Well, at least we both agree on wanting a reunion scene!
I can see your point about Merlin vs. Guinevere. I guess my problem is that by S5, Arthur WAS paying attention to Merlin's funny feelings etc, even when he didn't have all the information. And Merlin's words COULD make Arthur pause just as much as Guinevere's by then too... and I think even knowing about Merlin's magic, Arthur would still stick to his guns on things... but I recognize that this is a subjective stance and at this point we're just arguing character interpretation. (We could also get into how it was never really fair on Arthur to withhold so much information from him constantly - but that's opening up a whole other can of worms.) But yes, once Arthur REALLY knew Merlin, they would have to establish a metaphorical threesome in order to resolve the plot without permanently separating Arthur and Gwen (like I said, the only part about the finale that I liked was the metaphorical running off with Merlin part.)
I agree that Merlin doomed them all in the Disir episode... or rather that the Disir were the ones that actually doomed them all. Because it WAS a double-edged sword. And as you say, it was a decision between achieving his dream and saving the man he loved - and Merlin chose to save the man he loved, and in so doing, actually doomed both.
So, yeah, still a horribly depressing moral of the story, in my opinion. And again, one I'd prefer not have watched, no matter how bittersweet it was. I just think that S5 shouldn't have had Camlann on the horizon at all.
But, again, like you said, we could be here for ages thinking of all the multitudinous different ways that S5 could have been written - and each version would be awesome in its own way, but inevitably piss SOMEONE off. I'm just saying that the version they chose was the version that pissed ME off. :P
I'd have much preferred to follow Arthur as he slowly united Albion, while piecing together the evidence that his manservant was a sorcerer, and then having Merlin tell him, having an episode where Arthur pulled away due to the betrayal/lack-of-trust of it all, and then come back for love of Merlin, rescind the ban on magic, create Albion - and fade to black happy ending time.
Again, just my opinion, and I'm biased, because I'm not a huge fan of tragedies... except for Hamlet and S1-S5 of Supernatural (ignoring the last few seconds of 5x22).
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Part 2 II
Date: 2013-03-09 01:04 am (UTC)I can see your point about Merlin vs. Guinevere. I guess my problem is that by S5, Arthur WAS paying attention to Merlin's funny feelings etc, even when he didn't have all the information. And Merlin's words COULD make Arthur pause just as much as Guinevere's by then too... and I think even knowing about Merlin's magic, Arthur would still stick to his guns on things... but I recognize that this is a subjective stance and at this point we're just arguing character interpretation. (We could also get into how it was never really fair on Arthur to withhold so much information from him constantly - but that's opening up a whole other can of worms.) But yes, once Arthur REALLY knew Merlin, they would have to establish a metaphorical threesome in order to resolve the plot without permanently separating Arthur and Gwen (like I said, the only part about the finale that I liked was the metaphorical running off with Merlin part.)
I agree that Merlin doomed them all in the Disir episode... or rather that the Disir were the ones that actually doomed them all. Because it WAS a double-edged sword. And as you say, it was a decision between achieving his dream and saving the man he loved - and Merlin chose to save the man he loved, and in so doing, actually doomed both.
So, yeah, still a horribly depressing moral of the story, in my opinion. And again, one I'd prefer not have watched, no matter how bittersweet it was. I just think that S5 shouldn't have had Camlann on the horizon at all.
But, again, like you said, we could be here for ages thinking of all the multitudinous different ways that S5 could have been written - and each version would be awesome in its own way, but inevitably piss SOMEONE off. I'm just saying that the version they chose was the version that pissed ME off. :P
I'd have much preferred to follow Arthur as he slowly united Albion, while piecing together the evidence that his manservant was a sorcerer, and then having Merlin tell him, having an episode where Arthur pulled away due to the betrayal/lack-of-trust of it all, and then come back for love of Merlin, rescind the ban on magic, create Albion - and fade to black happy ending time.
Again, just my opinion, and I'm biased, because I'm not a huge fan of tragedies... except for Hamlet and S1-S5 of Supernatural (ignoring the last few seconds of 5x22).