MERLIN ep. 4x06 (A Servant of Two Masters) - Review post (my first!)
Beware, squee and some flailing ahead! - as well as major abuse of emoticons... ;)
Also, my Merthur love is showing; plus theories about Merlin's shirt (IDEK)...
I have a few complaints directed at the writers... but overall:
This was a great ep! \o/
My commentary/SQUEE-ing/some criticism/pics&gifs started out in a bullet points-style, which I mostly gave up half-way through because it did not help me to stay brief, like, at all. (I apologize in advance.)
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I dreaded the ep a little after the trailer last week, fearing that enchanted!Merlin might reveal his magic in the worst possible way - by attacking Arthur with it, but luckily that didn’t happen. That actually surprises me a little - if killing Arthur really was the only thing on his mind, he could have easily done it with magic… but I guess the episode would have been over after 10 minutes then - as well as the show ;)
Okay so I didn’t really expect an evil!magic reveal but simply the idea of Merlin betraying Arthur, even unconsciously, broke my heart a little… But where I feared angstiness, they put in crackiness - note the underlying “humourous” score whenever Merlin was (failing at) attacking Arthur. ;)
Anyway - the ep really handed out the fandom fodder like to a charity case - well personally I’m very grateful! :D
Protective!Arthur like woah!
Honest moments! Arthur appreciates Merlin! “You’re the only one I can trust” !!! \o/
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Let’s get on with the flailing shall we!
(gif made by me)
Meanwhile at Camelot:
And... we’re back at Camelot:
I have to say, Merlin’s lines were often quite brilliant in this ep. Like “Well if you did want to hurt a fly or even a human [not a breath or a blink before the “or”! lol], what would you use?” Also the insults, like with Gwen… LOL (I guess it's all in Colin's delivery though!)
The whole “arrow-shooting” business was quite hilarious. And of course, so was going after Arthur with the ceremonial sword :D
Apparently, since we don't get to see Arthur's naked legs this episode - it's already starting to seem strange when that DOESN'T happen ;) - we get all the more naked-chest!Arthur as recompense, and I approve very much! :)
Again, Arthur acknowledges Merlin like woah: “I think you’re the only one I can trust.” (Not even Gwen then, ey?)
- And only now I’m realizing that, just like the hug, Merlin won’t remember that!! Damn you, writers of the show! >_<
Well at least he has the bits to remember from when he was hurt in the beginning… :-/
Okay back to the assassination attempts: This is where I really enjoyed Gwen. First, figuring it out, then teaming up with Gaius to protect Merlin from himself, and Arthur too of course. Knocking him over the head - twice! :D
The whole “being grossed out” part when Gaius tried to extract the serpent head - LOL! She was much like Season 1 Gwen this ep, and very likeable. Also in her awkwardness with Arthur later on ^^ (The fact that there wasn’t too much lovey-dovey-ness between her and Arthur might be a contributing factor for me too… ;) )
I didn’t want to point out plot holes that much, but I do wonder, why didn’t they tell Arthur, anyway? At least when the cure didn’t stick! It’s not like being enchanted was Merlin’s fault! Can anyone give me an explanation for this, please? (Maybe because they know that he’s the closest to Arthur, and if he felt like he couldn’t even trust Merlin, it would be really hard for him? Thoughts & opinions, anyone?
More murderous Merlin: the bath water - while Arthur’s rattling on “Everyone has their own agenda… it feels like I can trust no one anymore” ;) )
Then naked!Arthur and Gwen: LMAO! That was a very cute, funny scene. Aaawkwaaard! :D
“You’re not Merlin.”: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a372/ichroque/Merlin/Gifs/S3/tumblr_lu7j1pS2qI1qbcs29o1_500.gif
Yeah we know he’s the only one who gets to see you nekkid, Arthur… ;)
BTW: Have you noticed Merlin seemingly having a new shirt?? For the first time since, like S1?! A present, because he’s now the King’s manservant (or bought with his pay raise if he had one)? Or did he wash his blue and his red shirts together? OR he might have taken Arthur’s opinion into account, that violet is a colour which suits him…? :D (in fact, combine 2 theories and you have Arthur giving him that shirt as a present AND it’s violet because he likes the colour on Merlin ^_^ )
Choose a theory to your liking ;)
(gif made by me) - THE WAY HE TURNS HIS EYES UPWARD!! XD
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“The Traitor”: I am very glad Arthur started to see sense and suspect his Uncle - yet he lets himself be thrown off track again. Oh man. Well I guess it’s hard for him to suspect family, especially since Agravaine keeps mentioning his sister/Arthur’s mother and swearing loyalty to her (which is probably true - he wants to avenge her though and sees Arthur rather as Uther's son than as Ygraine's).
So now Gaius will be suspected of treachery - again…
On a side note: Does Arthur not see his uncle always wearing black? Is he not aware of that being a baddie’s colour theme? …and do the writers really think it was necessary for the audience? Seriously, we learned in ep 1 of this season that he was in league with Morgana, but with his choice of clothing, that was even clear before we ever saw him set foot in her little hut/cave…
Onto some badass!magic!fight / the final part:
So Dragoon!Merlin goes off save the day, again. And meets the knights on the way. WHY though does he tell them he’ll kill Arthur if he sees him? Okay, he didn’t start out saying (meaning) that, but once the Knights understood it as a threat, why did he not put it differently?? Does he want the Knights to think all magic is evil, too? It just didn’t make sense to me.
Using the knocked out knights as a ladder was cool though! XD
After Agravaine visited with his BFF (and I have totally seen him as interested in Morgana since the beginning… he gets these puppy eyes around her), old!Merlin goes looking for his cure - destroying the snaky-thing (I have no idea what it was actually called, hence my dubbing of it everytime…)
- Enter Morgana! And she’s terrified and exiting again right away! WHAT? XD I really laughed at that! I get the terrified part, but her running out? LOL! That was hilarious. And so was Merlin not being phased but that had me worried too. What was he thinking?? I couldn’t have believed that she’d just stay away and let a presumed stranger continue to rummage through her stuff! Weird. He should have at least kept an eye on the door and expecting an attack! oO
They took the fight outside after she did return - and that was quite a BAMF!clash of power! Why Merlin didn’t finish her off though… Obviously, we know that it’s not how the show/legend will go on, but as for the character’s reasoning at this point - doesn’t make sense. Before, he still believed she might not turn against them, but now - he is probably still “too soft/kind” to kill someone without batting an eye, at least when they’re already down - and that little moment of hesitation will cost him now. Well now we’ll get to see some h/c with Agravaine and Morgana it seems, since the former scooped up the latter and carried her away at the very end of the episode. Teary-eyed - as I said, I’m not surprised he has romantic feelings for her. (He must be a masochist though, the way she treats him…)
On a different note, Merlin should consider morphing into someone a little younger - still unrecognizable but at an age that won’t make his overall movement and especially fighting that much harder… ;)
Still, we finally had a Merlin/Morgana magic face-off! \o/ I've been looking forward to that! And it was pretty awesome! Okay so Morgana didn't know it was Merlin, but I have the feeling she'll find out sooner rather than later who "Emrys" is. Maybe not next episode (although the teaser hints at that), but SOON.
Anyway, Merlin beat her even as an old man! :D He just rocks. If Morgana wasn't just that much more ruthless, she'd never stand a chance.
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Merlin’s back at Camelot and all is well again. The serpent is out; I liked Gwen’s “Dare I look” :) . Gaius seems to have a mean streak: He told Merlin he was in the tavern AGAIN?? Was that payback for his remark on your cooking or what? Bad Gaius! ;)
Finally, that WONDERFUL exchange between Merlin, Arthur and perfect!manservant George. XD
Deadpan!Merlin: Polishing is my favourite too. (Polishing WHAT, I ask you.)
Arthur admitting that apparently, mad skillz as a manservant aren’t the most important - he wants Merlin around because he lurves him enjoys his company so much more :D
Therefore I leave you with flirty!eyes :)
- and my best intentions to keeps this shorter the next time round!! /o\ (how did this turn into an essay? - Why don't my actual essays turn into essays?! - Well, I just don't start writing them in favour of this, that's why... ;) )
(also made by me - you may have noticed, I drew out Arthur's look a little ^^ Anyone reminded of the one at the "blindfolded fight"?)
I honestly could not stop looking at this for ages... ^_^
Also, my Merthur love is showing; plus theories about Merlin's shirt (IDEK)...
I have a few complaints directed at the writers... but overall:
This was a great ep! \o/
My commentary/SQUEE-ing/some criticism/pics&gifs started out in a bullet points-style, which I mostly gave up half-way through because it did not help me to stay brief, like, at all. (I apologize in advance.)
--------
I dreaded the ep a little after the trailer last week, fearing that enchanted!Merlin might reveal his magic in the worst possible way - by attacking Arthur with it, but luckily that didn’t happen. That actually surprises me a little - if killing Arthur really was the only thing on his mind, he could have easily done it with magic… but I guess the episode would have been over after 10 minutes then - as well as the show ;)
Okay so I didn’t really expect an evil!magic reveal but simply the idea of Merlin betraying Arthur, even unconsciously, broke my heart a little… But where I feared angstiness, they put in crackiness - note the underlying “humourous” score whenever Merlin was (failing at) attacking Arthur. ;)
Anyway - the ep really handed out the fandom fodder like to a charity case - well personally I’m very grateful! :D
Protective!Arthur like woah!
Honest moments! Arthur appreciates Merlin! “You’re the only one I can trust” !!! \o/
--------
Let’s get on with the flailing shall we!
- Banter right before battle had me grinning.
- Did you notice how it took Leon ages to draw his sword? The bandits were already really close. Probably an editing mistake ;)
- Merlin using his magic dangerously openly to save Arthur’s life! Arthur’s angsty look when he saw Merlin on the ground! /o\
- So Arthur left the battle (where they were totally outnumbered, so he was surely needed!) in order to get Merlin to safety? Wow!
- THE HONEST TALK!!! “I do [have] a servant who’s extremely brave, incredibly loyal and to be honest, not at all cowardly.” THE APPRECIATION! Even that Merlin saves his life from time to time! AND THE LOOKS!! \o/
- Arthur carrying Merlin! :D Ignoring Merlin’s plea to leave him… aww :) (Actually, calling it a joke! So the idea to leave him seems laughable to him! *squee* )
(gif made by me)
- Inappropriate in that situation, I know - Merlin almost dying and all - but at the end (right before the bandits attack again) I kinda was reminded of a caveman carrying off his new-found mate ^^
- Arthur’s shock/grief (the scream!) when the falling rocks cut him off from Merlin! /o\
- Morgana being gorgeous as always, even if she is mad as a hatter. Also: “Arthur is strangely fond of the boy.” Preaching to the choir, sister. :)
- Merlin-bondage in Morgana’s lair. I don’t ship them, but I saw a lot of fic-potential in that scene ;)
- The medusa-thingy! o_O And Morgana petting it…? Yikes. I reiterate, bat-shit crazy ;)
Meanwhile at Camelot:
- Arthur doesn’t give up on Merlin and wouldn’t spare resources! Yet when the council opposes him, he just goes by himself! That is, until Gwen forces Gwaine onto him ;) In my slash-addled mind, Gwen seemed jealous of Merlin to me… Overall, though, I liked her in this ep :) (that came later though)
- Interlude before: George the manservant! LOL! Arthur being decisive about Merlin being his one and only (manservant)! :D -AND that was before he could really have judged George as boring - so he obviously has more reasons for securing Merlin’s position by his side, not just the entertainment value ;) (But we all knew that.)
- THE HUG THE HUG THE HUG !!! \o/ It’s been a LONG time coming. I’m glad it happened, really but WHY WHILE MERLIN IS UNDER A SPELL?! Merlin said he didn't remember anything after Morgana conjuring that Medusa-thing... :((( So unless Arthur or Gwaine will mention it somehow, I don’t see him knowing about The Hug. Unfair! *pouts*
- THE HUG as a gif: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a372/ichroque/Merlin/Gifs/S3/tumblr_lu7ki3QxCK1qalaono1_r1_500.gif
- You may have noticed, we didn’t see “Merlin’s side” of the hug. IMO, because he “wasn’t in there”. So I am REALLY hoping they’ll have (another) real hug sometime soon
And... we’re back at Camelot:
- Merlin’s interactions with Gaius, the cook and Gwaine (and then Gwen later): Hm, so putting the thought “MUST KILL ARTHUR” in Merlin’s head also makes him very rude…? Writers, I’m sure you could have at least come up with an explanation for this - comic relief was good though. I shouldn’t get started pointing out plot holes… /o\
- LOL, jealous!Merlin when Gwen has already brought lunch! (because, obviously, that’s how my inner fangirl interpreted the scene)
- Leon: unknowingly helping to (almost) assassin the King! LOL! Well since he knows that Merlin lurves Arthur is loyal to a fault and would die for Arthur, the idea that he'd kill him really is a joke to him! :)
I have to say, Merlin’s lines were often quite brilliant in this ep. Like “Well if you did want to hurt a fly or even a human [not a breath or a blink before the “or”! lol], what would you use?” Also the insults, like with Gwen… LOL (I guess it's all in Colin's delivery though!)
The whole “arrow-shooting” business was quite hilarious. And of course, so was going after Arthur with the ceremonial sword :D
Apparently, since we don't get to see Arthur's naked legs this episode - it's already starting to seem strange when that DOESN'T happen ;) - we get all the more naked-chest!Arthur as recompense, and I approve very much! :)
Again, Arthur acknowledges Merlin like woah: “I think you’re the only one I can trust.” (Not even Gwen then, ey?)
- And only now I’m realizing that, just like the hug, Merlin won’t remember that!! Damn you, writers of the show! >_<
Well at least he has the bits to remember from when he was hurt in the beginning… :-/
Okay back to the assassination attempts: This is where I really enjoyed Gwen. First, figuring it out, then teaming up with Gaius to protect Merlin from himself, and Arthur too of course. Knocking him over the head - twice! :D
The whole “being grossed out” part when Gaius tried to extract the serpent head - LOL! She was much like Season 1 Gwen this ep, and very likeable. Also in her awkwardness with Arthur later on ^^ (The fact that there wasn’t too much lovey-dovey-ness between her and Arthur might be a contributing factor for me too… ;) )
I didn’t want to point out plot holes that much, but I do wonder, why didn’t they tell Arthur, anyway? At least when the cure didn’t stick! It’s not like being enchanted was Merlin’s fault! Can anyone give me an explanation for this, please? (Maybe because they know that he’s the closest to Arthur, and if he felt like he couldn’t even trust Merlin, it would be really hard for him? Thoughts & opinions, anyone?
More murderous Merlin: the bath water - while Arthur’s rattling on “Everyone has their own agenda… it feels like I can trust no one anymore” ;) )
Then naked!Arthur and Gwen: LMAO! That was a very cute, funny scene. Aaawkwaaard! :D
“You’re not Merlin.”: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a372/ichroque/Merlin/Gifs/S3/tumblr_lu7j1pS2qI1qbcs29o1_500.gif
Yeah we know he’s the only one who gets to see you nekkid, Arthur… ;)
BTW: Have you noticed Merlin seemingly having a new shirt?? For the first time since, like S1?! A present, because he’s now the King’s manservant (or bought with his pay raise if he had one)? Or did he wash his blue and his red shirts together? OR he might have taken Arthur’s opinion into account, that violet is a colour which suits him…? :D (in fact, combine 2 theories and you have Arthur giving him that shirt as a present AND it’s violet because he likes the colour on Merlin ^_^ )
Choose a theory to your liking ;)
(gif made by me) - THE WAY HE TURNS HIS EYES UPWARD!! XD
-----------
“The Traitor”: I am very glad Arthur started to see sense and suspect his Uncle - yet he lets himself be thrown off track again. Oh man. Well I guess it’s hard for him to suspect family, especially since Agravaine keeps mentioning his sister/Arthur’s mother and swearing loyalty to her (which is probably true - he wants to avenge her though and sees Arthur rather as Uther's son than as Ygraine's).
So now Gaius will be suspected of treachery - again…
On a side note: Does Arthur not see his uncle always wearing black? Is he not aware of that being a baddie’s colour theme? …and do the writers really think it was necessary for the audience? Seriously, we learned in ep 1 of this season that he was in league with Morgana, but with his choice of clothing, that was even clear before we ever saw him set foot in her little hut/cave…
Onto some badass!magic!fight / the final part:
So Dragoon!Merlin goes off save the day, again. And meets the knights on the way. WHY though does he tell them he’ll kill Arthur if he sees him? Okay, he didn’t start out saying (meaning) that, but once the Knights understood it as a threat, why did he not put it differently?? Does he want the Knights to think all magic is evil, too? It just didn’t make sense to me.
Using the knocked out knights as a ladder was cool though! XD
After Agravaine visited with his BFF (and I have totally seen him as interested in Morgana since the beginning… he gets these puppy eyes around her), old!Merlin goes looking for his cure - destroying the snaky-thing (I have no idea what it was actually called, hence my dubbing of it everytime…)
- Enter Morgana! And she’s terrified and exiting again right away! WHAT? XD I really laughed at that! I get the terrified part, but her running out? LOL! That was hilarious. And so was Merlin not being phased but that had me worried too. What was he thinking?? I couldn’t have believed that she’d just stay away and let a presumed stranger continue to rummage through her stuff! Weird. He should have at least kept an eye on the door and expecting an attack! oO
They took the fight outside after she did return - and that was quite a BAMF!clash of power! Why Merlin didn’t finish her off though… Obviously, we know that it’s not how the show/legend will go on, but as for the character’s reasoning at this point - doesn’t make sense. Before, he still believed she might not turn against them, but now - he is probably still “too soft/kind” to kill someone without batting an eye, at least when they’re already down - and that little moment of hesitation will cost him now. Well now we’ll get to see some h/c with Agravaine and Morgana it seems, since the former scooped up the latter and carried her away at the very end of the episode. Teary-eyed - as I said, I’m not surprised he has romantic feelings for her. (He must be a masochist though, the way she treats him…)
On a different note, Merlin should consider morphing into someone a little younger - still unrecognizable but at an age that won’t make his overall movement and especially fighting that much harder… ;)
Still, we finally had a Merlin/Morgana magic face-off! \o/ I've been looking forward to that! And it was pretty awesome! Okay so Morgana didn't know it was Merlin, but I have the feeling she'll find out sooner rather than later who "Emrys" is. Maybe not next episode (although the teaser hints at that), but SOON.
Anyway, Merlin beat her even as an old man! :D He just rocks. If Morgana wasn't just that much more ruthless, she'd never stand a chance.
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Merlin’s back at Camelot and all is well again. The serpent is out; I liked Gwen’s “Dare I look” :) . Gaius seems to have a mean streak: He told Merlin he was in the tavern AGAIN?? Was that payback for his remark on your cooking or what? Bad Gaius! ;)
Finally, that WONDERFUL exchange between Merlin, Arthur and perfect!manservant George. XD
Deadpan!Merlin: Polishing is my favourite too. (Polishing WHAT, I ask you.)
Arthur admitting that apparently, mad skillz as a manservant aren’t the most important - he wants Merlin around because he lurves him enjoys his company so much more :D
Therefore I leave you with flirty!eyes :)
- and my best intentions to keeps this shorter the next time round!! /o\ (how did this turn into an essay? - Why don't my actual essays turn into essays?! - Well, I just don't start writing them in favour of this, that's why... ;) )
(also made by me - you may have noticed, I drew out Arthur's look a little ^^ Anyone reminded of the one at the "blindfolded fight"?)
I honestly could not stop looking at this for ages... ^_^