Amy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
such_heights) wrote2010-12-04 11:26 pm
such_heights) wrote2010-12-04 11:26 pm
Entry tags:
Merlin 3x13
godDAMMIT, show, you aren't allowed to hit my buttons like that when I'm trying to break up with you! Jeez.
So, okay, I had a bunch of the usual frustrations with this, BUT. I felt like this was some kind of tantalising glimpse into the show I want, in some ways. It was a show about Arthur learning to be a better man than his father! It was a show about the beginnings of a legend, and a show about these characters becoming themselves, and, well, yes. The entire scene with the round table was as hammy as anything and I LOVED it, I honestly did.
The Arthur/Merlin and Arthur/Gwen throughout was lovely, as was the Merlin/Lancelot (I continue to adore Merlin whenever he's with his hot knight boyfriends, bless). I also enjoyed the more equal Morgana/Morgause relationship here.
I also could deal with the Gwen/Morgana antagonism better here. I mean, it still totally breaks my heart but the fact they were playing each other at least puts them on an equal footing (of a kind) that's a little easier to watch.
I felt Freya was horribly underused! It would have been nice to see more of her than her face in some water and a hand in a lake. But still, awesome fic potential there, hurray.
And then, Morgana. The trouble is, here it was so easy to see the presence of flaws that have always been there with her - driven by individual emotional connections rather than a general concern for life, the ability to forget the suffering of others when it doesn't concern her (her line about forgetting about Tom was just awful). That stuff has been there before. But it hurts to see her twisted into the worst imaginable person she could be rather than setting her up as an antagonist we can actually sympathise with to some extent. I would have loved to have seen her making moves to re-establish magic in Camelot, for instance. But no, she's murdering people instead. D:
Also, I'm glad the show explicitly acknowledged that Morgause probably isn't dead rather than me having to fanwank it entirely.
GWEN. eeeeeeeeee!!! The bravest of them all, if you ask me. And blacksmithing scene FOR THE WIN FOREVER oh my goodness that made me happy. And we got a little backstory for her mother, whee! Oh, my future Queen, she's still the best.
So. If - if - next season continues on the tentative trajectory they set up here, I could still be fannish about new canon. Possibly. Because here is a chance to have more people with difference perspectives - Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan - as regular characters, which would be refreshing. There's a really big chance for Arthur to start to move away from his father, with Merlin and Gwen's explicitly acknowledged help. There's a chance for Morgana to get away from all of this for a while and just chill the fuck out, frankly.
I'd really enjoy the show. But, I'm not going to hold my breath.
In the meantime, oh thank god, sweet, sweet hiatus. *opens up some WIPs*
So, okay, I had a bunch of the usual frustrations with this, BUT. I felt like this was some kind of tantalising glimpse into the show I want, in some ways. It was a show about Arthur learning to be a better man than his father! It was a show about the beginnings of a legend, and a show about these characters becoming themselves, and, well, yes. The entire scene with the round table was as hammy as anything and I LOVED it, I honestly did.
The Arthur/Merlin and Arthur/Gwen throughout was lovely, as was the Merlin/Lancelot (I continue to adore Merlin whenever he's with his hot knight boyfriends, bless). I also enjoyed the more equal Morgana/Morgause relationship here.
I also could deal with the Gwen/Morgana antagonism better here. I mean, it still totally breaks my heart but the fact they were playing each other at least puts them on an equal footing (of a kind) that's a little easier to watch.
I felt Freya was horribly underused! It would have been nice to see more of her than her face in some water and a hand in a lake. But still, awesome fic potential there, hurray.
And then, Morgana. The trouble is, here it was so easy to see the presence of flaws that have always been there with her - driven by individual emotional connections rather than a general concern for life, the ability to forget the suffering of others when it doesn't concern her (her line about forgetting about Tom was just awful). That stuff has been there before. But it hurts to see her twisted into the worst imaginable person she could be rather than setting her up as an antagonist we can actually sympathise with to some extent. I would have loved to have seen her making moves to re-establish magic in Camelot, for instance. But no, she's murdering people instead. D:
Also, I'm glad the show explicitly acknowledged that Morgause probably isn't dead rather than me having to fanwank it entirely.
GWEN. eeeeeeeeee!!! The bravest of them all, if you ask me. And blacksmithing scene FOR THE WIN FOREVER oh my goodness that made me happy. And we got a little backstory for her mother, whee! Oh, my future Queen, she's still the best.
So. If - if - next season continues on the tentative trajectory they set up here, I could still be fannish about new canon. Possibly. Because here is a chance to have more people with difference perspectives - Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan - as regular characters, which would be refreshing. There's a really big chance for Arthur to start to move away from his father, with Merlin and Gwen's explicitly acknowledged help. There's a chance for Morgana to get away from all of this for a while and just chill the fuck out, frankly.
I'd really enjoy the show. But, I'm not going to hold my breath.
In the meantime, oh thank god, sweet, sweet hiatus. *opens up some WIPs*
no subject
LIKE WHATEVER DUDE.
I couldn't stand that bit with Leon and the Knights talking about how they serve only their king and Camelot and the brave music playing and how it seemed like they were SO BRAVE AND PERFECT when in fact they were serving a King who murders innocent people on a regular basis (which we got a little bit of Morgana discussing with Uther but barely anything, could have cut out some of that boring roundtable speech for more Uther/Morgana, in my opinion, kind of a letdown).
(her line about forgetting about Tom was just awful)
I just sort of scoffed loudly and rolled my eyes, because there's no way Morgana would ever forget that seeing as how involved she was in that situation and almost killed Uther (the first time) for it. I guess we're supposed to believe that she was playing Gwen because she suspected her, but WHATEVER. The only Morgana line I believed was when she was all butthurt and sulky and was like, "Go run back to your beloved boyfriend, SULK", because THAT sounded like Morgana.
It's not like there wasn't places to build up a villain that would be up against Camelot or there wasn't room for nuance and layers, but whatever. WHATEVER.
I may watch next season too, even though I really don't want to, because the freaking buttons got pressed for me too. GOD DAMN STUPID FANTASTIC LANCELOT AND ELYAN AND GWEN. AND MERLIN'S FACE.