merrrrrrlin day
wheee! idk if it's something about the tourney episodes but they tend to always be awesome.
thoughts:
+ so i've been pretty blah about show and everything to do with it lately but finally! an episode that made me :D after weeks and weeks. and generally, i tend to go oh, merlin a lot, and i did so copiously, but i also went oh, arthur quite a bit today, which is rare and a good, good sign. i am also a sucker for parallels and having both arthur and merlin swallow their pride for the greater good and for ~destiny~ to take its course = pretty damn epic.
+ the whole scene with merlin busting out forbearnan and exposing himself with the little flame in his hand -- i may have gotten very emotional there (and i partly blame my fixation with the crystal cave novel and the significance it places on the flame as the first and last bit of magic learned). wishful thinking is wishful but i want him to show arthur that. it was such a quiet and lovely and achey moment.
+ what the dragon said about uther dying of magic and that screwing up arthur's view--i think this is the only thing that allows for the recent developments and merlin's dubious morality makes sense. also, wow, dragon did not preach about killing uther. this was actually new.
+ "you've been pretending for so long you've forgotten who you are" - and merlin denying it and oh my heart. thank you for saying it, dudley. i just...really needed merlin to hear that. although this show beats us over the head with how merlin's magic is the right and good kind, the kid needs to know that sometimes (most of the time?) he really isn't being fair to himself at all. the self-sacrificing stint got aggravating a while ago and even though he's gonna keep doing it, it's good for him to know it's not always right. and just, i think it's moments like these that hint at SO MUCH potential and could be so grand in the long run if they're treated like seeds sown and are the beginnings of something greater--but then i tell myself that this is merlin and i'm seeing what i'm seeing because the actors are stellar, not because of the writing D:
+ arthur matched against uther (saw that coming lol but never not entertaining) and arthur being all WTF DO I DO. it was wonderful to see the arthur of the past again. oh bb, i have missed you and you and merlin actually being friendly and lovely ♥ and show is probably leading me on again but all these throwbacks to arthur being ready to be king...and the supposed focus on the knights next year? oh man oh man.
+ morgana playing uther like a fiddle and being generally stunning and snarky and fuelling the father vs. son all the while. she was kind of shockingly subtle today. it's a good look on her.
+ dudley was awesome! i am actually surprised that he made it out alive and had my fingers crossed that he would. seeing merlin go all borderline sociopath with protecting uther these days, i wouldn't have been surprised if he'd either a) killed him himself or b) let uther kill him. the dragon-talk also scared me that this was going to be the case. i also liked that he and merlin parted on good terms and that they seemed to at least sympathize with where the other was coming from even if gilli's view of magic changed more than merlin's. re: merlin's view of magic -- i know it works in that short term loss for long-term investment kinda way but at its core, i can't help but feel (irrationally?) selfish on his behalf and want him to bust out the magic and be done with uther already. that, and i have an upper limit on my tolerance of martyrdom i suppose...
+ i wish that every episode did not end with merlin and gaius being all giggly over their dinner table but you can't win em all so i'm gonna be happy with what i got!
thoughts:
+ so i've been pretty blah about show and everything to do with it lately but finally! an episode that made me :D after weeks and weeks. and generally, i tend to go oh, merlin a lot, and i did so copiously, but i also went oh, arthur quite a bit today, which is rare and a good, good sign. i am also a sucker for parallels and having both arthur and merlin swallow their pride for the greater good and for ~destiny~ to take its course = pretty damn epic.
+ the whole scene with merlin busting out forbearnan and exposing himself with the little flame in his hand -- i may have gotten very emotional there (and i partly blame my fixation with the crystal cave novel and the significance it places on the flame as the first and last bit of magic learned). wishful thinking is wishful but i want him to show arthur that. it was such a quiet and lovely and achey moment.
+ what the dragon said about uther dying of magic and that screwing up arthur's view--i think this is the only thing that allows for the recent developments and merlin's dubious morality makes sense. also, wow, dragon did not preach about killing uther. this was actually new.
+ "you've been pretending for so long you've forgotten who you are" - and merlin denying it and oh my heart. thank you for saying it, dudley. i just...really needed merlin to hear that. although this show beats us over the head with how merlin's magic is the right and good kind, the kid needs to know that sometimes (most of the time?) he really isn't being fair to himself at all. the self-sacrificing stint got aggravating a while ago and even though he's gonna keep doing it, it's good for him to know it's not always right. and just, i think it's moments like these that hint at SO MUCH potential and could be so grand in the long run if they're treated like seeds sown and are the beginnings of something greater--but then i tell myself that this is merlin and i'm seeing what i'm seeing because the actors are stellar, not because of the writing D:
+ arthur matched against uther (saw that coming lol but never not entertaining) and arthur being all WTF DO I DO. it was wonderful to see the arthur of the past again. oh bb, i have missed you and you and merlin actually being friendly and lovely ♥ and show is probably leading me on again but all these throwbacks to arthur being ready to be king...and the supposed focus on the knights next year? oh man oh man.
+ morgana playing uther like a fiddle and being generally stunning and snarky and fuelling the father vs. son all the while. she was kind of shockingly subtle today. it's a good look on her.
+ dudley was awesome! i am actually surprised that he made it out alive and had my fingers crossed that he would. seeing merlin go all borderline sociopath with protecting uther these days, i wouldn't have been surprised if he'd either a) killed him himself or b) let uther kill him. the dragon-talk also scared me that this was going to be the case. i also liked that he and merlin parted on good terms and that they seemed to at least sympathize with where the other was coming from even if gilli's view of magic changed more than merlin's. re: merlin's view of magic -- i know it works in that short term loss for long-term investment kinda way but at its core, i can't help but feel (irrationally?) selfish on his behalf and want him to bust out the magic and be done with uther already. that, and i have an upper limit on my tolerance of martyrdom i suppose...
+ i wish that every episode did not end with merlin and gaius being all giggly over their dinner table but you can't win em all so i'm gonna be happy with what i got!