Merlin: 5:13 The Diamond of the Day Part 2
I can honestly say that the last position I thought Id find myself in after 5.13 would be feeling defensive of it. Yet weirdly as I read forums and reviews pointing out its many flaws, or Arwen fans sniping that there was no goodbye with violins with specially imported backlit window and no kiss cough I find myself almost bristling. Which is ridiculous, because the episode was riddled with illogicalities and plot holes and telling not showing - but for me everything was saved and elevated by the decision to make this ending all about Merlin's relationship with Arthur.
That was essentially what this episode was - a quest story that for the first time in this show, failed, but gave Arthur and Merlin the time for closure and goodbyes the other characters didn’t get. I loved that so much; I was so grateful for that, that I find I want to vote ‘excellent’ in those forum polls though I know in reality it wasnt . As a fan of the Arthur/Merlin relationship though and a fan of these two actors together, it really really was.
I’ll do reality first. It was riddled with plot holes, gaping in the shows own canon, which Julian Jones presumably in, ‘ah fuck it, it’s the last one’ spirit, blatantly ignored.
The most massive was the dragon - everyone I was watching with (sofa audience who tune in regularly but don’t do fandom in any way) was shouting ‘Get the dragon!’ at intervals from the first to the last. Initially I thought the reason was that Kilgarrah had been essentially written out in 5.10 for this very reason. Then Merlin called him - too late but allowing a dragon ride and a bit of exposition to explain ‘why Merlin hadn’t failed’ and Arthur’s fate. We were told again this destiny was too powerful to be overcome, but no one could fail to notice that calling Kilgarrah 2 days earlier might have helped.
Why, since Merlin was again, (and I was thrilled) named as the greatest sorcerer to walk the earth and had just destroyed an entire army, were he and Arthur skulking through the woods hiding from the Saxon search parties? I mean, I'm grateful, because it gave us so many lovely Merthur set pieces, but watching them shove Merlin back into manservant with magic, doing small things, did jar my logic alarm.
Why was Morgana not even scratched by a knife in the back by Percival? OK it wouldn’t have killed her, but as recently as 5.02 when Mordred did it, she fell over and it seemed quite... sore?
Why did the snake kill Gwaine, but Elyan survived the same ordeal in 4.12/4.13 apparently unscathed?
Wha was in it for the Saxons?
Beyond the WTFs, there was the Golden Age That Wasn’t, and the way they la la laed through that was pretty shameless. There wasn’t some brilliant reasoning that we hadn’t worked out; they simply, as the guy at SciFi Bulletin quoted ‘went straight from the foreplay to the afterglow with none of the fun’. They knew there was no golden age so they tried to cover with Arthur’s speech in 5.12 (there will be a golden age) and moved on to Kilgarrah’s assertion that there has been one. Who’d that be for then? Not for creatures of magic like him - the ones Merlin was supposed to be destined to free? Yet when Merlin said he'd failed, Kilgarrah denied it. No one I was watching with said anything at the time, but afterwards, it was pointed out that Arthur hadn’t had the chance to do anything as king at all. I think the PTB were hoping, in a nutshell, that in the pleasure of other things, no one would notice. But… in some fans case, and even in the case of some reviewers, they were wrong. No clever logic, no ingenious get out of jail free card - it really was as simple as, they couldn’t be arsed.
So why, for all the disappointment and irritations and anger that they did it this way, did I come away from the ep thinking, ‘Fuck, that was lovely?’ Why did I feel as if the Js - or Julian J - had actually given me a gift?
Well because, in the end, I watched the show not for the plot or even the universe, but for the magic (!) of the central relationship, which had been held back and throttled for years. At last on its (temporary) death bed, they allowed it free at last. I cant remember an episode since S1 that has allowed Merlin and Arthur to just be together and be themselves without the endless requirements of Hidden Hero or ‘mustn’t overshadow Terry and June too much,’ twisting and distorting the relationship and the characters. At the last, the racehorse was allowed to run and it was gorgeous to see.
Of course everything that should and could have played out over a whole, glorious, genuinely mature season was condensed into one episode and oddly you could almost see how brave they felt they were being, in allowing it at last. I got the feeling that killing the characters felt less permanent and dramatically courageous to them, than allowing the reveal. It was so in with the bricks for them, Id be willing to bet that while everyone else was thinking ‘See??? See what it could have been like?’, the J’s were thinking ‘See??? This is why we couldn’t run the show after with a reveal.’
My sofa focus group interestingly all said afterwards ‘that’s what should have happened at least a season before' - with no prompting from me. They all loved the A/M interaction post reveal. And its true - just think of what a season it could have been… What we got were crumbs really, but after 3-4 seasons of starvation it was glorious all the same.
I really loved that we saw Arthurs reactions to Emrys’ power and at last we saw Merlin - well sodding Dragoon - doing real magic. Did anyone notice he flipped between identities without the potion - entering the light and embracing his destiny seemed to make him who he was meant to be (and er… lets forget he was this powerful at the end of S1 shall we?)
The reveal. There was a tiny voice asking ‘why now? - Merlin could have hidden again as he has every single time and indeed I expected him to. But at last, with no fanfare he spat it out. Well sobbed it out. Colin was just… amazing, still so young and vulnerable underneath the great wizard, and so was Bradley in his refusal to accept and his realisation. Did anyone notice the relief and intimacy with which Arthur greeted Merlin when he woke up, how happy he was that it was Merlin (‘Where were you?’) And the way he touched him unnecessarily all the way through? Then the way Merlin proved his magic - the lovely little fire dragon... It was all so heartbreaking, not just for the scene we saw but because of what might have been.
Once again Merlin’s hurt and pain at Arthur’s rejection and his utter desperation and fear for Arthur, were sublimely played by Colin. The way he snapped at Gaius for not getting the right herbs (though ‘the woods are crawling with Saxons’ should have brought the reply, “So? You’ve got me haven’t you?’).
I’m actually torn on the whole ‘theres a way to save him’ premise of the episode. On the one hand it was a cruel lulling of the audience into thinking it’d be fine - my lot were sure of it and all the more upset because of being led on, and let down. On the other, it got the stabbing out of the way, it gave us that one last quest and the chance to see the reveal played out and the solid final proof that the relationship between these two characters really was a love story.
I loved and hated the little scene with Arthur playing possum while Merlin and Gaius argued. I hated it for the ‘Hes a sorceror’ line from Arthur, because you could see for the first time ever Arthur viewing Merlin genuinely as a threat and an enemy (realistic as that might have been). But Gaius' explanation of how powerful Merlin was (though yes, yes I admit contradicted by the rest of the episode ;p) was so satisfying. I desperately wanted Arthur to hear and know that (his incredulous ‘Merlin?’ got a poignant laugh) and to finally see him for who he was as Merlin always wanted.
Every other little moment, each time Arthur saw Merlin do some magic. or actually talked to him, for all there were no real answers… I felt each one was a gem. Arthur gradual realisation of what had been actually happening through his relationship with Merlin was gorgeously done by Bradley and I just got the feeling he was thinking of nothing else for the whole journey - obsessively adding up all the incidents he hadn’t noticed, trying to figure it all out.
Merlin’s ‘I didn’t do it for credit’ was of course the producers excuse for never giving him any, but still, Arthur’s look of near awe and love was balm to the soul. Every moment he saw Merlin using his magic and putting two and two together - well Bradley in my opinion can match Colin for non verbal communication. He was superb. Together, in scenes in which they can show Arthur and Merlin’s connection wordlessly, they’re matchless in my view.
My favourite line of all: "I don't want you to change. I want you to always be you." And the look of wonderment and joy on Merlins face, because it's I would imagine what he's always wanted to hear. That was, in my opinion, infinitely more romantic and moving than any of the hundred of saccharine declarations written for Arwen. That was a declaration of love.
The death scene …was infuriating because it shouldn’t have happened and truly agonizing watching Arthur actually die … And yet it was so beautiful it hurt the heart. I’m genuinely grateful to the producers, Julian Jones, and this director (the same one as for 5.01 and 5.02 - also strongly Merthur) that they wrote and shot and allowed this final M/A interaction to be acted as a love scene. Everything from the ‘Just hold me,’ said in Arthurs old imperious Merlin-speak was beautiful. Arthur’s speech, his need to tell Merlin at the end how much he meant to him, his Sorry and his Thank You. In some ways the words were almost extraneous; the emotion conveyed between Colin and Bradley, the way they played the physicality of the scene - it was stunning. Yes, afterwards I was questioning as usual (would Arthur have said sorry for how he treated him, if Merlin hadn’t revealed his magic? Did he just he think it was wrong because Merlin had been a powerful sorcerer and helping him unrecognised? Or did he mean that he was sorry because he’d never rewarded him even though he’d always known he was remarkable even if not a sorceror?)
When I look back on it though, what matters is that Arthur’s last thoughts and words were all of Merlin, that he died being held by Merlin, that with his last strength he reached up and touched Merlin’s hair. I want to cry just writing about it. The power of that scene for me was far, far greater than I expected, able to easily over come my resentment and questions.
Then we have the sucker punch - old tramp Merlin striding past the lake in the present day, with the tower still miraculously intact. Everyone here knows I was dreading that exact thing. But remarkably - to me - watching it, (as opposed to worrying about it) and then thinking it through, it made a kind of sense
Immortality is something that has to be thought through by writers - and the main question is, if someone’s immortal , when do they stop ageing? Are we supposed to think Merlin will continue to age gradually? In which case hes just very, very long lived, not immortal. But Emrys means ‘immortal’ so we can expect I would think, that he’s not going to deteroriate until he cant do anything but exist pointlessly.
So, he aged then stopped? Until now Merlin’s aged normally. It actually makes not a lot of sense that he'd keep getting older then stop randomly when he’s 80 or whenever. It actually makes sense to me that he’d stop ageing when he embraced his destiny and stepped into the light. Until then he seemed mortal enough- almost dead quite a few times over the seasons with no suggestion he was indestructible until 4.02. But even then he had to be cured; he didn’t survive by himself. I think stepping into the light was meant to be an important moment - the moment he came into his full powers as Emrys.
It also kind of makes sense to me that a man whos lived for 1500 years would choose an external appearance to match the inside. He must feel very old, and behave differently from the average person in their twenties. It would be easier to match the look to the antiquity of the interior.
I have no idea if any of this was thought out by the writer and director, or the old Merlin thing was just chosen for effect - to show time has passed (though the lorry would have done that quite effectively) but if they meant to suggest this was different from the spell they didn’t try at all. In appearance Merlin isn’t an old man who’s adapted the way people do through the years, with haircuts etc, He looks exactly like the old man created by Merlin’s spell - hair and beard the same. And he walks like a young man. I wonder too if we were meant to think he was just wandering aimlessly round Avalon for eternity, or purposely heading there to get Arthur back?
So yeah - I’m not one to do head canon if I can stop myself because it smacks of self delusion, and I was very ready to howl to the moon about this one. But in my opinion, it makes sense with what they showed us in 5.11 (otherwise pointless - what was that Light thing about if not this?) that he’s eternally the young man who accepted who he was in the Crystal cave, than that he’s either still ageing slowly and heading for death (though immortal) or aged till he was old then stopped.
I admit - the rest for me was pretty much white noise but honourable mention has to go to Mary Sue who Mary Sued her way through this episode with more brio than she’s ever Mary Sued before. If the writers indulged the Merthur fans shamelessly in this last episode, I think they also ladled it on treacle-thick for Gwen’s little army of scary stans. One minute she’s running the field hospital, as Gaius ineffectually stands at the back, the next shes dispatching a huge insane angry Saxon, using a sword she shouldn’t be able to lift. Head Nurse! Barbie becomes Warrior! Barbie, with no more than a worried look. It was of course pure pandering but … well, for once, we cant really complain in this episode.
Mary Sue then works out Merlins ID with no help (though she has never come close in 5 seasons with much more evidence to hand), traps and despatches Eira and is left to run Camelot on her own. Which is quite a career curve for a maidservant - in 3 years propelled from making beds and carrying jugs around, to sitting on Uther’s old throne
I thought Angel stepped up to the plate a bit more this episode. She did actually manage to appear upset this time, in real pain at times. In the tent she was frankly terrible, but back in Camelot, Gwen’s grief and fear were well done. I was also surprised that they had her show upset at Eira’s hanging, given she didn’t flinch when Kara got strung up. I'd have thought at that exact point, they’d want to portray a queen of steely resolve not a woman with qualms, but it felt more like old Gwen up there. Maybe, yes, a daft choice logically but…
The coronation scene - I was glad they at least had Leon appear reluctant to call out ‘The King is dead.” When Gwen poisoned Arthur, he was visibly restraining himself from doing the same thing to propel Gwen to the throne while Arthur was still alive. But everyone looked suitably gutted and Gwen sitting beside the empty throne was a very poignant image. Though did it have to be the last one before the modern day?
We have no idea how Camelot fares under Gwen though logic would suggest it wouldn’t last long, Mary Sue or not. There’s no indication whether Merlin goes back to help but given he wasn’t in that scene one would assume not. I read too that there was a deleted scene of Percival seeing Arthur’s funeral boat heading for Avalon and then returning to tell Camelot. Which is how they found out, not from Merlin.
I think perhaps that proves that for Merlin, the show intended that we should realise Camelot was not the thing for which he was risking his life and sacrificing his happiness. It was all for Arthur and their joint destiny. Which he is indeed still living for. ;-)
I know Arwen fans weren’t happy that Gwen wasn’t… well Merlin at the end, that the Disney pair didn’t ‘get to say goodbye’ with full symphony orchestra but in many ways the failure to give closure to all characters except Merlin and Arthur did make the piece seem more grown up than it might have. I think too as I said, that for most Arwen fans, Gwen was what really mattered (perhaps they sensed Arthur/Bradleys essential disinterest... :P)
In any case TPTB bent over backwards to give Gwen, the Mary Sue ending befitting the character. But at last they put the motorbike back into the garage, and accepted the racehorse was way out of its class.
In effect I thought the episode finally, finally seeming to concede what most of us already knew (see the Daily Telegraph review for example) that the Arthur/Gwen relationship was unconvincing and boring and very secondary, compared with the treasure they had in their hands. It makes the S5 Overcompensation Arc seem all the more ludicrous and wasteful now, though I suppose the producers were giving Arwen fans the feast before the famine. In the end, Gwen wasn’t mentioned by Arthur as anything other than a worthy successor - his last days and last thoughts were Merlin’s.
I thought too that it was made very clear that Arthur will always be Merlin’s. He won’t be born again; he will rise again. His body wasn’t burned it was sent to Avalon. In effect he and Merlin are the two supernatural characters still standing (or in Arthurs case, lying down), destined to be together again possibly for good. That’s a rather lovely ending in its own way.
Stuff
Mordred’s last scene was just weird. What was he going for, d’you think after he stabbed Arthur, who put up no defence beforehand. “You gave me no choice”? Well actually - he really did. Was that regret and bravado? Gloating? I wasn’t sure, but Arthur was for once not ineffectively honourable; he stabbed and gutted an unprepared man just as he’d been stabbed. Mordred’s smile was strange - I’d love to know what Alex was trying to convey. No dialogue though apart from that. To be honest any random could have done what Mordred did; why build him for a season when the denouement is just ‘sword in, meaningless line, get stabbed, die’? Shades of Agravaine.
Morgana’s death actually raised a cheer with my sofa companions. Seriously they’d created such a parody she was very reminiscent of Terminator 2... nothing could stop her relentless quest. Until Excalibur. Shame Merlin didn’t think of it before. Once again he was required to deliver the ‘I blame myself’ line, but with no chance for comeback or discussion (to appease Morganas fans, but... not very much?) then he just got on with it. Colin’s face was amazing as he gutted her. No pity. No remorse. No pleasure. Just absolute, serene determination. I loved too that Arthur just thanked him, awed, for bringing peace, because lets face it - for 2 seasons this one woman was portrayed as the reason no one got any. My sofa focus group by the way all pointed to Morgana as one of the big mistakes the show had made, along with the lack of a reveal - the endless failed plots; the relentless, repetitive, cartoon hatred. I can see Katie must have had huge fun in that episode, but really she should have been killed off or mothballed at least a season ago.
I loved Gaius- his pride in Emrys in the battle, his words to Arthur and to Gwen. I especially loved his goodbye to Merlin. “I’ll have your favourite dinner waiting’. Ridiculous, but that broke my heart. Sometimes Julian Jones can manage such delicacy and subdued beauty in his writing; other times… well…
Gwaine - what an ending. “I’ve failed.” Poor sod, but insane as the plan was, I can see that he wanted to try to make up for the damage he’d done trusting Eira. And he was portrayed I think as having cared for her.
Eira herself was such a shallow 2-D character she may as well have been called Plot Device. They didn’t bother with motivation for her treachery - she was just …there, as Gwaine’s downfall.
Aithusa..that was it? She existed to make the sword that killed Arthur? No explanations and no closure at all?
The direction was sublime I thought. The shot of old Merlin carrying Arthur off he battlefield… really lovely. Bradley was superb in the action scenes - watching him one last time in that wonderful fighting style of his, was lovely and agonizing. That moment, after watching Old Emrys do his thing, when he swung his sword easily round in a circle with his wrist before reentering the fray… whooh! What they could have done with Bradley’s Arthur… What a massive waste.
I wonder now, in retrospect what the actors meant by their remarks beforehand. Their statements seem less PR fed gibberish having seen it. I can see why Eoin was peeved, and I’m actually glad now that Bradley and Colin were so positive given what it was. I wonder what ‘shocked’ Colin though in the final scripts - that the Js finally had the balls to take the brakes off the Merthur relationship as they did? Now Colin and Bradley's talk of satisfaction seems less letting the fans down, and more, understanding what that ending would mean for the core of Merlin and Arthur ones.
Ultimately, what we got was an unchecked episode about Merthur, and the obvious and beautiful love story between these two men. Everything else was extraneous, nothing else was allowed to distract from them and their feelings for each other, at long, long last. I guess the PTB really have known all along what the show was about, as we suspected; just chosen to try to control it and damp it down. With that last episode they proved what the show could have been, which is both a triumph and a mistake. But still, given the path they were determined on, I’m very, very grateful they chose finally to honour Merlin and Arthur, and Colin and Bradley, and give us this at the end.