The point you draw about the potential for Merlin and Arthur to end up even anything like Uther and Gaius is excellent. I always believed (ignoring true canon) that they could never become anything like that, but I think I'm starting to change my opinion on that.
The deterioration of the relationship between Gaius and Uther shows that even longstanding bonds of friendship and loyalty can be broken and shows both how badly things could go wrong for Merlin and Arthur and how far they are from that point...
MTE. I think the writers have been making a deliberate effort to juxtapose the relationship between Arthur and Merlin with that of Uther and Gaius. (Especially with the troll episodes which featured what I like to call a set of "dueling scenes" where both Merlin and Gaius each attempt to inform their kingly counterparts about the troll and get different reactions but similar results.)
It's almost like with Arthur and Merlin, we're getting a glimpse of what Uther and Gaius might have once been to each other. And with Uther and Gaius, we're getting a preview of what Arthur and Merlin might become to one another if they start repeating the mistakes of the past.
I agree, there has definitely been an effort to show the parallels in the two relationships. I kind of wish Morgana was more involved in this sub-plot because that would be a really rich area to explore. At the moment the two models of kingly advisor (Gaius, and when the writers actually give her something to do, Morgana)are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Gaius rarely, if ever, directly challenges Uther even when he really should while Morgana can sometimes go for a direct confrontation that ends up backfiring. In order for the whole destiny business to work out, Merlin needs to figure out how to be a good fiend to Arthur and walk the line between being too deferential and too confrontational.
I didn't even think of Morgana in that role of advisor to Uther! Possibly because she's basically been demoted to a pretty set decoration this series. Now that I think about it, Uther really could do with the balance Gaius and Morgana could strike between reason and emotion (à la Spock and McCoy). I think that if Morgana learned to confront Uther directly but sans the audience, she would actually affect more change than she has with her current favorite approach of dressing him down in front of all and sundry.
I agree totally with most of this review - so naturally I'm going to chat about the one thing I'm not sure of:
By this point in the last series everyone, apart from the dragon on a bad day, knew that Arthur wasn’t ready to be king. He still isn’t completely ready but I don’t think him succeeding Uther right now would have been the problem it was a year ago. By the end of the first series Arthur was developing nicely as someone who was starting to question orders and not follow them blindly. He still does but in many ways he seems to have a massive step backwards. I love Arthur, he's my favourite character, but at the moment the only way I can see him managing as king is by being lucky enough to have an amazingly powerful warlock at his side saving his arse when it comes to fighting and an amazing wife who'll tell him exactly what he needs to do because he can't be trusted to do the right thing for himself. These things should be a plus, not a necessity. Er, this possibly came out more ranty than I intended. Sorry, am not ranting at
( ... )
Am also peeved at the show. And I agree that in most of the episodes this season he's taken a big step back in terms of how he interacts with people. I don't think the same is necessarily true of his willingness to question orders but I think the overall impression is not a positive one as far as character development goes
( ... )
And while we're on the subject, it would be nice (and necessary for the character development) to have an episode where Merlin realises that magic can't solve everything.
*g* Agreed. Poor Merlin - that magic really is a double edged sword. It's part of him, and he relies on it, but at the same time he never seems to get any joy from it. The one time we see Merlin having fun (although let's not go into the foolishness of the where and when) it all comes tumbling down around his ears. I'd love an episode where Merlin was forced to rely on Arthur and Arthur was forced to rely on himself. (The fan in me assures me that this happens all the time, but it would be nice to SEE it at least once.)
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MTE. I think the writers have been making a deliberate effort to juxtapose the relationship between Arthur and Merlin with that of Uther and Gaius. (Especially with the troll episodes which featured what I like to call a set of "dueling scenes" where both Merlin and Gaius each attempt to inform their kingly counterparts about the troll and get different reactions but similar results.)
It's almost like with Arthur and Merlin, we're getting a glimpse of what Uther and Gaius might have once been to each other. And with Uther and Gaius, we're getting a preview of what Arthur and Merlin might become to one another if they start repeating the mistakes of the past.
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By this point in the last series everyone, apart from the dragon on a bad day, knew that Arthur wasn’t ready to be king. He still isn’t completely ready but I don’t think him succeeding Uther right now would have been the problem it was a year ago. By the end of the first series Arthur was developing nicely as someone who was starting to question orders and not follow them blindly. He still does but in many ways he seems to have a massive step backwards. I love Arthur, he's my favourite character, but at the moment the only way I can see him managing as king is by being lucky enough to have an amazingly powerful warlock at his side saving his arse when it comes to fighting and an amazing wife who'll tell him exactly what he needs to do because he can't be trusted to do the right thing for himself. These things should be a plus, not a necessity. Er, this possibly came out more ranty than I intended. Sorry, am not ranting at ( ... )
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*g* Agreed. Poor Merlin - that magic really is a double edged sword. It's part of him, and he relies on it, but at the same time he never seems to get any joy from it. The one time we see Merlin having fun (although let's not go into the foolishness of the where and when) it all comes tumbling down around his ears. I'd love an episode where Merlin was forced to rely on Arthur and Arthur was forced to rely on himself. (The fan in me assures me that this happens all the time, but it would be nice to SEE it at least once.)
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