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It's a show about a dragon who likes to slash
In the latest “Oh God, I have enough fandoms to merit an intervention” news, I’ve fallen totally in love with BBC’s Merlin. I put off watching it for a while because a)there are so many hours in the day and b)I was worried that it would be a bit like that Robin Hood show…which, apologies to any who might like it, I could not get through more than a few episodes before lapsing into a boredom-induced comma.
But anyway, Merlin. It was actual good, and not just in that ‘so bad it’s’ way.
-I admit almost complete ignorance of Arthurian legend-I only know enough that that godawful adaptation with Clive Owen and Keira Knightly hurt my brain, though to be fair, most Keira movies have that effect on me. As such, I came to the show fairly free of any “They what with the who with the WHEN now?” (which is what I scream at the screen any time Hollywood takes on Greek mythology). I mean, I’m fairly sure Arthur and Merlin weren’t in gay love in any of the original versions. But you know what, that’s artistic license I can live with.
-I heard about the Slashiness That Could Not Be Contained long before I even considered downloading it. Obviously, it’s a BIG selling point for great segment of fandom, and after all, it’s the main reason I ever got into Smallville back in the day. The thing is though, while the slashiness is always welcome, and might even make me more receptive to giving it a try, it’s not enough-Ho Yay alone does not a fan out of me make. It took me the longest time to get into Torchwood which is textually a big bisexual orgy, because I just couldn’t bring myself to care about any of the characters. I can take half-baked plots, I can take hilariously fake special effects and suspect dialogue, but if you can’t actually make me root for the characters, no amount of innuendo and sparkling shining homoeroticism will keep me from falling asleep halfway through.
Merlin’s characters are definitely likeable, even when they act in ways that make you want to slap them silly. For all the plot contrivance of throwing Arthur and Merlin together (and nowhere is a plot contrivance more obvious than in a show that actually gives it the shape of a shipper dragon), their bond became *believable* fairly quickly, and their dynamic is one of the more compelling aspects of the show.
-From what I’ve seen, the Smallville comparisons seem to be rife in this fandom, but I’d personally avoid them, if only because this show features two female characters that are as un-Lana like as you can get. We haven’t seen so much of them as Merlin or Arthurt, which makes sense, given the subject of the show (mind you, Smallville was supposed to be about Superman and Lex Luthor too!), but their (sadly limited) scenes have done a great job gradually setting up their characters, the dynamic between the two (yes, in this show, we can has femslash too!) and their relationships with the rest-and I’m especially partial too any plots that throw all four of them together, or any combinations thereof (and on a shallow note, never have I seen so much shipping potential in all directions since the days of the Fanged Four in Buffy).
-Giles Uther. Forget anything else, the genius of Anthony Stewart Head alone is enough to get me to watch anything. He’s taken a character that had all the potential of being a comically two-dimensional villain, and imbued him with layers and layers of motivation, genuine emotion and a screen presence that makes you forget any other character is in the room. For all his harshness and tyrannical qualities, you can really see why Arthur worships the ground he walks upon. His relationship with Morganna is more…interesting (insert your own dirtywrong subtext here), as explored is “To Kill A King”-and part of what had me at the edge of the seat in the episode was that Uther living or dying mattered. For all that he’s the chief antagonist on the show, for all that his very existence threatens Merlin’s, I couldn’t help but want him to survive, and not just because of what his death would do to Arthur. The show would be a lot duller without him.
-Yes, it is a silly show. But it’s perfectly aware of its own silliness and even celebrates, so I can’t help but find myself going along with it. Merlin in the stocks, pelted by suspiciously fresh-looking vegetables (for that matter, everything seems a little too clean and civilized for the era, but who cares!). Bad CGI dragons! HP beasts making random cameos! Heroes and Torchwood characters making random cameos! Slow-mo swordfighting! Golden Mary Sue eyes! UNICORNS! It’s enough to almost make you check your critical/cynical impulses at the door.
*goes back to watching download progress for the Merlin season finale*
But anyway, Merlin. It was actual good, and not just in that ‘so bad it’s’ way.
-I admit almost complete ignorance of Arthurian legend-I only know enough that that godawful adaptation with Clive Owen and Keira Knightly hurt my brain, though to be fair, most Keira movies have that effect on me. As such, I came to the show fairly free of any “They what with the who with the WHEN now?” (which is what I scream at the screen any time Hollywood takes on Greek mythology). I mean, I’m fairly sure Arthur and Merlin weren’t in gay love in any of the original versions. But you know what, that’s artistic license I can live with.
-I heard about the Slashiness That Could Not Be Contained long before I even considered downloading it. Obviously, it’s a BIG selling point for great segment of fandom, and after all, it’s the main reason I ever got into Smallville back in the day. The thing is though, while the slashiness is always welcome, and might even make me more receptive to giving it a try, it’s not enough-Ho Yay alone does not a fan out of me make. It took me the longest time to get into Torchwood which is textually a big bisexual orgy, because I just couldn’t bring myself to care about any of the characters. I can take half-baked plots, I can take hilariously fake special effects and suspect dialogue, but if you can’t actually make me root for the characters, no amount of innuendo and sparkling shining homoeroticism will keep me from falling asleep halfway through.
Merlin’s characters are definitely likeable, even when they act in ways that make you want to slap them silly. For all the plot contrivance of throwing Arthur and Merlin together (and nowhere is a plot contrivance more obvious than in a show that actually gives it the shape of a shipper dragon), their bond became *believable* fairly quickly, and their dynamic is one of the more compelling aspects of the show.
-From what I’ve seen, the Smallville comparisons seem to be rife in this fandom, but I’d personally avoid them, if only because this show features two female characters that are as un-Lana like as you can get. We haven’t seen so much of them as Merlin or Arthurt, which makes sense, given the subject of the show (mind you, Smallville was supposed to be about Superman and Lex Luthor too!), but their (sadly limited) scenes have done a great job gradually setting up their characters, the dynamic between the two (yes, in this show, we can has femslash too!) and their relationships with the rest-and I’m especially partial too any plots that throw all four of them together, or any combinations thereof (and on a shallow note, never have I seen so much shipping potential in all directions since the days of the Fanged Four in Buffy).
-
-Yes, it is a silly show. But it’s perfectly aware of its own silliness and even celebrates, so I can’t help but find myself going along with it. Merlin in the stocks, pelted by suspiciously fresh-looking vegetables (for that matter, everything seems a little too clean and civilized for the era, but who cares!). Bad CGI dragons! HP beasts making random cameos! Heroes and Torchwood characters making random cameos! Slow-mo swordfighting! Golden Mary Sue eyes! UNICORNS! It’s enough to almost make you check your critical/cynical impulses at the door.
*goes back to watching download progress for the Merlin season finale*
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Also, I pretend the whole thing has nothing to do with actual Arthuriana. I just pretend it's random fantasy with ~strange similarities~ to mythological characters...
BUT OMG I LOVE UTHER SO MUCH. UTHER UTHER UTHER. OH UTHER.
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I desperately need an Uther icon. Yesterday.
And yes, ignoring the canon probably helps the enjoyment of the show.
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I don't know where you got that idea from. Also,
It does help if I ignore canon, or the versions of it I've encountered. However, I REALLY LOVE THE MAGICAL BACKSTORY TO CURRENT!MERLIN. I like the fact that Uther is so resolutely anti-magic now and yet he has all these magical people revolving around him and he is like the SUN and none of them can escape him and I LOVE IT.
And to think I switched off in disgust after the first five minutes! haha.
By the way, I'd second the Excalibur recommendation. I think that version of Merlin is seriously just IT for me. Also, I would ship that Merlin with Uther anyday. Haha.