Merlin-The Tears Of Uther Pendragon

[ishtar79]

-I’m not loving the Morganna storyline. It’s not so much that it came out of the blue-there were plenty of hints and reasons for her turning against Uther. What I didn’t buy was her going full-on “Must…destroy…Camelot” mode, and the Evil Smirk Of Evilness Smirk didn’t help. To be fair to Katie, this could easily be the director’s fault. The first time, as she was walking away from Uther, was effective. After about the tenth time, it went straight into the territory of ‘camp’. And while this is a very campy, very silly show, what I normally like is that the cast’s acting tends to transcend that fundamental silliness.

-Having said that, at least it gives Morganna something to do other than constantly looking afraid and kept in the dark because of everyone’s lies.

-For all the questionable things Morganna did in this episode, I will say that what bothered me the most was her coldness to Gwen. The femslash has truly been sunk, people, it’s so sad!

-And we’ve yet to see her consciously use magic that wasn’t borrowed from Morgause! WTF? It’s been a year!

-To be fair, Merlin seems to have forgotten a fair share of his magic. I was underwhelmed by his displays-shouldn’t he have a better mastery of it/be more subtle by now?

-But then if it’s one thing the show is known for, it’s its inability to allow for the characters to grow/move the plot along. Yes, some things have changed with the characters, but with the speed of a moving glacier.

-Seriously, Arthur’s continuing view of Merlin was loveable buffoon has moved on from ‘cutely oblivious’ and “Shit, this genius will unite Albion? We’re so screwed!” territory.

-I did like the serious moment between him and Merlin-a LOT. Could we possibly have more of those and less bucket over the head hijinks? Oh, right. Children’s show.

-What was just right was the Arthur/Gwen interaction, regrettably brief as it was. The moment he grabbed her hand and the lingering look between them was ten kinds of hot, and I found the whole ‘sire’ bit realistic. Of course Gwen is the one more aware of the massive gap between them than Arthur.

-ASH continues to act circles around everybody else.

-Oh, look, it’s the return of the bad!cgi, I mean, slash!dragon. I guess they’ll let bygones be bygones then? Hey, Merlin, remember that time I nearly barbecued Camelot? Good times, haha! Now remember, girls have cooties female magic is inherently dangerous.

-As much as I wished Merlin responded to Morganna’s “If you had magic, you’d understand” rant, for once I’m glad he didn’t reveal his secret. Morganna’s clearly gone off the deep end, as I’m sure poor dead redshirt/sentry will tell you.

-I’m…intrigued by the brief Merlin/Morgause interaction. I kind of wish to see more. She’d eat him alive, of course, but that’s half the fun.

-Morganna’s idea of a stealthy outfit continues to amuse me greatly.

Comments

[miranda_skye]

But then if it’s one thing the show is known for, it’s its inability to allow for the characters to grow/move the plot along.

Oh, so very true. Particularly Arthur, though Uther isn't much better. I find myself regularly wondering how such an idiot got control of Camelot in the first place

[ishtar79]

Uther wasn't exactly running for MENSA in those two episodes. His blind trust of Morganna was stupid. Sweet, but stupid.

[olympia-m.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about Morgana's stealthy outfits - but, god, they're gorgeous!!!!

And, I totally agree with the Arthur/Gwen interaction - that was just right and incredibly sweet and believable (I've had troubles with that in the past)

So far, I'm enjoying this series - and I do prefer an evil!Morgana who does things from one who just looks pretty and scared :)

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about Morgana's stealthy outfits - but, god, they're gorgeous!!!!

Oh, it looks like a gorgeous photoshoot of Camelot haute couture in the woods. It's still hilarious though.

And I do like Morganna with agency better-I just hope they dial down "She's smirking because she's EVIL" anvils.

[olympia-m.livejournal.com]

you're right abiout the smirk - it was kind of funny after the first few times :):)

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

Oh has the third season started already? I have to say that I am not really into any of the characters except that I love Tony Head and find the show entertaining enough to keep me watching....
I particularly loved the episode when Uther fell in love with and married the Troll! Best TV ever!

Have you checked out those 3 episodes of Stephen Moffat's 'Sherlock'??

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Heh, I didn't like the troll episode. I think it's different when you're invested.

And yeah, I've watched Sherlock. I found it all right, but I can't get as invested in it as fandom seems to be.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

Oh I think you are too hard on the comic/troll episode... it showed how vulnerable Uther is to being used by magic because he refuses to allow the good along with the bad...
And now that I finally caught up on the first two episodes of the 3rd season (which I really enjoyed) I thought they played off on that some, showing how easily Morgana can fool Uther and virtually everyone. At any rate I always enjoy some silly w/my shows (hence my love of Doctor Who!).

[lilith-morgana.livejournal.com]

Oh god the Morgana slaughter. What's wrong with using the already established Uther/Morgana relationship and make some heart-wrenching drama out of it, I wonder? It would be so perfect to let her slip further into Destroy Camelot OMG!mode while at the same time regretting it, if her last scene in this episode had been more of a "woe, he trusts me so much and here I was going to kill him, let's angst prettily into the camera" instead of this smirking campness. They've put a lot of thought into giving Uther redeeming qualities in the midst of all his intolerant abuse of power, surely they could have managed the same for her?

And the Arthur/Merlin thing seems to follow the same pattern each season. Episode 1-5, Arthur is an ass, then Merlin proves himself and then by the end of the season, they are friends. Rinse and repeat. Nobody remembers last season.

I totally agree on the hand scene with Arthur and Gwen. Subtle and hot and oh the way he looks down at his own hand as she leaves.

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with using the already established Uther/Morgana relationship and make some heart-wrenching drama out of it, I wonder?

Subtlety? Nuance? Consistency? All the things Merlin won't do, basically.

They've put a lot of thought into giving Uther redeeming qualities in the midst of all his intolerant abuse of power, surely they could have managed the same for her?


But she's *woman*, silly! We can't be as complex as men, haven't you gotten the memo.

Ah, well. I might be just a bit annoyed. On a positive note, yay Arthur/Gwen!

[rahael.livejournal.com]

Yes, the morgana stuff is trying my patience - I hope they have some way of redeeming this storyline. Re Arthur turning into a great king and thus uniting Albion - actually, I wonder if the show isn't demonstrating that it doesn't require 'greatness' to do any such thing. Just hunger for power and callousness (one wonders if the only reason Uther hasn't achieved it is his counter productive objection to magic).

One small part of my mind said to me as I watched "the tears of Uther Pendragon", why does Merlin still believe that stuff? He's only ever heard it from the Dragon, who had its own agenda and who clearly doesn't care about Camelot, Albion or legendary kings. Am surprised Merlin hasn't had a moment of doubt about his, "must help Arthur, at all costs". I don't have as much a problem with the character regression between Arthur/Merlin as much as everyone else seems to - it feels to me as if people who have power frequently fall into that kind of behaviour towards those people they aren't attracted to (Arthur is respectful towards Gwen because he's in love with her) or are more powerful than them (Uther). I think (hope) the show will demonstrate that Arthur has truly grown up through big and irreversible changes in his relationships with Morgana, Gwen and Merlin.

Still, despite all this, I do find the show loveable on the shallow level and it hasn't made me stop enjoying it.

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Re Arthur turning into a great king and thus uniting Albion - actually, I wonder if the show isn't demonstrating that it doesn't require 'greatness' to do any such thing. Just hunger for power and callousness (one wonders if the only reason Uther hasn't achieved it is his counter productive objection to magic).

That's a great reading. I doubt the writers are subtle/clued in enough to have intended it, but you can totally get that out of what plays out onscreen.

I'm trying to find a reason for Merlin's continuing loyalty to Arthur that doesn't involve slash, and...um. I don't mind the so-called M/A regression personally, I'm just tired of the juvenile aspect of it.

And I hear you on still enjoying the show. I bitch because I love!

[heather.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Morgana's storyline, to me, is less unbelievable than it is heavy-handed. But I'm interested to see where it goes. Sometime in S2 Morgana stopped being one of my main incentives to watch so my emotional investment is less than it was; I can see how others might be feeling heartbroken right now. (That said, this might be my own internal defense mechanism against the neglect and sinking of my original OTP, gwen/morgana. OUCH.)

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Watching the show from a Gwen/Morganna OTP point...ouch, indeed. I'm not as invested in Morganna as I am the other three, but it still annoys the hell out of me the way her storyline's being presented, not the least because of all the wasted potential.

[aegflota.livejournal.com]

My patience with the show is pretty stretched, although I am enjoying the Morgana/Morgause interaction. I'm not okay with the MORGANA IS EVIL! theme because dude, she's trying to overthrow a fucking ruthless maniac who happily slaughters families and children and only ever feels guilt when he's under a flipping enchantment.

I'm starting to think the phrase 'blood traitor' was coined for Gaius & Merlin. Ooh, crossover...

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Morgause rocks my world. I hope to see more of her (and her random hot boyfriend too).

Gaius fills me with rage, so of course we'll be stuck with him until the bitter end. Hey, this brings back all sorts of HP memories!

[aegflota.livejournal.com]

Her random hot boyfriend who doesn't understand siege warfare at all (it's generally supposed to go on for more than half an hour, people!) but bless him, he tries.

I haven't seen anything to indicate Morgause and Cenred-whatever-his-name-is would do a bad job of ruling Camelot. The lack of DROWNED CHILDREN in their past could only be a good thing.

Interestingly enough, though, one of the tales about Arthur is that he had babies killed when he found out about Mordred. So obviously the Pendragons have always been arses.