Episode III.X – Queen of Hearts
Join us for Queen of Hearts, epsiode 10 of Season 3 of BBC Merlin
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16th December 2020 @ 10:29 pm
Gwen’s outside house was in Pierrefonds. Inside was in Wales.
This episode just drove me crazy. Arthur was such an idiot that made me grind my teeth and then Arthur just doesn’t do anything to rescue Gwen which is ridiculous. Dragoon, I agree, was off. A lot of what the character was doing just didn’t make sense. Oh, well.
16th November 2020 @ 6:43 pm
Ruth you hit on a couple of points that really struck a chord with me as to Arthur folding his hands and doing absolutely nothing to save the love of his life from burning on the pyre.
Time and time again, Arthur leaves one wanting. He has yet to declare to Gwen that he loves her. He skirts around the issue but has yet to utter the words, “I love you” and his actions or lack thereof would lead one to believe that maybe he does not, yet. For Vivian, mind you I know he was under an enchantment, he did not hesitate to find a way to be with “his love”. With Sophia, he asked Merlin to lie to Uther about where he was, not once but twice so he could have his rendezvous with her, despite the punishment Merlin had to suffer to do so.
He does tell Uther that he loves Guinevere but from the look on Bradley’s face, you sense that Arthur has only just come to that realization as he utters the words. After Morgana’s machinations and the confrontation with Uther, Arthur makes a wimpy effort to escape from the guards and can’t quite muster the words, “I love you” as the guards take her away to await a magic user’s death. “I will never love another” almost implies, “yes you’re gonna die and I’m gonna miss you”.
Then when Gwen is in the dungeons awaiting her execution, as far as Arthur knows, no one is proactive in securing her release. He just surrenders to her fate. You get no sense of desperation from him, but you almost sense his acceptance to her demise and the acknowledgement that he just can’t see her die. You almost get the sense that if he doesn’t “look” he can get past it.
I have to say that Angel Coulby’s acting never ceases to amaze. It is always so disappointing to see her storylines abruptly abandoned. There is no bridge between her awaiting death in the dungeon and her hauling the linens and getting dragged into the alcove by Arthur. Who broke the news to her that her sentence had been lifted? Who explained Dragoon to her? How was Dragoon explained because his actions were inexplicable?
Lessons:
Gwen cannot rely on Arthur to save her from Uther. This won’t be the last time that Arthur surrenders to Uther’s efforts to hurt Gwen and despite these efforts, time and time again, Arthur always choses Uther’s approval over Gwen.
Arthur is incapable of keeping his promises to Gwen. “I promise that when I am King, things will be different”, that is one promise he will break more than once in the future.
Arthur is more like Uther than I am comfortable with. Uther’s banishment of Gwen in Arthur’s eyes is extreme because “Camelot is all she knows” yet when it’s his turn to impose said punishment, he will easily disregard these same considerations.
Arthur will always disappoint us romantics. He is lousy at expressing his feelings. He has serious daddy issues that always undermine any effort to do the right for Gwen. I feel so sorry for Gwen to have to accept such meager scraps of Arthur’s attentions. You sense no desperation from Bradley/Arthur as to her inevitable demise. He struts around with his “guards” as she awaits in the dungeons and then with a flick of his wrist sends those guards off and doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity to check on her or plan an escape.
When “feelings” are involved, Arthur is a lousy strategist. He never approaches Morgana for help. He is oblivious to her machinations so why would he not seek her help? Especially after she was the one that encouraged him to spend time with Gwen. He should be turning the world upside down to save Guinevere but alas he does nothing. Thank God for Dragoon, otherwise, Gwen would have died.
I get so frustrated with Arthur and honestly cannot understand why Gwen would settle for so little. She deserves so much more than he is capable of giving.
17th November 2020 @ 9:47 pm
Hi Iris – not sure if I have ever seen you comment before. If you have: sorry! 🙁 If you haven’t: welcome. 🙂
I really share your frustrations with Arthur in this episode – actually, not just in this episode. So much of what you said harks back to the Goblin epsiode where Ruth and Michelle (and then lots of us on the website) had a huge discussion about why that ‘Merlin is arrested for sorcery’ scene should never have been used in that episode.
Among our many ramblings, we also picked up on the fact that, at least from Merlin’s point of view, Arthur doesn’t do ANYTHING to get him out or defend him which should actually leave him pretty traumatised. We get a glimpse of Arthur testing Gaius and finding out that Merlin spoke the truth about the Goblin possession. But that’s after a night in the dungeons and after Merlin had to escape by himself (because Arthur neither spoke up or rescued him in any way).
Similarly, here in this episode, we get the slightest sense of ‘Arthur’s hands are tied’ when his father interprets everything he says and does as an enchantment and has him watched. Only he doesn’t have him watched and still tasks Arthur with looking after the sorcerer that HAS CONFESSED to enchanting the Prince. Would Uther really give his son the job to bring the sorcerer to the dungeons or take him to the pyre if the same sorcerer has him under an enchantment?
I really don’t get it. The only reason I can think of is something that Ruth and Michelle discussed ages ago, maybe in season 1, the Beginning of the End: because of the power and influence Arthur holds and the character he portrays, as soon as you get him involved in any sort of plan or scheme, you can be pretty sure that he won’t do it by halves. It’s almost a guarantee that things will turn out alright because Arthur is on the case.
Which is, I think, why Gaius keeps having the same conversation (Oh, but you cannot tell Arthur – he’d never believe you) and often Arthur is, more or less successfully, manoeuvred to a place from which he cannot act. Because if he did, there wouldn’t be so many obstacles or he’d easily overcome them, Merlin wouldn’t have to be so active and we would have much less of a show.
Or at least, we’d have a different kind of show: maybe with higher stakes, maybe with Merlin being more honest with Arthur, maybe with Arthur and Merlin having to work together as a team to accomplish things. You know, that propecy of a united Albion, Golden King, his sorcerer openly by his side – but the show doesn’t seem to want to go that way…
15th November 2020 @ 11:11 pm
Thank you so much! It made me very happy. Firstly, we had the whole pencil/pen thing at my school too, except we called them pen licenses where you could get “points” on your licence – three points and you got demoted back to pencil and had to attend remedial handwriting club at lunchtimes😂
So I always really enjoy watching this episode – it’s always felt really nicely put together and easy to watch to for me personally, but I, for the first time in forever haha, was aware of the obvious logical fails and was always frustrated by Morgana’s motivation particularly. However, there is a bit which I really like – Morgana says to Arthur “If it’s Gwen who you desire, why do you deny yourself” and there’s this sort of glint in Katie’s eye which I think speaks to her new desire for the throne and the self righteous claim that it should be hers. I don’t love that that is Morgana’s character now, but if accepting that it is, I think it really works. It also sounds a bit like something Morgause would say – just with “the throne” instead of “Gwen” – and I like the subtle nod to her influence on Morgana.
I think there’s something interesting about Arthur saying “there are always choices” because it sort of places him in a category with Gwen, who says in S1 “in life you always have a choice”. Perhaps it shows that their view of morality is very similar – they believe in holding themselves accountable for their actions, and that doing nothing is still a decision they are responsible for. In relation to Merlin, it’s interesting that his response to Morgause became in S2E12 is “you gave me no choice”. I think it’s possible that he might have originally had a similar view as Arthur and Gwen, but living by destiny actually has conditioned him to play the Gaius game and manipulate himself into believing that there was only one option, to help ease the burden he carries which is only getting heavier…not sure about that one really, but maybe it’s there.
I have to say, I love Merlin’s “You have wronged so many people, in so many ways” – it is so beautifully delivered and it makes me cry every time. It almost seems as though he is only just realising the extent of pain and suffering Uther has caused and I wonder if that has anything to do with Merlin actually experiencing a large part of this episode as someone indisputably part of the magical community. In general, Merlin doesn’t quite belong anywhere apart from Arthur’s side: his duty as Emrys and closeness to one of the very oppressers themselves segregates him from the magical community – he is very much an exception. It’s interesting that he actually walks in the shoes of another normal sorcerer who will be unjustly burnt at the stake for simply living, and I’m not sure if Merlin has thought of himself in that way in a while, so the realisation that he is one of the people Uther, the father of the person he literally LIVES for, has wronged appears to almost shock him slightly.
LESSONS
I think the audience learns that Gwen has grown to become more pragmatic through her quite frequent experience of seemingly hopeless situations. Again, in reference to Season 1, an obvious parallel to draw is Gwen’s first sorcery accusation – happens to us all quite regularly, you know! – there she is so much more resigned to her fate. Although she does talk of taking care of Arthur when she’s gone, she jumps at the chance of telling Merlin about Morgana and her frustrated sigh after Merlin leaves seems to me less of a preparing-to-die sigh and more of a how-do-I-fix-this. The fact that I am now analysing the different types of sighs is probably a signal to shut up so I’ll leave that one there😂.
Merlin learns that not only will he continue to receive no gratitude from Arthur for everything he does for him, Gwen, as long as she is unaware of the magic and destiny, will also not be able to thank him. I love the Gwen and Merlin relationship here, and I thank think the contrast of how easy they are together and how much Merlin does for her in this episode, without her knowledge emphasises the pain that she has no idea of the burden he carries. Perhaps this speaks to future seasons *ominous spoiler music* where Merlin has many more Camelot friends who he has to conceal his true self and hard work from, and the tragedy of them never knowing the extent of his loyalty.
LESSONS OVER
Quick note, as always the acting is amazing in this one! Although I do have to admit it’s not my favourite Arthur we get, Bradley is clearly putting so much into his performance and it really moves me. Colin is incredible, the shift from Merlin to Dragoon is so impressive that their played by the same actor – if I didn’t know, I don’t think I would have guessed. I have to say I find Dragoon hilarious, but perhaps a bit much at points – the parts that really work for me are when I can really hear “Merlin” in him: it’s chilling. And Angel – wow. I absolutely loved both her and Gwen in this one. The moment that really got me was when she says to Uther “My Father was a good and innocent man and you executed him” – my mind was simultaneously saying “GO GWEN” and wanting to sob for how much she has endured.
Thank you so much for another brilliant episode of D&C!
16th November 2020 @ 5:28 am
Just to chip in on the handwriting stories. We had to learn to write in fountain pen from the very start. We never used pencil and had to learn cursive.
I am actually glad for all that. Some of my student’s handwriting is so atrocious and I wish someone HAD taught them.
But the one experience that still sticks very vividly in my mind is that once, apparently, I hadn’t done my homework with enough care and the letters were all inconsistent and smudged. (I don’t actually remember what I did. I’m trying to make sense of it.) Then my teacher ripped out the pages on front of everyone and threw them into the bin.
That was a little traumatic.
16th November 2020 @ 3:11 pm
wow. way to traumatised a child….
17th November 2020 @ 9:36 am
Yep. That was in year two and it has remained my worst moment in school to this day.
16th November 2020 @ 3:11 pm
–there’s this sort of glint in Katie’s eye which I think speaks to her new desire for the throne and the self righteous claim that it should be hers. I don’t love that that is Morgana’s character now, but if accepting that it is, I think it really works. It also sounds a bit like something Morgause would say – just with “the throne” instead of “Gwen” – and I like the subtle nod to her influence on Morgana.—
I do think Katie deserves a huge amount of credit for the amount of work she had to put into Morgana as a character, to give her even just the slightest amount of logic and consistency and yes, moments like the one you describe are absolutely the sort of thing that I think you find all over the show, and the logic that katie has spun together on what happened to morgana off camera and between episodes and seasons kind of thing, which she used to try and work into interviews all the time, too. and yeah, I don’t think she got enough cred for how hard she had it and how much she tried!!
I think there’s an overall… thing that they try to do with choices and what that means for different characters, and I don’t know whether they were doing it intentionally or not, or whether it just kind of happened. because the tension between the huge destiny and paths that are pre written and ends of stories that are pre written and merlin over the course of the show trying to change the future and not managing it or realising that it doesn’t matter whether he does change it or not, because his interpretation of the future may not have been the correct one in the first place (what he saw in the crystal cave 100% came to pass, morgan standing over uther’s bed and striking with the dagger, it was just that a second later, merlin blew the window out and stopped her, and he didn’t see that part) – so i think there’s a huge debate in there, which we could absolutely have, but I’m just not entirely sure that the show thought about it or is in any way ready to have this debate, so I’m not sure tracking it through the episodes wouldn’t just lead to endless frustration lol
–I have to say, I love Merlin’s “You have wronged so many people, in so many ways” – it is so beautifully delivered and it makes me cry every time. —
I completely agree, it is absolutely stunning and i wish that was the old merlin we would get all the way through!!! Colin is so good in those grave, heavy moments.
and yeah, it does feel like he’s literally only just realising it as he says it. which makes sense when you think about it, doesn’t it? because as you say merlin belong at arthur’s side and pretty much nowhere else, that’s what he has to focus on and it’s what he’s decided his life is for, which means he can’t actaully let himself stop and think what he is sacrificing and allowing to happen all around him, to bring this future he dreams of about, and it’s like being someone else allows him to stop for the first time, and it’s actually the first time he can think about it and acknowledge the wrongs that uther has done, and continues to do…
M Xx
17th November 2020 @ 9:58 pm
Hey – just on your thoughts about characters believing in having a choice – or not. I have a document somewhere on my computer, created at a time when I was far less busy, and it’s called ‘Merlin characters having no choice’. It marks all the times when any character expresses the idea that they had no choice or there was no other way, etc.
I look at it as the worst and most lazy moments of Merlin script writing, because you could use that line to pretty much excuse anything. I like your idea that Arthur and Gwen might not subscribe to this fatalistic moral view. At least not yet. They may not ever and remain autonomous and hopeful instead…
15th November 2020 @ 1:57 pm
Suggested subtitle for this episode: Morgana enters a lot of rooms, talks, leaves and all hell breaks loose.
The reason the tavern joke doesn’t work and never will work is because the writers, clearly, aren’t aware how much we are on the side of Merlin and how much we care for him. How can they expect us to laugh about this when it is really just another area where Merlin will be treated unfairly without the means to justify himself! I HATE THE TAVERN ‘JOKE’!
I’ve had some thoughts on Morgana’s dream at the start and your comments on it. Rather than a dream, I see it as a vision provided by Destiny, comparable to what Merlin received in the Crystal Cave. Then, Merlin was given just the right snippets and viewpoints to move him to action and to make sure he eventually fails, to make everything worse, make himself more culpable and incite Morgana to become more evil and persistent in her revenge on her father and everyone else. However, like in Morgana’s vision this episode, what Destiny leaves out or how Destiny frames things is important. Merlin was given a close-up of Uther’s face waking up in shock so he wouldn’t see that it was because the window had smashed in and assume that Morgana would stab the king. This episode, Destiny ensures that Morgana experiences the crowning ceremony in such a light that she feels riled and compelled to move to action. I always assumed that Morgana moves against Gwen because of the actual crown she wears in the dream/vision. That’s the official Queen’s crown and there is only one. (SPOILER: We will see later that Morgana does not wear Uther’s but the Queen’s crown.)
I also have a short(ish) note on the pastiche of villainy which you mentioned that we are now persistently getting with Morgana. Considering our lack of information about Morgana’s development or motivation to get her to this evil state where she basically wants all her old friends dead perhaps the show uses the pastiche here as a shorthand to ‘provide’ those kind of answers. Why is Morgana now intending to destroy all of Camelot? Why does she want to rule? Why does she want Arthur dead? (I am excluding questions about Uther – I get her hatred of Uther.) Well, she is evil now and evil people like and want evil things. But seeing that that is the kind of explanation you give to three-year old children, the show is being both patronising/ dismissive/ evasive and we basically end up in the same spot: we: with questions, the show: refusing to provide credible answers.
Now, Dragoon! Before you rip me to shreds, I want to say that I do laugh about Dragoon. He is a funny character and does comedy very well. But I find myself just about as baffled as Morgana by this unfamiliar man that just popped up out of nowhere – and possibly slightly disturbed. Personally, I do not, at all, recognise the young Merlin under the make-up and hair. I don’t recognise the eyes, I don’t recognise anything. They could have gotten in another older actor to play this part and it wouldn’t have made a difference to me. Perhaps only in that I wouldn’t get so disturbed by the fact that I KNOW that it’s Colin Morgan under all those prosthetics and that I SHOULD be recognising the appearance, voice or character of young Merlin in the old man but I don’t.
I think they have just pushed it too far. The prosthetics are actually amazing (apart from the young eyes that hardly any film or series ever really gets right). They alone would have been enough to convince me that Merlin has successfully aged himself. But then the character of young Merlin seems to be gone as well. Without a trace. I get that Old Merlin would be different, would have matured (if we believe that this really is Old Merlin with all his experiences etc. so late in his life) but even just before my grandma died, her childhood friends would comment on the fact that she was just as good a story-teller or as naughty a joker as when they had first met when they were kids! There is something at the core of people’s character that is uniquely theirs, consistent and always recognisable. And it simply hasn’t been maintained in Old Merlin.
I know lots of people have commented on Colin’s amazing voice acting and I agree. But I also think it was pushed too far. I cannot recognise young Merlin’s voice in Dragoon’s. He even seems to shape his words differently (which might be the prosthetics) and it yet again creates an unnecessary distance from the young character. In fact, the one scene where I am not weirded out by Dragoon and convinced that he and young Merlin are the same is when he talks to Gaius in the dungeon. When Old Merlin cries, I can actually hear Colin’s voice and it gives me just enough connection to the young character to make it work. That’s all I would have needed: Colin not pushing his voice to be so unrecognisable. But sadly, it’s only this once.
Apart from this grievance, my favourite bit of the episode are all the scenes between Merlin and Gwen. They are so good that I don’t even miss Elyan in this episode. I also want to live in Gwen’s house: it is so homely and functional, has everything she needs, isn’t cluttered but still decorative. It so perfectly resembles her character’s creativity, resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and style.
Lessons:
I learn that every person needs someone in their lives who looks at them the way Merlin does when he sees Gwen and says, “You look lovely.” I agree that there is no flirtation between them, only pure friendship. And yet, this is pretty much the only moment when I could actually ship Merlin and Gwen.
We learn that guards in Camelot can be very easily bribed to a) No longer guard the Crown Prince whom the king himself ordered to have under watch 24/7, b) Allow Merlin to see, plot with and give food to a condemned sorceress, c) Allow Gaius to see and plot with a condemned sorcerer. There is no other explanation!
We learn that Old Merlin either has lost part of his magical powers or is slightly forgetful. Otherwise, why doesn’t he magic himself out of the cell to hide out somewhere until Gaius can complete the potion to turn him back into our Merlin? But then later, after having just set an entire pyre ablaze, Old Merlin falters and is nearly caught because of a locked door! So, maybe locked doors will be a problem for Merlin later in life. Sigh – most powerful sorcerer of all time and all that…
We learn that Gaius actively tries to make Merlin more miserable – and I am not just talking about the tavern comment here. He tells Old Merlin that the potion will take longer to brew than he fears Merlin has. But it absolutely doesn’t. Gaius manages to produce at least 4 different versions of the potion in one night – he just doesn’t get it right until the last time. But the actual brewing time does not include time for people getting the recipe wrong. Otherwise my first cake recipe would have read: preparation and baking time: 4 years!
We learn that Merlin is a sorcerer stupid enough to be caught planting a poultice – actually, we’ve learned many times that Merlin is a sorcerer stupid enough to risk pretty much anything for his friends and it won’t be the last time. (On a sad note: I guess that’s what makes it so easy for Destiny to exploit him.)
We learn that Destiny definitely knows which buttons to push to get both Merlin and Morgana to dance like puppets and that it wants both of them to fail and end up more isolated and miserable at the end. Even the prophecies written long ago (and all the prophecy-spouting characters) are basically part of this big plan. What a fatalistic world view. Thanks, show!
Arthur learns that being a better person for Gwen, being the person Gwen loves and desires, may not be the ideal of a romantic knight of old stories who is swept off his feet with emotion. I believe that he really tried to match up to this ideal in this episode, thinking that this would be her expectation. In old romance stories, it’s incredible how many times someone comes upon a couple or lady in the middle of the forest, usually reclining, dining or sleeping surrounding by lush cushions, tents and all the delectable edibles that medieval writers could think up. And the couple, or the knight who finds the lady usually, end(s) up swept off their feet, diverted from their path of destiny (wanting to become a farmer?) and, sadly, usually enchanted. (If Uther knows these stories, you can understand where he is coming from. Also, He’s Uther!) Whereas I actually really enjoy the Arthur who acts like he comes straight out of those stories (and the picnic is shot as this super-saturated, high romance magical dream scene), Arthur (and I) has to learn that this ideal is not what Gwen wishes from him. I love the scene at the end when she basically reiterates that he actually can be who he is with her, that is, both Arthur and the future King of Camelot. And he can be that both at a romantic picnic AND also within the walls of Camelot. He doesn’t have to try and match up to any fictional ideal. Just he, Arthur, himself, with all his faults, virtues and princely baggage, is what Gwen loves. Only for now, they have to love secretly.
We (once again) learn that the Merlin writers and producers are absolutely THE BEST at creating an episode with so many moments were everything SHOULD change forever after and nothing actually does, everyone ends up in the same spot as before. Even Morgana simply gives up on the whole ‘get rid of Gwen’ plan. Only Merlin’s reputation with regards to taverns is damaged forever after – because that was clearly the only worthwhile thing to take forward. ☹
16th November 2020 @ 3:33 pm
i may be being mean to 8 year old boys, but I do always think of 8 year old boys when I try and work out who the range of ‘family audience’ includes, and in my head, they all think arthur is the best, and the meaner arthur is to merlin, the funnier it is. which, when you think about it, is just the saddest thing and really shouldn’t be what we promote on television, anyway… meh.
— I always assumed that Morgana moves against Gwen because of the actual crown she wears in the dream/vision. That’s the official Queen’s crown and there is only one. (SPOILER: We will see later that Morgana does not wear Uther’s but the Queen’s crown.)–
that’s an intersting spoiler detail we can’t talk about, but yeah, that makes…. some sense. still not in regards to morgana’s motivations and all that (you know, the small stuff haha) but defintiely in regards to Gwen. Still odd, as what Morgana definitely doesn’t want is to rule alongside Arthur, so it still doesn’t quite work, and I don’t think any extra emphasis the episode could have put on gwen or gwen’s crown would have made it make a lot of sense… but yeah, the spoiler detail definitely gives it some additional meat it didn’t have before, thanks!
–Well, she is evil now and evil people like and want evil things. But seeing that that is the kind of explanation you give to three-year old children, the show is being both patronising/ dismissive/ evasive and we basically end up in the same spot: we: with questions, the show: refusing to provide credible answers.–
LOL that could be the subtitle of EVERY merlin episode lol
–Perhaps only in that I wouldn’t get so disturbed by the fact that I KNOW that it’s Colin Morgan under all those prosthetics and that I SHOULD be recognising the appearance, voice or character of young Merlin in the old man but I don’t.–
oh no! I mean… I’m really not the right person to ask because hell, someone grows a beard and I forget who they are, so I am not ideally suited to trying to figure out if someone does or does not look like themselves, really… hell, I spend half my life spotting people on the street that I think look like Ruth, and she’s like my most favourite human in the whole wide world…
In regards to his character… I really wish there was any explanation we get for who he is and why he’s like this. Whether it is an actual aging spell and whatever happened in the subsequent 60 years of his life, it changed him… or whether this is just someone else. As alluded to in the episode (and I think mentoned a few times in comments i’ve skim read on email but not got round to reading properly yet) i’m SPOILERS SPOILERS going to have way more problems with it in later episodes, than i do here, but yeah, I don’t understand what happens to Merlin when he becomes Dragoon and I mostly wanted to float the idea that he has genuinly aged and “lived through” the next 60 years at this point, so I could refer back to it in S4 and S5 and see, if it in any way holds up… (spoilers, I don’t think it will lol)
–I know lots of people have commented on Colin’s amazing voice acting and I agree. But I also think it was pushed too far. I cannot recognise young Merlin’s voice in Dragoon’s. He even seems to shape his words differently (which might be the prosthetics) and it yet again creates an unnecessary distance from the young character.–
the speaking around / wish massive prosthetics obviously is always a beat in itself… and i also wonder about the insanely constricted filming schedule and just how little time colin will have actually had, to create and get used to this character… but there’s also a bit of me that’s wondering how much of this relates to the general dramatic change in voice colin had around this time, anyway. I always joked that Merlin’s voice has finally broken, and obviously that’s not what it is, but I think it’s season 4 where Merlin speak for the first time and it genuinly made me go ????? because his voice was so dramatically different. I remember at the time trying to adjust the volume on the tv, because I thought it must have gone skew-y that way.
–Apart from this grievance, my favourite bit of the episode are all the scenes between Merlin and Gwen. They are so good that I don’t even miss Elyan in this episode.–
completely agree, merlin is a wonderful best friend / brother character for gwen, which is why you totally forget that gwen HAS a brother, who lives down the road somewhere, and yeah, Ruth pointed it out and is was like OMG! you’re totally right! she has one of those!! because yeah, I wasn’t missing him, either lol
M Xx
17th November 2020 @ 10:12 pm
i may be being mean to 8 year old boys –
I don’t think you are. If the Merlin writers and producers have sat down and thought about how to make this more appealing to children, they would undoubtedly have tried to find a reference point from their own lives. And since that team was almost exclusively comprised of men, themselves as 8-year old boys would definitely have been a very possible reference point.
Also, nope, even with that extra detail about the Queen’s crown that Morgana desires, it still makes no sense. You said it in a different comment but I cannot even imagine how disappointing and difficult it must have been for Katie McGrath to feel her character so abandonded by the scripts and story and how hard she tried to get her undermotivated and flat character off the page. I think the reason that anyone at all cares for Morgana lies in the effort Katie put in. Kudos to Katie!
but there’s also a bit of me that’s wondering how much of this relates to the general dramatic change in voice colin had around this time, anyway. –
You know, it’s really funny (and maybe this goes back to me not being able to recognise young Merlin under old Merlin make-up), I actually never fully picked up on the way Colin dropped his voice in the later seasons. (I assume it was consciously and not because something ACTUALLY happened to Colin Morgan’s voice?! Does something happen to male voices when they are around 25?) All I noticed was that he was overall more grown-up, a young man, as the dragon says. Only in re-watching the series did I actually pick up on it.
Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate that every week you sit down and read and respond to all of our semi-lucid remarks. That must take you ages.
18th November 2020 @ 12:16 am
Wow, I also thought the voice change was intentional! 😀 Also, I always assumed that Colin had a higher voice when doing a standard English accent, but must have changed it at some point. I listened to some early interviews for reference and compared them to the newer ones, and I must say, I can’t hear the difference of pitch when he speaks in his own accent! I mean, he plays with his voice a lot, and he’s done so many different accents over the years (and I find it that many people who do accents / speak foreign languages perfectly, change the tone of their voice while switching, it must have something to do with perfect pitch I guess), maybe it sometimes influences his own voice?
18th November 2020 @ 1:37 am
it’s certainly something I am aware of that my voice sounds completely different when I speak english, then when I speak german, then when I speak swiss, and if you are changing accents within the same language there must be (concious or subconcious) change in register, just to help you differentiate between accents in your own head maybe?
18th November 2020 @ 1:42 am
also, just FYI, I am NOT funny in german. that’s another thing I learned at some point. I’m only funny in English lol
18th November 2020 @ 10:04 am
I can’t believe that Michelle! Maybe the Swiss or German-speaking people just don’t get your humour because it has become more British. I find that all the time: I’ll make a joke out say something I would think should make people laugh, and my friends just look at me blankly.
18th November 2020 @ 1:42 am
yeah, I assume nothing happened to him that affected his vocal chords… surely we would know, if it had??
Though he did do that one acting thing where he had to smoke a cigarette… maybe it changed his voice forever hahaha
I don’t know whether it was because of the season change and the long wait and then how season 4 opened quite so dramatically different to season 3 in tone… but also I guess the fact that I would have been watching him do promo stuff in the off season and he (even at that time, when you could tell he kind of started to get tired of the press rounds) still tended to do that slightly over excited getting a bit babbly and squeaky thing in his own accent, when he really got into an answer or a topic that was being discussed… so maybe it was also just the shock of having him back in his merlin voice. Whereas on this rewatch I’m actually realising that the sage like merlin comes out on and off throughout season 3 and I will be fascinated to see whether S4 opener is still going to be quite such a O_O moment for me haha
–I really appreciate that every week you sit down and read and respond to all of our semi-lucid remarks.–
<3 <3 <3
15th November 2020 @ 12:18 am
LESSONS:
Yeah, things escalate a bit too fast in this episode! But the lesson I got out of it is that Arthur learns he’s not cut out to be a romance-hero and it doesn’t pay to be one. He momentarily attempts to be this hero, declaring he loves Guinevere -something that I don’t remember him saying to Gwen herself- and that he’ll give up the throne for her. Once he’s past keeping the secret, he is openly defiant –like he’s done being the rational, perfect knight. It’s almost as if running away from Camelot to be free becomes his self-fulfilling prophesy.
But then his romance-hero behaviour gets him and Gwen nowhere. So when Dragoon intervenes, he takes advantage of it and once again follows his original instinct to keep his true feelings quiet. He also learns that he can love certain people as much as he loves Camelot, and that if it comes down to something drastic he’s willing to relinquish the throne for them. I don’t find it too strange what he says to Gwen at the end; it shows he’s willing to leave for her but knows it’s not something that should be done lightly. So he re-learns love is something you have to persevere with quietly rather than try to be those heroes and do impulsive things.
Other comments:
Merlin is such an awesome best-mate this episode. Also, I really like the balance between the confident Arthur checking out Gwen or seducing her with the wasp (he totally paid that wasp!) and the nervous, ‘don’t know what to do when she’s around’ behaviour. What bothers me is his response to the ‘temptations of serving girls’. Why doesn’t he correct Uther that Gwen isn’t a ‘temptation’? That he wants a committed relationship with her. It’s like he’s admitting she’s one of his careless flings, or he is so innocent that he doesn’t understand what kind of liaison Uther is referring to. I suppose the latter is sweet but frustrating. Likewise, it would have made more sense if Arthur shouted ‘I will always love HER’ to make a stance to Uther rather than say it to Gwen when being pulled away.
15th November 2020 @ 10:48 am
–Why doesn’t he correct Uther that Gwen isn’t a ‘temptation’? —
very good point. really just another level on which that scene just doesn’t quite work and isn’t balanced/written quite right. which is a shame, because it’s such as fun scene, and could have been amazing, with a couple of script tweaks.
M Xx
14th November 2020 @ 5:41 pm
Despite some of the flaws in this episode it’s one of my personal favourites and is definitely one of the ones that immediately springs to mind when I think of series 3. Why Morgana doesn’t just let Arthur leave with Gwen is pretty baffling, however, I do really like how scheming she is in the way she plays Uther and Arthur – some top notch evilling right there! For me, this was always the point where I knew for certain that Morgana was beyond the point of no return, especially in the way that she no longer holds on to any sense of the close friendship that her and Gwen once shared.
I think the numerous stupid decisions and things that Arthur says in this episode reflect how head over heels he is for Gwen which ultimately reveals to us what his true weakness/downside is as every hero has one unfortunately and this is the source of his irrational behaviour.
I think the scene between Uther and Arthur in the council chambers is really interesting. Uther starts off laughing and joking because he thinks Arthur was just having a fling which is something he can relate to and understand. However, when Arthur declares that he is serious about Gwen, Uther goes through a serious gear change and I love how Anthony Head plays this. I think the reason it is quite severe is because Arthur being “in love” has caused issues in the past – e.g. with Sofia in series 1 and Lady Vivian in series 2. I think Uther is trying to stamp out the potential for any future problems by banishing Gwen because of the threat he thinks it poses to the kingdom. As brutal and quick a decision it is, Uther is just trying to eradicate the situation and what it may turn in to by removing Gwen from the picture, showing that he is very much a king who rules with his head rather than his heart.
An overall note for this whole episode is how much I rate the acting! I think its a particularly stellar job from all the core cast members, especially in the throne room scene when Gwen is sentenced to death – everyone works really well together I feel and there’s so many levels to it so its a scene that has always stood out for me.
LESSONS
We learn that Gwen is more gutsy than we originally thought. The way she stands up to Uther in the throne room about him executing her father is very brave given the situation that she is in and isn’t necessarily behaviour that we might have seen from her back in series 1 or 2. Perhaps she has developed this defiance from Arthur as they have grown closer over the last year or she feels comfortable saying it because her situation is so desperate as it is and she is holding on to the sense of hope that Arthur comes to her aid.
I think Merlin also learns to give more credit to Arthur for noticing things about him and not being totally oblivious about everything. When Merlin becomes Dragoon he doesn’t think Arthur will recognise him at all but he does in fact notice a sense of familiarity in his eyes showing that he probably pays more attention than he lets on. I think this is why he tries to knock Arthur out with a helmet and run away, meaning that yes his great plan to save Gwen won’t work because there are no witnesses except Arthur, but could maybe be explained by the panic that he may have been feeling when Arthur felt like he recognised him so his on-the-spot decision was to just abort and get out of there as quickly as possible!
Thanks again for a great podcast! 😀
15th November 2020 @ 11:06 am
— I do really like how scheming she is in the way she plays Uther and Arthur – some top notch evilling right there! For me, this was always the point where I knew for certain that Morgana was beyond the point of no return, especially in the way that she no longer holds on to any sense of the close friendship that her and Gwen once shared.–
we’ve got the same coming up in 3×11 as well, where there is literally no pretense anymore of any niceness but her evilling is simultaniously super low key and i totally get why (definitely uther, maybe not so much arthur) it doesn’t get noticed as anything other than ‘sibling teasing’, as it were. I actually really like this stage morgana, that’s ruthless, good at what she does, but super limited in her abilities to do it. It feels very true to women in medieval times and the lack of power they had, and therefore the round about ways they had to go to enact what they wanted to enact.
— I think the reason it is quite severe is because Arthur being “in love” has caused issues in the past —
yeah, that’s fair. that Uther does know about how much of a romantic Arthur is – or has been made out to be, even though he was enchanted for half the things that uther “knows” about him… it could actually be super interesting to do another watch through and track how many times uther or arthur don’t learn that something was because of magic, and therefore, what do they actually think of each other and people in camelot as a whole. hmmmm.
like, there’s a lot of awesome fanfic where arthur sees the scars, cuts, burns, and bruises on Merlin and stops to go ‘wtf do you do?? your job isn’t that dangerous’ and the magic reveal kind of comes out that way. and there is absolutely that. but there’s also so many times where merlin and gaius (sometimes merlin, gaius, and arthur) keep stuff from uther, and obviously there’s tonnes of stuff M&G keep from arthur. and then there’s all those times where gaius says we can’t just go and tell arthur something is magic, so we have to find a different way of dealing with this thing… and because us as the audience are always with merlin, we know, so I think it is super easy to forget just how much individual characters in the show do or don’t know.
sorry. rant. lol
M Xx
14th November 2020 @ 3:28 am
General thoughts:
Really do love this episode! Probably more for the potential it has than for it’s actual execution, but it also has some really lovely moments (Arthur and Gwen’s date is just the sweetest and most dreamy and it’s all so lovely even the build up just gahhhh).
I also love that Arthur literally says he has a dream to live on farm to escape the pressure he feels in his life and obviously Merlin lives with him and it’s so casual and just wow they really are inseparable and it’s so sweet (even if he says it in a bit of a teasy-jokey way we know it’s true that he would totally bring Merlin with him).
I also love the easy affection between Merlin and Gwen. Every time it comes up it is so sweet and they play it so well – it reminds me of the Eye of the Phoenix where Gwen just pops up behind Merlin and rests her chin on his shoulder and they have a wee joke about Arthur and it’s so affectionate and warm and just the best.
I also think in this episode Morgana has a more successful portrayal and conviction in her manipulation of Uther than we have seen or really ever will see again – she plays it really genuinely and the sneaky smirk is kept to a minimum – same with how she plays Arthur, it’s just much more effective than a lot of the other times we see her freelance eviling (although I am confused as to why she didn’t just let Arthur leave with Gwen…? Surely that would solve a lot of her problems?)
I did love how when Merlin is de-aged he really did seem like he was super hungover and out of it and I feel that part of the comedy worked (but big boo to Gaius for being the worst and even making the tavern suggestion in the first place – and then lying about it at the end like come on. It’s really not funny and I just don’t get the gag)
I did also love how world-weary old Merlin was and how he began to speak of the pain and suffering Uther had caused before the comedy angle towards Arthur completely derailed that – it seemed a bit of a missed opportunity to have a serious conversation about the trauma Uther has spread. It also would have been a great moment to delve a little into Uther’s character further, and have him really be confronted with the pure agony he has created among so many people, and yet still condemn Merlin – especially with Arthur in the room, I just think that would have been a really great conversation for Arthur to witness and learn from and further distance him from his father.
Finally Michelle you right – no one who actually mucks out stables ends up covered in it, honestly what is Merlin even up to?
LESSONS
Gwen learns that Morgana’s change in loyalties extends not only to Arthur and wanting to prevent him from becoming king, but also to others close to Arthur. She learns that herself and all who stand by Arthur in his destiny are endangered by her. Gwen also keeps these cards close to her chest, which totally makes sense as far as not letting Morgana become aware she is in the know, but really she should be confiding in Arthur at this point, and is allowing him to be in even more danger by not speaking to him. Despite not going to Arthur afterwards, I think after confiding in Gaius previously, and Merlin now (who actually did something to get her out, which she must guess he was involved somehow even without knowing he was the sorcerer) she has hopefully learned that there are those in Camelot she can still trust, and who will protect both her and Arthur in the future.
Merlin learns that he really does have some extraordinary powers, being able to pull of a complex spell so successfully, but I hope he also learns not to be too blasé about such complex powers. It would be great if Merlin learnt to hopefully prepare more fully when dealing with new and complicated magic in the future, or at least practice and hone his skills before attempting similar spells so he can avoid dangerous and reckless situations such as he found himself in this episode.
Arthur is maybe starting to learn how much Uther will put his reputation and his kingdom before anything else. We have seen him slaughter magic users because of his own blindness, pride and fear. We have seen him send Arthur into battles or on quests he can seemingly not possibly return from. We have also seen him attempt to sacrifice Arthur’s happiness and heart for the prosperity kingdom before, and now we seem him sacrificing the same for the Pendragon reputation. We know Uther does love Arthur (despite his emotional constipation), but there is certainly a pattern present where the happiness of Uther’s family does not outweigh his responsibilities or reputation as king (he even will not claim Morgana as his child, presumably because of the shame of having his name tied to an illegitimate daughter). Arthur has already expressed he believes good leadership, for him, comes from being good and true in himself first. It will be interesting to see if this pattern emerges again in the future, and how it might further distance Arthur and his father in the types of leaders they are and will be.
15th November 2020 @ 12:41 am
I really like gutsy-Gwen in this episode. I do wish she was a bit less passive at the end scene -as in it was Arthur who initiates the debriefing. In the past, I didn’t always believe her gutsy moments, like when she stood up to Hengist. But her retort at Uther (“someone like you would never understand”) was much sharper and awesome!
16th November 2020 @ 3:39 pm
–I also love that Arthur literally says he has a dream to live on farm to escape the pressure he feels in his life and obviously Merlin lives with him and it’s so casual and just wow they really are inseparable and it’s so sweet (even if he says it in a bit of a teasy-jokey way we know it’s true that he would totally bring Merlin with him).–
he would be bored out of his brain even in a best case scenario, but at least with merlin there, he would have some entertainment… it may mean he’d make it an extra month or two maybe lol
— it reminds me of the Eye of the Phoenix where Gwen just pops up behind Merlin and rests her chin on his shoulder–
YES! casual physical intimacy is like… THE BEST!!!!
–it seemed a bit of a missed opportunity to have a serious conversation about the trauma Uther has spread. —
I wonder whether they just felt it would be too heavy for the family friendly show, or whether they were worried they wouldn’t be able to pull merlin back from it, once he was young again and was going to have to continue to deal with uther being king and having to continue turning a blind eye to the fight against magic 🙁
–Finally Michelle you right – no one who actually mucks out stables ends up covered in it, honestly what is Merlin even up to?–
even people who don’t, don’t end up looking like this. I have taught hundreds of work experience students who have NEVER held a pitchfork even once in their lives, and no one has ever ended up with poo on their face. grrrr.
M Xx
13th November 2020 @ 5:54 pm
Despite it’s more general flaws, this episode held up so much better than I expected! I loved particularly the first half- I’m not quite sure why but the whole feeling was just better with everyone being sensible and on form (or maybe a little love-y in Arthur’s case).
One thing that struck me was Morgana turning away from Gwen to the window. Characters in Merlin are often in that same position, but I think Morgana probably the most, and often the camera is behind the glass. It’s quite telling of how separate she feels from everyone, and the way she looks out is as if she is watching Morgause or some saviour to come along and take her away. Of course, it is her that puts herself in that position- walking to the window. The thing is that she has to look away from everyone to feel separate because if she looked back she would see friends that would support her (I think this is more true before this episode). it’s just going back to how she has isolated herself.
I share your annoyance with Arthur this episode and I think his whole farmer tangent he went on with Gwen was really cute, but it felt so ingenue and out of character, almost insulting to Gwen? She has helped him become a better person so the least he could do is be that person around her- but I understand maybe it was just a silly daydream.
LESSONS
When Arthur is waiting Uther to come and give him what for, he is met instead with laughter and relief. Obviously it’s funny to Uther that he embarrassed his son by walking in on him having a silly little fling. He reacts as though Arthur has passed a rite of passage into manhood . I think the relief comes from Uther learning that his son has faults- that he is a bit dramatic and has a big heart and I think Uther is glad to know that Arthur is not perfect. we’ve has Uther telling Arthur what to do a million times, but at the end of the day I think Uther does believe in him, and that part of this ordering-about he does comes from his own insecurity. We learn that Uther felt a little inferior to Arthur- he wasn’t making the same mistakes Uther did, but now he has, Uther feels less pressure and less threatened.
Gwen has learnt before that her and Arthur’s relationship can never be just about or for themselves, but I think this episode she unfortunately learns that sometimes she can be a hinderance/ distraction for Arthur. He is very irrational in this episode and she is aware of it- she brings him back to reality both when he talks about the farmer dream and when she asks whether he really would have relinquished his place on the throne for her. I don’t think think she particularly likes this role, yet then again she is always just happy to be with Arthur, and nevertheless it is a role we have seen her in before and one that is often necessary. With the knowledge that their being together would harm both herself and Arthur, she is at peace with the idea of just dropping it for now, she believes his own future is more important and can’t bear to be in the way of that.
16th November 2020 @ 3:43 pm
I think they get away with the farmer thing, because it is so clear to us, but mostly to gwen, that it is a silly day dream and doesn’t actually mean anything. and I do like that we have reached a point where arthur is just convinced that gwen is it for him, no matter the consequences and troubles it’s going to cause. I like that as a progression from the constant ‘can we, can’t we’ and ‘we mustn’t be in love, our love has no future!!!’ from previous episodes… but yeah, arthur would last 3 weeks as a farmer in the lonely countryside, it’s ridiculoud, and it’s only okay to say it, because gwen wouldn’t let him, anyway!!
M Xx
13th November 2020 @ 4:45 pm
Another note.
I’ve always read the line where he tells Arthur what he thinks as more him struggling and trying to find something he actually finds problematic about Arthur and all he can come up with are minor annoyances and pet peeves. That he thinks so well of Arthur that he just tells him what he already would say to his face. But that’s just my read of it.
13th November 2020 @ 7:04 pm
I really like this theory! I also think that when Merlin complains to Arthur about how he treats him, it’s always within the boundaries of their mutual banter – so maybe Arthur doesn’t always take it seriously? Whereas as Dragoon he is, as far as Arthur is concerned, a different person, and has no reason to be joking about this.
13th November 2020 @ 8:21 pm
Thanks! And Yes I agree!
13th November 2020 @ 8:13 am
Despite its issues this is one of my favorite episodes along with the fisher king episode and a couple others. It’s mostly because on my first viewing this was such an emotional roller coaster for me for some reason.
LESSONS
Merlin did research!! He learned a new conduit for his magic use.
Gwen and Arthur learned what would happen if Uther found out their feelings for each other and that it’s best to resume secrecy for the time being.
Morgana learned the existence of a doddery old man who may or may not become a nuisance to her plans.
Gaius hopefully learned to be more careful about what he says or innocent people may get convicted.
GENERAL THOUGHTS.
So I really liked Dragoon and typically find him funny but now that you’ve made me think about it he sort of is a wasted opportunity and could’ve been better. The comic timing is great though, and his wrath towards Uther is both chilling and satisfying.
Everything about the picnic scene is lovely! I love Merlin’s bird call, and Arthur checking his reflection then getting all flushed. Gwen is so very lovely and the scenery and lighting make her look glowing like a Princess.
I love Arthur’s little scolding reminding her that she’s not here to be a servant.
Morgana’s motivation is a quite confusing. Her, and everyone’s general bafflement at Dragoon is great though.
Now that you’ve pointed it out I’m a bit cross that Elyan isn’t here. I would’ve liked to see his involvement in Gwen’s life and it feels a bit weird that he’s not there considering there resolution in the castle of fyrien.
Gaius is the worst.
I like how defiant and brave is with Uther. She says some pretty gusty stuff and I’m proud of her for having that confidence and general competency as a character.
That moment where Arthur is angry and says “you probably couldn’t keep a secret if your life depended on it!” And Merlin replies with “you’d be surprised!” And then gives up is quite sad. In this situation Arthur is rightfully distressed but Merlin has proved his loyalty and it must hurt that Arthur thinks it could be his fault. I can feel his indignation and then resignation in that moment.
And he still goes above and beyond to set things right because that’s what Merlin does. Even when Arthur thinks him incompetent.
I never thought about it but now I hate the lack of communication and transparency for the characters. The fact that the main reason Morgana hasn’t been found out with Arthur is that NO ONE WILL TELL HIM ANYTHING should never be how villains and plots work. But unfortunately I know it continues. I just wish it didn’t.
I hope I didn’t leave anything out. I have a lot of feelings about this one. 😅
13th November 2020 @ 6:00 pm
I also think it’s cool that Gwen said some pretty gutsy stuff to Uther, it was nice in this episode for both her and Merlin to speak their mind to Uther. It’s a very emotional episode and this really add to the whole ‘I love you but my daddy said no’ kind of vibe? I do wish that scene where Uther slapped Gwen held a little more weight, especially for Morgana to be a little shocked. while she does love evil-ing in general, just having her not care about Gwen at all is too much.
13th November 2020 @ 8:20 pm
I just realized I forgot to type Gwen’s name there, oops. But yes I fully agree! I always think Morgana’s response then is almost comically underwhelming and somehow over acting at the same time. She’s just like “mY LoRd Gwen hAs ALWAYS bEeN a LOYAL aNd FAITHFUL SERVANT.” When it the past she would’ve been fuming , but Uther is dense. But oh well🤷🏻♀️ Evil mwahahaha I guess.
16th November 2020 @ 3:48 pm
–I love Arthur’s little scolding reminding her that she’s not here to be a servant.–
super cute!!!
–Now that you’ve pointed it out I’m a bit cross that Elyan isn’t here. I would’ve liked to see his involvement in Gwen’s life and it feels a bit weird that he’s not there considering there resolution in the castle of fyrien.–
I said this above (to mary I believe? been answering too many comments lol). the problem is, merlin is such a brilliant best friend to gwen, that you don’t miss elyan, because merlin is right there and he takes on that narrative role, so genuinly, ruth pointed out that Elyan wasn’t here and it came completely out of nowhere to me, because yeah, literally never even thought about it, because gwen has support… it’s just the second you think about it, it makes no sense what so ever, that he isn’t here lol
–She says some pretty gusty stuff and I’m proud of her for having that confidence and general competency as a character.–
there is something beautiful about all of our heroes really, gwen, arthur, and Merlin alike… when something needs to be said because it’s important and true, they say it, and damn the consequences. not always a fantastic plan, because they do get punished for it, but it’s one of the things we love about all three of them. it’s also something they all bring out in each other, which I really like, too.
–I never thought about it but now I hate the lack of communication and transparency for the characters. The fact that the main reason Morgana hasn’t been found out with Arthur is that NO ONE WILL TELL HIM ANYTHING should never be how villains and plots work. But unfortunately I know it continues. I just wish it didn’t.–
same. so very much same. 🙁
M Xx
12th November 2020 @ 3:11 pm
Yes, this episode kinda feels like a mashup of two: a Gwen episode and an Old Merlin episode. Also, I’m really looking forward to the next episode! I like it and I think it’s an interesting starting point for a discussion.
Quick comments:
– the theory that this episode was supposed to come before The Eye of the Phoenix seems legit. I remember being baffled at the fact that in the Fisher King episode, Gwen has a conversation with Gaius about Morgana and figures out she’s evil now, but is again surprised here. Now it makes more sense!
– I actually really like Uther and Arthur’s conversation, the way Uther is dismissive of the whole “shagging your servant” thing, and the way Bradley delivers the line “I love Guinevere” – as if Arthur has just realized how important it really is (of course, another question is if he really only realized it now).
– I also definitely asked myself a question: what of Elyan? How far from Gwen is he? Could he help? I think the show generally tends to forget that they are brother and sister, and I think it will happen again.
– a SPOILER-y comment: Morgana sees “Dragoon” here. Next season, we’ll see her having dreams about old Emrys and trying to figure out who that guy is. Surely, she should remember her actual encounter with him?
– I like the scenes where Gaius is making the potion and checking its color with the book. Very medieval-y medicine-y.
– And lastly, a short note of appreciation for Colin’s voice acting skills. Go Colin!
LESSONS
This is a fun episode for lessons, because some of the characters learned rather confusing things!
Arthur learned either that there is this old weird sorcerer who planted a fake poultice only to help Gwen, sacrificing himself in the process (which should teach him something about magic people!) – or that his love for Gwen has somehow been enhanced by a poultice! Arthur has no reason to believe the poultice is fake. He may know he loved Gwen before and surely, this is not an enchantment like with Vivien, but who knows if he doesn’t think that his recent increase of feeling for Gwen wasn’t maybe somehow enhanced? That’s why it’s difficult for me to come up with any actual lesson regarding Arthur and Gwen’s relationship in this episode!
Morgana learns that fate probably doesn’t like her? Because, from her perspective, I’d have no idea how to explain the presence of Dragoon!
Merlin, apart from learning how to do an aging spell but not quite how to undo it, learned how it is to be an old person. I really like the hypothesis that he might have transformed himself into Old Merlin also mentally – although I, too, wish this suggestion was better planted in the episode. Also, he learns that Gaius would spare no time to make his life more difficult even when it’s already difficult enough. A tavern, indeed!
Gwen could have possibly learned the same lesson as Arthur in relation to the poultice… but she also learned that Morgana is evil, again.
13th November 2020 @ 6:13 pm
The whole confusion of the poultice is so odd. For Gwen and Arthur you can sort of excuse them looking past it because it did help them and they were so caught up in it anyway they didn’t have time to think, but the image of Morgana being like “wtf” when Dragoon shows up is hilarious, I think it would be fair enough for her to assume fate is against her- I mean Merlin is and he is her fate in many ways! The whole thing of her not recognising Emrys as Dragoon has always baffled me too. Maybe it would’ve made sense if Merlin had been using just a vanity spell for this episode rather than ageing- that might have helped balance the weight of the Old Merlin/ Gwen episode thing you mentioned.
13th November 2020 @ 7:02 pm
“Maybe it would’ve made sense if Merlin had been using just a vanity spell for this episode rather than ageing” – yes, I think it would have helped. Obviously, the way it went (I suppose) is that they used the Old Merlin device here and they liked it so much they decided to use it more in season 4 – but I really wish that we only got some change in Merlin’s appearance as a simple plot device, and made Merlin old later, exploring more the mental aspects of the spell as well. I really got fascinated by the idea Merlin changes not only physically (I think we’ll see it in season 4, Colin Morgan sometimes seems to be playing a different person when they put him in this role), and I wish it was explored upon first seeing Old Merlin.
16th November 2020 @ 3:54 pm
–I also definitely asked myself a question: what of Elyan? How far from Gwen is he? Could he help? I think the show generally tends to forget that they are brother and sister, and I think it will happen again.–
it mostly seems like the show at this point didn’t actually have any plans to bring him on board as an actual character… or maybe they contracted him for a one off episode, and then the finale, and S4, but just couldn’t work him into epsiodes inbetween? I’m not sure, but it’s all very very frustrating indeed!!
16th November 2020 @ 3:56 pm
–– a SPOILER-y comment: Morgana sees “Dragoon” here. Next season, we’ll see her having dreams about old Emrys and trying to figure out who that guy is. Surely, she should remember her actual encounter with him?–
huh. yeah, i think you’re absolutely right… I guess we’re talking time gap of a couple of years? and it was some grey haired old man that she probably didn’t look at very closely… but if nothing else, his behaviour and speech pattern and the entire WTF of it all sure is memorable, so should have been remembered! lol