Merlin Episode 6: (Death Is) A Remedy to Cure All Ills.

[crabby_lioness]

A clever plot disguises a massive exposition dump, but has a weak ending.

Comments

[theafterimages]

I was definitely really impressed with Edwin, I remember that. (Though I have to add that I loved how he died, just because Merlin's complete and utter lack of hesitation or remorse about killing people kind of makes my life). And Arthur turns 21 in episode 9, for what it's worth.

[clancy_s]

complete and utter lack of hesitation or remorse about killing people

Agreed. There were a fair few people in the comms I follow saying that was wrong for the character: IMO given what we know of the times it made sense.

wrt the history, it was a bit unclear but as Uther said in ep1 the ban on magic (and Arthur) was 20 years old at the beginning of the series. Presumably Gaius had been working for Uther for 5 years at the time of the ban.

eta: having seen all the eps I find I find it difficult to discuss things in any detail without getting caught up in spoilers. wrt Merlin as Deus Ex Machina, I can see why you call it that but IMO it also fits with a theme you identified in ep 4 and which is central to the show: Merlin has a natural magic the other sorcers we've seen don't and although he's a novice at spell casting Merlin has a lot more native power than anyone else has shown so far.

[crabby_lioness]

Some of the sweetest people I know also think that there's just some folks what needs killing.

[crabby_lioness]

The called it the Dark Ages for a reason.

[etharei]

I thought that Episode 6 was rather boring, compared to the other eps. I did like that they developed Gaius' character a bit, and that we saw more of Lord Geoffrey. I was about to say something, and then I realized that my observation would be coloured by events in later eps; it's one of those, where you don't necessarily grasp the full extent of the backstory until you get more details later.

One of my favorite parts was Merlin having a bit of a panic attack at the thought of performing magic on Uther :D

[crabby_lioness]

It's a reason to panic. Actually, I can't think about the scene now without imagining Tony, Colin, and Richard having giggle fits. Just like I can't see that beetle crawling on Morgana's face without shouting, "Katie, don't flinch!"

[kathyh]

Really just wanting to comment and say how much I've been enjoying your reviews but I'll expand that a bit to say this isn't one of my favourite episodes either though Edwin was excellent. What I liked about it was that it showed that all the characters, even the seemingly benevolent Gaius, have dark sides and can make mistakes. Gaius is possibly what Merlin could become if he and Arthur make similar mistakes to Gaius and Uther.

[crabby_lioness]

Thank you. All would have been forgiven if the ending had been stronger.

[crabby_lioness]

No, I'm starting my next head cold and my brain is wonky this morning. It's mentioned about three times in the episode that the Great Purge was 25 years ago, and once that it corresponded with Arthur's birth.

[feanna]

Maybe you've read it in the other comments, but Arthur's 21st birthday is in one of the next eps.

[crabby_lioness]

Thank you.

[mossylawn]

The timeline bugs me greately, since Arthur comes of age two episodes later.
Not so young and fresh-faced are you, ehh?

[crabby_lioness]

Can I, Ilke, nail a copy of the timeline to the script editor's monitor? And one for the head writer and the director as well? It's really inexcusable.

[mossylawn]

They really should have it attached to their stupid screens, because that was just ridiculous.