I did come out on the other side slightly satisfied. BUT only because I expected the worse. I couldn't have hated anything more than I hated this past series. I wanted to rip the Js hair out, strand by strand, as torture. So I expected to get nothing at all satisfying out of this ending.
Really. I expected them to write Arthur's last words as something like, "Merlin, I'll never forgive you."
I think it's the word "satisfied" that I keep seeing people using, and that's where I get stuck. Because there were absolutely things I liked about the reveal, but the fact that Arthur was dying the whole time meant there was no possible way I could ever find it satisfying as a conclusion to their story.
Arthur was supposed to become King in S5 and the last show of him was supposed to be the one we got at the end of 4x03--that's probably where my headcanon will end from now on)
I agree. Based on the premise of telling the story of these characters before they became the famous characters of legend, the only logical ending would have been Arthur's coronation, maybe already with signs in the sky that Morgana might turn on him one day. However after season one they forgot their own premise and rushed ahead, jumping years and all the glorious stuff that was supposed to come, just so they could tell the ending of the Legend, which wasn't the story they had started to tell. That has been a source of incredible frustration for me over the years. On the other hand, they made Merlin/Arthur the endgame and the slash in this episode was off the scale.
I hope many people participate in merlin_redux because there is certainly a lot to fix in this canon. Also, now that modern Merlin (the old man is clearly his disguise) is canon and they hint at a return of
( ... )
Yeah, I think we're meant to think that he's already accomplished everything he needed to accomplish, and now Camelot can carry on without him, even though we never saw much of that on screen. The whole premise of the early years was that Merlin needed to protect Arthur because Arthur would bring magic back to the land, but... he didn't. Not even a little.
Yeah, slap in the face is kind of how I felt about it. The reveal was completely moot, and while I'm glad it happened before Arthur died, and I liked the individual moments of the reveal, I didn't find it satisfying as a conclusion to their relationship.
But the actin was wonderful and I cried like a really ugly baby.
Like you I just stopped watching S5 halfway through because tbh I just couldn't take it ending (I also refused to read the last two chapter of LOTR for many, many years for the same reason). So yeah, I totally understand where you come from. I came for the Merlin and then I just fell so hard for an Arthur who was not the infallible warrior and king of legend but a young, arrogant, insecure man with mommy and daddy issues (oh boy did he ever have those) who would switch in the blink of an eye from shallow, unpleasant arrogance to a heartbreaking vulnerability. It says a lot for Bradley James ability as an actor, even in the early day, that he mostly managed to pull it off. Not to mention of course, the scorching chemistry between him and Colin Morgan that really underpinned the show. It was their differences as actors and characters that really made it work I think. I do wonder how the TPTB will fulfill their promise of movies seeing as Arthur fucking died and I'm not holding my breath. Still, my hope is that the fandom will live on
( ... )
My impression about the movies was that they meant to do a full reboot with new cast, if they happen at all (dubious). I doubt they'd ever get the original cast to agree to come back. And like you said, it's the chemistry between Bradley and Colin that really made the show work, so I'm not really interested in anything else.
*sigh* I would love to watch some S1, but I can't due to company. And honestly, I think it would just make me cry more right now.
Comments 21
I did come out on the other side slightly satisfied. BUT only because I expected the worse. I couldn't have hated anything more than I hated this past series. I wanted to rip the Js hair out, strand by strand, as torture. So I expected to get nothing at all satisfying out of this ending.
Really. I expected them to write Arthur's last words as something like, "Merlin, I'll never forgive you."
Sadly, like a dog getting scraps, I enjoyed them.
Reply
Reply
Reply
I agree. Based on the premise of telling the story of these characters before they became the famous characters of legend, the only logical ending would have been Arthur's coronation, maybe already with signs in the sky that Morgana might turn on him one day. However after season one they forgot their own premise and rushed ahead, jumping years and all the glorious stuff that was supposed to come, just so they could tell the ending of the Legend, which wasn't the story they had started to tell. That has been a source of incredible frustration for me over the years. On the other hand, they made Merlin/Arthur the endgame and the slash in this episode was off the scale.
I hope many people participate in merlin_redux because there is certainly a lot to fix in this canon. Also, now that modern Merlin (the old man is clearly his disguise) is canon and they hint at a return of ( ... )
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
But the actin was wonderful and I cried like a really ugly baby.
Reply
Reply
Reply
I do wonder how the TPTB will fulfill their promise of movies seeing as Arthur fucking died and I'm not holding my breath. Still, my hope is that the fandom will live on ( ... )
Reply
*sigh* I would love to watch some S1, but I can't due to company. And honestly, I think it would just make me cry more right now.
Reply
Leave a comment