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Merlin finale review
I hope everyone is having happy holidays, whatever you're celebrating!
That was certainly a thoroughly satisfying season finale. I actually watched it on Sunday evening with![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ariadneelda because really, what could possibly be more Christmasy than a Merlin ep?
-Watching the Dragon make barbecue out of Agravaine’s forces was more fun than I’d care to admit. And Merlin speaking dragonish will never get old.
-Between Gwen and Merlin, I can only imagine what kind of hypothesis Tristan has about Arthur’s relationship with his servants.
-Arthur’s puppy eyed look at Merlin’s retreating back in the caves made me sure he was going to go back for him.
-I cannot get enough of those occasions when Merlin stops pretending and just gets down with his badass magically powerful self. If for no other reason than because it’s hot as hell. Actually, Merlin was all-around awesome in this one.
-Most shortlived magic reveal ever! So long, Agravaine. As far as villains go:…eh, you tried. Actually, our reaction to this scene went a bit like this:
*Merlin threatens Agravaine*
ariadneelda: That’s so hot.
Me:Yay!
*Merlin throws Agravaine against rock*
ariadneelda: …is he dead?
Me: Yay! Only the hot people remain! And Gaius.
ariadneelda: I can’t believe he just killed Agravaine!
Me: YAY!
-God, they were really laying on the Merlin/Arthur thick in this one, weren’t they? That little scene in the cave just about killed me. I loved Arthur actually saying what he feels about Merlin and then covering it up with sarcasm-not that Merlin was fooled for a minute!
-Good lord, the shirtless Gwaine! I certainly hope no important information was conveyed in the dialogue in those scenes, because I had a hard time paying attention.
-Morganna, you kinky bitch! I’m totally shipping Morganna/Gwaine after this two-parter (also: Morganna/Helios, Gwaine/Elyan, Percy/Elyan and of course I continue to ship Arthur/Gwen and Merlin/Arthur). Anyway, back to Morganna having fun with her new shirtless pet:
*Morganna saying something about making it harder*
ariadneelda: Making what harder? *snicker*
*Morganna hands Gwaine a weapon that looks like a stake/cross combo*
Me: Is he gonna fight vampires?
ariadneelda: I think that’s supposed to be a sword.
-I got a bit annoyed at Arthur backtracking on last episode’s reconciliation. I mean, I know those crazy kids worked it out at the end, but mostly I’m incredibly frustrated Morganna’s Imperius-bracelet wasn’t revealed, for Gwen’s peace of mind more than anything.
- I’m sure Gaius almost dying was supposed to come off as tragic, but we were too distracted by discussing the yucky mouldy bread (Me: That blue stuff in the middle is not Roquefort, you know!,ariadneelda: FFS, can’t they scrape off the mould before giving it to the old man?), and agreeing that Gaius dying would actually be a good thing storywise because a) it would lead to more Merlin interaction with other people and b) it would be an excellent reason for somebody new to learn Merlin’s secret.
-Are we going to have Merlin give Arthur a “snap out of your ManPain pep talk in every finale from now on?
-The dragon’s advice to Merlin was kind of useless, wasn’t it? He basically replied to Merlin’s question on how to help Arthur by rephrasing the question (How do I make Arthur believe in himself again? –Just do it!)
-No pressure, Arthur, just lift the symbolic representation of your power in front of half of Camelot! You know, Merlin, some guys have trouble getting it up in front of an audience!
-Sir Leon, ILU! It’s very appropriate that he was the one to express the love the Knights and the people have for Arthur.
-And Tristan ended up on the Arthur lovetrain after all. Resistance is futile!
-I kind of love that both Merlin and Gwen outright declared their love for Arthur before the battle in equally unsubtle ways. Where’s my OT3 fic, people?
-As soon as Merlin placed that straw puppet under Morganna’s bed, I knew it had something to do with binding her magic-but I loved that he actually took the initiative and came up with the plan. Much like Arthur has grown into the King he was meant to be, Merlin has definitely outgrown the need for Gaius’ or the Dragon’s guidance.
-I loved the battle scenes or retaking Camelot-the show has always been rather good at the battle choreography, conspicuous absence of blood aside (it’s like they took all the blood that was supposed to be in those scenes and allocated it to Spartacus). And the scene of Morganna fighting her way through the corridors was nice parallel to Arthur’s scene in the last episode. Both of Uther’s kids are badass.
-Yay, Knights reunited! I do love how Percy went straight for Elyan.
Me: God, those smouldering looks…are they gonna kiss?
ariadneelda: He didn’t even look at Gwaine!
Me: Ignoring shirtless!Gwaine to go grab his boyfriend…that’s true love!
-That Arthur/Morganna scene, I’ve been waiting for it for two years! I really appreciated the personnal aspect of Morganna’s betrayal finally being addressed, with regards to both Arthur and Gwen.
-The moment Morganna failed to access her magic was awesome mostly due to Merlin’s expression in the background (ariadneelda: And that’s how one does a subtle smirk, Katie McGrath).
-I hated Isolde getting fridged, even though the scene was very effective within the show, and she went down fighting while displaying a truly impressive cleavage (with Gwen covered up in practical fighting gear, someone had to pick up the slack!).
-I loved the Gwen/Morganna sword fight, and the fact that Morganna easily got the upper hand (because the alternative would be wildly unrealistic). Having said that, if Gwen doesn’t have at least some suspicions after Morganna being tossed in the air seconds before Merlin appeared, I’ll be annoyed. Is Arthur’s obliviousness catching?
-I spent most of Isolde’s dying scene yelling “Cure her with magic, Merlin, you asshole!” at the screen.
-While I would have liked to see Morganna’s magical manipulation of Gwen and Lancelot revealed, it was nice to see them reconciled because Arthur realised what’s truly important (either that, or he was dazzled by the triumphant return of Gwen’s cleavage).
-LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! The way the entire scene was shot was gorgeous, and I might have got a slight lump in my throat seing Morganna’s vision come to pass (Or asariadneelda said: I feel like I’m watching Futurefic). Next season will be EPIC!
-Baaaaaaby dragon! Seriously, I have NO IDEA what they’re planning to do with Morganna next (I was half expecting Mordred to find her in the woods), but this certainly looks unexpected, so consider my interest piqued!
That was certainly a thoroughly satisfying season finale. I actually watched it on Sunday evening with
ariadneelda because really, what could possibly be more Christmasy than a Merlin ep?-Watching the Dragon make barbecue out of Agravaine’s forces was more fun than I’d care to admit. And Merlin speaking dragonish will never get old.
-Between Gwen and Merlin, I can only imagine what kind of hypothesis Tristan has about Arthur’s relationship with his servants.
-Arthur’s puppy eyed look at Merlin’s retreating back in the caves made me sure he was going to go back for him.
-I cannot get enough of those occasions when Merlin stops pretending and just gets down with his badass magically powerful self. If for no other reason than because it’s hot as hell. Actually, Merlin was all-around awesome in this one.
-Most shortlived magic reveal ever! So long, Agravaine. As far as villains go:…eh, you tried. Actually, our reaction to this scene went a bit like this:
*Merlin threatens Agravaine*
ariadneelda: That’s so hot.Me:Yay!
*Merlin throws Agravaine against rock*
ariadneelda: …is he dead?Me: Yay! Only the hot people remain! And Gaius.
ariadneelda: I can’t believe he just killed Agravaine!Me: YAY!
-God, they were really laying on the Merlin/Arthur thick in this one, weren’t they? That little scene in the cave just about killed me. I loved Arthur actually saying what he feels about Merlin and then covering it up with sarcasm-not that Merlin was fooled for a minute!
-Good lord, the shirtless Gwaine! I certainly hope no important information was conveyed in the dialogue in those scenes, because I had a hard time paying attention.
-Morganna, you kinky bitch! I’m totally shipping Morganna/Gwaine after this two-parter (also: Morganna/Helios, Gwaine/Elyan, Percy/Elyan and of course I continue to ship Arthur/Gwen and Merlin/Arthur). Anyway, back to Morganna having fun with her new shirtless pet:
*Morganna saying something about making it harder*
ariadneelda: Making what harder? *snicker**Morganna hands Gwaine a weapon that looks like a stake/cross combo*
Me: Is he gonna fight vampires?
ariadneelda: I think that’s supposed to be a sword.-I got a bit annoyed at Arthur backtracking on last episode’s reconciliation. I mean, I know those crazy kids worked it out at the end, but mostly I’m incredibly frustrated Morganna’s Imperius-bracelet wasn’t revealed, for Gwen’s peace of mind more than anything.
- I’m sure Gaius almost dying was supposed to come off as tragic, but we were too distracted by discussing the yucky mouldy bread (Me: That blue stuff in the middle is not Roquefort, you know!,
ariadneelda: FFS, can’t they scrape off the mould before giving it to the old man?), and agreeing that Gaius dying would actually be a good thing storywise because a) it would lead to more Merlin interaction with other people and b) it would be an excellent reason for somebody new to learn Merlin’s secret. -Are we going to have Merlin give Arthur a “snap out of your ManPain pep talk in every finale from now on?
-The dragon’s advice to Merlin was kind of useless, wasn’t it? He basically replied to Merlin’s question on how to help Arthur by rephrasing the question (How do I make Arthur believe in himself again? –Just do it!)
-No pressure, Arthur, just lift the symbolic representation of your power in front of half of Camelot! You know, Merlin, some guys have trouble getting it up in front of an audience!
-Sir Leon, ILU! It’s very appropriate that he was the one to express the love the Knights and the people have for Arthur.
-And Tristan ended up on the Arthur lovetrain after all. Resistance is futile!
-I kind of love that both Merlin and Gwen outright declared their love for Arthur before the battle in equally unsubtle ways. Where’s my OT3 fic, people?
-As soon as Merlin placed that straw puppet under Morganna’s bed, I knew it had something to do with binding her magic-but I loved that he actually took the initiative and came up with the plan. Much like Arthur has grown into the King he was meant to be, Merlin has definitely outgrown the need for Gaius’ or the Dragon’s guidance.
-I loved the battle scenes or retaking Camelot-the show has always been rather good at the battle choreography, conspicuous absence of blood aside (it’s like they took all the blood that was supposed to be in those scenes and allocated it to Spartacus). And the scene of Morganna fighting her way through the corridors was nice parallel to Arthur’s scene in the last episode. Both of Uther’s kids are badass.
-Yay, Knights reunited! I do love how Percy went straight for Elyan.
Me: God, those smouldering looks…are they gonna kiss?
ariadneelda: He didn’t even look at Gwaine!Me: Ignoring shirtless!Gwaine to go grab his boyfriend…that’s true love!
-That Arthur/Morganna scene, I’ve been waiting for it for two years! I really appreciated the personnal aspect of Morganna’s betrayal finally being addressed, with regards to both Arthur and Gwen.
-The moment Morganna failed to access her magic was awesome mostly due to Merlin’s expression in the background (
ariadneelda: And that’s how one does a subtle smirk, Katie McGrath).-I hated Isolde getting fridged, even though the scene was very effective within the show, and she went down fighting while displaying a truly impressive cleavage (with Gwen covered up in practical fighting gear, someone had to pick up the slack!).
-I loved the Gwen/Morganna sword fight, and the fact that Morganna easily got the upper hand (because the alternative would be wildly unrealistic). Having said that, if Gwen doesn’t have at least some suspicions after Morganna being tossed in the air seconds before Merlin appeared, I’ll be annoyed. Is Arthur’s obliviousness catching?
-I spent most of Isolde’s dying scene yelling “Cure her with magic, Merlin, you asshole!” at the screen.
-While I would have liked to see Morganna’s magical manipulation of Gwen and Lancelot revealed, it was nice to see them reconciled because Arthur realised what’s truly important (either that, or he was dazzled by the triumphant return of Gwen’s cleavage).
-LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! The way the entire scene was shot was gorgeous, and I might have got a slight lump in my throat seing Morganna’s vision come to pass (Or as
ariadneelda said: I feel like I’m watching Futurefic). Next season will be EPIC!-Baaaaaaby dragon! Seriously, I have NO IDEA what they’re planning to do with Morganna next (I was half expecting Mordred to find her in the woods), but this certainly looks unexpected, so consider my interest piqued!
no subject
I loved that Morganna (who has been casting spells on other people for years) would never think to check for spells against herself!
And actually I kind of love that Arthur realized he loved Gwen and wanted to marry her even without the proof of the bracelet.
This was a very fun episode, and half naked Gwaine was definitely a high point (I thought that that was some kind of Buffy wooden stake/cross thing too, but then I realized it was like a child's wooden toy sword....Gwaine is cool even with a toy sword).
no subject
Morganna's arrogance was definitely here downfall.
I didn't want the spell to be revealed because of the Arthur/Gwen, but rather for Gwen's peace of mind.
Gwaine was a high point of the episode!
no subject
Oh yes I get that... but if she knew now then she'd have told Arthur and his love might have looked conditional (like, 'okay I forgiver her now that I know it was a spell'). I still hope that Gwen will learn later that she was always innocent....
I'm just happy that Arthur's love is proven to be unconditional.
Also, I was wondering... had Merlin ever really killed in cold blood before? Because whats-his-name/Agravaine had surrendered, hadn't he?, when Merlin offed him, which seemed like amazingly bad-ass for Merlin! I was really impressed.
no subject
If Tristan joins the knights (maybe?) in the next season I'll be even sadder about Isolde because it would have been awesome to have a woman among all the knights!
WHY IS IT AN ENTIRE YEAR TILL NEXT SEASON???
no subject
At least there was no evil Dexter cliffhanger.