Merlin: 5:13 The Diamond of the Day Part 2

[tanous]

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

Comments

[khaireddin]

Hey Tanous! Thank you SO much for opening for comments in advance!

I'll try to dump my instantaneous comments on my lj and be more coherent when I come back here later.

You're a star. And I look forward to your comments later.

[gatepromise]

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

If they can deliver an episode like that at the end, WHYWHYWHY have they given us such shit for the rest of this series and last half of series four???

Merlin & Arthur. That's what this show is about, that's why it's worked. I'm glad someone finally realized it.

Please...just hold me.

[sforthewicked]

I'm holding you... It was devastating to see that last scene of Arthur and Merlin. I'm still crying here.

[arwyn_t]

And I'm holding both of you. There there, sisters...

[reverie_indigo]

But there were only three things that happened: Camlann (6 minutes), reveal (about a minute) then 35 minutes of dragging Arthur around a forest with five largely repetitive lines of dialog and than a weak "Thank you." That's it. The "Just hold me" was pretty much the only reward we got for 5 years and 65 hours of viewing. Well, I guess it's really 36.4 hours because I doubt any of us watch it with commercials. But still.

The rest was filler. We never really knew the blonde, or if she had a relationship with Gwaine, so who cared about any of that? Then some Morgana mean to henchmen and searching around the forest, with Merlin wasting huge amounts of time talking to and hiding from.

Percival's implausible muscle moment was irrelevant, because it was too late to do anything.

The ending. No comment. None needed.

[khaireddin]

I cannot coherently make comment on this episode without so many invectives that it would be unreadable. I cried buckets at the end, but not for the right reasons. I will come back later when I've had a chance to rewatch it.

Ive just spent 30 mins outside the family home, smoking ciggies, with a glass of wine and talking to the neighbour who is also pretty damn pissed off about the ending. Glad to have someone else confirm my views however.

Just....gutted.

[arwyn_t]

And far south, two fans, SforTheWicked and myself have been ranting about the finale since it finished. SFTW is still crying her eyes out, I am, er, cynical and OK.

Well, the truth is that SFTW and myself *knew* how the episode would go, scene by scene, a fan with inside knowledge had privately informed us, so we just waited for the scenes to unfold. We did not like the plot to begin with, but knowing that Arthur and Merlin would talk and Arthur would die in Merlin's arms was something at least. I did enjoy the acting, it was phenomenal, but... it was too little too late, too rushed. And ffs, Old Merlin in the end????? I was OK with the lorry driving by, but Old Merlin???? FFS!!! I would really like it if it were young Merlin, it would have saved some face. But no, Old Merlin is the real Superman. FFS...

[tanous]

I agree it would have been fab to see young Merlin in the last shot but old Merlin was just a disguise. One they really really REALLY loved. :P

[tanoshi_ame]

SHIT!! I'm sorry for giving you false hope tanous. GODDAMNIT THE ENDING#$%%^&%&

[tanous]

Noo- dont worry -as I said in the review, 5.12 made it all right. When Merlin stepped into the light and embraced his powers and who he was, that IMO is when he became Immortal. Thus thats when he stopped ageing. I could have done without the last shot being sodding Dragoon though :P

[zerda_vulpes]

I was expecting much worse.

Can't write coherently right now but:
Magic reveal: good, though it proves they could have done it beautifully in the lapse of a season.
Morgana never takes a stroll without her pet snake that she transports in a trunk and has apparently been immortal all those seasons because she is… a high priestess……. O-kayyy
Poor Aithusa fucks off once again.
The Lake Has Changed, it has now an island with yet another tower in its middle… (good catch Freya, by the way)
“The king is dead long live the queen” all hail queen Mary-sue, winner of the Happy Ending, can rule the kingdom with Leon at her side now -_-
Gwaine bites the dust, but not Perceval. I was expecting them both to die when they stupidly took off after Morgana.
Why Old Merlin in the end?? *cries* (I'm chosing to believe it's a disguise and he can take his young appearence back at anytime but it still spoils the last scene :/)
But all the M/A scenes were perfect and if they could do that in the end, why, oh why could they not have done the entire season

[kleio_caissa]

Come on, cheer up, didn't you see how ambitious Leon is? He'll marry Gwen, and then once he's secure, he'll have her poisoned or sent to a nunnery.

[zerda_vulpes]

Yes please!
But they even managed to do Battle Queen!Gwen, that was icing on the cake …

[tanous]

PMSL! No chance. They'll be very happy and the stunning dull couple in Albion. Mr and Mrs Moral Compass.