Merlin Series 4 Eps 1&2
I wanted to wait until 4x02 was over before posting this. It's a combined review of 4x01 and 4x02 which is actually two seperate reviews jammed together.
Wow.
Just wow.
I really enjoyed that episode and I can't wait for next week.
The Villains.
The Dorocha/The Cailleach. They could have used a little more variation when it came to the shots of the Dorocha. Not all dead people look the same, ask Disney's Hercules. I did love just how scary they were, although I really did think there should have been more of them. Like little ones and big ones coming from all different types of shadow to really hammer home the scary. Also they should have ramped down the 'unearthly shrieks prior to attacking', would have made them more scary. As for the Cailleach I thought she was really good, very creepy and very death like, and I loved her cloak.
Agravaine. I like but I want to see more background for. Also WTF dude, why are you supporting Morgana. Arthur is YOUR FUCKING NEPHEW, Morgana has no relation to you (brother in law's bastard kid). Yes I get that you may well be pissed at Uther for, you know, engineering the death of your sister but why are you trying to kill your own nephew? You don't appear to have any kids so if you want a legitimate Pendragon on the throne (who's going to last more than a few years) why are you working with Morgana? Okay so you're probably going to try and double cross her to get the throne yourself but seriously man.
Morgana. Why are you still intent on the throne of Camelot? Why? You tried that, the people hated you, the knights hated you and despite you having a bigger immortal army you still lost. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Camelot has better morale, more loyal knights and has gotten stronger since you tried to defeat it. You are not going to win. And sure you can set a plague of ghosties loose so they can kill everyone else but what are you going to do if they kill your allies. What are you going to do if they can't close the barrier and you're left ruling over a dead kingdom?
Morgause. I was so confused about Morgause this episode. Firstly, how does a crack on the head (that didn't even bleed or cut her face at all) cause massive facial scarring? How has she survived for a year only to die so conviniently? In fact how did she survive, she would have been bleeding into her brain which (given the medieval nature of the setting) nobody would even know how to stop.
The Heroes.
The Knights. I loved the knights and their teamworkiness. Percival going 'torch...children...torch...children......children' and then Elyan leaping to his defence was awesome. Kind of annoyed me that Gwaine got so few lines though, but I did like Percival getting a bit more characterisation than 'dude with muscles'. Loved Lancelot, loved Lancelot's friendship to Merlin and his reaction too and encouragement of Merlin's casual useage of magic. But just in general, loved how close they were and how they all worked together really well. Really enjoyed the general friendship with Merlin. I had a bit of a giggle over the fact that Lancelot is the only one to have a white horse.
Arthur. Oh god did I love him so much this episode. Somebody in the Beeb listened to my whinging about how badly Arthur was treating Merlin and fixed him. The banter is back (the bit about collecting firewood) but Arthur seems to have wized up to the fact that Merlin speaks a lot of sense (also can we stop the 'you don't know how many times I've saved your life' joke. Because we know how many times Merlin has saved Arthur's life and Arthur doesn't, that has been established. The only time I want to see that line is to see it reversed. With Arthur asking 'how many times have you saved my life' and Merlin giving him the total) and the bit about letting Merlin write the speech (and the fact that he used it, or appeared too judging by the fact he tossed his away and put down the feather). But I also loved the not so funny bits, the bit with Arthur and Uther was just heartbreaking and I even liked the Arthur/Gwen bit (again, thank you Beeb for realising that drama-heavy episodes do not need oodles of romance). I love the fact that we're seeing Arthur the King and the fact that he wasn't really relying on Agravaine, just wanting advice. That bit with the girl (and was I the only one who swore she said 'Freya' at first?) just made me want to snuggle him because he was really good. A+ acting Bradley.
Merlin. Wibble. His expression when his powers wouldn't work and his ensuing fear of them really hit a chord with me. That's the first time we've really seen him afraid, because he's always trusted that his magic could save him. Giant dragon who he thought was his friend tries to fry him. Magic. People threaten him. Magic. And now suddenly it doesn't work. I thought the scene with the candle (although a bit overplayed) worked really well. His determination to follow Arthur and the knights despite this also really worked. Especially at the end when he took the bullet (or Dorocha as it were) for Arthur was just adorable. Also the repeat of 1x13 was kind of awesome, although I'm surprised neither he nor Gaius actually mentioned it. Merlin never really has good luck at feasts, does he?
Did anybody else think it was nice to see Merlin's destiny seperated from Arthur's and Camelot's for a moment? Since the beginning of S1 there's been the whole 'destiny' theme running through it and Merlin has been told innumerable times that he has one, but the majority of the time it's to make sure Arthur becomes king, to make sure Camelot survives and there's no mention of Merlin whatsoever. Something which probably contributes to his apparent death wish (seriously Merlin, you are important as a person as well as somebody who is engineering the destinies of Arthur and Camelot).
Uther. I know he didn't get much showtime and I was kind of sad about that. If all they are going to do with him is have him sit around staring then they're massively under-using Anthony Head and might as well have killed him off over the break. The little bit with Arthur was awesome.
Questions
Why has the Isle of the Blessed completely changed shape? And location? And grown more of a castle?
Why is the geography of Albion so screwed up?
How many of those little valleys with carved steps are there around Camelot?
Why is Morgana still living near Camelot and how has nobody found her?
Why has nobody wondered why Agravaine disappears by himself into the forest?
Why is Merlin appearing as Dragoon the Mighty in Morgana's visions? He's not causing them so he can't be manipulating them. That is not his natural form. I know it's to conceal Merlin's identity but seriously. Reason Beeb?
WTF happened to Morgause's face?
Where the hell was Nimeuh Beeb? You promised Nimueh and you have not delivered yet.
Why didn't Gwaine have more lines?
Did anybody else notice the first ever mention of the G word in Merlin?
Why didn't Morgana kill the knights when she first met them?
Did anyone think that the veil looked just a bit like a vagina?
So. Part 2.
One massive question.
WHERE THE FUCK WAS NIMUEH?
You promised us Nimueh Beeb and you have not delivered. I am not best pleased, I loved her.
The Villains
The Dorocha/The Cailleach. Less scary this episode than they were last episode. The evil laughter was just kind of OTT and the Dorocha only seemed to attack when it would be dramatic or convenient. Also was I the only one thinking when the Dragon was on about how it's the Cailleach that demands the price 'so maybe kill the Cailleach'. She's the one keeping the gate open, kill her, gate closes. Logic.
Also part of the reason the Dorocha were far less scary was the fact they can only bloody go in straight lines. Unless you are right in their path you won't die. Under them is fine, next to them is fine, around the corner from them you're peachy. This begs the question, why did Merlin throw himself in front of one of them? It was going to go straight past him and Arthur.
Agravaine/Morgana. I'm getting pissed at the both of them. Why is he supporting her? How on earth did they meet? Why does he hate Arthur? Why does he want Morgana to rule after the shambles she made of it last time? Why does she want to destroy Camelot if she wants to rule it (does the phrase 'empire of dirt' mean anything to her)? Why is he riding out in the middle of the day to meet with her? Why does Morgana think knocking people into walls/over kills them? Why doesn't Agravaine just fire Gwen if she's being such a threat (it's not like Arthur's there to stop him)?
Also they seem kind of creepily sexy together.
The Heroes
Arthur. Again, I loved him this episode. God, his facial expression when Lancelot said 'Bad news' was just heartbreaking and his treatment of Merlin has increased a hundredfold, thank you Beeb. The bit at the end with Gwen was kind of sweet, right up until he clapped her on the shoulder and walked away.
Merlin. This episode was kind of Deus Ex Machina overload. Dragon. Water people (who I swear were called Vilya) and their sparkly healing jizz. On the other hand, destiny and somebody finally acknowledging that Merlin is the best of them all. Because fuck it he is.
Lancelot. What are the chances he's actually going to stay dead? Probably about as much as a comic-book characters.
Overall
This episode kind of annoyed me. Gwaine got promoted from 'no lines' to 'comic relief now that Merlin's not here'. Gwen decided to speak up despite the fact that Arthur wasn't there to protect her, which is all power to her but seriously. Logic. Agravaine is not Arthur (even if he does have creepy sexual overtones towards her), he is not in love with you, he is in charge, questioning him in front of the court is likely to result in 1. you getting fired or 2. some other form of discipline (and not the fun kind).
People were passing the idiot ball around regarding the Dorocha. Fire makes them go away so let's either leave nobody on watch so the fire will run out, extinguish our fire with no quick means of reigniting it or run around without any fire and hope that we can outrun it. Morgana got handed a serious idiot ball in regards to Gwen.
News flash Morgy. Throwing somebody against something (unless it's off something high) is not going to kill them. It's going to give them a nice headache and possibly a concussion but they will get better. (Also why was Gwen's head wound on the front of her head when she clearly hit the back of it?). Also, knocking flaming torches onto a straw littered floor is just asking for a recreation of the Great Fire of London several centuries early. And did nobody who lives there look out their window or walk down the street and notice three people lying there.
As for the dragon, cool that it appeared but seriously. Can Kilgharrah fucking apparate or something, because there's no other way he could get there that fast if he somehow magically managed to hear Merlin's summons.
This really was just a two part rehash of 1x13 with the death ball and the Cailleach instead of Nimueh.
I can't help wondering just what is going to happen to the Gwen/Arthur/Lancelot love triangle now that he's dead (or at least until he gets resurrected in some form).
Next week looks....interesting. Return of Dragoon the Mighty, Arthur attempting magic and why is Arthur tied to the wheel of fortune?
In other news I ended up driving behind a Bugatti Veyron today. A real one. I got ridiculously excited and followed it for ages because it's such a pretty car. The guy driving it must have thought I was creepy-stalker lady but I didn't care. It was so funny watching the people in the other lane give it a massive amount of room because they didn't dare scratch it.
Today was awesome.
Wow.
Just wow.
I really enjoyed that episode and I can't wait for next week.
The Villains.
The Dorocha/The Cailleach. They could have used a little more variation when it came to the shots of the Dorocha. Not all dead people look the same, ask Disney's Hercules. I did love just how scary they were, although I really did think there should have been more of them. Like little ones and big ones coming from all different types of shadow to really hammer home the scary. Also they should have ramped down the 'unearthly shrieks prior to attacking', would have made them more scary. As for the Cailleach I thought she was really good, very creepy and very death like, and I loved her cloak.
Agravaine. I like but I want to see more background for. Also WTF dude, why are you supporting Morgana. Arthur is YOUR FUCKING NEPHEW, Morgana has no relation to you (brother in law's bastard kid). Yes I get that you may well be pissed at Uther for, you know, engineering the death of your sister but why are you trying to kill your own nephew? You don't appear to have any kids so if you want a legitimate Pendragon on the throne (who's going to last more than a few years) why are you working with Morgana? Okay so you're probably going to try and double cross her to get the throne yourself but seriously man.
Morgana. Why are you still intent on the throne of Camelot? Why? You tried that, the people hated you, the knights hated you and despite you having a bigger immortal army you still lost. LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. Camelot has better morale, more loyal knights and has gotten stronger since you tried to defeat it. You are not going to win. And sure you can set a plague of ghosties loose so they can kill everyone else but what are you going to do if they kill your allies. What are you going to do if they can't close the barrier and you're left ruling over a dead kingdom?
Morgause. I was so confused about Morgause this episode. Firstly, how does a crack on the head (that didn't even bleed or cut her face at all) cause massive facial scarring? How has she survived for a year only to die so conviniently? In fact how did she survive, she would have been bleeding into her brain which (given the medieval nature of the setting) nobody would even know how to stop.
The Heroes.
The Knights. I loved the knights and their teamworkiness. Percival going 'torch...children...torch...children......children' and then Elyan leaping to his defence was awesome. Kind of annoyed me that Gwaine got so few lines though, but I did like Percival getting a bit more characterisation than 'dude with muscles'. Loved Lancelot, loved Lancelot's friendship to Merlin and his reaction too and encouragement of Merlin's casual useage of magic. But just in general, loved how close they were and how they all worked together really well. Really enjoyed the general friendship with Merlin. I had a bit of a giggle over the fact that Lancelot is the only one to have a white horse.
Arthur. Oh god did I love him so much this episode. Somebody in the Beeb listened to my whinging about how badly Arthur was treating Merlin and fixed him. The banter is back (the bit about collecting firewood) but Arthur seems to have wized up to the fact that Merlin speaks a lot of sense (also can we stop the 'you don't know how many times I've saved your life' joke. Because we know how many times Merlin has saved Arthur's life and Arthur doesn't, that has been established. The only time I want to see that line is to see it reversed. With Arthur asking 'how many times have you saved my life' and Merlin giving him the total) and the bit about letting Merlin write the speech (and the fact that he used it, or appeared too judging by the fact he tossed his away and put down the feather). But I also loved the not so funny bits, the bit with Arthur and Uther was just heartbreaking and I even liked the Arthur/Gwen bit (again, thank you Beeb for realising that drama-heavy episodes do not need oodles of romance). I love the fact that we're seeing Arthur the King and the fact that he wasn't really relying on Agravaine, just wanting advice. That bit with the girl (and was I the only one who swore she said 'Freya' at first?) just made me want to snuggle him because he was really good. A+ acting Bradley.
Merlin. Wibble. His expression when his powers wouldn't work and his ensuing fear of them really hit a chord with me. That's the first time we've really seen him afraid, because he's always trusted that his magic could save him. Giant dragon who he thought was his friend tries to fry him. Magic. People threaten him. Magic. And now suddenly it doesn't work. I thought the scene with the candle (although a bit overplayed) worked really well. His determination to follow Arthur and the knights despite this also really worked. Especially at the end when he took the bullet (or Dorocha as it were) for Arthur was just adorable. Also the repeat of 1x13 was kind of awesome, although I'm surprised neither he nor Gaius actually mentioned it. Merlin never really has good luck at feasts, does he?
Did anybody else think it was nice to see Merlin's destiny seperated from Arthur's and Camelot's for a moment? Since the beginning of S1 there's been the whole 'destiny' theme running through it and Merlin has been told innumerable times that he has one, but the majority of the time it's to make sure Arthur becomes king, to make sure Camelot survives and there's no mention of Merlin whatsoever. Something which probably contributes to his apparent death wish (seriously Merlin, you are important as a person as well as somebody who is engineering the destinies of Arthur and Camelot).
Uther. I know he didn't get much showtime and I was kind of sad about that. If all they are going to do with him is have him sit around staring then they're massively under-using Anthony Head and might as well have killed him off over the break. The little bit with Arthur was awesome.
Questions
Why has the Isle of the Blessed completely changed shape? And location? And grown more of a castle?
Why is the geography of Albion so screwed up?
How many of those little valleys with carved steps are there around Camelot?
Why is Morgana still living near Camelot and how has nobody found her?
Why has nobody wondered why Agravaine disappears by himself into the forest?
Why is Merlin appearing as Dragoon the Mighty in Morgana's visions? He's not causing them so he can't be manipulating them. That is not his natural form. I know it's to conceal Merlin's identity but seriously. Reason Beeb?
WTF happened to Morgause's face?
Where the hell was Nimeuh Beeb? You promised Nimueh and you have not delivered yet.
Why didn't Gwaine have more lines?
Did anybody else notice the first ever mention of the G word in Merlin?
Why didn't Morgana kill the knights when she first met them?
Did anyone think that the veil looked just a bit like a vagina?
So. Part 2.
One massive question.
WHERE THE FUCK WAS NIMUEH?
You promised us Nimueh Beeb and you have not delivered. I am not best pleased, I loved her.
The Villains
The Dorocha/The Cailleach. Less scary this episode than they were last episode. The evil laughter was just kind of OTT and the Dorocha only seemed to attack when it would be dramatic or convenient. Also was I the only one thinking when the Dragon was on about how it's the Cailleach that demands the price 'so maybe kill the Cailleach'. She's the one keeping the gate open, kill her, gate closes. Logic.
Also part of the reason the Dorocha were far less scary was the fact they can only bloody go in straight lines. Unless you are right in their path you won't die. Under them is fine, next to them is fine, around the corner from them you're peachy. This begs the question, why did Merlin throw himself in front of one of them? It was going to go straight past him and Arthur.
Agravaine/Morgana. I'm getting pissed at the both of them. Why is he supporting her? How on earth did they meet? Why does he hate Arthur? Why does he want Morgana to rule after the shambles she made of it last time? Why does she want to destroy Camelot if she wants to rule it (does the phrase 'empire of dirt' mean anything to her)? Why is he riding out in the middle of the day to meet with her? Why does Morgana think knocking people into walls/over kills them? Why doesn't Agravaine just fire Gwen if she's being such a threat (it's not like Arthur's there to stop him)?
Also they seem kind of creepily sexy together.
The Heroes
Arthur. Again, I loved him this episode. God, his facial expression when Lancelot said 'Bad news' was just heartbreaking and his treatment of Merlin has increased a hundredfold, thank you Beeb. The bit at the end with Gwen was kind of sweet, right up until he clapped her on the shoulder and walked away.
Merlin. This episode was kind of Deus Ex Machina overload. Dragon. Water people (who I swear were called Vilya) and their sparkly healing jizz. On the other hand, destiny and somebody finally acknowledging that Merlin is the best of them all. Because fuck it he is.
Lancelot. What are the chances he's actually going to stay dead? Probably about as much as a comic-book characters.
Overall
This episode kind of annoyed me. Gwaine got promoted from 'no lines' to 'comic relief now that Merlin's not here'. Gwen decided to speak up despite the fact that Arthur wasn't there to protect her, which is all power to her but seriously. Logic. Agravaine is not Arthur (even if he does have creepy sexual overtones towards her), he is not in love with you, he is in charge, questioning him in front of the court is likely to result in 1. you getting fired or 2. some other form of discipline (and not the fun kind).
People were passing the idiot ball around regarding the Dorocha. Fire makes them go away so let's either leave nobody on watch so the fire will run out, extinguish our fire with no quick means of reigniting it or run around without any fire and hope that we can outrun it. Morgana got handed a serious idiot ball in regards to Gwen.
News flash Morgy. Throwing somebody against something (unless it's off something high) is not going to kill them. It's going to give them a nice headache and possibly a concussion but they will get better. (Also why was Gwen's head wound on the front of her head when she clearly hit the back of it?). Also, knocking flaming torches onto a straw littered floor is just asking for a recreation of the Great Fire of London several centuries early. And did nobody who lives there look out their window or walk down the street and notice three people lying there.
As for the dragon, cool that it appeared but seriously. Can Kilgharrah fucking apparate or something, because there's no other way he could get there that fast if he somehow magically managed to hear Merlin's summons.
This really was just a two part rehash of 1x13 with the death ball and the Cailleach instead of Nimueh.
I can't help wondering just what is going to happen to the Gwen/Arthur/Lancelot love triangle now that he's dead (or at least until he gets resurrected in some form).
Next week looks....interesting. Return of Dragoon the Mighty, Arthur attempting magic and why is Arthur tied to the wheel of fortune?
In other news I ended up driving behind a Bugatti Veyron today. A real one. I got ridiculously excited and followed it for ages because it's such a pretty car. The guy driving it must have thought I was creepy-stalker lady but I didn't care. It was so funny watching the people in the other lane give it a massive amount of room because they didn't dare scratch it.
Today was awesome.