Some rather thinky thoughts on Merlin 2x03
Oh, you guys. I am just so tired that I am not up to par for reviewing this episode. It made me squee on many levels, but mainly the Uther/Morgana was so one-sided in this episode that I just came away feeling depressed. In fact, Morgana in general made me say, "Ooooooh, but no!" I get where she is coming from, and I do not blame her one bit, but at the same time I am like:
"Woman! Do you not see this man ransacking his entire kingdom just to have you back? Do you not remember that wonderful lady's maid who loves you more than anything? Do you not recall that prattish Arthur fellow who will do anything you tell him to do simply because he admires the hell out of you? HOW COULD YOU LEAVE THEM ALL SO EFFORTLESSLY?" She is not alone. She has many people who care about her deeply, and they too are her people, she just... refuses to see that. She's always refused to really consider herself a Pendragon, and this just kills me. I mean, it is a point in my favor for the whole "Uther and Morgana are not father and daughter" argument, but at the same time, it means that she's never really attached herself to these people on the same level that they have to her. A PART OF UTHER WOULD BE DEAD WITHOUT HER. Would Morgana ever truly feel the same about Uther? I used to think that To Kill a King proved that yes, a part of Morgana would be very empty without Uther. But then we get this episode where she is so very detached from everyone at Camelot, but namely Uther, even going so far as to conclude for certain that Uther would kill her if he found out about her magic. She won't even consider that he might love her enough to not kill her. She has no idea as to the depth of Uther's love for her, even though he has outright said to her, "I LOVE YOU. NEVER LEAVE ME. I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU." Well, he may not have used those exact words, but, you know, that was the general gist. And then in this episode Uther actually voices these thoughts about Morgana to Gaius. Morgana is his. She owns a part of his soul that he can't take back. AND MORGANA JUST COMPLETELY DISREGARDS THIS FACT. She was so ready to leave Uther and Arthur and Gwen behind, all because none of them can understand her situation. But does she understand theirs? Do they want to leave her out in the cold simply because she has no idea what it's like to be a king or a servant or a prince with an ominous father? No. They love her, they listen to her (sometimes), they think of her as theirs. *huff*
All that said, I do get where Morgana is coming from, and I really don't blame her for wanting to go off with the Druids. They can teach her, they can nurture her in a way that both Uther and Gaius refuse to. She felt an instant connection to them, while with Uther and Arthur it's always been a struggle to see eye to eye with them. She feels as if Uther doesn't truly love her because he refuses to see the whole her, while the Druids readily embrace her for all that she is. So, yes, I get it, but Arthur and Uther and Gwen are her family. You don't just abandon your family like that without even saying goodbye. Add to that, she knew that Uther was going to execute dozens of people if she didn't return, and she knows that he would keep killing people until he found her, and it is just not like Morgana to be so selfish as to not care about them. This was just a very confused, very self-centered Morgana, and it is all because Gaius refuses to guide her and make her feel okay about being who she is (and in fact makes her feel stupid more than anything else). And she can't go to Uther because magic is the one thing that would tear them apart irrevocably. All she's ever known is that magic is a bad, bad thing, therefore she must be a bad, bad person. But she's not! And Gaius could have told her this! Merlin could have told her this! I mean, come on, SINCE WHEN DID MERLIN START LISTENING TO GAIUS? Seriously. This is what he chooses to listen to? WHY? *sigh* All Morgana needed was to know that she wasn't alone. All she needs to do is tell the people she cares about who she really is. But she can't, because there is too much risk involved. Would they embrace her? Would they ignore the truth? Would they throw her out? Or would they execute her? I think we got Uther's answer tonight. He can't kill her because her death would kill him. Can Uther accept that Morgana is a sorceress? No, definitely not, and you can bet he'll deny it till he's blue in the face, or, more likely, until she leaves him to lead a band of renegade sorcerers in overthrowing the throne. And Uther, after having killed thousands and thousands of suspected sorcerers, will just be in an utterly heartbroken, pitiful, self-loathing state where he doesn't even put up a fight when she finally shows up again. YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE THAT. Or not, because that's quite depressing for a family program.
Anyway, this whole business of killing magical people. WHY DO THEY NOT USE MAGIC TO FIGHT OFF THE KNIGHTS? I will never understand this. They are sorcerers. They can bewitch the knights' swords and make them stab themselves. They can burn them with fire. They can drown them with water. They can blow them away with wind. So... how do they keep getting caught? Why do they not chant a spell when they're about to be beheaded? I just... don't get this. At all. And WHY WHY WHY did the nice Druid dude have to die? WHY? And why did no one even care that he got killed? Especially Morgana?
I just... ugh, I'm not supposed to take this show so seriously. I didn't take the first two eps this seriously, but apparently when the show dances with these dark themes, I can't help but look at it and say, "Why did this happen?" When it's cracky, I can just laugh. When it's dark, my mind goes into instant analytical mode. Especially when it deals with either Uther or Morgana.
Basically, this ep just left me in a dark place rather than that light fluffy place that it usually leaves me. But now that I've gotten all the serious commentary out of the way, let's move onto the squee:
1. ARTHUR WANTED TO KNOW WHERE HIS FLOWERS WERE. OOOOOH, HE WAS JEALOUS! Honestly though, I just really loved that these two boys were back up to their old shenanigans.
2. Mordred is a seriously, seriously creepy kid.
3. MERLIN/GAIUS! Doooooh, their love is so beautiful.
4. Morgana is frakkin' gorgeous.
5. This episode totally proved that Uther is standing in Morgana's bedroom in this pic:
I knew it. I KNEW IT! It is so not a coincidence that he is looking all seductive while Morgana's bed is in the background.
6. THE UTHER/MORGANA WAS SO, SO BEAUTIFUL!
Look at his face! He's all broody and worried about his Morgana! So much so that he does not play around in this episode. There is no denying of the existence of magic. In fact, the first thing he says is, "This was sorcery!" Oh, Uther! The one time you finally get it right is the one time when you so should not have been right.
Uther wants EVERY SUSPECT IN THE ENTIRE KINGDOM to be arrested for questioning. Arthur is just like, "Bwah? Seriously? Do you know how long that will take me?" And Uther just fires back with, "SHE IS MY WIFE WARD! GET IT DONE, BITCH!" And, of course, Arthur is his typical eye-rolly self.
I don't know, he's just so beautiful! And he's in Morgana's bedroom, smelling touching her stuff!
BLING. Also, he tells Arthur to KILL EVERYONE if Morgana is not found in an unspecified amount of time. It is interesting to note that Arthur doesn't even try to talk sense into Uther here. He knows there's no point. It's Morgana, and Uther would destroy all of Camelot in order to find her. BECAUSE SHE IS HIS WIFE.
"Any word from Arthur?" (oh, his voice is so hopeful!)
"No, Sire."
"Oh." *sadface*
"Blah blah maybe she went of her own accord blah blah."
"That's not Morgana, in all her years I've never known her to run from anything."
YES! YES! YES YES YES!!! Here is a big whopping example of how much Uther gets and admires Morgana, and how he often just keeps it to himself. He knows her, he knows her motivations, he knows her reactions, and for her to run away would contradict absolutely everything that he knows to be true about her. She faces everything head-on, often without thinking about the consequences (which actually explains a lot of her motivation in wanting to go off with the Druids without even a thought for the ones she'd leave behind heartbroken in Camelot). Also, he says this after that bit:
"She takes after her father too much for that."
And he looks down all sad and frustrated. This is another reminder that Morgana isn't his daughter, and he isn't the father to her that he had hoped to be. And Gaius says "Blah blah, you've looked after her like she's one of your own."
"And that's what she's become. If she were to die, a huge part of me would die with her."
Excuse me for a moment while I go flail around my bedroom.
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...
... ... ...
Okay, I'm back. Yeah, sure, they meant it like she's become Uther's daughter, but he never actually says that here. He basically just says that Morgana belongs with him. She's his people. SEE WHAT I DID THERE? I swear, I can squeeze subtext out of anything, but seriously, it just pained me so much that Uther says this while Morgana looks at the Druids and says, "This is where I belong, these are my people." NO, YOU SILLY GOOSE, UTHER, GWEN, AND ARTHUR ARE YOUR PEOPLE! *huff*
THE HUG!
OMFG, THE FREAKING HUG! AAAAAAAAAH!
He RUNS to her with open arms and lifts her off her horse!
And they both let out this breath and these happy smiles and he CLUTCHES HER TO HIS CHEST! And for less than a millisecond Morgana is completely reciprocating.
But then she has this sort of telekinetic conversation with Gwen and the hug is so pitifully one-sided, unbeknownst to Uther.
He is just clutching her for dear life! And oooooh how I swooned at his breathless whisper of, "I was so, so worried about you."
But then Arthur interrupts them and Uther is just like, "Dude! You're totally messing up my mojo! What the hell, man?" Or... perhaps there was something said about Druids kidnapping Morgana and Uther is letting that information sink in.
And Morgana is thinking, "Oh crap, I forgot about that part."
But then they pull apart and they look at each other and they are both breathing hard and OMG, IT IS SO RIDICULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL! They didn't even need epic soaring violins to achieve such beauty! And had this been any other show, when they leaned in for that second time, it would have most definitely been for a kiss. But this is Merlin, therefore we just get more clutching:
And it was beautiful. OH GOD, THEY EMBRACED EACH OTHER FOR SUCH A RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME. OH, MY HEART!
So, you know, despite my complaints, I actually did thoroughly enjoy this episode.
"Woman! Do you not see this man ransacking his entire kingdom just to have you back? Do you not remember that wonderful lady's maid who loves you more than anything? Do you not recall that prattish Arthur fellow who will do anything you tell him to do simply because he admires the hell out of you? HOW COULD YOU LEAVE THEM ALL SO EFFORTLESSLY?" She is not alone. She has many people who care about her deeply, and they too are her people, she just... refuses to see that. She's always refused to really consider herself a Pendragon, and this just kills me. I mean, it is a point in my favor for the whole "Uther and Morgana are not father and daughter" argument, but at the same time, it means that she's never really attached herself to these people on the same level that they have to her. A PART OF UTHER WOULD BE DEAD WITHOUT HER. Would Morgana ever truly feel the same about Uther? I used to think that To Kill a King proved that yes, a part of Morgana would be very empty without Uther. But then we get this episode where she is so very detached from everyone at Camelot, but namely Uther, even going so far as to conclude for certain that Uther would kill her if he found out about her magic. She won't even consider that he might love her enough to not kill her. She has no idea as to the depth of Uther's love for her, even though he has outright said to her, "I LOVE YOU. NEVER LEAVE ME. I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU." Well, he may not have used those exact words, but, you know, that was the general gist. And then in this episode Uther actually voices these thoughts about Morgana to Gaius. Morgana is his. She owns a part of his soul that he can't take back. AND MORGANA JUST COMPLETELY DISREGARDS THIS FACT. She was so ready to leave Uther and Arthur and Gwen behind, all because none of them can understand her situation. But does she understand theirs? Do they want to leave her out in the cold simply because she has no idea what it's like to be a king or a servant or a prince with an ominous father? No. They love her, they listen to her (sometimes), they think of her as theirs. *huff*
All that said, I do get where Morgana is coming from, and I really don't blame her for wanting to go off with the Druids. They can teach her, they can nurture her in a way that both Uther and Gaius refuse to. She felt an instant connection to them, while with Uther and Arthur it's always been a struggle to see eye to eye with them. She feels as if Uther doesn't truly love her because he refuses to see the whole her, while the Druids readily embrace her for all that she is. So, yes, I get it, but Arthur and Uther and Gwen are her family. You don't just abandon your family like that without even saying goodbye. Add to that, she knew that Uther was going to execute dozens of people if she didn't return, and she knows that he would keep killing people until he found her, and it is just not like Morgana to be so selfish as to not care about them. This was just a very confused, very self-centered Morgana, and it is all because Gaius refuses to guide her and make her feel okay about being who she is (and in fact makes her feel stupid more than anything else). And she can't go to Uther because magic is the one thing that would tear them apart irrevocably. All she's ever known is that magic is a bad, bad thing, therefore she must be a bad, bad person. But she's not! And Gaius could have told her this! Merlin could have told her this! I mean, come on, SINCE WHEN DID MERLIN START LISTENING TO GAIUS? Seriously. This is what he chooses to listen to? WHY? *sigh* All Morgana needed was to know that she wasn't alone. All she needs to do is tell the people she cares about who she really is. But she can't, because there is too much risk involved. Would they embrace her? Would they ignore the truth? Would they throw her out? Or would they execute her? I think we got Uther's answer tonight. He can't kill her because her death would kill him. Can Uther accept that Morgana is a sorceress? No, definitely not, and you can bet he'll deny it till he's blue in the face, or, more likely, until she leaves him to lead a band of renegade sorcerers in overthrowing the throne. And Uther, after having killed thousands and thousands of suspected sorcerers, will just be in an utterly heartbroken, pitiful, self-loathing state where he doesn't even put up a fight when she finally shows up again. YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE THAT. Or not, because that's quite depressing for a family program.
Anyway, this whole business of killing magical people. WHY DO THEY NOT USE MAGIC TO FIGHT OFF THE KNIGHTS? I will never understand this. They are sorcerers. They can bewitch the knights' swords and make them stab themselves. They can burn them with fire. They can drown them with water. They can blow them away with wind. So... how do they keep getting caught? Why do they not chant a spell when they're about to be beheaded? I just... don't get this. At all. And WHY WHY WHY did the nice Druid dude have to die? WHY? And why did no one even care that he got killed? Especially Morgana?
I just... ugh, I'm not supposed to take this show so seriously. I didn't take the first two eps this seriously, but apparently when the show dances with these dark themes, I can't help but look at it and say, "Why did this happen?" When it's cracky, I can just laugh. When it's dark, my mind goes into instant analytical mode. Especially when it deals with either Uther or Morgana.
Basically, this ep just left me in a dark place rather than that light fluffy place that it usually leaves me. But now that I've gotten all the serious commentary out of the way, let's move onto the squee:
1. ARTHUR WANTED TO KNOW WHERE HIS FLOWERS WERE. OOOOOH, HE WAS JEALOUS! Honestly though, I just really loved that these two boys were back up to their old shenanigans.
2. Mordred is a seriously, seriously creepy kid.
3. MERLIN/GAIUS! Doooooh, their love is so beautiful.
4. Morgana is frakkin' gorgeous.
5. This episode totally proved that Uther is standing in Morgana's bedroom in this pic:
I knew it. I KNEW IT! It is so not a coincidence that he is looking all seductive while Morgana's bed is in the background.
6. THE UTHER/MORGANA WAS SO, SO BEAUTIFUL!
Look at his face! He's all broody and worried about his Morgana! So much so that he does not play around in this episode. There is no denying of the existence of magic. In fact, the first thing he says is, "This was sorcery!" Oh, Uther! The one time you finally get it right is the one time when you so should not have been right.
Uther wants EVERY SUSPECT IN THE ENTIRE KINGDOM to be arrested for questioning. Arthur is just like, "Bwah? Seriously? Do you know how long that will take me?" And Uther just fires back with, "SHE IS MY WIFE WARD! GET IT DONE, BITCH!" And, of course, Arthur is his typical eye-rolly self.
I don't know, he's just so beautiful! And he's in Morgana's bedroom, smelling touching her stuff!
BLING. Also, he tells Arthur to KILL EVERYONE if Morgana is not found in an unspecified amount of time. It is interesting to note that Arthur doesn't even try to talk sense into Uther here. He knows there's no point. It's Morgana, and Uther would destroy all of Camelot in order to find her. BECAUSE SHE IS HIS WIFE.
"Any word from Arthur?" (oh, his voice is so hopeful!)
"No, Sire."
"Oh." *sadface*
"Blah blah maybe she went of her own accord blah blah."
"That's not Morgana, in all her years I've never known her to run from anything."
YES! YES! YES YES YES!!! Here is a big whopping example of how much Uther gets and admires Morgana, and how he often just keeps it to himself. He knows her, he knows her motivations, he knows her reactions, and for her to run away would contradict absolutely everything that he knows to be true about her. She faces everything head-on, often without thinking about the consequences (which actually explains a lot of her motivation in wanting to go off with the Druids without even a thought for the ones she'd leave behind heartbroken in Camelot). Also, he says this after that bit:
"She takes after her father too much for that."
And he looks down all sad and frustrated. This is another reminder that Morgana isn't his daughter, and he isn't the father to her that he had hoped to be. And Gaius says "Blah blah, you've looked after her like she's one of your own."
"And that's what she's become. If she were to die, a huge part of me would die with her."
Excuse me for a moment while I go flail around my bedroom.
...
...
... ... ...
Okay, I'm back. Yeah, sure, they meant it like she's become Uther's daughter, but he never actually says that here. He basically just says that Morgana belongs with him. She's his people. SEE WHAT I DID THERE? I swear, I can squeeze subtext out of anything, but seriously, it just pained me so much that Uther says this while Morgana looks at the Druids and says, "This is where I belong, these are my people." NO, YOU SILLY GOOSE, UTHER, GWEN, AND ARTHUR ARE YOUR PEOPLE! *huff*
THE HUG!
OMFG, THE FREAKING HUG! AAAAAAAAAH!
He RUNS to her with open arms and lifts her off her horse!
And they both let out this breath and these happy smiles and he CLUTCHES HER TO HIS CHEST! And for less than a millisecond Morgana is completely reciprocating.
But then she has this sort of telekinetic conversation with Gwen and the hug is so pitifully one-sided, unbeknownst to Uther.
He is just clutching her for dear life! And oooooh how I swooned at his breathless whisper of, "I was so, so worried about you."
But then Arthur interrupts them and Uther is just like, "Dude! You're totally messing up my mojo! What the hell, man?" Or... perhaps there was something said about Druids kidnapping Morgana and Uther is letting that information sink in.
And Morgana is thinking, "Oh crap, I forgot about that part."
But then they pull apart and they look at each other and they are both breathing hard and OMG, IT IS SO RIDICULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL! They didn't even need epic soaring violins to achieve such beauty! And had this been any other show, when they leaned in for that second time, it would have most definitely been for a kiss. But this is Merlin, therefore we just get more clutching:
And it was beautiful. OH GOD, THEY EMBRACED EACH OTHER FOR SUCH A RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME. OH, MY HEART!
So, you know, despite my complaints, I actually did thoroughly enjoy this episode.