Merlin: S2|E5: "Beauty and the Beast Part 1"

[dk323]

Merlin kicking arse and taking names - I CONCUR. :)

MAGIC. *grins* Love when there's an episode where Merlin does plenty of magic... I could almost get past the grossness that was the troll (and her eating habits that left a lot to be desired...ergh, MAGGOTS. :() with all the magic in this episode.

Yes, it was pretty unbelievable that it took Merlin that long to get out of the trap...it was just knocking down a bunch of rocks. I thought Merlin was stronger than that?

And even after a few tries, you could see that not even a few rocks were moved...what the hell, writers? At least show that SOMETHING happened after a few attempts - not have NOTHING happen until his final try where he finally managed it. Oh, wait so Merlin just needed to speak louder and then the rocks would move out of the way? How can he even speak louder after a whole night of attempts to get out? Merlin had to have been RIDICULOUSLY exhausted.

FAIL, writers, FAIL. I get how they're making Merlin only as powerful as the script requires -- if they don't want him to get out so quickly (two-parter alert - everything has to go to hell - VILLAIN CAN NOT BE THWARTED YET, THANK YOU *eye*), they show him struggling. So, the only logic here is that the troll imbued the rocks with her (apparently) superior troll magic, thus making it harder for Merlin to move them if they were simply ordinary rocks.

Anyone else hoping that Merlin is going to get some rest after spending the whole night going ape-shit on a bunch of rocks? (well, it's true! *pets Merlin* He has been overworked, the poor soul).

Doesn't look likely - what with Lady Catrina now officially married to Uther - Merlin's going to run himself ragged trying to fix things. And, of course, with Arthur in danger (based on the preview for Part 2), Merlin is going to lose his mind. Well, if Jonas/Lady Catrina don't try to stop Merlin first...what with Jonas knocking him out with a vase...HA, sorry - getting distracted by the preview. Is it bad of me to be looking forward to all the ways the troll + Jonas will think of to get Merlin out of the way? EPIC TROLL-SORCERER BATTLE FOR THE WIN. :P

~ * ~

*Merlin is lying on the floor after being knocked out*

Gaius comes by.

"Merlin! What're you doing - just lying around? Arthur has just been attacked by the troll!"

Merlin wakes up, confused. "What?"

"This is NO time to take a nap, Merlin! You have work to do!"

Merlin stares in disbelief at Gaius.

"I realize that, Gaius. If they weren't trying to kill me, too, this would be much easier. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY SLEEP IN DAYS. Days! If you could just see that I'm doing ALL THAT I CAN..."

"Yes, but --"

Merlin glares at him. His eyes flash gold and Gaius is gone.

~ * ~

On the Merlin/Arthur front

Arthur thinks Merlin is a pervert (first Morgana now Lady Catrina...c'mon, Merlin, show some restraint! :P) but, you know, that's all okay because he considers Merlin "a true friend." Awwww... NOW IF ARTHUR CAN PROVE THAT IN HIS ACTIONS THIS SEASON AND NOT JUST SAY IT, THEN THAT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER.

Please, Merlin, smack him already - Arthur deserves it! THE FAIL. :(

I did like Arthur's laugh when Merlin told him Lady Catrina was a troll. He had a nice laugh - could almost forget the fact that Arthur yet again didn't believe Merlin. *sigh* Yes, I get it - it's a two-parter, so everyone has to just go with the flow and not really question things because everything has to go to hell and end on an evil cliffhanger, etc. etc.

You know what would have been a good idea - I saw this mentioned in another reaction post - if Arthur had made the connection between the current situation and his previous situation with Sophia. HELLO, THE SIMILARITIES ARE SO OBVIOUS. Or at least have Merlin bring that up as a point of reference to Arthur. That would have been a nice bit of continuity...

And then there's the debate over the blatant fan service with the repeat performance of half naked! Arthur (with added sneaking into Arthur's room sneakily in the middle of the night! Merlin OH MY GOD...the slash subtext, it slays me!)... is it too much? I'm torn about it - I do hope they don't get carried away with it. Because it is sort of implying that they're showing off the actor's looks rather than the more important, HIS ACTING TALENT. "Merlin" is not a soap opera or a trashy romance novel, thank you.

I WILL PUT MY FOOT DOWN IF THEY SHOW IT'S WINTER IN CAMELOT AND IT'S COLD AND FREEZING AND ARTHUR IS STILL SLEEPING HALF-NAKED ON TOP OF HIS COVERS EVEN THEN.

MY FOOT DOWN. YOU HEAR ME?

Thank you. Please don't do that, show.

Well, I personally do think Colin Morgan is the superior actor - which is as it should be since he is the title actor, but Bradley James is not half bad himself.

Thoughts on Merlin's character arc:

I'm wondering where this whole repetition of "Merlin is overworked" is going. What could it be leading up to? Because, right now, I'm feeling sorry for Merlin and how worn-out he seems to be this season. I have a good feeling this'll be a big contributor to what may happen in this season's finale. Will Merlin finally crack?

I thought it was A LOT to ask of Merlin to do magic in front of the king. How could Gaius risk him and put him in danger like that? If Uther had noticed -- shame on Gaius for getting Merlin to do that. Isn't he supposed to care about him?

Yes, I do think Merlin will reach a breaking point this season...

PART 2 PREVIEW:

I've already touched on the preview for part 2, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. Things are always more interesting when Merlin has to deal with saving Arthur... looks like Arthur will get tossed around a bit. :(