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selenakFirst parts of two parters are always tricky to review, but I've missed meta-ing on new (to me) Merlin, and this is the first episode I saw in real time, so how could I resist?
Firstly, while this shares one trait with the s2 opener (aka a clumsy "we must establish Arthur is still a prat by including a physical humiliation of Merlin scene"), it's otherwise way better. Merlin as a show will never win awards for subtle screenwriting, and Gaius is still the mouth of exposition (in the scene where he's summing up The Fires of Idrisholas, you could almost hear the "as you know, Bob"), but there is no sense of wanting to replay the pilot as there was in the s2 opener, and it really builds on what has happened in the previous season. So, praise and groans at a first viewing as follows:
- the opening battlefield visual gave me a few seconds of "zomg is this a Camlann flash forward?"; of course it wasn't, but nonetheless, the imagery resonated strongly
- as opposed to the later bucket scene, the early chit chat between Arthur and Merlin (in full hearing of the guards, no less) did a good job of establishing their relationship and personalities
- in some shots, Emilia Fox' pregnancy is obvious; I wonder whether they'll include it in the show? Otoh they took care to shoot her only above the waistline when she's not in armor, so probably not
- one off screen year is a gift for fanfiction, of course, and I think dramatically necessary so Morgana could develop an actual relationship with Morgause whom in the previous season she only met twice
- Gwen having only a half a sentence or so of dialogue is something I hope will not be the case in future episodes; and I'd really appreciate some information as to what job she had while Morgana was gone (*still hopes for Gaius' apprentice*) ; within the half a sentence, it's still noticable that Morgana treats her only like a servant now, which fits with 2.11.
- the odd Uther-Gaius exchange re: Morgana's father, more specifically Uther's "yes, quite" reaction when Gaius says "Gorlois" makes me thinkzahrawithahz might be right with her theory re: Morgana's paternity after all
- since Uther is now in Macbeth-at-the-feast mode and seeing ghosts (as well as talking to them), we might get more on that sooner rather than later (i.e. part II)
- I won't get my wish of seeing Ghost!Gorlois played by David Tennant, will I?
- Morgana in dark side mode: I don't think her knifing the guard was over the top, partly because I wrote Discordance with Morgana persuading herself that the guards don't deserve any better when Morgause did it, but also because I can see a line from her refusal to return to Camelot in 2.03. when people are executed for her supposed abduction and her agreement in 2.11. to seeing "Uther and all who serve him" as doomed; all this being said, if part II doesn't at least show her conflicted when it's either Arthur or Gwen's lives on the line I'll be severely disappointed
- Morgana and Merlin: not sure whether he should have bought her original faked reaction, but I can handwave it as part of his own desire to rewrite the past, plus the episode reversing the pattern of Merlin lying to Morgana and following her into Morgana lying to Merlin and leading him into a trap had a good symmetry; this time, she's literary one step ahead (except for the information about his own abilities; I was wondering how they'd have a confrontation between Merlin and either of the sisters without the revelation they evidently don't want to happen, but the episode answered that; btw, Morgana's earlier "and he's right, I have changed" was the moment where we could see how deeply she's still hurt by what he did and I hope the confrontation in part II we saw a glimpse of in the trailer now that the gloves are off will give us more on that
- Merlin after his own magic can't get rid of Morgause's chains finally calling the dragon was a great moment and pleased my inner Merlin-Kilgarrah shipper (also , show, thank you for not giving us a lame "will Merlin die?" cliffhanger because if we're talking about the title character that's really not a question)
- Morgause and Morgana as firm allies with mutual declarations of affection and admiration ("there is nothing you cannot do", "you give me strength") is great to see (especially given the lack of Morgana and Gwen interactions), but I wonder whether Morgause's confident declaration to Cendred that Morgana is an ally who will be faithful to her until death and who will never waver isn't the kind of statement that's a set up for a disappointment on Morgause's part (a) she should ask the late Taron on his opinion on that one, and b) for Doylist reasons; if Morgana stays faithful to Morgause through the next episode, she'll spend the rest of the reason away from Camelot again, and considering Emilia Fox is not a regular, that would mean isolating Morgana from any interaction with the rest of the cast, which I doubt they'll do. So, my prediction? Morgana will have a last minute change of heart in as much as the lives of Arthur/Uther/Gwen/Gaius/any or all of the above are concerned at the climax of part II, which will result in a temporary (distrustful) truce between her and Merlin and agreement he won't reveal her involvement with Morgause as she won't reveal what he did to her; Morgana will continue to live in Camelot but keep her options with Morgause as well, not returning fully to Morgause's side until the season finale).
- another unspoiled speculation, while I'm at it: obviously in part II Arthur will have no choice but to assume command; Uther, once recovered, will remember that and, Uther being Uther, it will start to make him feel paranoid about his son as well, and we'll head towards more conflict in that area.
Firstly, while this shares one trait with the s2 opener (aka a clumsy "we must establish Arthur is still a prat by including a physical humiliation of Merlin scene"), it's otherwise way better. Merlin as a show will never win awards for subtle screenwriting, and Gaius is still the mouth of exposition (in the scene where he's summing up The Fires of Idrisholas, you could almost hear the "as you know, Bob"), but there is no sense of wanting to replay the pilot as there was in the s2 opener, and it really builds on what has happened in the previous season. So, praise and groans at a first viewing as follows:
- the opening battlefield visual gave me a few seconds of "zomg is this a Camlann flash forward?"; of course it wasn't, but nonetheless, the imagery resonated strongly
- as opposed to the later bucket scene, the early chit chat between Arthur and Merlin (in full hearing of the guards, no less) did a good job of establishing their relationship and personalities
- in some shots, Emilia Fox' pregnancy is obvious; I wonder whether they'll include it in the show? Otoh they took care to shoot her only above the waistline when she's not in armor, so probably not
- one off screen year is a gift for fanfiction, of course, and I think dramatically necessary so Morgana could develop an actual relationship with Morgause whom in the previous season she only met twice
- Gwen having only a half a sentence or so of dialogue is something I hope will not be the case in future episodes; and I'd really appreciate some information as to what job she had while Morgana was gone (*still hopes for Gaius' apprentice*) ; within the half a sentence, it's still noticable that Morgana treats her only like a servant now, which fits with 2.11.
- the odd Uther-Gaius exchange re: Morgana's father, more specifically Uther's "yes, quite" reaction when Gaius says "Gorlois" makes me think
zahrawithahz might be right with her theory re: Morgana's paternity after all - since Uther is now in Macbeth-at-the-feast mode and seeing ghosts (as well as talking to them), we might get more on that sooner rather than later (i.e. part II)
- I won't get my wish of seeing Ghost!Gorlois played by David Tennant, will I?
- Morgana in dark side mode: I don't think her knifing the guard was over the top, partly because I wrote Discordance with Morgana persuading herself that the guards don't deserve any better when Morgause did it, but also because I can see a line from her refusal to return to Camelot in 2.03. when people are executed for her supposed abduction and her agreement in 2.11. to seeing "Uther and all who serve him" as doomed; all this being said, if part II doesn't at least show her conflicted when it's either Arthur or Gwen's lives on the line I'll be severely disappointed
- Morgana and Merlin: not sure whether he should have bought her original faked reaction, but I can handwave it as part of his own desire to rewrite the past, plus the episode reversing the pattern of Merlin lying to Morgana and following her into Morgana lying to Merlin and leading him into a trap had a good symmetry; this time, she's literary one step ahead (except for the information about his own abilities; I was wondering how they'd have a confrontation between Merlin and either of the sisters without the revelation they evidently don't want to happen, but the episode answered that; btw, Morgana's earlier "and he's right, I have changed" was the moment where we could see how deeply she's still hurt by what he did and I hope the confrontation in part II we saw a glimpse of in the trailer now that the gloves are off will give us more on that
- Merlin after his own magic can't get rid of Morgause's chains finally calling the dragon was a great moment and pleased my inner Merlin-Kilgarrah shipper (also , show, thank you for not giving us a lame "will Merlin die?" cliffhanger because if we're talking about the title character that's really not a question)
- Morgause and Morgana as firm allies with mutual declarations of affection and admiration ("there is nothing you cannot do", "you give me strength") is great to see (especially given the lack of Morgana and Gwen interactions), but I wonder whether Morgause's confident declaration to Cendred that Morgana is an ally who will be faithful to her until death and who will never waver isn't the kind of statement that's a set up for a disappointment on Morgause's part (a) she should ask the late Taron on his opinion on that one, and b) for Doylist reasons; if Morgana stays faithful to Morgause through the next episode, she'll spend the rest of the reason away from Camelot again, and considering Emilia Fox is not a regular, that would mean isolating Morgana from any interaction with the rest of the cast, which I doubt they'll do. So, my prediction? Morgana will have a last minute change of heart in as much as the lives of Arthur/Uther/Gwen/Gaius/any or all of the above are concerned at the climax of part II, which will result in a temporary (distrustful) truce between her and Merlin and agreement he won't reveal her involvement with Morgause as she won't reveal what he did to her; Morgana will continue to live in Camelot but keep her options with Morgause as well, not returning fully to Morgause's side until the season finale).
- another unspoiled speculation, while I'm at it: obviously in part II Arthur will have no choice but to assume command; Uther, once recovered, will remember that and, Uther being Uther, it will start to make him feel paranoid about his son as well, and we'll head towards more conflict in that area.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-12 09:18 am (UTC)Yes, that scene felt it wasn't meant to be (just) comedy, but to show how they keep each other's spirits up. Which made the later scenes with the bucket and with Arthur practicing even more disapointing, IMO.
in some shots, Emilia Fox' pregnancy is obvious; I wonder whether they'll include it in the show?
Given that they already have a Mordred, I don't know if there would be much of a point to it?
the odd Uther-Gaius exchange re: Morgana's father, more specifically Uther's "yes, quite" reaction when Gaius says "Gorlois" makes me think [profile] zahrawithahz might be right with her theory re: Morgana's paternity after all
Yup. At first I thought it felt off (since I never thought it was really indicated before this), but it would make some sense that he tried to think of her as Gorlois daughter before, but after having lost her and then gotten her back, he's all "she's MINE, dammit!".
no subject
Date: 2010-09-12 01:03 pm (UTC)Myth!Morgause had more children than just Mordred, but I still think you're right. I bet Gawain, Agravain and Gareth, if they show up, will already be adults, not babies. However, that means we probably won't get much Morgause after the opening episodes because there is only so much disguising you can do until the actress had her baby.
it would make some sense that he tried to think of her as Gorlois daughter before, but after having lost her and then gotten her back, he's all "she's MINE, dammit!".
Yes, indeed. Also if this comes out due to Uther's ramblings it might contribute to that last minute Morgana turnaround I'm speculating about which is needed to justify her staying in Camelot instead of leaving with Morgause.
Of course if it's true that begs the question whether Morgause and Morgana are sisters, and that in turn makes me bet on Gorlois/Ygraine again.