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I can't.... I can't decide if I liked it.

Things I liked:

1. The fact that the magic reveal was early on in the episode and just between Merlin and Arthur.

2. The acting, it goes without saying, was phenomenal. My opinion of Merlin is that the talent of the actors has always far outstripped the talent of the writers - and that remains unchanged.

3. I liked the fact that Merlin and Arthur got at least one adventure together where Merlin got to openly use his magic.

4. I like the fact that we could see Arthur slowly coming to terms with Merlin as a sorcerer - I love that he went through the entire arc, from being frightened of Merlin to feeling just betrayed and then finally coming to see that Merlin was still the same person he always knew - and more than that, realizing that he had the most powerful sorcerer ever to walk the earth as his manservant, and that the sorcerer LIKED it that way.

5. I liked the fact that this episode really was about the love story of Arthur and Merlin, which, of course, the entire show has been about - so it was nice to have the final episode completely dedicated to it.

6. I like that we got an ending for all the knights - some were sad (Gwaine, I'd argue, had the most tragic ending) and some were bittersweet (Percival being the last of Arthur's original low-born knights left alive - Leon, who I've seen some people jokingly call immortal, remaining Gwen's right hand knight as he was Arthur's). I think that scene between Percival and Gwaine broke my heart completely.

7. The final moments between Merlin and Arthur were horrendously heartbreaking and very well done. I half expected Arthur to tell Merlin "I love you" as his final words, but "Thank you" WAS actually more fitting, since the whole thing with Merlin is that he has constantly suffered without any thanks from those he suffered for.

8. Gwen being a badass queen was awesome. And I LOVE the fact that she was basically the only one who really did put it together that Merlin was a sorcerer without having to be told. She needed to have it confirmed, but that's hardly the same thing. And when it was, she wasn't betrayed, she was happy. I think Gwen will restore magic to it's rightful place in the kingdom.

Things I didn't like:

1. Magic wasn't restored to the kingdom in Arthur's lifetime. 

2. Morgana's death. Katie McGrath kept saying that she liked Morgana's ending, but I didn't. It was the death of a two-dimensional villain, not someone who was Arthur's sister and USED to have a good heart. I wanted either a sliver of redemption, or at the very least, an acknowledgement that she had gone about everything completely wrong and misguided.

3. The ending. I guess I just wanted a complete reincarnation/resurrection ending. If you're going to have a show that completely changes and plays with the Arthurian myths - like, just COMPLETELY rewrites the legends - WHY DO YOU STILL GIVE US A HORRIBLY TRAGIC ENDING?! Maybe it's just me, but the idea of Arthur's second coming isn't a a balm for pain of his death - nor is the thought of Merlin, immortal and unchanging, stalking the shores of lake Avalon waiting for his friend to return...never able to move on from the grief of having lost him in the first place. Why not give us an ending where Arthur miraculously survives and we see him restore magic? Why not give us an ending where it's the future but Merlin is young and he's walking up the road and he sees a group of boys laughing, and one of them turns and smiles at him and it's Arthur...and they have this sort of unspoken moment of joy at seeing one another again. I guess, I just wanted them to subvert the legends completely.

Sigh...

Anyway, yeah...I guess I'm conflicted. There were some really good bits, but the ending wasn't satisfying to me. I wanted it left open, I suppose, for canon-compliant future-fics to be written that could satisfy me in the days ahead - but alas. 

I'm going to really miss this extremely gay show. I guess I just wanted it to go on in my brain forever.

Now, even though I didn't like the tragic ending. I have to say that the final scene between Merlin and Arthur really was magnificent. I love the fact that Arthur told Merlin just to hold him...I love the fact that he used the last of his strength to reach up and put his hand on Merlin's head. I love that in the end it really was a love story between Merlin and Arthur.

Now I'll go have a sulk.

Re: Part 2 II

Date: 2013-03-10 11:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aegyptae-liber.livejournal.com
I totally agree with you about that scene about Gwen. Actually, I take that scene in conjunction with how when Gwen accused Merlin of poisoning Arthur, Arthur apparently just waved her off the moment he heard about it. It kind of slays me that we don't see either confrontation, but I agree that somehow, by series 5 (even series 4), Merlin is already several notches above everyone else in Arthur's esteem.

And I'm ashamed to say that all those instances of Arthur taking Merlin's advice slipped past me... Though I did remember the one with Mordred, and saw Arthur's words as a kind of awed incredulity. I guess I was really hung up on all the little instances when Arthur didn't immediately listen to Merlin. Anyway, I'll get there eventually in my rewatch cycle.

Still, though, knowing about Merlin's magic would have to raise Merlin above and beyond where Arthur sees him now, and that...seems like it would just make Arthur's esteem/regard/affection for Merlin fly off the charts, don't you think?

Re: Part 2 II

Date: 2013-03-10 04:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hells-half-acre.livejournal.com
Still, though, knowing about Merlin's magic would have to raise Merlin above and beyond where Arthur sees him now, and that...seems like it would just make Arthur's esteem/regard/affection for Merlin fly off the charts, don't you think?

Oh yes, definitely. I just think that it wouldn't trump the fact that Arthur thinks Merlin is an idiot (just as Merlin thinks Arthur is an idiot, and admits to Arthur in the finale that Arthur's not wrong about him being an idiot - "it's just part of my charm")... so, although Merlin is elevated in esteem/regard/affection after the magic reveal (because Arthur knows just how loyal, invaluable, special Merlin is to Camelot, not just to Arthur) - I don't think it would change their friendship that much. In that, I think they're well established in the way they relate to each other (ie: giving each other a hard time for the fun of it.)

Of course, that being said, Arthur's love for Merlin (although it was already there) does grow in the finale... and it WOULD change things had Arthur lived. Like I said, the only part of the finale that I liked was Arthur and Merlin metaphorically running off together. I suppose the show just replaced the Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot love triangle with an Gwen/Arthur/Merlin love triangle - and Merlin "won", if you can call it that.

Maybe I'm just an idealist who happens to have had unconventional but healthy relationships in the past, but I do think that Arthur could have lived, gone back to Camelot - and had his wife and Merlin without much changing. The fact remains that Gwen IS a good Queen and a shrewd stateswoman - whereas Merlin is not. So, whether or not Gwen has all of Arthur's heart (which I argue she never really did, because Merlin HAS always been in there in some capacity), she still plays a pivotal role in the kingdom. Not to mention the fact that just because Arthur loves Merlin, doesn't mean that he doesn't love Gwen (not giving her much thought in the finale aside... think more about the "With All My Heart" episode.)

Re: Part 2 II

Date: 2013-03-16 05:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aegyptae-liber.livejournal.com
I do wish we'd seen that! It would have been wonderful to have at least one adventure with an Arthur who knows and accepts Merlin's magic! *wishes really hard*

...Nope. Damn you, Disney! Making people believe that wishes come true! *shakes fist*

No arguments from me on any counts. I agree that we had that little triangle going, that Merlin won, and that Gwen was a good Queen as Merlin never could have been. I think the last we see of them kind of illustrates that perfectly: Merlin, grieving horribly and then still waiting, over a thousand years later, versus Gwen, steeling her heart and turning her attention to the kingdom.

I'd add to what you said that to some extent, Arthur was never totally Gwen's because it was Merlin who made them see each other as they learned to. Gwen learned through Merlin that Arthur could be talked to as a human (and a prat), rather than just as a king; and Arthur learned through Merlin that servants can be friends and companions. They knew each other before Merlin, but I doubt there'd ever have been any sort of romance without Merlin there. Arthur was always heavily aware of his responsibilities, his role in life. And while he kept everyone at arms length, and always talked about doing what's best for the kingdom (was willing to break up with Gwen if that was best for his people), he's never been able to do so with Merlin—and when he tries, Merlin refuses to take it sitting down. It's fun, in a way, because Arthur's world orbits around Merlin without him ever really knowing or realizing how much it does. I almost wish we'd had more than that little snippet in Servant of Two Masters (which is one of my favorite episodes) as to how Arthur'd react to losing Merlin.

Similarly, I think that Gwen was never truly Arthur's the way that Merlin was. She'd do almost anything for him, and she loves him, but under all of this has always been the undertow called Camelot-comes-first. She does a lot for Arthur, but watching Merlin, her contributions seem miniscule. I might tentatively suggest that with series 5, the show writers were trying to show us that Gwen's first love was Camelot, where Merlin's was purely Arthur. (And so he caused Arthur to die. I'm tearing up now...)

Re: Part 2 II

Date: 2013-03-16 08:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hells-half-acre.livejournal.com
Agreed! I really don't have anything else to add to this...you've basically said everything that I was thinking.

I also LOVE a Servant of Two Masters for the fact that we get to see Arthur's reaction to the idea of losing Merlin. And I'd argue that that episode also shows how Gwen always thinks of Camelot first (like a good Queen)...I've seen a lot of people give Gwen flack online for how she tried to convince Arthur not to go looking for Merlin... but I think it just shows that Gwen is thinking more about what would happen to Camelot if Arthur was killed while searching bandit-infested woods for a manservant, it's not that she doesn't care about Merlin (or the fact that her boyfriend's heartbroken with worry), it's that she thinks of Camelot first... whereas Arthur thinks of Merlin first. Arthur and Merlin's first love is always each other, whereas Gwen's is Camelot itself. I think this is also reflected in the way she asks Lancelot to look after Arthur in 4x01. It's not so much because she loves Arthur more than Lancelot, it's because CAMELOT needs Arthur more than it needs Lancelot.

Re: Part 2 II

Date: 2013-03-16 09:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aegyptae-liber.livejournal.com
So true!! That thought makes me feel a lot better about Lancelot's death; it's so much nicer to see it this way, than to think that Gwen was simply thoughtless when she made her request.

I loved Gwen in that episode. My one small qualm was how she apparently didn't think they should tell Arthur. I get why Gaius wouldn't rush to (especially if he suspected that they might need a magical cure), but would he really have been able to sway Gwen if she didn't agree? What would they have lost by telling Arthur? Maybe it would have shaken his faith in Merlin a bit, knowing he was being mind controlled...but still. I feel like it was more that the writers wanted to avoid giving Arthur cause to doubt Merlin in any capacity before The Reveal.

I also love SoTM because I feel like it shows us that down to the bottom of their souls, Merlin could never hurt Arthur, and Arthur could never doubt Merlin. Humorous as it is, Merlin could hardly make that many failed attempts on Arthur's life without there being something else at work. First, with the lunch: while I find it somewhat plausible that he simply didn't know that Gwen would be bringing Arthur his food, you'd think he'd know when Arthur would expect it, and try to be there on time. Second, with the crossbow: the fact that it mysteriously didn't fire when Arthur opened the cabinet, though it fires whenever Merlin opens it? I sense magic afoot. Third, with the sword...that was a pretty spectacular crash. He bounced from the pillar into wall! Clumsy he may be, but I hardly think that Merlin would ordinarily manage a failure that extraordinary without it being deliberate to some extent. And finally, with the bathwater, I suspect that had Arthur actually touched the water, it would have felt maybe a bit too hot, but wouldn't have seriously harmed him.

I've read several interpretations on why Merlin never used magic to try killing Arthur in the episode, ranging from "Because Morgana didn't know" to "Because it's part of what makes Merlin Merlin, so the Femorrah would have taken it away." But by this point in the story, Merlin's magic is so completely Arthur's, for Arthur's protection especially, that I wonder if the magic—somehow providing a small subconscious resilience against the Femorrah—wasn't there the whole time, protecting Arthur from Merlin himself. Or, alternatively, that Arthur's rooms are so perfused with Merlin's magic that it's difficult to kill Arthur in there, whether the perpetrator was Merlin or otherwise.

And Arthur! How many times he fails to notice Merlin's increasingly conspicuous attempts on his life, right under his nose! I feel like there's a second when his eyes flicker to the curtain that Merlin's pulling over the crossbow arrow at some point—and he just takes it in stride when Merlin's collapsed on the floor right behind him, sword clearly outstretched. This from the man who even doubted his most trusted uncle in this episode.

Re: Part 2 II

Date: 2013-03-16 09:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hells-half-acre.livejournal.com
Agreed once again.

I've always been of the opinion that Merlin didn't try to use magic to kill Arthur because Morgana didn't know about the magic - but I never really considered that Merlin (or Merlin's magic) was probably actively fighting against the assassination schemes that Merlin did try. I like that interpretation. Especially since you're quite right that, at least with the sword, there was no reason for Merlin to be THAT clumsy in the situation.

It didn't really bother me that Gwen didn't want to tell Arthur. Maybe it didn't make sense, but I think by that point everyone was just so used to hiding EVERYTHING magical from the Pendragons that it was just instinct. But, I can see your point too... and yeah, it was probably so that the writers could keep Merlin as the one person who had never under any circumstances betrayed/hurt Arthur.

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