Episode III.VI – The Changeling
Join us for The Changeling, in epsiode 6 of Season 3 of BBC Merlin!
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19th October 2020 @ 10:43 pm
Hello – I have realised that my lessons and comments might actually be too late. Is the deadline Sunday night or Monday night? In my head, I always count four days from podcast release to comments due but then I realised that this week, it would have been only 3. Oh well, here we go anyway. 🙂 (Also, in my sudden panic and scramble to get these done, I have not proofread them. Really sorry!)
Lesson:
I have personally learned that I MUST be a Sidhe-possessed changeling. I can’t wear highheels to save my life (nor do I want to), my hair is unruly and bushy most days, I hardly ever wear make-up and I tend to fall over air quite regularly. I like horse riding! Haven’t tried to eat a live frog yet, but I’m going to try tomorrow since, as I am Sidhe-possessed, surely I’ve been mssing out on a great treat!
I have also learned that listening to wise-old Pixie ladies might be the best thing for me: “Perfect Princess? What does that mean anyway? Sounds perfectly boring!” Yes, Grunhilda, yes! I agree.
I think viewers (certainly I) have learned that Bradley and Georgia had to work really hard to seem like they had bad chemistry since it is evident that they had GREAT chemistry and comedic timing. That’s why the show needed those really odd moments with Elena doing the weird hug or sneezing on Arthur etc. Otherwise, everyone would have shipped them. As I do – I actually think that Arthur and Elena would have been great together…
I think we learn that Merlin has been ordered (by Arthur? the King?) to stay out of sight of the noble and strategic guests. He has to carry up Elena’s bags (for some reason that’s HIS job) and later stands in the background at the banquet scene. However, otherwise he seems to spend very, very little time serving Arthur or helping in the castle. I must assume that royal guests like Elena and her father would create more work for the castle servants and Merlin should be called to attend Arthur more often as well as the he would have many more calls of duty entertaining those guests. However, we see Merlin have lengthy discussions and research sessions with Gaius, picking herbs for Gaius, finding ingredients in bogs for Gaius, seducing, defeating Pixies with Gaius and unenchanting changeling princesses. He doesn’t even get Arthur ready in his room for the wedding as he would normally. He literally seems to catch up with him just before Arthur enters the throne room to give him his sword. Conclusion: Merlin (because of his peasant status? clumsiness? mental affliction? (1.7.)) is told by someone to hide away and to not embarrass the court or the prince.
We furthermore learn that not only is Gaius the NHS of Camelot, he also has access to medieval Google. Somehow. He finds the potion recipe and tells Merlin that he has no idea how to make it or what some of these ingredients are. I get that he may have been able to look up ingredients in a book somewhere. But how do you get clarity about the method when you have found it in only this ONE book after a night of research? Yet, mere hours later, Gaius has a complicated apparatus set up for brewing the potion and Merlin is already RETURNING from picking a flower in a bog. There must be some sort of Google existant that Gaius has access to. But then, Elena wears 21st-century high-heels, so why not, right?
I think Arthur learns that he really does not understand women and that they can baffle him constantly by being unpredictable. At the river, the conversation with Elena starts off really sweetly and naturally with witty banter. Arthur is used to this from Merlin so both he and Elena are quite at ease. But then Elena slaps him on the shoulder good-naturedly and Arthur freezes as if she has done the worst thing in the world. However, I think that he simply does not know how to react to a woman showing such behaviour. We will see from a later episode that Arthur frequently engages and believes in the therapeutic nature of the shoulder slap. But only with his knights and maybe Merlin. He is baffled by Elena showing such behaviour and has no clue how to respond. He showed a similar awkwardness with Morgause and her more knightly behaviour and skills in 2.8. Possibly, this is due to a lack of diverse female role models in his life. There was the suggestion that Morgana, once upon a time, used to do swordfighting etc. but I guess that was long ago and now Arthur only knows Morgana as the perfect lady of the court.
Finally, a lesson (maybe) for Merlin: Touching and using the Sidhe-staff makes him automatically become more Sidhe-like as well: more vicious, murderous and aggressive. I have tried to think back on when Merlin has used the staff and I think in each of those episodes (1.7, 1.12 and now in 3.6), Merlin uses the staff in a quite OOC fashion: he brutally blows Aulfric and Sophia to smithereens, takes out all of Torin’s(?) men and Torin himself (to save Uther!!!) and here murders the Pixie! It’s even visible in Colin’s face in these scene. I think the staff must be imbued with some otherwordly/Sidhe characteristics. And we know how dismissive they are of human/ lower life.
Comments:
This is the second-ever Merlin episode written by a woman. The only woman on the Merlin screenwriter team: Lucy Watkins. Her first epsiode was ‘Sweet Dreams’. Two down, two more woman-scripted epsiodes to go. Yay?
I think the fairy tale castle at the beginning is called Castle Coch and it’s really just outside Cardiff. I was there in Feb but didn’t realise it was that until I re-watched the episode. Might be because they digitally multiplied the number of towers in the episode.
Was anyone else annoyed by Arthur’s line: “The real reason you beat me here is because I stopped to smell the roses”? I mean, terrible pick-up line but also, what a vain show-off! Can’t even admit that a girl beat him in a horse-race fair and square. He showed similar behaviour in Valiant when he wouldn’t admit that Morgana saved him but that was so long ago. I would have expected Arthur to have moved on. Also, in terms of the writing, this would have been so easy to change to a comment less dismissive of Elena’s riding abilities!
I think the rooms in the Castle and their function are very odd. When Elena and Godwin arrive, Uther and Arthur greet them in the throne room. But there are no fanfares, no official announcements and only a handful of courtiers which, in such a large room, makes it look like a ridiculously small number of people. It’s really not befitting the welcoming of such dear and important guests. (Also, most other nobles, Lady Catrina, Sophia and her dad for instance, were greeted in the council chambers?) Later, Uther tells Arthur to make a fuss about announcing his engagement. Surely THAT would have merited the huge throne room? But no, only the council chambers this time. Again, no fanfares or any other courtly formalities. Just a simple announcement. The wedding is back in the throne room but even then, there is very little fuss (compared to the fuss created by a later wedding or even by Uther’s and Catrina’s wedding). It’s all so rushed and anticlimactic and not really befitting of the engagement or marriage of the Crown Prince. Also, yeah, the room issue is just confusing.
Also, my favourite bit (and I think Maddy talks about this somewhere in her comment), is the lingering of the camera on Antony Head’s face just after Godwin has told him that ‘maybe it’s time things changed’ and that Arthur ‘has the makings of a great king’. It’s so subtle but you can detect a slight shift in Uther’s expression as if he is really thinking about it, considering it. It makes him quite sympathetic and, considering my comment on last week’s episode and Uther’s war against sorcery possibly representing a war of ideologies similar to Renaissance vs. Dark Ages, it would make sense here to assume that Uther is actually open to new ideas, especially when brought to him by a friend. Anyway, I love that short moment where the camera just stays on Uther’s face.
Incidentally, (and I know other comments above have discussed this) I also really don’t like Colin’s hesitation and slight change of tone on ‘…as to how you do it’ in the destiny speech. It’s an inventive way to deliver the line for sure but, for me, distracts me too much from the main message of the scene. I think in comparison to similar scenes between Colin and Bradley where they are either both sincere or both joking, there is an imbalance in both their performances here. Bradley, as is appropriate for his character here, plays the entire scene extremely straight and in earnest. Colin, on the other hand, strangely wavers between sincerity and comedy. Possibly, this was intentional as Merlin obviously is revealing something that is extremely close to his heart and his true motivations and goals. If it was played in complete earnest, Arthur might question how Merlin knows quite so much about destinies and wouldn’t so easily swallow the ‘I read it in a book’ line. Playing the fool and saying silly things is Merlin’s way to protect himself so that is happening here as well. But he can’t but reveal his honest opinion and experience about love and destiny so the sincerity comes into play as well. Hence, we have such an oddly wavering tone here from Colin’s performance. And that final hesitation and line just was a little too much.
20th October 2020 @ 11:04 am
normally the deadline is sunday night, but with the delay in posting, we’ve basically been letting everyone getting away with being late lol
20th October 2020 @ 2:53 pm
Oh thanks. 🙂 I think maybe life happened to many of us last/this week. 🙂 Also, will just say this here to avoid over-commenting: Thanks for the fanfic rec lists you created and posted for Danuta somewhere down below. Listening to the Thinky Thoughts episodes now and already planinng my soon-to-come half-term holiday reading. 🙂
20th October 2020 @ 3:24 pm
oh you’re very welcome! and also yay, half term and fic reading time!!!!!
20th October 2020 @ 11:22 am
–Also, in terms of the writing, this would have been so easy to change to a comment less dismissive of Elena’s riding abilities!–
I get where you’re coming from, and again, there’s a problem where I feel like I’m reasoning these issues away, because I look at it with adult layering. As was pointed out below, it doesn’t work like that, because ultimately it’s a family show, and therefore this is what you are teaching your 8 year olds… and they’re not going to get any layers to it, they’re only going to hear that girls can’t possily be good at sports, and if they are, that’s seen as an abnormal, non lady like thing, that must be either hidden or made fun of… so I probably should just stop, and not actually try and “justify” arthur’s line, because yeah, ultimately you are right. there’s no need for it, and how hard would it have been to just… not? However (and I have very much talked myself out of this being in any way justifiable, I appreciate that) because it is such a blatant lie, and a pathetic attempt for him to save face, I kind of breeze over it?
But yeah, that’s not an excuse to include it, you’re right.
— It’s really not befitting the welcoming of such dear and important guests.—
maybe it is because lord godwin is such a good friend? that it’s meant to be a more… personable approach?
i also feel like there’s a weirdness where we are using the throne room much more… with all of the double and tripple use of all sets and constance changing one into the other… do we still have a separate council chamber? I may be being completely dense here but… I feel like everything going forward will take place in the “throne room”. Like, sure, occassionally they’ll put a table in the middle of the room, and seat some men round it, and it’s the council, and occassionally we’ll put plates on that table, and it’s the dining room…
okay, so I’ve just gone back to watch the episode, because I’m a sucker for ‘movie magic’, I believe pretty much anything television and movie wants me to believe hahaha and the entrance of lord godwin and elena and arthur’s entrance into the wedding is both down the full length hall with the thrones at the end, and the big windows at the side, which in my mind is the throne room. (and to be fair in regards to fanfares, there’s literally fanfares as Arthur enters, cause there’s the two trumpeting blokes hahaha). the dinner scene looks to me like they are basically sat around a table in the middle of this very long room (with some extra pillar brought in to stop your eye from wandering too far), and the camera is super close on them, again, to give the impression of a smaller more intimate room I think.
They generally do very well with the re-dressing and re-purposing of sets on this show, but I do think sometimes it leads to some confusion…
M Xx
20th October 2020 @ 3:02 pm
Oh, I think you’re right. Considering that they actually had very few sets, it’s quite amazing how multi-purpose they were. Yeah, I am in general confused about the throne room versus council room because it seems to be pretty random what happens in them.
About Arthur’s line to Elena: Of course, I breezed over it every time I have watched this episode. But I couldNt stop myself from getting annoyed when I wore the critical hat. And, once again, probably unwillingly, the writers want to create comedy (aka Arthur’s weird pick-up line combined with Elena sneezing on him) but do so by perpetuating quite old-fashioned and narrow views about gender roles. I mean, it is ABSOLUTELY not the same as the design of the goblin but in essence it’s the same approach: oh, we know this works as comedy because it plays on established/ tranditional stereotypes and we know people find this funny. So, let’s buy into it to make our show funny. I wouldn’t think we can accuse the Merlin writers of going out of their way though to perpetuate these views or teach them to children. That kind of inadvertently happened when all they were aiming for were comedic moments.
And, I mean, there are similar instances of ‘basic humour’ in both the Goblin and the Changeling episodes anyway.
18th October 2020 @ 10:29 pm
Hope I got this in in time .
I do like this episode it’s well made with great acting as always even though some part in it aren’t perfect it still a great episode
I’m not very happy with the way this episode made people think that elena wasn’t desirable just because she didn’t act like the typical princess. In really life just every day life I’m probably most like elena. Don’t really know what that says about me but oh well 😅
Lessons ✨ ( I struggled to think of lessons this week )
I think the we learned that Merlin can give out good advice but can’t take it himself because he says that you should make your own destiny ( or something like that) but as we have seen Merlin is very much invested and believes that his destiny to help Arthur is the only path for him (we have said before that Merlin is there to further Arthur’s story not the other way around) and have seen that in the past that Merlins thoughts of what he has seem of the future and thinking what he needs to do for his destiny hasn’t always work out in his favour.
I also think that learn that Merlin is slowly become more “comfortable “ (I don’t really want to say comfortable but I can’t think of a better word) with doing more extreme things to achieve what he want (even though I don’t think he realises he’s doing it) like in this episode when he brutally murder elena maid person (I’m not even gonna try spelling her name) when it wasn’t really necessary he could of thought of a better idea other than killing her but he’s getting more desperate to do what is needed to protect arthur and Camelot.
19th October 2020 @ 1:03 pm
–In really life just every day life I’m probably most like elena. Don’t really know what that says about me but oh well —
I don’t know, aren’t we all?? I always assume that was the “norm” haha
— in this episode when he brutally murder elena maid person (I’m not even gonna try spelling her name) —
Grunhilda 🙂 Which seemed really straight forward to me, and then I realised that’s probably easier to think and say, if you haev a german speaking background haha It’s a very ‘German fairytale’ name in my mind 🙂
M Xx
19th October 2020 @ 1:03 pm
–In really life just every day life I’m probably most like elena. Don’t really know what that says about me but oh well —
I don’t know, aren’t we all?? I always assume that was the “norm” haha
— in this episode when he brutally murder elena maid person (I’m not even gonna try spelling her name) —
Grunhilda 🙂 Which seemed really straight forward to me, and then I realised that’s probably easier to think and say, if you haev a german speaking background haha It’s a very ‘German fairytale’ name in my mind 🙂
M Xx
19th October 2020 @ 1:21 pm
actually, maybe it’s Grunhilde. the ‘e’ makes is german, the ‘a’ makes it Swiss… lol
18th October 2020 @ 9:22 pm
Wow, I actually liked this episode a lot more than I thought I did, especially with your analysis! There are definitely some huge problems with the handling of an older woman’s sexuality, the brutal, causal torture and murder of Grunhilde?! and the « perfect princess » ideal and what is going with Morgana this week, as usual sadly, I have NO clue – she seemed cold and unnecessarily cruel, which I suppose is supposed to be her character now but I can’t stand it, it makes no sense to me. There are probably more my unobservant brain has failed to notice.
But – There are some great moments, Anthony in general, I love the Merlin Arthur scenes and all of Gwen’s moments and I think the acting is so good, like always. The Destiny conversation is actually one of those moments, like the rain moment for Ruth, that spring to mind when I think of the show and you both made it even better, so thank you! I hadn’t thought, consciously, about the shift in relationship from professional to friend (probably because it is so beautifully subtle) but it is gorgeous. I always forget – literally the tag line of the whole show, I know! – that Arthur isn’t aware of all the destiny stuff with Merlin, so it feels so strange (in a good way), almost like an Uther Merlin scene, to have them both talking about it, even if both parties aren’t on the same page, no pun intended! It’s always felt so pivotal in Merlin’s “advisor” arc. Maybe it is the John-Hurty pause that emphasises that to me, but then I agree that I don’t think we need Merlin to sound like pontificating prophecy dragon, in a way just such wisdom coming from “just Merlin” is endearing and more effective. Weirdly I actually love the hesitation when just watching it, but I think that is probably because I have an unhealthily strong inclination for the dramatic haha😂 but your reasoning makes a great deal more sense, definitely!
So I think there’s something interesting about Merlin saying “You have a choice as to how you do it” about Arthur’s destiny when compared with his own. We’ve just come from an episode where Merlin made a choice (to save Morgana) that completely went against the dragon, who is the main source of destiny information, and what he knows himself – that if he saves Morgana he is knowingly saving the antagonist to Arthur, him, both their destinies. Maybe he’s thinking about the choices he’s made and how he has gone about his destiny and regretting some of the decisions he’s made destiny-wise.
LESSONS
I think Arthur has learnt that his own happiness and wellbeing comes after Camelot’s prosperity (and thus Uther’s legacy) to his father. I believe that at the beginning of the series he probably would have married Elena, but now he is much more self possessed and accepts that his Father will never prioritise his emotional needs, so he has to take responsibility for that himself. He may have once done whatever his Father told him, but I think this episode helped cement the lesson in his mind that he must do what he believes to be right, not what he thinks will please his father because that is simply unachievable and would be detrimental to the Camelot he wants to create.
Following on from losing trust in what Uther says, I think he has learnt that in order for Camelot to prosper, he must too. He needs to be the person he wants to be, the best person he can be (including being happy and well) in order to best serve Camelot, as he says “they’re not so different” – or something like that! So I suppose coming back to the idea of focussing on and trusting in Arthur the man, so Arthur the King can care for and lead Camelot to Greatness. I think that’s an interesting idea the show touches on multiple times – Arthur the man, Arthur the king – and often his greatest and most memorable moments come from the man, and the man is what makes him the incredible King of Legend.
LESSONS OVER
As always thank you so so much for the work you put in, I really can’t thank you enough for all you do. Amazing! – And I hope the shed clearing went well!
18th October 2020 @ 10:02 pm
Would just like to add that I really appreciated how sweet and lovely Lord Godwyn was. He came across as a great guy and it made me happy.
19th October 2020 @ 1:14 pm
it’s so fantastic to have a nice leader on the show, especially one that’s a friend of uther’s, because generally what we get is other kings that have difficult or downright aggressive relationships with uther because of power disputes, meaning uther is just the most lonely. it’s nice that he has a friend!!
M Xx
19th October 2020 @ 1:36 pm
— she seemed cold and unnecessarily cruel, which I suppose is supposed to be her character now but I can’t stand it, it makes no sense to me.–
I struggling doing it myself, but I always think the easiest way to deal with Morgana is if you just take S3 (post one year gap) as a completely different type of person. And just don’t try and make her match S1 Morgana or make her make any sense. But at the same time… SIGH!!!!
— I think the acting is so good, like always.–
I recently listened to our ‘Looking forward to D&C’ episode we recorded the week before we started S1 of Merlin and I think it’s in there where we talk about the fact that a show like this has NO RIGHT to have acting as stellar as it does… but it does, and oh my, aren’t we all unbelievably greatful!!!
–Arthur isn’t aware of all the destiny stuff with Merlin, so it feels so strange (in a good way), almost like an Uther Merlin scene, to have them both talking about it, even if both parties aren’t on the same page, no pun intended!–
really reminds me of the conversations we’ve had surrounding Merlin going to offer his own life to Nimueh and saying goodbye to Arthur, when Arthur doesn’t know that he is being said goodbye too. I LOVE those moments on Merlin. I love how they play that double layer and the awareness and utter lack of awareness each of them have.
It was fascinating to hear Bradley talk about the self-awareness he had of Arthur not being able to be aware of anything going on around him. And that this clearly was very present in his interpretation of the role. Which in hindsight looking at the show makes so much sense.
–As always thank you so so much for the work you put in, I really can’t thank you enough for all you do. Amazing! – And I hope the shed clearing went well!–
Thank you for the kind words, and yes! the shed is SO TIDY IT MAKES ME WANT TO MOVE IN!!!!! hahaha
M Xx
18th October 2020 @ 9:02 pm
There are a few quite good and a few quite bad things about this episode.
Obviously, the implication that the only reason why a woman would ever possibly be clumsy is because she is possessed by an evil creature is absolutely disgusting. Regardless of who is the main audience of this show, there are kids watching (I watched it for the first time when I was around ten). Even though older people can watch this and understand that it’s problematic and you shouldn’t be thinking about gender roles this way, it’s easy for children to internalize those ideas. As a fairly clumsy child, I know I would be somewhat uncomfortable with the notion that my bad habits and behaviors were being portrayed as unthinkable and wrong.
However, I love Elena as a character and think she helps portray the issue of Arthur and Gwen in a more realistic light. Back in season two, Vivian was little more than a nasty snob manufactured to further along a romantic plot line. In “Sweet Dreams” she is what’s keeping Arthur and Gwen apart, and the whole episode is based off of the immature notion that if it weren’t for her and the love potion everything would be perfect. In contrast, Elena is a human being with feelings and ideas who isn’t an obstacle, but, rather, another person caught in the large problem of class and tradition. By making Elena a more realistic character the show establishes that the conflict that stands between Arthur and Gwen isn’t something that can be resolved by getting rid of one person or resolving a single evil plan, it’s something that can only be overcome as Arthur grows into a more mature person who is ready to challenge the ideals he has always accepted.
LESSONS:
(I might be too late but I figured why not)
Arthur learns that it’s possible for him to form meaningful platonic relationships with people other than Merlin. Despite not being interested in each other romantically, he and Elena connect on a personal level and figure out they actually have a few things in common. As you’ve mentioned in other episodes, Arthur has very little social development. His only real friend is Merlin, and his relationship with Gwen, while valuable, has always been somewhat tainted by the fact that they know that it will be very difficult for them to be together. In meeting Elena, someone who perfectly understands his situation and struggles with responsibility, Arthur learns that he doesn’t necessarily have to be so isolated and that there are other people who understand what he his going through and encounter similar obstacles.
18th October 2020 @ 6:46 pm
This is my first time posting. I have enjoyed listening to your insights and analysis. I just want to throw out some thoughts about Morgana and Gwen. As much as Merlin and Arthur are the focus, I find Gwen and Morgana’s relationship interesting for what little is there on the screen. This is based on what we have seen, do see, and will see throughout the five seasons. (I have watched all of Merlin at this point.) There have been others who have made these points more cohesively and elaborately that I am about to, but I will try to keep this brief and to the point.
I think in some way, Morgana is possessive of Gwen and Gwen’s feelings. I believe this is part of the reason why she starts to treat her horribly. I am not discounting the general (and terribly written) evilness that causes Morgana just to be evil throughout. Still, this episode really highlighted some things for me that made me go: “hmmmm.”
– Gwen is one of Morgana’s only real friends. The only other person you could give this to is Arthur and, to some extent, Morguese. (I mean, I find it strange that Morgana does not have a group of ladies-in-waiting, but we have already seen that Merlin as a world does not follow historical convention or give a sense of hierarchy.) In season one and two, we have seen the lengths that Morgana would go for Gwen, like (trying) to save Gwen’s father, spending the night in the dungeon, demanding Uther save her and whatnot.
– I think it is most revealed during the dinner scene where Uther asks Arthur about his engagement. It is here (finally) that Morgana notices that Gwen and Arthur might have some feelings. It is her no-word response that makes me wonder. She looks between them and then does that little flick of her head that gives the impression she is annoyed. I am like, why does Morgana care if Gwen and Arthur have a crush on each other? Yes, there is the fact that Gwen is a servant, and Arthur is the future king, but I think there is something more. I guess Morgana is jealous at that point. I think Morgana is jealous that Gwen has affectionate feelings for Arthur. She feels in some way rejected again. In the last episode, Uther rejected Morgana for not claiming her as his legitimate daughter. Now, Gwen (her only friend) has feelings for her brother. Now you could say that Gwen is a servant, but everyone knows that it is impossible that Arthur could marry Gwen. So why would Morgana be so annoyed if Gwen had a little crush? Sure, she had a crush on Merlin, and Morgana noticed that, but that stopped. There was also Lancelot, but he left.
And I think it is jealousy because (SPOILER WARNING) it is not until three episodes from now that we see Morgana having dreams about Gwen becoming queen, therefore taking her throne. That’s a logical reason for Morgana to dislike Gwen. However, as of episode six, there is no indication of Morgana knowing this or having these dreams for this to be the reason she is annoyed at Gwen and Arthur’s together. Therefore, I have to say that Morgana is jealous. What that jealousy exactly means can be debatable, whether it is friendship or something more. I just look toward episode 12 of season three when Morgana offers to save Gwen despite everything, and she did not have to.
Overall, despite the inconstant writing of Morgana’s arc, I would say one of the reasons she treats Gwen so terribly is that she is jealous of (and for) Gwen’s affections. Morgana, in seasons one and two, could better handle her jealousies (and be a better-balanced human being), but in season three and onward, Morgana cannot.
18th October 2020 @ 8:00 pm
That’s really interesting! You gave a very plausible explanation for what I’ve been wondering about. At first glance, Morgana’s resentfulness towards Gwen’s feelings really did seem unmotivated, but jealousy might actually be the reason. That can also explain why, in the end, Morgana looked glad that Arthur didn’t marry Elena, though it seemed to contradict her previous machinations.
And it’s true, you can see a little streak of jealousy in Morgana in seasons 1 and 2 as well (which is no wonder really, as, despite being very privileged, she has always been second to Arthur, without her “real” family).
19th October 2020 @ 1:49 pm
thank you for this write in, very interesting thoughts!!
M Xx
18th October 2020 @ 5:39 pm
Oh, and by the way – I love the “Pairing Pendragon / Merli” fic! 🙂
Any chance for some fanfiction recommendation from you (I know there are some lists out there, but it would be interesting to hear your perspective)? 🙂
In my frenzy of commenting (yeah, obsession much :P) I always forget to tell you that I love your podcast and look forward to it every week. So let me redeem myself 😉
19th October 2020 @ 1:55 pm
slightly messy way to do this, but we played ‘Fic Brackets’ over on Thinky Thoughts and a LOT of the fic we used as an example are Merlin fics, so that might be a place to start?
http://www.fascinationandfrustration.com/thinky-thoughts-about-fic-brackets-part-1/
http://www.fascinationandfrustration.com/fic-bracket-recs-list-part-1/
http://www.fascinationandfrustration.com/fic-brackets-part-2-2/
http://www.fascinationandfrustration.com/tt-fic-bracket-recs-list-part-2/
we had thoughts to do a fic rec episode in the off season, so that’s still very much a possibility for 2021 between season 4 and 5. but hopefully you won’t have read all of the above fics just yet 🙂
awww, thank you!! I did not in any way mean that comment on the podcast to be begging for compliments and nice words!!! haha but it’s always nice to hear 😀 😀
19th October 2020 @ 2:24 pm
Ooh, thank you!! I’ve got a lot to listen then 😀
18th October 2020 @ 2:19 am
I love that Arthur’s courtly gestures are more smooth than his awkwardness around Gwen. The contrast shows that the former is practiced, something he’s able to turn on, if needed but the latter is more real. It’s like when you can talk about everything else but become guarded or self-conscious when it comes to something/someone you really care about. I can relate!
Loved the little banter between Gwen and Arthur at the end. Adding to what you guys said about female expression on this show, the girls aren’t really allowed to display much humour, do they? Fart humour does NOT count! Unlike Merlin and Arthur, Gwen rarely gets to do much banter. I think it’s important, especially that she gets to share something ‘non-romantic’ with Arthur.
Oh and thanks for coining ”freelance-evil” 😀
19th October 2020 @ 2:07 pm
–Arthur’s courtly gestures are more smooth than his awkwardness around Gwen. The contrast shows that the former is practiced, something he’s able to turn on, if needed but the latter is more real. It’s like when you can talk about everything else but become guarded or self-conscious when it comes to something/someone you really care about. I can relate!–
100% – it’s not something I’d really stopped to think about before, which is why I love recording these podcasts. This is a show that I’ve spend a lot of my life thinking and talking about, and yet, doing it the way we do on the podcast is completely different from the way you would normally think and talk about something, so I notice new stuff all the time.
–Oh and thanks for coining ”freelance-evil” 😀–
ahaha you’re very welcome!
M Xx
17th October 2020 @ 6:19 pm
I really enjoy this episode because of the development of Arthur and Gwen’s relationship and the varying levels of Arthur and Merlin’s relationship that we see, although I do agree the whole thing with the Sidhe is a bit messy!
I LOVE the scene between Arthur and Merlin as they are preparing for the wedding ceremony, its one that always sticks out in my head as an iconic scene from Merlin and is probably one of my all time favourites from the whole show. I think Colin and Bradley absolutely hit the nail on the head when portraying this relationship that Arthur and Merlin have which is just banter most of the time but they are also so comfortable with having those deep conversations and are very much there for each other. Merlin’s facial expressions when Arthur says “you don’t know what its like to have a destiny you can’t escape” are so on the money here too, I can almost imagine Merlin sitting down with a cup of tea and a powerpoint slideshow and being like “let me show you something quickly” to Arthur :’)
LESSONS
I think this is the episode where Arthur and Gwen truly learn how much they love each other. Of course they knew they had deep feelings for each other which have been building over the last couple of years despite them having to acknowledge the fact that it is highly unlikely that they could ever be together because of their circumstances but this is the first time that they have to really stare that fear in the face because Arthur is being forced to marry Elena. This is the moment where both of them sort of lose that glimmer of hope they have about potentially being able to be together at some point in the future and I think the scene they have together in Arthur’s chamber really helps to highlight that sense of loss and desperation and my heart breaks for them. Gwen has always been able to put on more of a brave face on in this kind of scenario than Arthur, for instance when she tells Arthur that they can’t be and bows to him at the end of “Sweet Dreams” when he visits her at her house. She is very aware of her place in Camelot and tries to just focus on that but because in this episode she has to come to terms with the fact that she can’t be with Arthur for real we can see how not OK with it she is and so I really feel her sense of relief in the close-ups she has when Arthur calls off the wedding. With Arthur I think you really see his side of it in the scene they have together in his chamber because he appears to be more physically emotional than Gwen – his weepy eyes :((((( When you love someone you want to give everything for them but because he knows here that he can’t give her what they both want he struggles to come to terms with it. And I imagine that feeling is probably heightened by the fact that Gwen basically says she will still be here for him even if he goes through with it, and once again my heart breaks 🙁
Whilst Morgana isn’t in this episode very much, she learns of the affection between Arthur and Gwen. I really like how subtly she finds out, purely by observing the looks between them during the scene where Arthur is telling Uther at dinner that he doesn’t want to marry Elena. Even though she is evil I like how she is shown to be intuitive and smart and her smirks imply that this knowledge will be of great benefit to her and Morgause……. (spoiler music)
Finally, Uther (hopefully) learns that Arthur is not always wrong to challenge him. Whilst the marriage may have been strategic, the response of Lord Godwyn at the end of the episode lets him know that all is not lost by the fact that it didn’t happen and Arthur’s behaviour was justified, showing how he will be a worthy king. You can see Uther mull this over and accept this because of his trusted friendship with Godwyn. Will he actually remember and learn from this, probably not because he’s a badass king who doesn’t change for no-one and is forever making Arthur prove himself, but I’d like to think that he could learn this!
Love the podcast as always, thanks so much guys and can’t wait for next week, it’s a good ‘un!
20th October 2020 @ 10:25 am
—I can almost imagine Merlin sitting down with a cup of tea and a powerpoint slideshow and being like “let me show you something quickly” to Arthur :’)—
a very different approach to the ‘magic reveal’ the show could have taken… hahahaha
it’s so true though, there are this super memorable show moments and yes, the pre-Elena-wedding scene is absolutely one of those for me, too.
M Xx
17th October 2020 @ 1:32 pm
Ok well I’m glad this episode held up better than I expected. I really loved how awkward Uther was at the beginning with Arthur and then how he switched back to his normal self in the next scene- I think it really highlights where his comfort zone is with his relationship with Arthur and the fact that he needs Arthur on his side, and he doesn’t always realise it until Arthur stands up to him.
Morgana was really awful in this episode, I hate how she deliberately made Gwen so uncomfortable in their conversation about the marriage, their relationship goes pretty sour from here and I hate it! Gwen is basically Morgana’s only friend- we never see her with anyone else who she is as friendly with and I guess her pushing Gwen away comes from her feeling so isolated and making it worse. Maybe she is subconsiously trying to make it easier on herself when she has to betray her. Again Morgana is wearing white and green in this episode and the green only comes out when she’s evilling.
I adore the scene between Gwen and Arthur ( his puffy red eyes :(. ), they stand so far apart from each other it resembles how everything that keeps them apart is so physical and tangible in a way, but their minds are still connected and it doesn’t feel any less real to them.
LESSONS
I think from this scene Gwen starts to learn that maybe being with Arthur is not impossible. The way she says their love is ridiculous in anyone’s eyes except ‘yours… and mine’ is really telling of how she still sees Arthur as very separate from her, she struggles to see them together even in her head. By the end of the episode, the way that she relaxes when Arthur calls off the marriage and her playfulness in their final scene together shows that she has become more comfortable with the idea of their relationship and she has learnt to believe in it.
And you know what else? I think Uther learnt something from this episode. I don’t know if it will stick, but in his final conversation with Lord Godwin, his demeanour does shift from being angry about the whole event, to surprise at Lord Godwin saying that ‘maybe it’s time things change’. He learns that he is outdated and behind, which as a king could be a threat to his power, and he realises that even his own friends/allies don’t agree with his views. I think this really sticks out too in this scene because Uther looks very small compared to Godwin, not only is he shorter, but even his crown is much smaller and plainer than Godwin’s, which signifies how he is much less liberal and likeable as a person and Godwin is, he feels pretty powerless here.
18th October 2020 @ 9:58 pm
“I guess her pushing Gwen away comes from her feeling so isolated and making it worse. Maybe she is subconsiously trying to make it easier on herself when she has to betray her.”
Love this take on it, I also really struggle with Morgana being so comic-book evil in general, but particularly to Gwen. But this makes more sense, thank you for this! Maybe because she knows Gwen is in love with Arthur – not sure how?! – and has been a servant in Uther’s household for years, Morgana thinks she must be loyal to Camelot before Morgana, and maybe that sparks jealousy, betrayal, resolve to destroy Gwen along with Camelot, in Morgana? So like you said she has to create that distance between them by being cruel and cold in order to bring herself to betray her later, otherwise she won’t be able to. I think I just repeated exactly what you so insightfully said😂, so sorry!
19th October 2020 @ 8:49 pm
Yea it makes me so miserable how Morgana just assumes that Gwen is just another enemy- I think it must come from Morgana’s year with Morgause- perhaps some hardcore brainwashing took place. Also don’t worry! I love discussing this with people. Imagine at the end of this podcast we could just have a massive party where we can just talk about Merlin all together and dance to generic medieval music… ah the dream…
20th October 2020 @ 10:33 am
after we’ve finished you mean? by 2022 the world might start to be back to “normal”, where meeting up with other humans is no longer a fineable offence… who knows??? 🙁
M Xx
20th October 2020 @ 3:06 pm
Maddy, that’s an awesome idea. We should totally do this. Epecially the dancin to ‘generic medieval music’. 😀
21st October 2020 @ 1:23 am
As I’m in Canada right now, I suppose I should be unhappy about a prospective meeting on the other side of the pond, but since nobody knows what will happen by 2022, then WHO KNOWS WHERE I WILL BE 😀 So yay, I’m looking forward to it anyway! 😛
22nd October 2020 @ 7:44 pm
Yep, hardcore brain washing makes the most sense to me. That sounds amazing! I love the idea of us all vibing to generic medieval music together so much, do you think we could add wearing medieval dress to the list, and, if possible, Ruth and Michelle’s idea of a pillow fight in full plate? ahhh I so want to meet you beautiful people! Hopefully the world is on the road to normalcy by the end of season 5, and we can all (ominous spoiler music!) stop sobbing by then!
23rd October 2020 @ 9:18 am
any medieval party should include a pillow fight in full plate!!!! hahaha
M Xx
20th October 2020 @ 10:30 am
— I really loved how awkward Uther was at the beginning with Arthur and then how he switched back to his normal self in the next scene–
I ADORE when we get these little glances of Uther actually being a human being… he very rarely allows it (which makes perfect sense) or it’s in episodes like the troll one, where uther gets to be human and it’s so sweet and heartbreaking, but at the same time… troll. so I don’t reallt want to watch it lol We get this lovely moment in this week’s episode as well and I just adore it!
–I adore the scene between Gwen and Arthur – his puffy red eyes :(–
bradley james just has the saddest labrador face when he wants to and it kills me!!!!
M Xx
16th October 2020 @ 11:05 pm
OK, my fundamental issue with this episode is that I don’t think the sidhe plotline is necessary at ALL. The important part of the story thematically is whether or not Arthur will marry someone he doesn’t love, not the weird changeling thing. I get that there probably needs to be some extra peril, but this… didn’t work for me.
20th October 2020 @ 10:35 am
honestly, when I realised that the entire changeling thing could just be lifted and it would make NO DIFFERENCE, and instead you would have merlin be slightly less of a brutal murderer… that was a weird realisation. that thought had never even occured to me until that very week, but it’s so true! it’s entirely superfulous.
M Xx
16th October 2020 @ 11:03 pm
Hi there! Long time listener, first time commenter here. Turns out I have much stronger opinions on elements of this episode that I thought! Well, just one element really. The ‘destinies are troublesome things’ scene may actually be one of my favourite moments in the entire show, and I feel like it needs a little defending. These two have lots of notable scenes where Merlin offers up wisdom and Arthur takes it to heart (e.g. in The Tears of Uther Pendragon) but for me, this scene isn’t at all about Arthur and what he should do, it’s about Merlin. As you said, Merlin cannot ever talk to Arthur about anything magical and is constantly carrying the burden of his powers and his destiny pretty much alone. Despite the cover up of “I read it in a book” (which I LOVE by the way), Merlin talking about destiny here and actually how he really feels about it to Arthur feels like some veil has been drawn back and we can see a glimpse of the ‘real’, magical Merlin that he usually conceals. To me, Colin’s face takes on some ethereal quality (this may be helped by the lovely lighting) and for a moment We see the ancient, wise, mystical Merlin of legend, the man we know that this young Merlin will someday grow into fully. In this sense, Colin’s pause before “as to how you do it” really works for me as it contributes to this whole sense of mysticism. Arthur is too wrapped up in his circumstances to really comprehend the significance, and the episode moves on quickly which suggests they want us to focus on Arthur and his choice, but this scene has stuck in my mind for years and years, it’s one of the things that immediately comes to me when I think about this show, and I think that’s because it so perfectly embodies this idea of becoming who you are whilst also having to hide that’s at the heart of Merlin’s character.
This episode also features another favourite line, “Grown in boggy and marshy terrain?” “In the middle of boggy and marshy terrain. ʀɪGʜT Iɴ ᴛHᴇ ᴍIᴅDʟᴇ”
But that’s beside the point. Anyway guys I hope that made some sort of sense! Love this podcast, love Merlin, and love you!
20th October 2020 @ 10:41 am
thank you for the write in, and welcome to the madness!! <3
M Xx
16th October 2020 @ 2:11 pm
I’m really glad a new podcast episode came out today because just last night I finished binge-listening to the entire podcast series and was flailing for my Next Thing To Listen To.
After additional listens to the theme music, I’m now imagining rising violins in the background along with some gut wrenching lyrics that bring to mind Merlin by the lakeside and Arthur on the boat. Because Merlin fans are sadomasochistic like that. 😉
20th October 2020 @ 10:43 am
I am glad we could help you with the release of this episode, but you have now joined everyone on the WEEKLY WAIT!!!!
Welcome to real time! We are very sorry 🙁
If you’re at all into Shadowhunters, there’s about 400 hours of podcast for that to keep you busy in the mean time… hahaha
I am blissfully happy ignoring anything to do with any boats, until Christmas 2022, when I actually have to confront all of that… until then… NOPE! haha
M Xx
16th October 2020 @ 2:59 am
LESSONS
Merlin learned (from his own lips!) that maybe you should make your own destiny, instead of accepting the destiny as being a path designed by somebody else. Yet again, Merlin, I implore you – listen to yourself! He seems to be a very good advisor to Arthur, but can’t quite apply the lesson to his own life.
Arthur learned that maybe strategic marriages aren’t that strategic after all when they are loveless. That true love for Gwen may give him strength to stand up to Uther and not lose the argument. That he should make his own destiny.
Gwen learned (not for the first time) that her love for Arthur may be tried in the future, but now, I guess, she’s more hopeful about Arthur’s response to any such trial.
The viewers learned that possession makes you clumsy (when you’re a woman!). Oh, I guess I must have summoned satan by accident when doing my Latin homework, then, because clumsiness is my second nature. Also, we learned that, somehow, older women flirting are repulsive. But what we really should learn from this episode, is that when you are a writer and some storyline sounds so “right” and hilarious in your head, you might want to check yourself, because it might be cultural bias. Both “perfect princess” trope and “old=repulsive, should be matronly, not flirty” trope are so embedded in our culture, sadly, that they seem almost like common sense and we have to go to special pains to challenge them. Hopefully, it is slowly changing after those 10 years since the show aired.
17th October 2020 @ 1:11 pm
That’s so true that Merlin needs to take more of his own advice! A lot of his downfalls come from listening to bad advisors such as Gaius and really he knows what his right, he’s just a wee bit impressionable! Maybe this comes from him wanting to be looked after a little, considering that the rest of the time he has a big destiny on his shoulders and has to be brave and confident.
It’s the whole nature of his relationship with Arthur that means he takes better care of Arthur than himself- his position as his servant and his destiny too.
It makes me so sad how they treat Grunhilda in this episode! Older women have been demonised since they used to burn witches, so while this may be one of the more historically accurate portrayals of Merlin, it is certainly not original or kind. I can’t wait to be an old woman don’t ruin it for me!
16th October 2020 @ 2:48 am
Oh, this episode is such a mix bag for me. I’m gonna divide my post into good stuff and bad stuff. 😛
Good stuff:
– Arthur and Uther’s conversation about being “strategic”, then Arthur’s pillow-throwing – both so hilarious!
– “Destinies are troublesome things” speech from Merlin is now officially my motto when it comes to my approach to destiny in Merlin. It’s so interesting Merlin seems to know he should make his own destiny, just like Arthur should, but still struggles when the dragon / Taliesin / whomever else tells him what his destiny should be. Listen to yourself, Merlin!
Another great thing about this scene: “I read it in a book” quote, at which Arthur gives Merlin a look clearly suggesting that he doesn’t believe in an existence of a book, but he just plays with it. “And what did this BOOK say?” – I love Bradley’s delivery of this line.
– I like the worldbuilding continuity when it comes to pixies and Sidhe. Not only does Merlin still keep the Sidhe staff, which I appreciate, but also, I noticed it only in this episode, the Sidhe spells sound totally different to Merlin’s Old English spells. I googled it and it turned out that indeed, they are Old Irish. Whoever did the spells / scripts / books part of the show deserves a medal!
Bad stuff:
– Ah, the gender roles. I might be slightly biassed (maaybe it’s because Elena’s face when she looks at those high-heeled shoes is basically my face? Maybe because she’s just so damn relatable for me?), but I was really infuriated by what they did with Elena’s clumsiness. And though you liked Merlin’s “oh, dear” reaction to Elena, I really hated it. Oddly enough, even though Merlin has done some questionable things in the past, this was literally the first time when I suddenly felt so emotionally detached from him. He just sounded so… patronizing. And I’m not really sure if he’d react the same way if it was a male guest with the same issues. Don’t forget, it comes from MERLIN! Merlin who knocks three things over when he tries to leave Gaius’ chambers and has to resort to magic not to wake him up! He should sympathize with Elena, not react in this insultingly patronizing way…
Also, when Grimhilda said to Elena “what does a “perfect princess” mean, anyway?” I was almost cheering. Except… Grimhilda was supposed to be EVIL. Sigh.
– The way Merlin kills pixies really bothers me. Back in season 1, the pixies were his first deliberate, “cold-blooded” kills, and he was pretty quick to destroy them – and now, he seems to be almost enjoying torturing poor Grimhilda. He kinda treats the pixies like bugs. Like because they’re not exactly human, killing them is okay (yeah Merlin, and where did your heart weeping over a unicorn go?).
– I so don’t get Morgana. At first, she seems just casually cruel to Gwen (and why does she hate Gwen now, anybody knows? Because I don’t), then her plan seems to be to have Arthur marry Elena for no reason whatsoever, then, when they’re not married in the end, she’s smirking evily, as if this was her plan all along.
20th October 2020 @ 11:02 am
—-Another great thing about this scene: “I read it in a book” quote, at which Arthur gives Merlin a look clearly suggesting that he doesn’t believe in an existence of a book, but he just plays with it. “And what did this BOOK say?” – I love Bradley’s delivery of this line.—
I love the idea that Arthur is so dubious of anything that comes out of Merlin’s mouth that he’s doubting the existence of books all together lol but yeah, they are both just hilarious in that scene. and then seemlessly switch to SERIOUS DESTINY TALK, and then the slightly comedic ‘you’re all mad’ speech, back to serious destiny talk. they’re just so good at that!!
– — Whoever did the spells / scripts / books part of the show deserves a medal!—
I couldn’t list it all without looking it up, but I remember watching the ‘behind the magic’ stuff at the time that was on… straight after the episode? or maybe the sunday of the same weekend? anyway. there was a lot of talk how they used different spoken languages for different groups of magic users, and they’ve got a whole bunch of different written languages for different factions as well. it’s once again, so much more work than a small bbc show really need to do, so you can really tell that the creative team just took a lot of pride in their work, and it shines!!
–-(maaybe it’s because Elena’s face when she looks at those high-heeled shoes is basically my face? Maybe because she’s just so damn relatable for me?)–
I said this to a comment above but there’s always been that weird bit of me that’s watched anything on television like that, assuming we would all be that person. because those fancy sparkly shiny girls that can walk in high heels only actually exists on television and magazines… and I appreciate that that is not true at all, but yeah, I’ve always felt that Elena is all of us, just like clumsy girl with glasses and pony tail in every hollywood movie is also all of us. And yeah, I am aware that even if it was true, it would still also be true that Elena, as well as every clumsy girl in a hollywood movie, doesn’t ‘get the guy’ until they stop being clumsy and remove the pony tail…. SIGH. Maybe I was taking some weird comfort in feeling like we (ie clumsy girls with ponytails) outnumbered the elegent girls that actually can walk in high heels in real life? I don’t know =/
–Don’t forget, it comes from MERLIN! Merlin who knocks three things over when he tries to leave Gaius’ chambers and has to resort to magic not to wake him up! He should sympathize with Elena, not react in this insultingly patronizing way…–
I completely see where you’re coming from and I think ultimately you’re right. I guess I didn’t read as patronising precisely because Merlin is clumsy himself, and gets mocked for it, himself, so it sounds more sympathetic to me, because he gets it. But realistically, it’s probably more likely that it is a. patronising towards Elena, as you say, and b. because Merlin is clumsy himself and gets mocked for it, it’s probably also self-depricating, which just adds to the negative portrayal as you’re adding internalised negativity to the whole thing =/
–Also, when Grimhilda said to Elena “what does a “perfect princess” mean, anyway?” I was almost cheering. Except… Grimhilda was supposed to be EVIL. Sigh.–
this one is probably the one that infuriates me the most… we called out in podcast I think how the scene between Grunhilda and Elena is really NICE.
In that scene, Grundhila is shown to be caring and loving and not just indulgent of Elena’s “wrong” behaviours but completely accepting of them, and not trying to turn her into something she’s not,because what she is is absolutely enough and perfect as it is. But then grundhila has to make a 180 within the show, to justify Merlin brutally killing her, and therefore when she changes who she is, any earlier scene suddenly, as you say, becomes null and void, doesn’t it? argh.