Merlin S2 (spoilers)
Ep 1: I still love the opening credits. They're all campy, yet epic at the same time, heh. That said, this ep was a bit on the boring side, IMO. Not the best way to start the season, though Mackenzie Crook was terrific. As with a lot of Merlin eps however, even if the overall plot is not that strong, the little things stand out and make a difference. Such as the continued-never-gets-old hilarity of Uther', magic=Evol mantra, heh. The Arthur / Gwen focus is carried on from the last half of the previous season, and I'm finding myself not completely averse to it. When Arthur tells Gwen, "you always surprise me", it seems organic to me, given that in S1, Gwen has at a few pivotal moments struck Arthur with her open honesty and nobility and moreover, her potentially growing belief in him. Plus, Arthur' "no, my pleasure" at Gwen and her save was hilarious. Oh, and speaking of little things, I loved the Gauis / Merlin hug. These two together, are love. The worst part of the ep? Woefully underused girls.
Ep 2: The Arthur / Gwen focus is really ratcheted up here, and so far, I have to say, I was still pleasantly OK with it. Gwen really did get a lot of moments to shine with her strength of character here, and it's not difficult to see why Arthur is falling for her. Particularly when she lays it all out on the table for him as she did with "you shouldn't need to be told to think of someone other than yourself, you're not a child" - and this right here, is why she stands out to Arthur. She's not being obnoxious or trying to intentionally overstep her boundaries - she's just being honest. The kiss, perhaps was a little overkill for so early, but even with the cheesiness of the 'OMG!Epic' music and lumninous-lights-of-romance aside, it wasn't half bad. I liked the Gauis / Merlin scenes in this one too, and I thought Arthur showed some real maturity at the end when he offered / suggested peace, instead of a senseless rehash of violence / war. My biggest complaint with this one? Where the hell was Morgana?
Ep 3: The best part about this one was Gwen and Morgana actually sharing screen time together. On the whole though, I don't know. This wasn't as strong as Mordred' appearance last season. Having said that, he still manages to make me feel simultaneously sympathetic for him, and afraid of him, both. The ep did have its moments. The Merlin / Morgana scenes were great. These two have surprising chemistry. I particularly liked their first scene together ("you can trust me", "I need to know what's happening") and their last. This is also probably a crucial ep, because we see the beginnings of Morgana really being inexplicably / unwittingly pushed away, and that too, in the wrong hands. I have to wonder - was it really the wisest move on Merlin' part to steer her towards the druids? I did appreciate that he spoke to Gauis about his double standards though. I love Gauis, but about damn time. Uther' also a strange case in this one. At first I thought his concern for Morgana might merely have been an excuse / justification for his witchhunt. But then in his scene with Gauis later - "if she were to die, a huge part of me would die with her", his affection seemed more than genuine.
Ep4: The Gwen / Morgana interaction, again, is such a highlight. I love how protective they are of each other. Moreover, Morgana in kickass mode is a pleasure to watch, allowing us to see her use her strength and smarts. There were a couple other bits and bobs of note - Arthur was smart, not openly defying his father, but still doing what he had to anyway. And Merlin' "there's just no pleasing you sometimes" was the most hilariously delivered line of the ep. But other than this, not much else to write home about. Arthur was monumentally insensitive with him coming across a half dressed, bruised and afraid Morgana, and what's the first thing he utters? "Where's Gwenevere?" Also, the whole love stuff was just piled on way too thick in this one. Firstly, did we really need to see Lancelot back so soon again? And the insta!epic love connection between him and Gwen seemed more than a little forced. And wrt Arthur / Gwen, I'm inclined to agree with Merlin' incredulous reaction to Arthur' "my father won't let me rescue a servant, you honestly think he'd let me marry one" - marriage, already? Really?
Ep 5: Funny in bits, but overall, not very impressive. Again, where are the girls?! Though Arthur' WTF reactions to Uther were somewhat grace-saving.
Ep 6: Much better than the first part and I have to say, the actor playing Catarina / Troll was brilliant. As was ASH in this ep. The brief scene of hilarity with Arthur and Morgana each trying to find words appropriate to describe their new step mom was probably my favorite. Best delivered line? Arthur' "what is wrong with you? Look at the state of her!"
Ep 7: I liked Gwen and Merlin working together in this one, and the final Merlin / Gauis scene was precious. On the whole too, probably one of the better eps this season. Morgana' fear was quite palpable. Best delivered line was definitely the Dragon' this time around though, with his deadpan, "then your stupidity continues---"
Ep8: First of all, can someone explain to me please, how Morgauese is Morgana' half sister? I'm probably extremely dumb and just ignoring something obvious here, but ::scratches head:: I thought the actor playing Morgause did a great job. As she did in her second ep too. She's cold and steely, and formidable, but then her entire aura changes when she's around Morgana. I liked the Arthur / Merlin scene where they open up to each other about their deceased parents. It's a quiet, understated sort of scene in an otherwise flashy ep, but it works.
Ep 9: Terribly predictable plot, and probably my least favorite of the season. I just couldn't buy Merlin' insta!love and his readiness to just up and leave everything and everyone, not to mention the whole destiny thing. I did like the final Arthur / Merlin scene though. For all of Arthur' prat like ways, Merlin is so much more in his life than just a servant.
Ep 10: So, this jestor is doing magic right in front of Uther' eyes and---nothing? O-kay. Funny in parts, but mostly meh. And oh dear - a "true love" kiss. Atleast Gwen totally went in for it - I liked that, heh. Best delivered line? "I'm almost attracted to him myself."
Ep 11: Morgana' snippiness with Gwen was a bit uncalled for, but this might be the writers way of 'evol-ing' up Morgana. ::sighs:: And to think last season, I actually thought there was a reasonably decent and organic path lain for her to potentially go down the big bad route. But they've really botched that up this season. Morgana was just, so all over the place in this one. Also, while I was pleased that she did finally man up, so to speak, and confront Uther with her thoughts / feelings - how stupid is he for not even suspecting her in the aftermath of the Alvar escape? Creepy!Mordred' "I shall never forgive this, and I shall never forget" was appropriately foreboding though.
Ep 12: Morgana' just completely withdrawn herself by this point, especially from Gwen. As botched as her character arc has been practically all season, I do have to say, her conflictedness in this one was handled so much better. She's presented here as someone who appears to be confident , outwardly, in her convictions, but she's clearly not - especially when crisis looms. For all her talk of wanting Uther dead - and clearly, on some level she desires this, otherwise we wouldn't be revisiting it over and over, when she is given the chance to do so on a silver platter, literally, sword in hand, she doesn't. And in fact, in a scene or two, she seems almost genuinely and sincerely aiding Merlin and Arthur with Uther. And then we have Merlin. CM' best performance this season. He's as conflicted too. He doesn't want to believe what he's hearing about Morgana but then he's almpst forced in to believing it when he sees the undead!army!guy willingly spare her life. And so he poisons her. And that's the last each of these characters see of each other - each misunderstanding the other, or at the very least, not knowing the full context. And yet, the next time they see each other, instinctively and automatically they'll probably find themselves on opposing sides. It was a set up that ought to have been carried through all season long, not just this one ep. But for single ep, it's done well, IMO. The mood is tense throughout, and the shot of Arthur and Merlin returning, in particular, to sleepyville is eerily done. I also thought in a sea of conflicted feelings, Arthur was the most focused - he had one goal: to protect the king. I also loved Arthur and Merlin' little declaration of love right before they think they're about to die - the "if I need a servant in the next life" exchange. Oh, and Merlin' slap of Arthur was a fleeting but much needed moment of hilarity in an otherwise dramatic / serious ep.
Ep 13: For a measly budget, the dragon attacks weren't half bad. Merlin' scenes with his father were done well too, though I don't quite get the concept of dragonlords. So that's it - the dragons no longer pissed at Uther? Speaking of Uther, he was just sort of there in this ep, I thought. Rather innefectual, almost. I did like the nod to the round table with the imagery of Arthur surrounded by the knights. Overall, not a bad way to close off the season.
I think, on the whole, my biggest problems with Merlin are still the overall inconsistency of arc and characterization, and the underutilization of the female characters. That said, I'm definitely still in for S3, should there be one.