Comments | undead_begonia: Merlin 4:11

undead_begonia

Merlin 4:11 - The Hunters Heart

Dec 11, 2011 10:15

Where do I start with my lack of appreciation for this episode?

Oh yes, let's start with Gwen. I like the actress a lot. She's a good actress and she's a pretty girl, BUT, she's no great beauty. Peter Jackson just about managed to pull off Arwen as a legendary beauty because he cast Liv Tyler, who, lets face it, was bloody gorgeous. But trying ( Read more... )

Comments 13

angel_inoshi December 11 2011, 19:48:10 UTC

[gives hug] T_T Yeeeeah my frustration at Merlin's character development...or lack there of...is not without reason! I think the main problem with the show is that they have no idea what to do with the actual main character any more. And as you said, for whatever reason...the show refocused on Arthur and not the actual dynamic of two sides of the same coin. Personally, I think they were doing OKAY at the beginning of season 4...they showed slowly but surely Merlin was edging his way into adviser position and how dear he was to Arthur. But, then it was like someone hit a switch during the halfway point and it slowly descended into wtf is this ( ... )

inspired_being December 13 2011, 05:44:48 UTC

"Merlin "being just a servant" (Lamia), feeling unappreciated and abused (last couple of eps - especially this one with the whole Sire thing)"

Errr... I think the subtleties of their relationship may be a tiny bit lost on you... not to mention the fact that Arthur said 'Thank you Merlin' this episode!!!

angel_inoshi December 14 2011, 07:23:18 UTC

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say...though reading what I wrote (thanks to some typos..note to self do not post at 2AM, lol) I can see why you may assume I meant Arthur thinks Merlin nothing but a servant and doesn't appreciate him. I didn't mean that in the least bit. I am very well aware of the banter and the dynamic between that characters and even though Arthur is a prat...he does value Merlin very much ( ... )

inspired_being December 14 2011, 09:58:14 UTC

Aah... that makes heaps more sense now. Thanks for taking the time to make your thoughts clear. Lol, posting/commenting in the early hours of the morning is not always the wisest idea but I'm sure we're all guilty of it, including me :P

I do agree Merlin's development has been very lacking his season. Nice point about the Nimueh BBQ. I think most involved fans are hoping/praying that the writer's/producers know what the hell they are doing and its all going to work out in the end.

I think there needed to be a time lapse between Gwen's banishment and Arthur's negotiations of marriage, though episode spacer may not have been the best way of doing it. As for the flow of the episode, looking back I can see what you mean by the chopping and changing... but I cant say I noticed while watching it.
*sigh* Anyway, lets hope the next two weeks give us something to inspire more hope for season 5 :P

baka_sensei December 12 2011, 07:41:41 UTC

I'm just holding on for a magic reveal and Merlin saving Camelot with GIANT MAGIC EXPLOSIONS in the series finale. Because I WILL kick the writers in every genital they own if they pull another series finale where Merlin secretly saves the day after Camelot has been overtaken, because JESUS H. we've DONE that already, and at this point FOUR BLOODY SEASONS IN the whole Merlin's-magic-is-a-secret-no-really-shhhh! thing is just getting kind of old and unbelievable. How has no one noticed?

I just hope that the whole series when they've been hinting at Arthur slowly coming around to magic (thank you ever so much for that speech, Gaius!) they've been doing it with an end-game in mind, namely, court sourcerer!Merlin now that Arthur is actually the king.

*sigh* And of course we're not going to get a magic reveal. I know that, I'm resigned to it, and I will be banging my head into the wall in two weeks when, come finale, I don't get one. Sadface.

undead_begonia December 12 2011, 22:20:48 UTC

Well, I think I would suggest you invest in a gel pack to prevent concussion, because I really don't believe there will be a magic reveal, not after what the producers have said ( ... )

tanous December 12 2011, 22:33:34 UTC

Your last para is so right. I think they're very pleased with themselves indeed at Shine (you just have to look at the producer interviews) and think they've played a blinder with the G/L/A cop out. So no - I doubt they really care much about the more invested people they're losing.

adrienne5413 December 12 2011, 23:18:22 UTC

Wait....this comment...
Unfortunately it does seem to be appealing to a very large number of people at the moment who are a lot less discerning or critical, so I don't suppose the producers feel any pressure to mend their ways. Besides, I get the impression they're all feeling very smug and justified and really believe they're doing a great job with this show. It IS frustrating when so many people have highlighted so many ways in which it could have been better.....
Who are THESE people?
I admit that professional reviewers are maybe 50-50 with their like/dislike. I try to find Arwen sites where I can get their perspective, but can't find any that are current with reviews. I'd like to read fan comments that are positive cause I can say that I agree with most all comments here ever week.
How I must love my Merlin and Merthur to subject myself to all this angst!! Thanks.

Thread 5

tanous December 12 2011, 22:29:11 UTC

Thanks so much for this assessment - I agree with it pretty much entirely. The bandit stuff was pure self indulgent fanfic which you could only scoff at, but the points you make about Merlins lack of coherent character development or role are really spot on I think.

"Merlin is doing nothing, going nowhere, and is so far subordinate to the journeys of the rest of the major cast, that most of the time he really need not be there at all" - that says it all. He really is the character who suffers for everyone else and the one character who never gets thanks or admiration or reward. :(

inspired_being December 13 2011, 05:31:51 UTC

I agree in part with what you have said and can understand where you're coming from.

I noticed the Agravine stabbing too. It bugged me that it got over looked.
The Gwen things... I'm only really towards the end of this season starting to think that Arthur is better off without her. Especially after this episode and seeing a goregous princess who seems utterly perfect for Arthur, yet having her let go. But the legend says he marries Gwen, so that's what he is going to be written.
That leads me to your comments about Arthur and him giving it all up for someone like Gwen... I don't know much about the legend, but I'm pretty sure Arthur is kinda supposed to be that way when it comes to Gwen, so to expect something different... err, yeah...

I agree with most of your assessment of Merlin's character not really being the focus and I think he definitely should be more prodomient... and the way his magic is being used is really lax these days *sigh*

undead_begonia December 13 2011, 23:24:08 UTC

Athur like that in legend? No, he's not. As other commentators have said many times, most of the Arthurian legends (and there are of course many variants) do not read anything like a Mills and Boon romance. In some of them, Arthur and Gwenevere were a political alliance. In some others, she was a famous beauty from a good noble family and thus the ideal trophy wife. The whole idea that the love story of Arthur and Gwenevere has such prominence in pretty much any variant of these legends is just not true. It doesn't have anything like the prominence that people who don't know the legends well suppose it does. In one version, he marries two different women named Gwenevere, one after the other ( ... )

inspired_being December 14 2011, 02:07:27 UTC

You seem to know a heap more about the legends than I do, which probably explains why you, among many others, are rather critical of the character portrayal. (I was like that with the HP movies until I realised there was little I could do to change what appeared on screen and I was only ruining my own experience)...but that's a whole different debate and you are very much entitled to be as critical as you so wish (and I do mean that sincerely and I'm sorry if I offend you with any of my own beliefs previously or forthwith).

I just wanted to clear up what I meant when I said 'thats how Arthur's supposed to be with Gwen'. You see, from the things I have read/heard/seen (again, very little), Arthur was portrayed as being married to Gwen, who loved Arthur but loved Lancelot more and was having an affair with him behind Arthur's back. The affair was supposedly obvious to everyone except Arthur who could not see fault in his queen and refused to believe his most loyal/noble knight would betray him so.
That's how this 'version' or 'take' ( ... )