Episode III.IX – Love in the Time of Dragons
Join us for Love in the Time of Dragons, epsiode 9 of Season 3 of BBC Merlin
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4th December 2020 @ 8:10 pm
My only lesson for this episode is not to watch it again. It’s entirely forgettable. I did love you discussing it, though.
5th December 2020 @ 4:52 pm
glad we brought something good to this episode! haha
M Xx
8th November 2020 @ 1:20 pm
I never come back this episode; no Gwen or Morgana, no good Arthur and Merlin and, as I said in my reply to Mary’s comment (or rather Mary’s essay, I genuinely love reading them and I feel like if I could write half as well for my English A Level I would be just fine!), Gaius and Alice’s relationship is so inconsequential and meaningless!
There is potential for a lot of questions to be asked to Gaius. Alice heals random people like the innkeeper when Gaius won’t- why? Should you do all in your power to help other people at your own risk, or should you honour promises and let nature run it’s course, life a wildlife documentary crew has to? Alice has a genuine reason to want to kill Uther (who doesn’t?) and this could be used to ask Gaius why he keeps him alive, but the manticore’s presence takes away Alice’s own volition so this isn’t asked either. I think this episode makes it clear that Merlin doesn’t need Gaius anymore (which I will talk about later), and I think another opportunity is missed when Alice makes excuses for Gaius not coming with her 20 years ago, but if she didn’t then perhaps we could see Gaius regret this decision and then maybe even leave with her at the end of the episode. This would be a big jump but it would give Merlin room to grow and could even be a turning point for him. I think Gaius’ only possible use to Merlin at this point is by him leaving.
LESSONS
Gaius learns nothing as usual, but we learn an awful lot about him. We learn that Gaius is really insecure! It is so ridiculous when he suggests that Merlin doesn’t want to see him happy when Merlin gently suggests that Alice is hiding something, it is so defensive, and it seems strange for him to have so little faith in Merlin’s affection for him. But he is like this for a reason, he is close to Uther, essentially his greatest enemy and as in A Remedy To Cure All Ills, he knows that his position is fragile and at any moment can be ripped from beneath his feet. As a result, he has developed this terrible gaslighting technique (for goodness sake, he gaslights Uther this episode!) in order to protect himself. It’s like a cloys of insecurity that is always above is head, and we see in in every interaction.
It is also shocking when Merlin reports Alice to Arthur. I think this is him finally realising and solidifying that sometimes he disagrees with Gaius and that in those moments, it is better for him to follow his own heart. Throughout this series we have seen him have good ideas be dissauded by Gaius, and maybe this has finally gone wrong enough times that Merlin has realised he does not need Gaius anymore.
End of lessons
I don’t think the writers intended for this episode to be the final booting out of Gaius, but it didn’t’t even redeem his character. *SPOILER MUSIC* Why don’t they kill him!??!?!?! I really believe that this is the only way for him to be of any use to Merlin’s story. If he died through magic, this. might justify Merlin’s hostility towards Mordred in season 5, if Morgana killed hime ( this would be quite dark) it would mean that whether she liked it or not, she had to leave Camelot and it would give her a reason to become fully evil. It just seems so odd the way that Merlin outgrows Gaius but the writers keep him around. I think with Morgana and Morgause there is a similar arc of outgrowing her, and in the end Morgana kills Morgause and in a way this was Morgause dying for Morgana, and I think this would be the only way to make sense of Gaius at this point.
Aaaanyway really looking forward to next week- a fu episode from what I remember, and it has a bit of drama even if it doesn’t stand up to the critical eye!
8th November 2020 @ 2:59 pm
Should you do all in your power to help other people at your own risk, or should you honour promises and let nature run itâs course, like a wildlife documentary crew has to? –
Haha, that’s actually such a great comparison. I think in many ways, Gaius is way more secure being the scientific observer who doesn’t interfere. As I commented on ‘The Crystal Cave’, Gaius is excited about the cave from an academic point of view but has no access to deeper levels of experience. Perhaps this is also a choice. In my own comment here, I said that I don’t think Gaius would help Merlin if it wasn’t in his interest. Had he not know that Merlin had magic, not only that but that he was unique among magic users, how would he have treated and supported him. Or would he have at all. I think Gaius is living through Merlin’s real experience and enjoys academically studying him, which is in his interest which is why he supports Merlin.
The point where he offers his own life to Nimueh in 1.13 is interesting. Of course, Gaius is a human being and would have developed feelings for Merlin as well. But perhaps this is also an academic risking his life or reputation for the ‘study’ of a unique phenomenon, willing to sacrifice himself so this phenomenon can continue to grow and develop and manifest, for future generations to study and observe.
Why donât they kill him!??!?!?! –
In a very disturbing sort of way: I quite agree. Merlin needs to come into his own and that means, Gaius has to go. Or you know, send him along with Alice? That’s less violent and he could still act as a letter-ex-machina at times.
Also, thank you so much for your lovely compliments about my ‘essays’. I’m very humbled. Thank you! đ
8th November 2020 @ 4:09 pm
Your observations about Gaius the academic are really interesting and they work pretty well, I think! It’s also worth mentioning that an academic’s position is convenient on an emotional level for Gaius. He lived through times of terror, and a scientific detachment helps him not develop feelings for the magical users he seems to be condemning on a daily basis. Of course, it’s quite impossible not to develop any feelings for Merlin after all (I think he has them, but very low-key, and is terrible at showing them), and Alice caught him off guard, appearing suddenly after 20 years.
And I definitely think this episode could have been partly saved by Gaius leaving with Alice in the end. It would both give him some growth and provide future growth for Merlin. Sigh…
9th November 2020 @ 2:25 pm
— perhaps we could see Gaius regret this decision and then maybe even leave with her at the end of the episode. This would be a big jump but it would give Merlin room to grow and could even be a turning point for him. I think Gaiusâ only possible use to Merlin at this point is by him leaving.–
I literally just finished responding to Hanna’s write in via email and wrote half an essay on how I just don’t understand why the show doesn’t just kill Gaius already. Ruth’s brought this up in the podcast once or twice and we’ll probably talk about it more in the future, but yes, you are absolutely right, one (and defintiely the show) may not want to be as brutal as just killing him off but yes, him leaving with Alice would achieve the same thing and it would allow merlin room to grow. argh!!
M Xx
8th November 2020 @ 9:07 am
Okay so here is my actual commentđ – thought I would wait till morning rather than let 11pm Kirsty take the reigns again, although I have to say that 9am Kirsty doesnât seem to be much better…sorry!!
This episode. When I watch Merlin I always watch the episodes in random order, and then get into a rhythm where I will watch anything, any episode that I didnât watch like five seconds ago. I always forget this one exists, leave it till last, start watching and stop the minute the manticore appears on screen. Hopefully that sums ups my feelings on itđ. Honestly, you pointed out some great individual moments of performance so there were some really nice bits, but I have to agree that most of it was so so frustrating. Your season 1 idea makes way too much sense! The more I think about it, the more I see the link…if it werenât for Colinâs haircut Iâd think it was filmed then too!
LESSONS
We as the audience learn that Gaius will continue to, as he did in the past, cling to his knowledge and position as a respected physician, possibly as it is the only constant thing in his life and something he held on to, and chose while he watched friends burn at the stake. Although he says that he stays to look after Merlin, I get the vibe that similarly to Arthur, he is coming to his own power and actively defining who he is now – just last episode he completed his âKnight of Magicâ quest and was told by the fisher King that time of Arthur, the Once and future King was dawning. Maybe looking after Merlin was just an excuse for Gaius to yet again choose the safe option – to hide behind his books and the protection of the King.
Merlin seems to learn (wrongfully!!!! Donât listen Merlin!) that he is not ready to make sound decisions of his own yet. Gaius condemns him for turning in Alice and all though they make up, he is miserable and isolated throughout the duration of their argument – sitting outside on the steps, for example. When considering the really interesting discussions had here about Merlin and his yearning for human connection – something Destiny seems determined to destroy – perhaps this discouraged him from breaking away from Gaiusâs mentorship because he doesnât want to lose that relationship, therefore he will continue to rely on Gaius more than he should. Although he should be more independent, especially after last weeks quest, I canât help but think that this has set him back – argh! Honestly, I despise myself for that last lesson and really REALLY hope itâs not continued but I canât remember! Hopefully not!
LESSONS OVER
As usual, your podcast episode actually really improved the episode for me so thank you!! Thank you also for all the work you put in, as always.
8th November 2020 @ 3:09 pm
if it werenât for Colinâs haircut Iâd think it was filmed then too! –
Lol, that’s my pointer as well. When I see random scenes on youtube and try to figure out which season or episode they are from, I always look at Colin’s haircut (and how thin or not he is). đ
Gaius condemns him for turning in Alice and all though they make up, he is miserable and isolated throughout the duration of their argument â sitting outside on the steps, for example. –
So, I agree that Gaius condemns him for this but I personally feel like the episode itself is on Merlin’s side. But maybe that’s just me because I have no sympathy with Gaius and had no interest in Alice due to her awkward relationship with Gaius and, well, basically, from when the manticore first appeared on screen.
Ruth and Michelle, I want to echo Kirsty’s comment: listening to your podcast does make every episode better and, in this case, I 100% enjoyed listening to your words more than I enjoyed watching the episode. (Except the scene where Arthur tries to comfort Merlin. That’s so sweet!)
8th November 2020 @ 10:59 pm
Itâs actually really funny how he changes so much physically when he literally wears the exact same thing every episode – ooh new headcannon, maybe this was a cunning plan to emphasise how much Merlin changes as a person?? Not sure about that one haha think I dug a bit too deep theređ
To be honest, Iâm not sure where I stand on that one – I have to say that get the vibe that the episode thinks itâs wrong of Merlin to dob Alice in – a real How could you betray Gaius moment?! – but then again I completely agree that I think the audience is supposed to feel very sympathetic towards Merlin – going back to sitting outside in the cold. I 100% agree that Alice and Gaiusâs relationship never quite felt right and Iâm sure that makes me more inclined to pity Merlin, but as you say if thatâs the case, it probably wasnât what the writers intended the episode to say…ahh this episode is so befuzzling!
And me too, absolutely! You guys always make the episodes so much better and more interesting to watch and talk about, as Mary says, and I think you should count making this episode as interesting to think about as you did, a serious achievement! And that scene is delightful:)!
9th November 2020 @ 2:36 pm
aww, thanks you two! <3
9th November 2020 @ 9:36 pm
Itâs actually really funny how he changes so much physically when he literally wears the exact same thing every episode â ooh new headcannon, maybe this was a cunning plan to emphasise how much Merlin changes as a person?? –
I aboslutely think it was. I mean, every performance I have seen Colin in, it is obvious that he doesn’t do things by halves but changes often his entire physique for the character he is playing.
In the first season of Merlin, especially at the start, he looks very normal, naive and, I don’t want to call it baby-fat, but there is something about his physique that definitely says ‘recent teenagers still needing to grow into adult body’ about him.
I think in the second season, he tried to emphasise his elfin features to make him stand out from the other more hunky individuals. Also, those cheekbones and angles on his face can be used better if his face itself is thinner. And perhaps, that could also have been an attempt to look younger. In my head, Merlin is 19/20 in season 2 whereas Colin would have been 23.
In season 3, he was still as thin and elfin as always and it is brought out more prominently by his shorter haircut. Also, shorter haircut = more adult = one year has passed = Merlin is older now.
Season 4, for me, was the one where he changed most significantly throughout the season itself, from plale stickman (which suits his role in episodes like ‘The Darkest Hour’ or ‘The Wicked Day’ – just think of the spiral staircase scene) to a more confident, muscular, filled-in figure. His hair grew a little longer. I think this was used to emphasise his ‘coming into his own’ when a certain event happened, and the aftermath of that, from epsiode 3 onwards. Merlin had a new role, new respnsibilties and Colin showed that really clearly in his physical transformation.
And finally, season 5: well, Merlin was properly grown up by this point, both physically (which apparently means much more buff, but who can object?) and in the role he has to play in his and Arthur’s destiny. Many things happen to him in this season that seem to require a stronger physique and it would be hard to imagine season 2 slim-version of Merlin being ‘up’ for dealing with all that.
You can see that I have not spent a signifcant amount of time thinking about this. At all.
10th November 2020 @ 12:27 pm
(MILD SPOIILERS)
I guess there’s also an element where you bring in all the knights, and whether that was a showrunner decision or a Morgan decision, but S1 waive Merlin would look miserably pathetic next to a whole bunch of knights, in a way that previously wasn’t a problem, because Arthur is meant to be the uber buff and people like Lance and Gwaine don’t stick around long enough, to really show it up, and all other knights of camelot are always very background and really not near enough to Merlin, to make us realise the contrast.
10th November 2020 @ 3:23 pm
That’s definitely true. There are a few pictures I have seen with Merlin, Arthur and all the knights from “The Darkest Hour” and even though I know Colin Morgan is actually very tall, he looks pathetically tiny surrounded by all the knights.
And then he grew up…
10th November 2020 @ 6:21 pm
having stood next to colin morgan, he is definitely very tall, but having also stood next to tom Hopper once, ANYONE WOULD LOOK SHORT AND TINY!!!! lol
10th November 2020 @ 8:04 pm
Very true. That’s why he was the one who always had to carry Colin in ‘Merlin is unconscious’ scenes.
đ I’ve never stood next to Colin Morgan. Slightly jealous – although I’d probably embarrass myself. Was he nice?
10th November 2020 @ 10:45 pm
Unfortunately neither have I and am equally as curious – and maybe possibly equally as jealous, shh! And yes you guys make a load of sense, anyone would look minuscule standing next to Tom Hopper, sheesh!
15th November 2020 @ 10:22 am
Colin Morgan was, honestly, exactly how you’d expect him to be, which is perfectly polite, because he’s a very nice young man, but really not a fan of… well, fans. We attended the 25 hour musical at the old vic and the vip after party that followed, which colin was also at (so was tony head, who got really quite tipsy and was giggly and the most precious!!!!) and bless colin, but it just looked like he was counting down the minutes. it was a couple of years after Merlin finished, but clearly not enough years to have got over the trauma inflicted on him through becoming the hottest new thing in britain, and yeah, you could tell that he was not over that yet :facepalm:
M Xx
10th November 2020 @ 10:56 pm
This is amazing! He really does put everything into his art which is so incredible. Honestly you covered that so wonderfully – especially as you definitely did NOT spend a lot of time thinking about it, and I also did not either, of course – I canât think of anything to add, but one thing you mentioned about Merlin appearing younger and elfin in season 2 got me thinking. I wonder if maybe this was a conscious decision to make some of the morally complex and ambiguous choices Merlin begins to make for the first time is season 2 even more chilling – maybe the juxtaposition of such an innocent, sweet, fragile and young looking person forced to carry such a burden and literally kill his friends to save everyone else makes it even more gut wrenching.
11th November 2020 @ 8:02 am
Oh completely! I mean, I don’t know about how much Colin would have know of the developments in the latter episodes of the season (since they usually got the scripts only shortly beforehand) but it worked out anyway!
9th November 2020 @ 2:34 pm
but 11pm Kirsty is so much fun! haha whereas 9am Kirsty is… distressing me with the notion of watching Merlin episodes in an utterly random order…. I think it’s something that the folks over on Merlisten have said, too, and I do see how the lack of overall arc supports episode ordering being one of the show’s biggest flaws but… do you mean that you literally just watch them completely randomly??
(I am equal amounts intrigued and terrified… lol)
9th November 2020 @ 4:19 pm
Oh is that really weird? Haha thatâs hilarious – yep, actually thinking about it now itâs something I not only do with every tv show, but book series as well – or maybe thatâs less weird, I have no idea because Iâve never actually talked about it?! For me itâs nothing to do with the consistency – although yes that it a huge problem – I just keep the overall narrative in mind when I watch because honestly Iâve seen this show so many times I think I might have etched it into my skull haha, I usually think oh letâs watch Merlin, start with the one I feel like watching the most and go from there I suppose…and as I type this the more disturbed I am by my own craziness because god I sound bonkers, but thatâs how Iâve always done things I suppose?đ
9th November 2020 @ 4:59 pm
I mean, it is totally different with a show you’ve seen dozens of times!! Ruth’s a completionist freak so will be VERY UNHAPPY when she hears about this (and I will tell her with great glee haha) but I do get the ‘what episode do I want to watch…? ooooooh, THAT one!’ randomly picking and choosing. I think it’s just that when I do that, I will then just go forwards from that episode. because ultimately everything else is way too much effort. So if I randomly want to rewatch the queen of hearts episode, i’ll start with 3.10, and then watch the rest of season 3, because the dvd is in the dvd player and it would be rude not to hahaha
10th November 2020 @ 10:39 pm
Dying heređ…honestly I would love to have the self control to watch it all through from the very start every time but I am clearly far too self indulgent with my Merlin watching haha! I did manage to take a 4 month hiatus once and then go all the way through, but I simply cannot bring myself to watch the last episode unless Iâm really REALLY in the mood to sob my eyes out, which is pretty rare, so I just felt really unsatisfied? And thus fell back into my pick n mix goodie bag of Merlin episodes habit!
-âwhat episode do I want to watchâŚ? ooooooh, THAT one!â – the tone of voice I am thinking this in has me in stitches I am laughing so much. The more I think about this the more I question my mental age in comparison to my ACTUAL age…
-Ruthâs a completionist freak so will be VERY UNHAPPY when she hears about this- oh god. I shall wait in trepidation for the Wrath of Ruth!
11th November 2020 @ 8:04 am
but I simply cannot bring myself to watch the last episode –
That’s pretty much my reason for often not going from start to finish but picking and choosing which episode I want to watch. Because of I did, I’d have to complete it and watch THAT ONE too. And no!
7th November 2020 @ 11:59 pm
I absolutely agree with you that thereâs no coherent conversation to be had about religion in this show⌠but I love analysing it anyway đ
I think the idea that this was originally written for season 1 makes a LOT of sense for all the reasons you gave, plus the weird exposition Gaius gives near the start â he tells us about the Purge as if weâd never heard of it, and I can only assume that either the writers thought we might have forgotten about it or it was meant to be in season 1 somewhere.
Gaiusâ behaviour is horrific and Iâm slightly in shock at that tbh. I personally headcanon Merlin as slightly younger than you do, but I kind of want to age up my headcanon purely so that I can believe the power differential is smaller. The gaslighting was just SO awful and I know we’ve seen him do that to Morgana already but this was so blatant!
I assumed Merlin HAD told Arthur about the creature and Arthur didnât believe him? But maybe I just assumed more competency than the show afforded him.
There’s a line when Alice makes the potion for Uther (at least I think that’s when it was) and she says “you showed me how” – so we spend the entire time saying how great Alice is at healing, so much better than Gaius, but he had to show her how to make a healing potion for an old battle wound? I felt the whole time that the writers couldn’t work out how to have a male and female character doing the same job without the man being more competent even though she’s explicitly stated to be better than him.
Nothing in this episode makes sense and Iâm very annoyed with it.
8th November 2020 @ 2:50 pm
I felt the whole time that the writers couldnât work out how to have a male and female character doing the same job without the man being more competent even though sheâs explicitly stated to be better than him. –
Well, not that that’s an excuse, but they do work in an industry with a notable lack of women in the deciding roles. Seems they really wanted to tip their hat to women and their equal if not superior talents by making Alice more skilled. But then they lacked personal experience to bring this out in more than a line of dialogue.
Perhaps this episode should have been given to the one female writer on Merlin. It would have been interesting to see what Lucy Watkins would have done with this.
9th November 2020 @ 3:18 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we ever get any actual ages for anyone on the show. The way I’ve always worked it is that we know it’s been 20 years since the start of the great purge at the beginning of S1, and then we have the crown prince ceremony, because Arthur has reached “an age” that makes this a thing. So I always worked with that being his 21st birthday. Obviously it’s a very modern way of thinking that it must be 16, 18, 20, or 21, but it does have to be a number close to 20, so 21 is the most likely. And then from there you extrapolate that Merlin is a few years younger than Arthur (which you can obviously take to mean anything from 14 – 20) and I think in my head it’s always been Merlin is 18 to Arthur’s 21.
Then S2 happens and we get the additional Balinor information, which means that 20 years ago, at the beginning of the great purge, uther demanded all the dragons be brought to him, and then killed / imprisoned (which will have taken SOME TIME at least), then Balinor runs away, finds shelter, love happens, baby Merlin happens… the more you think about it, the younger Merlin becomes, really. Though it is possible to do all of the above, and still end up with a 3 year gap between the two boys, rather than a 6 year gap. I think.
My head usually starts to hurt round about now… lol
M Xx
7th November 2020 @ 11:12 pm
Totally totally agree. Itâs so frustrating because I think very few people actually care about accountant/baby-faced creature of the week, and many more people care about the characters weâre invested in! Whatâs even more aggravating is in regards to the family show argument, I think having difficult conversations about right and wrong, morality and how we can be better versions of ourselves is so much more valuable material for kids to consume, as opposed to manticores that disappear if you say some magic words – obviously this is a magic show and thatâs a huge part of it, but there is definitely room for both I think.
Mary, in regards to your gas lighting of the audience thought – that made a scary amount of sense. I watched Merlin first when I was pretty young, and until D&C I must admit that I had no issue with Gaius whatsoever – actually looking into the episodes in detail has been pretty shocking for his character and how awful he is (I am definitely on the less-than-average-observant side of life but WOW he is bad!). I really really wish the show had acknowledged that and dealt with it – but they didnât, making it so problematic on so many levels.
7th November 2020 @ 11:14 pm
Damn it that was supposed to be a reply to Danutas comment, hope this doesnât get too confusing!
8th November 2020 @ 12:08 am
Oh, I did the same thing last week. Don’t worry, I read it. Will reply tomorrow… I mean, today after I’ve had my short night’s sleep. đ
8th November 2020 @ 2:21 am
” I think having difficult conversations about right and wrong, morality and how we can be better versions of ourselves is so much more valuable material for kids to consume, as opposed to manticores that disappear if you say some magic words â obviously this is a magic show and thatâs a huge part of it, but there is definitely room for both I think.”
And that is, I think, when Merlin as a show is at its best – when it cleverly merges magic and difficult themes. Like in Lancelot, when it was both about the griffin and being true to oneself, like in the last week’s episode… I guess that’s why Michelle and Ruth established the whole Lessons Learned game đ
8th November 2020 @ 9:24 am
Absolutely. Kids are obviously going to find magical creatures cool and interesting but incorporating those more complex themes into the episode about griffins, as you mentioned, is definitely where Merlin really gets in right. Especially as they are much more likely to take the information on board if you weave it into an exciting story, rather than sit them down and just tell it straight – one of the plus side of childrenâs fiction I think, and by extension, all fiction, because I know am much more likely to learn something from reading a novel/watching a tv show! I donât actually know anything about the subject, just pontificating really but maybe thatâs what they were going for? It also reminds me of how well Merlin can do those moments that are simultaneously lighthearted banter and sob-in-to-a-pillow worthy. And yes, I guess it is haha!
8th November 2020 @ 2:29 pm
I think especially because Merlin as a show had such a great entertaining set-up with all the magical things and the entire world that could draw kids (or anyone else, for that matter) in, it SHOULD have used that to teach lessons that are profound and valuable. And like you both have said, many times it did. Just not in regards to many of the ‘darknesses’ we sense in characters. Or questions that may be divisive, such as the role of religion in this world or the guilt and behaviour of various players during the Purge.
That’s a real shame because the one thing about good fiction is that it assumes that readers aren’t stupid, that they can handle even difficult subjects and it, in part, teaches them to do so both in the fictional world and also, by translation and application, in their own, real world.
When the entertainment elements, such as the creatures, take over and become distractions, however, when they prevent personal engagement, growth and sophisticated thinking, they are misapplied. Which, I think, sadly happened with the manticore.
I also want to say that perhaps the showrunners were afraid they would lose part of their audience if they took out the manticore and instead gave more times to scenes that explored Gaius’ character. However, and I’m talking as a teacher here, fancy gagets and loud distractions will provide engagement in the short run but nothing compares to the engagement created when issues of real import and value and significance are discussed. Kids, adults, any audience, who is led to recognise and relate personally to a character’s guilt or struggle, will experience a more long-lasting commitment and engagement in any story than through mere ‘action’.
Wow, okay, just realising that I have ended up debating the age-old question of whether character or action should be predominant in a story. Can’t remember which Aristotle favoured but he definitely talked about this a lot.
9th November 2020 @ 4:00 pm
-it SHOULD have used that to teach lessons that are profound and valuable. And like you both have said, many times it did. Just not in regards to many of the âdarknessesâ we sense in characters.-
I think youâre absolutely right there and itâs particularly problematic when it comes to glossing over Gaiusâs darkness because itâs difficult (so we replace it with a manticore we can boot out) as itâs basically sending the message – donât ever question the morality of those who maintain authority over you, and I donât think thatâs the best thing to imply!
– However, and Iâm talking as a teacher here, fancy gagets and loud distractions will provide engagement in the short run but nothing compares to the engagement created when issues of real import and value and significance are discussed.-
Oh wow thatâs so cool! I would absolutely have to agree and though I can only speak for myself, I know that even when I was watching as a kid, though I did appreciate and find interesting the magical creatures, what I was really invested in was the individual characters and their personalities, how I could relate – saying this all in hindsight, I didnât even think about this at the time but looking back, I know now thatâs why I loved it. That has only developed to me being absolutely focused on characters – their morality, relationships, arcs – because I find them so interesting to think about beyond surface watching, so Iâm probably quite biased when it comes to that debate haha! But then again, if the action becomes a part of the characters life, does that not affect them and shape their development? And I suppose on the other hand are characters not usually a vital part of action – argh stop for goodness sake Kirsty! : I know absolutely zilch about this so really Iâm just randomly pontificating nowđ, you seem to know a great deal more so I will definitely follow your lead on that one!
9th November 2020 @ 9:42 pm
Don’t necessarily follow my lead, I’m not sure I am qualified. Fancy words don’t mean I actually know or, more importantly, know how to apply it wisely. But I personally like the idea that we learn from each other and are both teachers and learners all of the time simulateously. That’s when it works best. đ
what I was really invested in was the individual characters and their personalities, how I could relate –
Yep, my thoughts exactly. All exciting magical creatures and earth-shattering spells aside, when our minds, hearts, values, personalities and attitudes are engaged and challenged and touched, that’s when the REAL magic of Merlin happens. đ
10th November 2020 @ 11:12 pm
Honestly, I wasnât aware of it until you mentioned it, so thank you for introducing it to the conversation! Iâm no expert, but you always write so authentically and beautifully! And I very much like that idea toođ
Speaking of beautiful writing, I think you may have encapsulated the show in a single sentence!
11th November 2020 @ 8:06 am
Oh! You’re so sweet. Thank you! âşď¸
9th November 2020 @ 3:20 pm
–and until D&C I must admit that I had no issue with Gaius whatsoever–
honestly, until D&C we didn’t have any idea of just how bad Gaius really is O_O
Gaius, and Joyce Summer (Buffy’s mum) are two of the huge ‘omg did that go over my head when I was younger!!’ parental characters on TV that in hindsight, are sort of mindblowing with just how bad they are…
M Xx
7th November 2020 @ 9:27 pm
Comments:
Right, I honestly had to convince myself this week to watch the episode. I think I may have watched it once or twice before but now routinely skip it because I think itâs just so awful. I think for me, itâs all about the appalling creature design of the manticore (more of that later) and some of the actorsâ lack of credible interaction with it. I swear, Alice doesnât even look at the correct point during half her scenes with the manticore. I mean, I know that Pauline Collins is an older actress and maybe she never had a lot of experience with CGI acting. Maybe she did and someone else is to blame here, I donât know. Anyway, itâs really clear that her eyes are often unfocused and it really bothers me.
Another reason why I shake my head at this episode is the notable lack of chemistry between Gaius and Alice (for me at least). Alice says that Gaius has lost none of his old charm and he says that he doesnât know how he ever survived without her. However, their facial expressions (or lack thereof), their tone when they speak to each other, the blocking, that odd non-romantic magical science lesson – I think pretty much their entire performance when they have scenes together tells a different story. They are kept really distant, awkwardly staring at each other from an armâs length away. They are too still and look uncomfortable in each otherâs presence. They are not very tactile and when they are it looks awkward and stilted. Alice puts a hand on Gaiusâ but there is no movement from Gaius to claps her hand. Alice reaches out (while standing quite far away) to touch Gaiusâ cheek and holds it there for a rather long time but he makes no move towards her or to touch her arm or shoulder or anything. It seems like theyâve been told to show an established romance but without getting too close or affectionate. Or both actors decided to underplay their romance and it just didnât work. And of course, they might want to show that Aliceâs possession (?) by the manticore is causing all of this â the scene in the dungeon is the only one I like between them â but then there shouldnât be constant reminders that this is just like old times and nothing has changed!
I am honestly not convinced that the manticore has such a hold over Alice and thatâs mainly because of the creatureâs lack of motivation to kill Uther. As far as I can see, the only one who has any reason to kill the king is Alice herself. So, maybe, she held this grudge for a long time and, while discovering the manticore and trying to use its powers for good, she also realised its potential to end Uther. But in order to do that, she had to maybe enter into some sort of deal of dependence on the creature. But I donât think she only intended the best and was forcibly taken over.
Now, the manticore itselfâŚyeah! What? And who? It might be the worst creature design in all of Merlin. Also, what is up with the extremely disturbing sexual tension/ innuendo between Alice and the manticore? He (?) jumps onto her lap in the pre-credits scene and she squirms uncomfortably. Okay, fine! Weird, cat-like behaviour maybe. But then later she âmilksâ the sting on his tail (is that even possible? Isnât that thing a solid?) and the manticore groans in pleasure! There is so much wrong here.
Sigh.
Okay, moving on. Does anyone else, during that first shot of Alice riding her cart towards Camelot, see Gandalf driving into the Shire, singing âThe road goes ever one and onâ? Please, someone point me to a youtube video where that audio is super-imposed on the scene! I canât be the only one.
You pointed out Gaiusâ really hurtful dismissal of Merlin when he sends him away to Arthurâs side, apparently âhis placeâ. But at the beginning of the episode, when Uther runs the miraculous healings past Gaius, Merlin stands behind the physicians for some reason. I donât understand why he is in the throne room at all unless he really stood by Arthurâs side, serving drinks etc. The blocking of this suggests that Uther send for Gaius, in which case it would have been presumptuous for Merlin to also follow the summons. I donât think Uther would have explicitly called for both Gaius and Merlin since, I think, Uther doesnât even know the latterâs name most of the time. I canât really offer a reading of this apart from that the episode (show?) itself doesnât seem to know where Merlinâs place is.
The plan to kill Uther by blaming it on Gaius is pretty stupid. Even if Alice and the manticore got that far and Gaius was arrested, others (including, you know, Merlin who has the Crown Princeâs ear and trust!) would have seen Alice living with Gaius. Someone might recognise her as Gaiusâ ex-fiancĂŠe and sorceress Uther didnât get to kill. Even if nothing else, Alice and Merlin would both die because they associated with a sorcerer like all those people who fed and housed Torin in 1.12. But Uther seems to have forgotten all about that since he neither arrests the innkeeper whom he already suspects of using magic (!) and then allows Gaius to visit Alice, a convicted sorcerer and murderer, in the cells.
Also, you pointed out the prop handling of the poison bottle as demeaning to the audience. I think itâs also saying interesting things about Utherâs evening routine. Uther took the poison in Gaiusâ presence. The physician eventually left and the poison had not yet kicked in. Then Gaius went to have dinner with Alice. Arthur discovered his father at some point, rang the alarm bells, alerted Gaius who then found the king with the bottle STILL clutched in his hands. I mean, I am assuming at least 30 minutes to 1 hour have passed and Uther is still holding the bottle?
Also, final note: that shot of Merlinâs empty seat and bowl and then him sitting alone on the courtyard steps makes me bawl! Poor Merlin! I have no sympathy with Gaius or Alice.
Lessons:
In this episode, Gaius, for the first time, is at the receiving end of Merlinâs sneaking and he realises just how terrible it is.
Merlin, not for the first time, is at the receiving end of Gaiusâ gaslighting and he realises just how terrible it is.
We learn that Uther places a high value on his own life (as expected) but doesnât take the protection of his only heir very seriously. The kingâs food and drink are always tasted but we have seen Merlin dig up Arthurâs food from just about anywhere (including a rotting apple from Gaiusâ cupboard), steal it, drop itâŚhe fed him rat stew!!! Yes, okay, Arthur trusts Merlin implicitly, but what about at the start? Uther just appointed this random peasant guy to be in charge of his sonâs life and food and wellbeing after saving his life from Mary Collins. What if that was one elaborate plan to get Merlin close to the Crown Prince and do the actual killing with his non-pre-tasted breakfast sausages the next day?
We have learned in 3.3 that Geoffrey probably hates his job as a librarian. Here we learn that he always dreamt of being a teacher. He literally jumps at the opportunity to tell Merlin all about manticores, pre-empting his reading of the very book he is holding. Maybe thatâs what Geoffrey came to Camelot for: to be a teacher. But he was only given the library job because Uther doesnât like to change his mind about things and always leaves the research to others. And, once again, when it was Arthurâs turn to have a tutor, Geoffrey was probably frustrated in his efforts because (at least according to fanfiction) Arthur wasnât very studious. Poor Geoffrey. (Also, in the first library scene, we see Merlinâs book-locating powers, which I pointed out in the lessons for 3.3, confirmed!)
I feel like the episode might be inadvertently teaching us a lesson about good (Merlin & Arthur) and bad (Gaius & Alice) on-screen chemistry.
We learn that Merlin is actually pretty rude and arrogant: he walks into the library with barely a greeting as if he owned the place (heâs a servant â since when do they have free access to the kingâs library!) and at first curtly rejects Geoffreyâs generous offer of help. Later at night, when he fools Geoffrey with his magic, he rolls his eyes at him as if to say, âOh, what a stupid, senile old manâ. I would be okay if Merlin would exhale with relief that he hadnât been caught but this rude contempt is uncalled for and not attractive.
Unfortunately, this leads to another lesson about a certain tendency Merlin seems to be developing. When he startles Alice and she drops the glass flask, he does not apologise or jump to help her. This is due, I think, to the fact that at this point he already suspects her and unfortunately, Merlin seems to immediately stop all decent or kind behaviour towards people once he suspects them of something or has been prophetically warned about them. I believe we might see this in the future: a complete rejection of people he merely suspects, the tendency to alienate, ostracise and punish them on suspicion only without offering any explanation or any chances for people to redeem themselves.
On the other hand, we also learn about a tendency in Arthur which, possibly, we will also see mature in the future. He is becoming more perceptive reading Merlinâs mood and he cares about when something is not right with his servant/ friend. Then he tries to coax Merlin to tell him whatâs wrong and tries to offer advice and his version of encouragement. He is so precious doing this and these scenes show his maturing sensitivity and wish to take othersâ feelings seriously. He may be rubbish at voicing his own but he is more ready to listen to those of others and offer help.
Now, my final lesson is about Gaius: we absolutely see spelled out what many previous episodes have hinted at: Gaius only helps and supports sorcerers â or maybe all people â when it is in his personal interest to do so. In this episode, we can see a glimpse into a world where Gaius and Merlin are pitted against each other and helping Merlin would not be in Gaiusâ interest: he stops feeding him, rejects and berates him, practically abandons him for Alice who doesnât challenge him with uncomfortable questions or discoveries, offers him a romantic relationship and more advanced help with his practice than Merlin can. It makes us wonder how Gaius would have acted if Merlin wasnât his âwardâ, if he was just a random young warlock that held no interest for Gaius. Heâd probably turn him in, turn away or abandon him to his own devices as he did with so many others: Edwin Muirden and his parents, Morgana, Mordred (the PHYSICIAN(!) was about to refuse medical help to a boy just because he was a druid and he might be implicated), Freya⌠Similarly, Gaius did not stay behind in Camelot, as Alice says, to protect her. Why would Gaius staying protect her? He already erased her name off the list and helped her escape. Which I think he did because, if Alice had been caught and he had been found to be engaged to her, his own life and security would have been threatened.
The fact that Gaius gaslights Merlin and Uther so massively in this episode also speaks for this: Uther says that Gaiusâ testimony can easily set the kingâs mind at rest about possible magical threats. What has he done with that influence for other sorcerers over the years? Gaius persuades the innkeeper to tell him about the magical remedy because he âisnât the king after allâ. That line sounds completely, obviously ingenuine. Also, a second beforehand, after Merlin spoke openly and truthfully of the kingâs hypocrisy, Gaius reminded him that he is âalso the kingâ. So, while this may seem that Gaius is loyal to Uther, I think his lies, gaslighting and change of direction according to the way the wind blows show that Gaiusâ only true loyalty is to himself. Hence he was ready to up and leave in âA Remedy to Cure All Illsâ when Uther had taken away his position, once again abandoning Muirden whom he could have tried to appease, abandoning the king with the man planning his murder on the loose and abandoning Merlin while another evil sorcerer knew of his secret and could expose him at any moment. It just wasnât convenient for Gaius to help any of these over himself.
8th November 2020 @ 12:01 am
all of this. yes. 100%.
8th November 2020 @ 12:14 pm
I totally agree with your comments on the lack of chemistry between Gaius and Alice, and think it was really well put. It was just so awkward and even when Alice comments on his old charm etc. not even she seems convinces by it! I think to make this work perhaps the writers could have made it more intentionally cold between them and put some emphasis on the tension between them caused by Alice’s use of magic that does not coincide with Gaius’ use of it, because instead we just get this forced romance. I think part of the reason you don’t even wonder if we will see her again after this is because we don’t really need to- their relationship in this episode is presented as being just as it was- which is pretty dull really. I don’t really get the impression they have anything to learn from each other, or that this relationship can do anything for anyone. Missed opportunity ti give Gaius some depth but I think the fact that it is so surface level and inconsequential is really disappointing this far into the series.
8th November 2020 @ 2:39 pm
Thank Maddy. I really have no explanation for why their relationship is protrayed so awkwardly. Maybe it’s because no one on the team really had any experience with how people behave in romantic relationship 60+? But then surely Richard Wilson and Pauline Collins would have known?
Anyway, I wouldn’t really have so much a problem with it if the show textualised that their relationship, due to 20-years absence, is more awkward and stilted. It would make sense. But instead, all these lines they have characters say want to hammer home that nothing has changed – which just isn’t true, as far as I can see. Otherwise, it makes me question what their relationship was like in the first place and, in their case, it seems it was never very warm or genuine.
Now, I’m thinking whether they are making a statement about possibly scientists leaning towards a more rational relationship? Hmm…clearly they hadn’t seen The Big Bang Theory yet. đ
9th November 2020 @ 4:07 pm
I was getting ready to make a big bang joke, and then got to the end of your comment lol you got there before me!
9th November 2020 @ 9:44 pm
đ I couldn’t not. Well, they do say: great minds…are Amy and Sheldon, right? đ
9th November 2020 @ 4:03 pm
— I know that Pauline Collins is an older actress and maybe she never had a lot of experience with CGI acting. Maybe she did and someone else is to blame here, I donât know. Anyway, itâs really clear that her eyes are often unfocused and it really bothers me.–
I think it may be an unfortunate combination of not having a lot of CGI experience but also being Pauline Collins, who graciously agreed to come on your silly fantasy show, and therefore no one wanting to tell her that she’s doing it wrong…. hmmm.
— Alice says that Gaius has lost none of his old charm and he says that he doesnât know how he ever survived without her.–
lol when you call it out like that it absolutely does sink like a stone, doesn’t it… they have to make the overblown statements, as otherwise you’d never notice as a viewer lol
–I am honestly not convinced that the manticore has such a hold over Alice and thatâs mainly because of the creatureâs lack of motivation to kill Uther.–
yeah, i’d utterly forgotten until we got into this episode, that there isn’t someone pulling the strings behind the manticore. It would make no sense what so ever, but because the manticore makes no sense by itself, i’d just always superimposed someone with actual motivation to kill Uther onto the episode. Whereas yes, of course Alice is the absolute most obvious one. But then the episode makes it very clear that SHE’S TOTES NOT EVIL!!!
— It might be the worst creature design in all of Merlin.–
oh no. THAT is most definitely still to come… coughseason5aliencough …but it is definitely in the top 5!
–Also, what is up with the extremely disturbing sexual tension/ innuendo between Alice and the manticore–
the milking is so bad!!!!
I don’t know how one would extract scorpion venom. Like, getting venom out of a snake, we’re all very familiar with, as it’s shown on TV quite a lot (in tv shows and documentaries) so I’m good with that, but I don’t know if a scorpion stinger would function the same way… hmmm.
–I donât think Uther would have explicitly called for both Gaius and Merlin since, I think, Uther doesnât even know the latterâs name most of the time.–
I agree, Uther would never call for both of them, but as Gaius’ physician assistant, Merlin would absolutely be if not expected, than certainly completely accepted at Gaius’ side for pretty much any summon by the king. Except this episode doesn’t seem to know that!!!! argh.
–Gaius who then found the king with the bottle STILL clutched in his hands. I mean, I am assuming at least 30 minutes to 1 hour have passed and Uther is still holding the bottle?–
I started saying ‘but that’s fine, if he seized up with the bottle still in his hand’ and then realised how little sense that makes, as it suggests a delay in the poison that is precisely the length of time it takes gaius to leave the room lol again, if the show didn’t think we were idiots you could just show the bottle on the nightstand or smashed on the floor or something. or nothing at all because every single character is going to spell it out for us, just in case we hadn’t understood in the first place!
M Xx
9th November 2020 @ 9:56 pm
also being Pauline Collins, who graciously agreed to come on your silly fantasy show, and therefore no one wanting to tell her that sheâs doing it wrong –
I reall get that feeling from this episode. Which is, in some ways, nice. But it does make me a little angry knowing how exploitative the showrunners have been reported to behave towards the younger cast. đ
But then the episode makes it very clear that SHEâS TOTES NOT EVIL!!! –
I think she’s totes evil. She’s the worst – which might be the one thing she and Gaius have in common. Still wasn’t enough to make their romance convincing for me though. Maybe the dragon should change his prophecy: An alliance of Gaius and Alice, united in being the worst (and apparently some invisibly, 20-year romantic attachment).
coughseason5aliencough –
When I had clicked, ‘post’, I immediately thought of that one too. Yeah, that wins the prize. But for now, it’s the manticore.
Also, when we get to that episode, can I please request that you refer to it throughout your commentary only as ‘coughseason5aliencough’? Might be easier to say than one of its many names on the show, so I am doing you a favour here.
but as Gaiusâ physician assistant, Merlin would absolutely be if not expected, than certainly completely accepted at Gaiusâ side for pretty much any summon by the king. –
I don’t know. I’m thinking of those many times before when the King summoned Gaius for something really secretive that he could only discuss in front of him (think of the Nimueh conversation or about Morgause’s background). And Merlin wouldn’t have known what kind of summons this was. Would he really risk trotting along, only for the king turning around to send him away angrily? I think the only indication that this was an okay summons for Merlin to be part of was the fact that Arthur was in the room. But then Merlin might not have known that when Gaius was summoned or if he did, my question still is, why wasn’t Merlin by Arthur’s side? Anyway, splitting hairs here since the show, like we said, doesn’t know either way.
if the show didnât think we were idiots –
Good tagline for this episode. And actually quite a few in season 3. Except all those that are awesome.
10th November 2020 @ 12:20 pm
honestly, I’m going to have to refer to it as âcoughseason5aliencoughâ as I forget what it is actually called about every five minutes. right now, i know it’s the desir (though unsure how you spell it?) but seriously, ask me in an hour, I will not remember. I wrote S5alien in the first place, because i couldn’t remember the name, and I tried googling it for like five minutes and then stopped caring lol
–I donât know. Iâm thinking of those many times before when the King summoned Gaius for something really secretive that he could only discuss in front of him (think of the Nimueh conversation or about Morgauseâs background). And Merlin wouldnât have known what kind of summons this was.–
oh totally, but not like uther would have any problems going ‘oi, you, fuck off’ and being done with it. and merlin is known for putting up with waaaaaay more nonsense than he really should. but yes, as you say, we’re trying to make sense of something that the show didn’t make sense of in the first place, so we’re never gonna get anywhere with this lol
10th November 2020 @ 3:27 pm
Wasn’t it called The Diamair/The Euchdag/The Key to All Knowledge?
Yeah… Just call it coughseason5aliencough!
10th November 2020 @ 6:22 pm
ah, damn it. you made me a liar within like two hours!! hahaha see? I have no clue what I’m talking about lol
I think the diamair bit might be what turned into the disir in my head…. eh ::shrug::
10th November 2020 @ 8:05 pm
That doesn’t make you a liar. That makes you like every other Merlin fan who simply shook their head at the naming and design of the coughseason5aliencough and then went and looked it up later on MerlinWIKI (coughmecough).
5th November 2020 @ 4:41 pm
Yay! I got a point! đ
Your theory that this episode belongs to season 1 really seems to hold, even down to the moment when Gaius doesn’t give Merlin dinner like he is a boy (btw that’s awful parenting at any age). And, like with the Changeling episode, I really think the manticore nonsense could have been removed, because this episode had much potential to tell difficult things about Gaius, and instead, we spend half of it wondering whether Alice is good or bad. Just like The Remedy to Cure All Ills…
Gaius’ gaslighting of Merlin is inexcusable and I hate it (and I think a dark reading of their relationship which you mentioned is very much justified) – but I don’t think it comes out of the blue. An “if I pretend I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist” strategy is a common coping strategy for people who lived through prolonged times of terror and I remember it from older generations of Poles who went through WWII and Stalinism. Gaius, who is normally a coward, decides for once to cover up for a person he really cares about and I think their unexpected meeting and the imminent danger they both face brought him back right to the times of the Great Purge, causing him to snap and act the best he knows how. That, for me, makes him both an interesting character and a missed opportunity, because I think there was more to be said about his trauma. But also, it makes for a really good starting point for darker fics. Which, I’m sure, already exist somewhere.
I remember watching Arthur’s “training” scenes from this episode for the first time and being so angry in my Merthurianism… because the javelin-throwing is literally the thing Merlin interfered about in the very first episode of the show, and now he’s getting the same treatment! It really feels like it belongs to season 1, because by this point, surely Arthur should at least learned how not to be a royal prat! (the “cheer up, will you” scene is cute though)
Also, sad thing about old people and sexuality in this episode: Gaius and Alice’s love must be so chaste it doesn’t even warrant a kiss. “Old people’s affection is gross” trope? The way Gaius hugs her reminds me rather of a fatherly / brotherly love.
LESSONS
Merlin learned that when someone is really important for Gaius, they make him act really illogically and toxically. It’s the first time that Merlin met anyone that important for Gaius (I don’t think Uther counts, at least, it’s a bit more complicated with him) apart from himself, and it probably should have made him realize how insecure Gaius really is. That is what he would have learned if he was capable of distancing himself from the situation. But unfortunately, he’s right in the middle of it, so he rather learned to feel guilty for what exposing Alice and to think that maybe Gaius was right to punish him before. And I’m just saying, that’s a classic “child from abusive home” behavior. Merlin needs a therapist.
I’m not sure Gaius learned anything from this episode. He should have learned some more courage, but he didn’t, because just as twenty years earlier, in the end Gaius stays behind and Alice leaves. Still, he displayed more courage than usual by covering for her and letting her out of the dungeon, but I don’t think any actual lesson followed.
7th November 2020 @ 9:35 pm
like with the Changeling episode, I really think the manticore nonsense could have been removed, because this episode had much potential to tell difficult things about Gaius –
Unfortunately, as we have realised, so many creatures or characters seem to be redundant like this. Think of the Knights of Medhir that basically serve no purpose. And I think they totally are the show’s way of avoiding the more difficult conversation about background and making a decision about where their characters actually stand (because they might want to change that in the next episode). So, instead, they opted for the dark magical creature of the week that will be defeated and never spoken of again instead of exploring the darkness inside characters that they have carried and will carry forward in the story and their decisions to come.
I can’t just put that down to rating. Maybe it’s some kind of meta-gaslighting of the audience: You’re asking questions about Gaius, his past, his attitude and loyalties? Er…wait, there is a threatening magical creature here instead. We need to get rid of this distraction – no time for questions.
7th November 2020 @ 10:57 pm
Hard to tell what sat in the writers’ minds, but maybe there were many factors involved… the rating, the fact that it’s simply easier to make an episode about defeating the evil creature than about Gaius’ complicated past, the way they use comedy (laughing at things which usually would be perceived as abusive, like Gaius not feeding Merlin)? I don’t know. It’s curious though, because I think the show does a good job, on the whole, of portraying Merlin’s “grayness” and his difficult, not often right decisions, as well as Arthur’s and Gwen’s (let’s not talk about Morgana). But when it comes to the mentions of the past, they often back away. It’s easy to establish the Great Purge as an explanation for many elements of the world, but sometimes I don’t think they realize what it REALLY means to have a mass genocide as a flashback to a family show. Well, that’s some stuff for fics, I guess…
8th November 2020 @ 2:46 pm
let’s not talk about Morgana –
Yeah, that’s literally the worst thing about the show: their refusal to now discuss the development of Morgana into who she is now and who she is going to be. They show us her evil deeds and just accept us to believe that she somehow got there. But how? And when? Did she get there naturally, magically? Are we supposed to assume that she’s been enchanted, gone insane? Why and when did she begin to hate Arthur and all of Camelot and want the throne for herself?
And at least for me, if the show refuses to have these conversations, I firstly feel betrayed (because clearly they don’t trust me with that knowledge), I feel the lovely Morgana of season 1 and 2 has been betrayed and I struggle to feel sympathy for Morgana at all.
I have recently re-watched an episode of season 5 and they showed a flashback of something terrible
that happened to Morgana during a certain time period. But, I’m sorry show, it’s no use now. You’ve lost my loyalty to this character and my sympathy with her way back in season 3 when you refused to show us anything. Thanks very much.
8th November 2020 @ 6:21 pm
“I have recently re-watched an episode of season 5 and they showed a flashback of something terrible
that happened to Morgana during a certain time period. But, Iâm sorry show, itâs no use now.”
I guess they only decided to handle trauma and and how it plays into questionable life choices when they visibly changed the show to darker tones. Which is a shame, because, sadly, children experience trauma as well and there is, I believe, a way to talk about it even in a family show. And I agree, it was definitely too late for Morgana. I always thought it was a shame that (SPOILERS) they only came up with the Stockholm-Syndrome-magic that Morgana uses on Gwen in season 5, as it would have been a quite plausible explanation for what Morgause might have done to Morgana in between seasons 2 and 3 (only, I would really like for it not to involve magic, or, at least, in a smaller amount, for it to be more realistic).
8th November 2020 @ 6:24 pm
And that’s exactly why Morgana’s turn to evil in fanfiction is so often a result of Morgause lying to her or enchating her! It would really have worked well. And then they could have chosen to either redeem her or maybe have her continue on this path in her descent into madness.
9th November 2020 @ 4:14 pm
I think there’s an element of it that’s simply down to it being the weekly saturday night BBC show. It basically replaced Doctor Who as a thing, didn’t it? And a lot of what people watched Doctor Who for was the Monster of the Week nature of the programme. Same as Buffy in it’s early stages, and I think it would be very easy to argue that S1 of Buffy is 90% Monster of the Week and a lot of it isn’t actually very good, in hindsight, and compared to the rest of the show. Just like Merlin, Buffy had characters you loved, but did a much easier transition into telling their story, as opposed to relying on Monster of the Week solely, and even fitting the character’s stories into the nature of MotW. So yeah, I feel a lot is down to ‘What type of show do we want to be?’ and not quite figuring that out early enough or committing hard enough to it, or being able to change course when you realised you’ve got a hit show on your hands, but it’s a hit show for reasons that are different than what you thought they would be lol
M Xx
9th November 2020 @ 10:02 pm
So yeah, I feel a lot is down to âWhat type of show do we want to be?â and not quite figuring that out early enough or committing hard enough to it, or being able to change course when you realised youâve got a hit show on your hands, but itâs a hit show for reasons that are different than what you thought they would be –
I am now wondering how much of this was dictated by the BBC. Perhaps, we would have had much better seasons 1, 2 and 3 if the showrunners had been able to take Merlin into a darker direction from the start, instead of having to tick the BBC MotW boxes. Perhaps, to their minds, what they were looking for in their show is what we see in seasons 4 & 5 when it looks like they finally got a bit more autonomy. But they couldn’t do it at first because it was still very much about the Saturday evening slot and getting the budget for each new episode and season renewal.
On the other hand, if season 4 & 5 is what the showrunners always had in mind, perhaps I’m glad the BBC interfered because I wouldn’t have been able to cope with 5 seasons of 5.13!
9th November 2020 @ 4:56 pm
âYay! I got a point! đâ
I serached the entire dragon score board for a good five minutes for your name so I could move you up a tier, because I couldnât believe that this was your first point O_O
âinstead, we spend half of it wondering whether Alice is good or bad. Just like The Remedy to Cure All IllsâŚâ
the shying away from characterâs dark side as well as a utter lack of actual focus and clarity on basic world building are the core problems with merlin I would say. Other than obviously not letting Arthur and Merlin snog lol
â I remember it from older generations of Poles who went through WWII and Stalinismâ
I really wish we leaned into this comparison more, because it is what it is, and youâre saying the words, but youâre not committing to the emotions and the trauma. and thereâs 100% a way to do this that remains family friendly, while not completely ignoring the heaviness of the premiss youâve set up. Or if youâre going to wimp out, then donât go thereâŚ
â the javelin-throwing is literally the thing Merlin interfered about in the very first episode of the show, and now heâs getting the same treatmentâ
and seems okay with it, like heâs forgotten what happened in S1, too. which would be âdefensibleâ if it was set in early S1, before Merlin has completely found his feet in his new role with Arthur. but even then itâs infuriating⌠sigh.
âthe âcheer up, will youâ scene is cute thoughâ
utterly precious!!
M Xx
9th November 2020 @ 5:22 pm
“I really wish we leaned into this comparison more, because it is what it is, and youâre saying the words, but youâre not committing to the emotions and the trauma.”
I remember an audio commentary on The Beginning of the End where J. Webb said that when they thought about young Mordred and the dilemmas the characters face regarding his and their safety, they were thinking about the comparison with hiding a Jewish boy from the Nazis in the midst of WWII. Which seems to suggest they are well aware of the parallels. But it’s easier to write an episode about hiding an innocent boy than about a character who is supposed to be positive, but who’s still somehow complicit to the persecution. Maybe it’s also a lack of psychological insight on their part: they wrote a rather consistent character, maybe through observation, but didn’t think through on the possible reasons for his actions or the consequences thereof. Just musing here…
“the shying away from characterâs dark side as well as a utter lack of actual focus and clarity on basic world building are the core problems with merlin I would say. Other than obviously not letting Arthur and Merlin snog lol”
They definitely try to explore Merlin’s darker side in the later seasons, and I’m really thankful for that, but yes, in principle, you’re absolutely right. And the snogging – OBVIOUSLY, lol đ If I wrote it they would snog in every corner of the very unspecified map of Camelot and the rest of the five kingdoms!
9th November 2020 @ 10:07 pm
If I wrote it they would snog in every corner of the very unspecified map of Camelot and the rest of the five kingdoms! –
Oh, come on. They do. It’s not the open, visible kind of snogging, but they totally do. All their staring and bantering, that’s all snogging really! đ And now we know why they keep travelling into all those corners of Camelot, often unaccompanied.
Could this have been what they were doing when they were surprised and chased by the bandits in 3.5? Michelle and Ruth did remark that Arthur neither had a sword nor full plate. They just seemed to ‘be’ there somewhere in the forest when the bandits found them. That would explain Merlin’s rather sudden dramatic weeping as well.
9th November 2020 @ 11:02 pm
Totally my new headcannon now đ I’m just trying to picture it from the bandits’ point of view now… a day like every day in the woods, pillaging and bandit-ing, when you suddenly hear the Prince of Camelot himself saying “would you like me to teach you how to walk on your knees, Merlin”? I’m not surprised they lost it ^^ đ
10th November 2020 @ 5:31 am
If that’s truly Arthur’s best line after knowing Merlin for 3 years, I and the bandits would both lose it. And so should Merlin.
10th November 2020 @ 12:15 pm
the sad thing is that after 3 years that line still works on merlin. he hates that it does. but it works. every time.
10th November 2020 @ 12:14 pm
they would actually end up creating better maps, by exploring all of camelot and finding new undiscovered corners to snog in!!!!
10th November 2020 @ 3:20 pm
That is the excuse Arthur will give his father…
I feel like we’ve begun collaborating on a fanfiction here. đ
10th November 2020 @ 3:44 pm
“The real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Lands” đ Challenge accepted đ
10th November 2020 @ 4:52 pm
Is that the beginning of the fic? I’m sorry, Danuta, you’ve lost me. đ
10th November 2020 @ 5:52 pm
It was supposed to be a title, referring to the new undiscovered corners to snog in… it’s cheesy, I know, but it was a joke đ
10th November 2020 @ 6:24 pm
are we doing this like the new year’s eve games, where you go around in a circle and everyone says one sentence, and then the next person has to follow on?
âThe real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Landsâ
Once upon a time, in a once beautiful magical land, there was an evil king, that stole all the magic.
go!
10th November 2020 @ 6:35 pm
Yay! đ
âThe real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Landsâ
Once upon a time, in a once beautiful magical land, there was an evil king, that stole all the magic.
However, the king had a son, a young golden-haired boy who was definitely not evil, though a bit of a prat – and a royal prat, at that.
10th November 2020 @ 8:01 pm
âThe real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Landsâ
Once upon a time, in a once beautiful magical land, there was an evil king, that stole all the magic.
However, the king had a son, a young golden-haired boy who was definitely not evil, though a bit of a prat â and a royal prat, at that.
That is, until a certain secret sorcerer came along and crossed paths (of destiny) with the royal prat – then he became a royal prat in love, which is probably worse.
10th November 2020 @ 8:27 pm
âThe real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Landsâ
Once upon a time, in a once beautiful magical land, there was an evil king, that stole all the magic.
However, the king had a son, a young golden-haired boy who was definitely not evil, though a bit of a prat â and a royal prat, at that.
That is, until a certain secret sorcerer came along and crossed paths (of destiny) with the royal prat â then he became a royal prat in love, which is probably worse.
The fate wasn’t smiling upon our prat (whose name, by the way, was Arthur) – while he spent most of his days in the company of the said sorcerer, there really wasn’t much space for him to express his feelings, not under his suspicious father’s nose, and certainly not in a place where his knights and guards could find them at any minute.
11th November 2020 @ 6:25 am
I’m just going to be rude and jump queue.
âThe real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Landsâ
Once upon a time, in a once beautiful magical land, there was an evil king, that stole all the magic.
However, the king had a son, a young golden-haired boy who was definitely not evil, though a bit of a prat â and a royal prat, at that.
That is, until a certain secret sorcerer came along and crossed paths (of destiny) with the royal prat â then he became a royal prat in love, which is probably worse.
The fate wasnât smiling upon our prat (whose name, by the way, was Arthur) â while he spent most of his days in the company of the said sorcerer, there really wasnât much space for him to express his feelings, not under his suspicious fatherâs nose, and certainly not in a place where his knights and guards could find them at any minute.
“Would you like me to teach you how to walk on your knees?” was the line Arthur always used – always! – and Merlin (our secret sorcerer) really hated it, hated that it still worked on him every time…but then it did mean riding off into the farthest corners of the kingdom with his prat to taste the romantic delights of snogging in the most varied and picturesque scenery Camelot had to offer.
15th November 2020 @ 10:27 am
(anyone else notice that our website is freaking out and has stopped nesting comments or letting you reply to the bottom ones? think that’s the site saying we need to wrap up this fic hahahaha)
âThe real reason Arthur was checking out the Perilous Landsâ
Once upon a time, in a once beautiful magical land, there was an evil king, that stole all the magic.
However, the king had a son, a young golden-haired boy who was definitely not evil, though a bit of a prat â and a royal prat, at that.
That is, until a certain secret sorcerer came along and crossed paths (of destiny) with the royal prat â then he became a royal prat in love, which is probably worse.
The fate wasnât smiling upon our prat (whose name, by the way, was Arthur) â while he spent most of his days in the company of the said sorcerer, there really wasnât much space for him to express his feelings, not under his suspicious fatherâs nose, and certainly not in a place where his knights and guards could find them at any minute.
âWould you like me to teach you how to walk on your knees?â was the line Arthur always used â always! â and Merlin (our secret sorcerer) really hated it, hated that it still worked on him every timeâŚbut then it did mean riding off into the farthest corners of the kingdom with his prat to taste the romantic delights of snogging in the most varied and picturesque scenery Camelot had to offer.
One day, when they returned from one such journey, they were caught by Sir Leon who asked them what they had been doing, and Arthur – quick witted as always – shouted “poetry!” before Merlin stomped on his foot and corrected him saying, “Surveying. We’re mapping the kingdom.” before launching into a long drawing out explanation or cartography, until Sir Leon left, bored AND befuddled.
16th November 2020 @ 5:16 pm
I’ve just noticed that we’ve finished our little story!
I love it! đ