Merlin 5.04
So that was a pretty good episode. I liked a lot of it, so let's start with that.
STUFF I LIKED:
* Mithian! I did so love Mithian last season, and while it was sad to see her beaten down and controlled by Morgana, it was lovely to see her again. Even as terrified and cowed as she was, Morgana couldn't break her spirit. I loved how clever she was in her escape attempts and how she finally managed to deliver her warning to Merlin. Even though she couldn't talk freely, I could still sense the special feeling between her and Merlin, and I love that he was the one she reached out to in the end.
And I loved that she chose Merlin to hide behind when they were surrounded by Odin's men at the end. Girl knows where the safest place is!
Oh, and I must note that, as much as I love last week's ep, Mithian's flight through the darkened corridors of Camelot was about a hundred times scarier and more suspenseful than either Percival or Gwen being stalked by ghost!Uther. I was squeaking, "Run, Mithian, run!" the whole time.
* Oh, and on a slightly related note, I got a kick out of Gwen being out and about in the middle of the night again. At first when she was in Arthur's rooms, the slasher in me was a tiny bit bummed to finally see evidence that they share a bedchamber. But then, after that extremely sweet but totally non-sexual kiss on the forehead, there she was, heading back to her own rooms after saying good night to her husband. (That's my theory and I'm sticking with it.)
* Merlin and Arthur were their usual lovely, married selves. I very much enjoyed their interactions in this ep - particularly when Merlin ordered Arthur not to see Mithian that first night and Arthur teased him about giving orders (but Arthur obeyed!) And of course, the end when Merlin gave him another order, to think about what he was doing before killing Odin. And Arthur listened, because he's my sweetly, stupidly noble king - but more wonderfully, he freely gave credit to Merlin with Gwen afterwards. I really, really liked that.
* Gwaine! Although I don't prioritize the Gwaine/Merlin ship over Arthur/Merlin, I do love thinking of Gwaine as Merlin's personal knight. So I got a kick out of Gwaine being the one left behind to take care of Merlin, and I absolutely loved his joy at seeing Merlin awake. They almost hugged! And surely would have if Merlin hadn't been so frantic to get to Arthur. Also love how well they worked together, and how Gwaine treated Merlin completely as an equal comrade and followed his lead. Fantastic bit of characterization for both of them.
* Merlin's magic! Okay, how hot was it when Merlin slammed his hand on the ground and made the whole tomb shake and crumble? I'll go ahead and answer that for you: it was REALLY FREAKING HOT. ROWR. I also loved all the battle scenes and how great everyone looked fighting together.
And in particular, I loved that Merlin got to wave around a sword the same as everyone else. And MORE THAN ANYTHING, I loved that Merlin took out the guy menacing Arthur, with a sword and in Arthur's full sight. I love that Arthur got to see Merlin defending him and fighting alongside them in a way that Arthur can understand. I've wanted to see that for a long time. *happiness*
STUFF I WASN'T AS CRAZY ABOUT:
* Morgana! She irritated the crap out of me in this episode. I'm not sure I can pinpoint why, but I just wanted someone to strangle her the entire time. Her aging make-up was much less convincing than Merlin's. Although I'm sure that was deliberate, because Morgana isn't as strong or skilled as Merlin, it just made it more annoying that neither Merlin nor Gaius ever cottoned on that this suspicious old lady looked ODDLY LIKE KATIE MCGRATH. Not even after they figured out that she wasn't as aged as she was supposed to be. Even though Merlin has pulled the same trick multiple times. Maybe it's been so long that he's forgotten?
* Also, why on earth would the ancient maid even be allowed to come with them on the secret, dangerous mission?
* And since when does Gaius ever leave the castle? Yes, I'm sure he was going to tend to Mithian's father, I get it, but he's never gone on rescue missions before. And he was irritating me with his constant dismissal of Merlin's spidey senses. I don't blame Arthur for plunging ahead with his noble idiocy because Merlin can't give him the real reason for worry most of the time. Arthur is used to Merlin having a bad feeling about things, and then everything works out just fine in the end (other than a slight headache).
But Gaius knows better. Gaius, of all people, should trust Merlin's instincts, and it really bothered me that he totally shot Merlin's concerns down multiple times over the course of the episode.
* It also bugs me a little that Morgana can take Merlin out so easily this season. On the bright side, making him a little more vulnerable is good for fanfic purposes.