship definitely won't be easy (if they can even manage it now with the class issues). Yes, things can be different when Arthur is King, but the big question (that Arthur even addressed) is "will Gwen be willing to wait until then for Arthur?" And I don't know, but I'm still not certain that Gwen loves Arthur to the point where she's willing to wait... and right now, I think Gwen likes Lancelot more... with her whole "You are everything that is right with this world") and she looked devastated to the point of tears when Merlin told her Lancelot had left. Poor Gwen!
And not to mention, there was a definite thing between the two in Lancelot's first appearance in S1... and I didn't feel it was as rushed as the Arthur/Gwen set-up has been. Doesn't make much sense, I suppose... I mean, Arthur and Gwen have been around each other since even before S1 what with Gwen being Morgana's maid, but I still felt a sudden rush toward the end of S1 for meaningful interactions between the two...hints of why they would be attracted to one another.
Contrast that to Lancelot who only made one appearance in S1 and there was so much UST between Lancelot & Gwen... in my opinion at least. I know a number of people loving the Arthur/Gwen at the moment (at the same time, also thinking it was rather rushed), but Lancelot/Gwen just make more sense to me. I still find Arthur/Gwen rather endearing and all, but I could see all too well why Gwen would choose Lancelot over Arthur years down the road. I have a bad feeling the show is hinting at the ultimate resolution to the love triangle... that in this version of Arthurian legend, there's a likely chance that the betrayal will happen. I do hope it won't be while Gwen is married to Arthur because that would be the last thing I would want. Still, that's the vibe I'm getting.
Lancelot/Guinevere-focused vid based on this latest episode. Cheers for fast vidders. :-) Very sweet and a bit sad, of course...
Merlin being witness to the beginnings of the (inevitable?) betrayal
Merlin is very much an outsider looking in, watching as the seeds of a potential tragedy occur. I liked the little, concerned look he sent Arthur's way when Gwen and Lancelot were making eyes at each other and holding hands... something Arthur definitely wasn't expecting (probably thinking, "Oh crap, Guinevere fancies Lancelot. If they wanted to, they could get together easily enough. Sucks to be a prince sometimes. *sad face*").
Anyway, I thought it was sweet that Merlin was worried for Arthur's sake about the chance that Gwen's affections may shift to someone else.
And then, the talk Merlin had with Lancelot... and Merlin not saying a word about Arthur fancying Gwen. Though his look spoke volumes... Guess Merlin took to heart what Arthur made him promise (regarding not telling anyone about his liking Gwen).
Arthur & Merlin
Clearly, their hijinks whilst traveling to save Guinevere was the comedic portion of the episode. Which was awesome, of course, because there is only so much lovey-dovey declarations of love one can take during a single episode. Okay... um... nevermind Arthur's confession of his feelings for Guinevere to Merlin... Merlin was pretty much poking him with a figurative stick to get him to admit it.
Besides all that, they were adorkable!love... LOL at Arthur's idea to smear some berries over their faces to get past the giant baby rats (because I forget how to spell the actual name of the beast...wilder - something? anyway...).
And Merlin's annoyance at Arthur's admission after they got past the giant baby rats...that he wasn't sure that the berry thing would work, and he was glad it did. "Oh yeah, it's going to eat Merlin. Yeah, nothing to worry about." Poor Merlin... shame on Arthur for risking him like that. No cookie for him. :\
Absolutely love the ending - see, no matter all the het focus in this episode, the slash subtext had the last word. :) I grinned at that... Merlin trying, in his own adorkable! way, to cheer Arthur up.
"Look on the bright side. You've still got me."
"Is that supposed to cheer me up?"
"Thought it might."
"You really are a complete idiot, aren't you, Merlin?"
Awwww...the banter. And we all know what Arthur really means by "idiot" - :P
Morgana and Gwen
I loved seeing them kicking arse and taking names at the beginning. Femmeslash for the win. *is satisfied* I loved Morgana's fierce concern for Gwen and her desire to have Uther get her back, servant or not, be damned! (to which he refused :\). Morgana called Gwen her friend. :) I'm sure everything that Morgana said was what Arthur wanted to say too, but of course, he couldn't disagree with his father in public.
(made up, not from the episode...)
"Sorry for not backing you up about Guinevere to my father. But if you notice, I'm packing."
"You're going after her, aren't you?"
"Yes. Of course I am. (I love her) Have some faith in me, Morgana."
"Taking Merlin, aren't you?"
"Well yes, he is my manservant. He can be useful... some of the time."
"Right. Bring her home safe, Arthur."
"I will."
"And try to be nice to Merlin. It wouldn't kill you to treat him better."
"...sorry, what?"
Morgana gives him a pointed look.
"I treat him all right. Honestly, Morgana. I don't know what you're talking about."
~ The End ~ (because it's going to take a while for Arthur to finally get the message. There just isn't the time. :p)
And cheers for the "I'm so glad you're back safe and sound" hug between Gwen and Morgana at the end there. Poor Arthur with his sad, wistful look at Gwen...
Guess that does it: Gwen/Morgana win this episode for best ship. Morgana doesn't care about silly little things like class boundaries - Gwen's her friend, damnit! And she doesn't care who knows it - she'll shout it to the king's face if Gwen's in danger. Morgana is just awesome that way.
Now if the show would be nicer to her and have Morgana finally kiss a guy... that would be great. Gwen's kissed Merlin, Arthur and Lancelot... Morgana needs some loving too (ok, well, the Merlin/Morgana thing is good enough for now, I suppose).
First things first, the Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot love triangle... this episode totally reminded me of how lovely Lancelot and Gwen are together. They just... *work* for me. If ever there was a knight in shining armour, Lancelot would definitely be it. Tell me, how could Gwen not be taken in by him - she has an actual chance with him - no trying to work around the class issues. Hell, they could have gotten together officially by the end of this episode or even by the end of the season... if Lancelot didn't leave her and disappear off to who knows where. I completely understood his need to leave...it was nice of him to not wish to rock the boat and be a rival for Guinevere's heart opposite Arthur. It shows that Lancelot respects Arthur enough...and knows when to not pursue something that will inevitably cause conflict. Though we all know as the legend goes, the betrayal is still a distant drumbeat away... there's still the chance it'll happen...
Now that doesn't mean I'm all gung-ho about wanting Lancelot and Gwen to get together and hurting Arthur in the process. Definitely not! But still, I think at this point, Gwen is a little baffled and frustrated by Arthur...he still has some growing up to do and their relationship definitely won't be easy (if they can even manage it now with the class issues). Yes, things can be different when Arthur is King, but the big question (that Arthur even addressed) is "will Gwen be willing to wait until then for Arthur?" And I don't know, but I'm still not certain that Gwen loves Arthur to the point where she's willing to wait... and right now, I think Gwen likes Lancelot more... with her whole "You are everything that is right with this world") and she looked devastated to the point of tears when Merlin told her Lancelot had left. Poor Gwen!
And not to mention, there was a definite thing between the two in Lancelot's first appearance in S1... and I didn't feel it was as rushed as the Arthur/Gwen set-up has been. Doesn't make much sense, I suppose... I mean, Arthur and Gwen have been around each other since even before S1 what with Gwen being Morgana's maid, but I still felt a sudden rush toward the end of S1 for meaningful interactions between the two...hints of why they would be attracted to one another.
Contrast that to Lancelot who only made one appearance in S1 and there was so much UST between Lancelot & Gwen... in my opinion at least. I know a number of people loving the Arthur/Gwen at the moment (at the same time, also thinking it was rather rushed), but Lancelot/Gwen just make more sense to me. I still find Arthur/Gwen rather endearing and all, but I could see all too well why Gwen would choose Lancelot over Arthur years down the road. I have a bad feeling the show is hinting at the ultimate resolution to the love triangle... that in this version of Arthurian legend, there's a likely chance that the betrayal will happen. I do hope it won't be while Gwen is married to Arthur because that would be the last thing I would want. Still, that's the vibe I'm getting.
Lancelot/Guinevere-focused vid based on this latest episode. Cheers for fast vidders. :-) Very sweet and a bit sad, of course...
Merlin being witness to the beginnings of the (inevitable?) betrayal
Merlin is very much an outsider looking in, watching as the seeds of a potential tragedy occur. I liked the little, concerned look he sent Arthur's way when Gwen and Lancelot were making eyes at each other and holding hands... something Arthur definitely wasn't expecting (probably thinking, "Oh crap, Guinevere fancies Lancelot. If they wanted to, they could get together easily enough. Sucks to be a prince sometimes. *sad face*").
Anyway, I thought it was sweet that Merlin was worried for Arthur's sake about the chance that Gwen's affections may shift to someone else.
And then, the talk Merlin had with Lancelot... and Merlin not saying a word about Arthur fancying Gwen. Though his look spoke volumes... Guess Merlin took to heart what Arthur made him promise (regarding not telling anyone about his liking Gwen).
Arthur & Merlin
Clearly, their hijinks whilst traveling to save Guinevere was the comedic portion of the episode. Which was awesome, of course, because there is only so much lovey-dovey declarations of love one can take during a single episode. Okay... um... nevermind Arthur's confession of his feelings for Guinevere to Merlin... Merlin was pretty much poking him with a figurative stick to get him to admit it.
Besides all that, they were adorkable!love... LOL at Arthur's idea to smear some berries over their faces to get past the giant baby rats (because I forget how to spell the actual name of the beast...wilder - something? anyway...).
And Merlin's annoyance at Arthur's admission after they got past the giant baby rats...that he wasn't sure that the berry thing would work, and he was glad it did. "Oh yeah, it's going to eat Merlin. Yeah, nothing to worry about." Poor Merlin... shame on Arthur for risking him like that. No cookie for him. :\
Absolutely love the ending - see, no matter all the het focus in this episode, the slash subtext had the last word. :) I grinned at that... Merlin trying, in his own adorkable! way, to cheer Arthur up.
"Look on the bright side. You've still got me."
"Is that supposed to cheer me up?"
"Thought it might."
"You really are a complete idiot, aren't you, Merlin?"
Awwww...the banter. And we all know what Arthur really means by "idiot" - :P
Morgana and Gwen
I loved seeing them kicking arse and taking names at the beginning. Femmeslash for the win. *is satisfied* I loved Morgana's fierce concern for Gwen and her desire to have Uther get her back, servant or not, be damned! (to which he refused :\). Morgana called Gwen her friend. :) I'm sure everything that Morgana said was what Arthur wanted to say too, but of course, he couldn't disagree with his father in public.
(made up, not from the episode...)
"Sorry for not backing you up about Guinevere to my father. But if you notice, I'm packing."
"You're going after her, aren't you?"
"Yes. Of course I am. (I love her) Have some faith in me, Morgana."
"Taking Merlin, aren't you?"
"Well yes, he is my manservant. He can be useful... some of the time."
"Right. Bring her home safe, Arthur."
"I will."
"And try to be nice to Merlin. It wouldn't kill you to treat him better."
"...sorry, what?"
Morgana gives him a pointed look.
"I treat him all right. Honestly, Morgana. I don't know what you're talking about."
~ The End ~ (because it's going to take a while for Arthur to finally get the message. There just isn't the time. :p)
And cheers for the "I'm so glad you're back safe and sound" hug between Gwen and Morgana at the end there. Poor Arthur with his sad, wistful look at Gwen...
Guess that does it: Gwen/Morgana win this episode for best ship. Morgana doesn't care about silly little things like class boundaries - Gwen's her friend, damnit! And she doesn't care who knows it - she'll shout it to the king's face if Gwen's in danger. Morgana is just awesome that way.
Now if the show would be nicer to her and have Morgana finally kiss a guy... that would be great. Gwen's kissed Merlin, Arthur and Lancelot... Morgana needs some loving too (ok, well, the Merlin/Morgana thing is good enough for now, I suppose).
no subject
That look Arthur sent Gwen at the end (when she was hugging Morgana) made me tear up. Tear up! Oh, Arthur. But of course, lucky for him he always has Merlin. The fact that Merlin reminded him of this himself made me LOL with delight, and then Arthur's disgruntled reply even more. <3
I am such a fan of Teams Morgana/Gwen and Arthur/Merlin. And not even necessarily in a Twilight-y shippy way, but they both make such awesome, completely badass teams. The gals' fight at the beginning made me cheer.
Shallow Alert! I have somewhere in the area of 10 thousand hots for Lancelot. So rugged and scarred and idealistic. He is the quintessential romantic medieval hero. BUT as much as I'm all aswoon over the Lancelot/Gwen, here is my reservation: Lancelot is such a perfect hero, I know there have been interpretations of him where he holds his ideals above everything, and therefore everyone. Can someone with so few failings be enough of a down-to-earth man that Gwen needs? Arthur, though a king, always seemed a bit more human to me because of that, and more willing to be Gwen's man, not just her hero.
Shallow Alert Part 2! ...How amazing did Merlin look in that stolen guard's outfit?! *drools*
I loved this episode so much, oh man. <3 My only complaint: when indeed is Morgana gonna get some action? Not to mention Merlin...hmm, it's almost as if I sense some easy solution in there somewhere... ;)
Other news, I am now five episodes behind on SPN, and this needs to be remedied IMMEDIATELY, because apparently according to your animated GIFs Castiel deadpanned a joke about flatbread. FLATBREAD. *DIES*
no subject
I completely agree. With Lancelot she has a chance, a future and freedom. I can see why she would let her feelings show and choose him. I could see them getting together if he hadn't left. It's clear that there is powerful emotions there and nothing stopping them. I do like that he respects Arthur enough not to pursue something that will inevitably cause conflict.
Now that doesn't mean I'm all gung-ho about wanting Lancelot and Gwen to get together and hurting Arthur in the process. Definitely not! But still, I think at this point, Gwen is a little baffled and frustrated by Arthur...he still has some growing up to do and their relationship definitely won't be easy (if they can even manage it now with the class issues).
Agreed. A big problem is how confused and frustrated Gwen is by Arthur because he can't admit his feeling. I agree Arthur still has a lot growing up to do.
Yes, things can be different when Arthur is King, but the big question (that Arthur even addressed) is "will Gwen be willing to wait until then for Arthur?" And I don't know, but I'm still not certain that Gwen loves Arthur to the point where she's willing to wait...
I don't think Gwen's feelings are strong to wait at this point. Not when she has someone she has a chance with who is does feel that strongly about. I think Gwen is trying to hold her feelings and attraction to Arthur back but given some time and a little more showing of feeling on Arthur's part and she'll get to that point. The thing is Uther could live another 20 years so it could be waiting would take a some very strong feelings on both their parts.
And not to mention, there was a definite thing between the two in Lancelot's first appearance in S1... and I didn't feel it was as rushed as the Arthur/Gwen set-up has been. Doesn't make much sense, I suppose... I mean, Arthur and Gwen have been around each other since even before S1 what with Gwen being Morgana's maid, but I still felt a sudden rush toward the end of S1 for meaningful interactions between the two...hints of why they would be attracted to one another.
I understand what you mean about the rushing feeling and I agree.
I know a number of people loving the Arthur/Gwen at the moment (at the same time, also thinking it was rather rushed), but Lancelot/Gwen just make more sense to me. I still find Arthur/Gwen rather endearing and all, I have a bad feeling the show is hinting at the ultimate resolution to the love triangle... that in this version of Arthurian legend, there's a likely chance that the betrayal will happen. I do hope it won't be while Gwen is married to Arthur because that would be the last thing I would want. Still, that's the vibe I'm getting.
I just can't see this Gwen betraying Arthur like that. Unless you count just having feelings for another man while in love/married to Arthur as a betrayal. I really can't see this Gwen betraying Arthur later on with an outright affair or leaving him. I can easily see Gwen still having burning feelings for Lancelot while she's married to Arthur but nothing more. I can't see her hurting Arthur like that but with years going by that could be happen I guess. It's just of hard years it will take to get to the point where they can be together I don't see her throwing that away. Her feelings would be very strong for Arthur to get to that point. They really don't have to follow that root (outright betrayal affair) but I agree it feels like they are strongly hinting that will be the case.
For me I'm not a huge OPT shipper so I am enjoying both ships desist there flaws (like feeling rushed). For now it's all interesting and angst to watch. So I'm enjoying both ships FOR NOW.
no subject
no subject
I'm glad for that too... you could just feel the impending tragedy in this episode. It's just difficult to see a happy ending out of the Lancelot/Gwen/Arthur love triangle... so you just focus on the pretty and the happy-making scenes (all the Arthur/Merlin scenes were made of complete win :-)).
I kind of just wanted to hug everyone by the end.
Me too. Poor Gwen was so heartbroken and for Arthur having to see her and Lancelot...making it another hit against his chance with her. :( Too much angst for me. :(
no subject
Merlin is very much an outsider looking in, watching as the seeds of a potential tragedy occur.
I felt so bad for Merlin because he outsider and gets to watch the people he cares about hurting.
Anyway, I thought it was sweet that Merlin was worried for Arthur's sake about the chance that Gwen's affections may shift to someone else.
It was so sweet:) Merlin is such a awesome friend:D
Clearly, their hijinks whilst traveling to save Guinevere was the comedic portion of the episode. Which was awesome, of course, because there is only so much lovey-dovey declarations of love one can take during a single episode. Okay... um... nevermind Arthur's confession of his feelings for Guinevere to Merlin... Merlin was pretty much poking him with a figurative stick to get him to admit it.
I love how Arthur and Merlin can be funny and touching at the same time.
shame on Arthur for risking him like that. No cookie for him. :\
Bad Arthur *hints ont he nose with a rolled up newspaper*
Absolutely love the ending - see, no matter all the het focus in this episode, the slash subtext had the last word. :) I grinned at that... Merlin trying, in his own adorkable! way, to cheer Arthur up.
Funny + loving + slashy = prefect ending:D
Morgana and Gwen
I loved seeing them kicking arse and taking names at the beginning. Femmeslash for the win. *is satisfied* I loved Morgana's fierce concern for Gwen and her desire to have Uther get her back, servant or not, be damned! (to which he refused :\). Morgana called Gwen her friend. :) I'm sure everything that Morgana said was what Arthur wanted to say too, but of course, he couldn't disagree with his father in public.
I love how fierce Morgana was for Gwen.:D I think Uther really thought that Gwen was dead. Not that he would cell out gold coins for servant or send knights. But it was only luck that Gwen wasn't killed as soon as they lost Morgana. If this show was little more adult she would have met a rather horrible end with those men before death. I think Uther was trying find a way not to tell Morgana that.
And cheers for the "I'm so glad you're back safe and sound" hug between Gwen and Morgana at the end there. Poor Arthur with his sad, wistful look at Gwen...
I love the hug! I want a animated icon of it badly. I thought Gwen was going to say Thank you to Arthur while hugging Morgana. She didn't really say Thank you with all the emotions running high.
Guess that does it: Gwen/Morgana win this episode for best ship. Morgana doesn't care about silly little things like class boundaries - Gwen's her friend, damnit! And she doesn't care who knows it - she'll shout it to the king's face if Gwen's in danger. Morgana is just awesome that way.
WORD! I must find some fanfic for this pairing.
Now if the show would be nicer to her and have Morgana finally kiss a guy... that would be great. Gwen's kissed Merlin, Arthur and Lancelot... Morgana needs some loving too (ok, well, the Merlin/Morgana thing is good enough for now, I suppose).
Merlin and Morgana both need a love story where they return someone's feelings and get to kiss someone. I like the idea of Merlin/Morgana but sadly I see zero romantic feelings on Merlin's part. He's feels almost asexual sometimes if you discount the slashy subtext. He has so much as looked at a girl in a romantic way. I want to see Merlin in love with someone...besides Arthur:p