In which I finally regain the use of words

[kylezy]

Slightly more coherent Merlin 3x13 thoughts

(In chronological order because I'm watching it again)

Things I loved:

• Sir Leon with the SLOW MOTION HAIR and the BAMF-NESS WITH THE SLIGHTLY SMUG SMILE AS HE'S BEING DRAGGED AWAY.


• ARTHUR'S MANPAIN. Oh my word, Bradley James knocked it out of the park in this ep, SO MUCH LOVE FOR HIM.


• Morgana's evilness*.


• Sneaky!Gwen who fails at being sneaky.


• Blacksmith!Gwen.


• Colin during the Freya scene. The things he does with his voice, I don't even-


• SIR LEON IN A DRESS. THANK YOU, WRITERS, THANK YOU.


• PERCIVAL, OMG I LOVE HIM AND I CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN WHY.


• Lancelot always watching Gwen :(((


• ROUND TABLE. M/A MOMENTS ASIDE, THIS IS MY MOST FAVOURITE SCENE EVER IN MERLIN. FROM WHEN ARTHUR UNCOVERS IT, TO WHEN HE KNIGHTS HIS MEN. SO MUCH LOVE. AND MERLIN'S PRIDE AS ARTHUR SAYS "a roundtable afforded no one man more importance than any other". AND I'M SO, SO HAPPY MERLIN GOT TO GO LAST AND ARTHUR KNEW HE HAD MERLIN'S LOYALTY, HE DIDN'T NEED HIM TO MAKE SOME GRAND GESTURE AS HE KNOWS MERLIN IS ALREADY THE MOST LOYAL.


• The cut shot of Merlin looking pleased as Gwaine is being knighted. There was a shipping moment for everyone in this ep!


• Merlin and Lancelot's conversation. Lancelot has always been a bit bland to me, but I LOVED HIM in this ep, no more than when he told Merlin that he was the one that should have been knighted.


• MERLIN BEING A BAMF WITH THE SWORD AND IMPRESSING LANCELOT.


• Uther's despondency. Ugh, Anthony Head, why so good?


• Katie's acting as Morgana finds Morgause. I got shivers!


• ARTHUR/MERLIN IN LOVE FOREVER *___*


• Gwaine looking foxy as all hell in his knights getup. HOLY HELL, THAT RED COAT DOES SOMETHING FOR ME.


• SWORD IN THE STONE. I loved how the rock looked and I love how he did it. I do have a nitpick though, which I'll get to below.

Things I could nitpick:

• Morgana's evilness*.


• No magic reveal from Morgana to Uther.


• The close up of Merlin riding the dragon. Not even Colin could make that shit look good, I just ended up embarrassed for him swaying there on the prop.


• Arthur suggesting Merlin might be wise. It's not that I didn't love this scene, but we've already heard him call Merlin wise once this season, I was hoping for either more certainty or another adjective.


• Why does Gaius overhear Merlin and Lancelot's conversation but no one else does? If an old man can hear it, surely somebody else should have as well?


• Also, I'm going to need more reasons, writers, why Arthur can't know about Merlin's magic yet. I don't disagree, I just want to know why Merlin doesn't think he's ready. You can't just say that and expect the audience to believe it blindly.


• LOL FOREVER AT LANCELOT WITH HIS HAND ON HIS HIP AS HE FIGHTS IN SLOW-MO.


• Gaius interfering and preventing Merlin from revealing his magic to Morgause. This was the only thing that really let me down. I thought she'd die (which we're actually not even sure of, by the by), but I was expecting Merlin to reveal himself through killing her, so we got that one little moment of recognition from her as to why most of her plans that year hadn't gone as they should have.


• The scene was really powerful with Morgana's anguish and the windows shattering and the walls cracking and all, but Morgana's repetitive screaming sounded a bit like a pteradactyl :|


• Making me think for just a second that something had happened to Gwaine. I mean, I know the legends, I knew he'd be alright, but for one second I was like :O OH NO THEY DIDN'T!


• Not enough Gwaine overall btw, but maybe we've been spoiled from previous eps?


• Like I said in the positive list, I liked the sword in the stone but I would have liked a reason as to why that rock, other than just 'Merlin went for a really long walk until he found a suitable one'. I guess I would have liked some meaning or history?

*To explain why Morgana's evilness is in both categories: so, I feel for Arthur fans this season, but I don't think there's been a bigger character fuckup than with what has happened to Morgana. In between all the immaturity that people complain about - the throwing stuff at Merlin and relinquishing the crown for his gf, for instance - there were genuine moments of nobility and kingliness by the Prince that remain true to his character in a way that shows us what he's always been and also what he will become. Morgana didn't fare as well. Except for when she was faking it, there's no indication that she's the same woman from years past. To my recollection, not once in this entire season did she show one iota of remorse or guilt as she committed her evil deeds against the kingdom, her family and friends, or innocent people. NOT ONCE. The thing is, I did actually really love her as a villain in this ep - she was loathsome, vicious and completely devoid of human sympathy - I just wish we'd seen her path to get to this point.

Comments

[a_shadow_there.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched the last ep yet, but pretty much everything you've said about Morgana? YES. A THOUSAND TIMES, YES.

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

There were a thousand roads they could have gone down with her but they chose the easiest route. Actually, it wasn't even really a route, they just teleported from one destination to the other.

HEY YOU. IT IS THE END OF THE WEEKEND. GUESS WHICH FILTHY FIC I DON'T HAVE IN MY LIFE YET?

[a_shadow_there.livejournal.com]

That would be the one I've not quite finished yet :P

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

WA-HEY, AT LEAST THAT MEANS YOU'VE STARTED!

[lemniciate.livejournal.com]

I spent the entire episode wondering why the hell Merlin didn't just use magic to fight etc etc, was there an explanation for that earlier on?

Ahaha now that I've calmed down there's so much to nit-pick. Like, whyyyy would Merlin even choose a rock? Logically speaking even chucking it in a lake would be a better prevention method Merlin!!

The repetitive screaming omg. I kept waiting for it to stop but it just went on :((((

[lemniciate.livejournal.com]

ALSO, I'M V ANNOYED BY THE FACT THAT THE LAKE CAME BEFORE THE STONE. I know they're messing with the show but that was just one step too far.

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

I don't know why he didn't use magic to fight, I think he was just keeping the magic secret, as the tagline goes.

There is heaps to nitpick, it is Merlin after all, but I actually still really love this episode. It's in my top five for sure <3 But yes, why a rock? Why THAT rock? I would have liked some sort of explanation but I guessing we'll get that if we ever get to see Arthur pull it out?

Ha, oh really? I don't know the myths well enough to bugged by that sort of stuff. It just seemed logical from a writer's standpoint to put it in the lake; that they knew they would use it again because that they felt there was another story to tell with it, and then put it in the stone when they'd finished, so we eventually get that one epic moment when Arthur will pull it out.

[carnivors.livejournal.com]

i still need to catch up on like the last four episodes, but i agree with what you say about morgana. which is maybe why this season has not kept me as enthralled as the other two, because as much as i love merlin and arthur, morgana is my favorite character, and i really was looking forward to her going evil! but the way that the writers handled it is terrible. we saw nothing of her transition from the king's ward to an evil sorceress, and the fact that she could be so willfully cruel to people that LOVE HER and that she HAD TO have loved in return at one point rings pretty false to me.

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

It's been really disappointing how lazy they've been in writing her.

[amazonbard88.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen this yet, I'm still stuck on 3x10 but I just needed to say;

I don't think there's been a bigger character fuckup than with what has happened to Morgana...I just wish we'd seen her path to get to this point.

THIS, ALL OF THIS! Seriously, I can't understand how she became so..well, evil. I really liked where they were taking the Morgana storyline, I always saw Morgana as being somebody really vulnerable to manipulation and being taken advantage of by magic users who just wanted a way to Uther. I was looking forward to the combination of guilt, confusion and the constant prophetic nightmares slowly causing her to become more and more unhinged mentally and make her more susceptible to being seduced to the dark side. Whilst I can buy her hatred for Uther I just can't accept that she would become so ruthless towards her once friends and innocent people, as you've said; aside from when she was faking it there was no indication that she was even the same woman from season 1. This is what I've hated the most, I really kept looking for that smidgen of goodness left inside her, the recognition that there were people she loved before she decided that Uther needed to be dead. Particularly Arthur, I just can't see what lead her to so coldly cast him aside in favour of power.

It like the decision makers couldn't be bothered with a whole bunch of stuff so they just went "hey lets just skip a year and then everything is justifiable" NO ITS NOT, YOU SMELL!

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, you smell. EXACTLY, yeah, it's incredibly lazy writing.

[vinca15.livejournal.com]

sweetness, just think

and let the dislikes dissipate.

that key scene was one of my favorite Gwen moments and I think that is a sad thing to say. :/
I wish Percival was more mysterious..I dunno, he was just like, I PUSH RUKZ YUH. U C ME PUSH DEM. he so could've been the ~brain, ya know? there isn't one of those around..
THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH GWAINE. favorite magic person = Merlin, favorite non-magic person = Gwaine, 4 ME.

also- omg, I had such a disappointing dream. I remember being on my computer and seeing a bunch of your posts and they all had like, 100+ comments. I dunno wtf you were talking about, but you were making some peoples angry..and you were sad about the hater comments..AND THAT WAS IT. ugh. mayhaps my brain is working up to it though? I mean, almost-dream and then internet-dream..maybe next time I'll have ~~epic sex Kylie dream~~~?? I HOPE THIS ASSUMPTION IS CORRECT.

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

Ha, that icon XD

Oooh, I hope I don't come across like I disliked this ep? It's totally the opposite actually, I think this is one of the best Merlin eps I've ever seen, I was just nitpicking for ~thoroughness, you know?

Duuude, he barely spoke two words, maybe he is ridic smart and we don't even know it yet? Character development for Percy, LOOK FOR IT IN S4. But LALALALALA, ARTHUR AND I DO NOT CARE FOR YOUR PERCIVAL THOUGHTS ANYWAY, HE IS SPECIAL IN OUR EYES.



I am sad people were angry at me but I have to admit I do like the sound of 100+ comments *strokes chin thoughtfully* KEEP WORKING ON IT BB!

[soundandvision.livejournal.com]

I don't even know where to begin on the commentary! I thought the ep was fantastic, I had literal tears in my eyes at the round table, the epic Merlin loyalty, the "You should have been knighted." Guhhhh! And Merlin seeing Freya (G-d, Colin really knows how to take emotion to the next level). I'm glad someone was able to see him be a BAMF with the sword!

But I wanted more, I wanted Morgause (or Morgana) to find out that he's an equal (if not greater) adversary. I wanted an explanation to placing the sword in the stone (clearly bottom of lake way less obvious for most dangerous sword ever, no?). I am incredibly annoyed by the lazy writing for Morgana (though I thought she did a great job this ep). The great thing about her character was her struggle between her love for her friends and her anger at being an outcast. I want more of that! And yeah her screaming was ridic after the fourth cry and it just...kept...going.

Am I the only one who expected Arthur to tell Gwen that he was going to marry her when he came back? They left it open for that line so easily. And now I'm kind of wondering if they'll push the Lancelot business in the next season.... Gwen could use some handsome men fighting over her, I'm just saying.

And and and wtf Perceval? Just because he's big and strong doesn't mean he's a stupid bloke. I really want him to be an amazingly intelligent warrior just to fight the stereotype. I expect depth, writers, depth!

Clearly we all need to watch this ep again together and write some epic watch-a-long commentary.

[kylezy.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, yes, it was really good, wasn't it? Surprisingly so, I found. I was actually a little proud, to be honest, it all came together so well, I thought. Flaws, yes, absolutely, this is Merlin we're talking about, but I think they did a really good job. I couldn't even mock it this week with my usual caps-y jokes, I was rapt <333

And all the actors acted their sexy butts off, Colin as usual but Bradley and Katie totally brought their A-game too. AND I CRIED AT THE ROUND TABLE AS WELL! That was so beautiful <333

I think it's very well possible they'll start to push the Gwen/Lancelot side of things next year. Arthur has knighted Lance, in theory he should be able to stay in Camelot and thus be in more eps, so here's hoping!

Percival, oh my god, I love him so much already and he barely spoke two words <333

OH YES, I think a rewatch would be awesome