Episode V.IX – With All My Heart
Join us as we discuss With All My Heart
We are getting worryingly close to the end of Season 5, so please start thinking about any feedback you want to send in for the Season 5 Round Up. Remember there will be a seperate ‘BBC Merlin Round Up’ discussing all 5 seasons that we’re going to ask for write ins for, separately.
Contact Us before the 25th November with your Season 5 thoughts.
—
Check out The List of Destiny to see where we ranked all Merlin episodes so far and write in for our Lessons Learnt game by Sunday midnight, the week after the episode airs.
Visit Poetry & Chicken to delight in our listener’s creative output.
We love hearing from listeners! Come talk to us on Twitter and Tumblr, or email us and please review us on iTunes.
If you wish to support us, you can do so from $1 a month via Patreon, or as a one off, by buying us a Ko-Fi or two. Thank you.
1st November 2021 @ 12:00 am
Rewatching this episode, I have realised that I hardly remember it. In the many structured and unstructured rewatches of the series, I think it was one of those that weren’t necessarily offensive but also wouldn’t be chosen by me to watch over so many other, better episodes. I guess it’s also the conclusion of a dumb plotline and those bother dumb and bothersome to rewatch because, in my perfectionism, I would have to rewatch the previous three episodes also. Anyway, maybe not knowing it quite so well has enabled me to be more open-minded? We shall see.
At the start, I just want to point out that in all the outdoor scenes, Colin has the most delightfully tousled hair. Obviously, there was no taming a sorcerer’s hair in strong winds of autumn. (Also always reminds me of how Harry Potter’s hair ought to have been!)
‘If I lose her, I lose everything.’ – there is some Arthur consistency here as we have already noticed in 3.10 (The Queen of Hearts) that his love for Guinevere makes Arthur the most irrational and soppy, taking away much of his competence. So, while perhaps we might have wanted to see character development, at least we can see consistency here. This state of Arthur’s is obviously also needed here as he needs to be helpless in the face of Gwen’s enchantment so that him turning to magic and relying fully on Gaius and Merlin is justifiable.
Like almost everyone here, I am such a fan of Colin Morgan’s more serious and respectable version of Dragoon/ Emrys. For me, it is in Colin’s use of the a more natural voice (recognisably Merlin’s but older), Dragoon’s very straight and confident posture (no hunching or hobbling this time) and most especially in the lighting of Dragoon (very classical chiaroscuro as you would find in many of the revered masterpieces of Western painting, immediately demanding our respect and veneration of the Dragoon persona in this scene). And it makes me mourn all the many Dragoon moments that COULD have been this great but were wasted. Once again: 6 hours in make-up for poor Colin! (I could have done without the final slasher moment though. ☹)
It’s interesting that Gaius gives Merlin tincture of belladonna to drug Gwen. That is the drug Aredian gave the women (via the eye drops for beautifying, i.e. enlarging their pupils by ancient Roman custom) so that they would have visions of toads and sorcery. It is the drug that nearly got Merlin and very nearly Gaius killed. And back then, Gwen helped to uncover Aredian’s trickery, providing the crucial idea that only women would by things that made them beautiful from the contact she had in the lower town. Now, it will in turn be used to un-enchant an evil Gwen. It is slightly ironic though that, while researching Belladonna, the use of it as a sleeping draught is not listed as one of its many uses! Nor its use for the ‘badly wounded’, as Gaius says. Gaius is such a horrible physician – he is the worst, not revealing anything about Gwen’s ordeal and how to help her until now and simply telling Merlin to find the strength he needs within him! How is that helpful – ah yes, and then making him transform into a woman and being generally mean to him.
It’s quite hilarious that Mordred recognises the Queen’s sleeve from one look whereas Merlin, in 5.7. needed several days and then a lucky coincidence washing Gwen’s cloak before recognising that the piece of cloth found in the wood belonged to it.
I do love the quick almost desperate hug Merlin gives Gaius before he and Arthur set off with Gwen. SPOILER. It reminds me of a future hug to come which makes me ugly cry every single time. Dreading it now! ☹ SPOILER END.
Once again, the show casually refers to ‘Merlin’s timekeeping’ and the belladonna having to be administered every two hours without acknowledging the impossibility of such accuracy without watches and clocks. Would it have taken so much to write ‘at dawn’ or ‘when the sun is at its zenith’?
The blocking of the scene between Mordred and Merlin at the campfire is very, very similar to the first double episode when Arthur was a way off sleeping in the snow, Merlin was sitting and Mordred was crouching down in front of him while still, somehow, towering over him. The reminder of that scene and Mordred’s part in their capture as well as the ‘Witch’s aria’ variation that is played, might be used to help us consider Mordred from Merlin’s pov, possibly explaining his almost distracted response to Mordred. He may believe everything Mordred said but cannot but be reminded of the Vates’ prophecy and the circumstances of meeting adult Mordred.
1st November 2021 @ 12:26 am
Just wanted to say sorry if some of this is un-edited and messy. I was struggling to meet the midnight deadline so simply typed and then copied and pasted without another chance to prrofread it. Hope it makes some sense.
I also had another thought about Arthur’s more irrational, helpless (in love) mode which I discussed above: perhaps his lack of competency and his reliance on others in a quest where he doesn’t have to be the leader frees up his mind to consider things for longer, hence he asks an extraordinary amount of questions about Merlin’s funny feelings and probes Mordred’s knight of Camelot excuse before he is interrupted by the Dolma. Maybe we are being unfair to Arthur when we call him oblivious. I do think Merlin is and was able to perform magic in some quite conspicuous situations and ways because he knows that Arthur, in those situations, will have a single-minded focus on being a leader, fighting the enemy, protecting his loved ones, etc. And when he is not occupied by those things, Arthur IS quite capable to question further and notice things as this episode seems to say.
1st November 2021 @ 11:31 am
Theoretically, I think that’s fine. But practically, I never actually have a problem with him not asking in depth questions in the middle of a bandit attack, while trying to save everybody’s life. That’s totally fine. But once they’re victorious… have made camp… riding back home… back in Camelot. It’s not Arthur’s fault. He’s not an idiot, he’s just written that way…
The prime example will always be accusing Agravaine of being the traitor one episode, and after agravaine says ‘oh no, sure, not me’ forgetting that he ever had the slightest suspicion at all. But (for plot reasons) jumping on Gaius when A accuses him. And at the conclusion of that episode and finding Gaius as innocent as an innocent could be, Arthur still isnt returning to his earlier suspicion, because hey, Agravain said ‘oh no, not me, never’, so that’s dealt with… 🤦♂️
3rd November 2021 @ 10:47 pm
He’s not an idiot, he’s just written that way… –
Yeah, that’s really (unfortunately) what it all boils down to. And we know it’s not just him. Most characters, to some degree, are written and rewritten to serve the story of the particular episode.
4th November 2021 @ 1:02 am
I keep thinking what Bradley said in our interview, when we asked him how much of the show plot and story line he knew in advance… it was something to the extend of ‘sometimes I was surprised with a particular change to the legend and how they went about it’
…
I think about that a lot 🤦♂️ lol
1st November 2021 @ 9:48 am
Oh gosh, you’re so right about asking to do the drugs every two hours, when that means NOTHING! And yet, it is such an “obvious” concept, that I never ever question it. But yeah, you’re totally right! Remember that one single candle we got, with the marked lines on it, to tell time? That was nice… and like, two seasons ago. WOE!
To be fair to Merlin’s lack of stress recognition and Mordred’s superior skill… I don’t think we’re in any way meant to believe that Mordred knows it’s the queen. Rather that Gaius said it was a pile of bed clothes, and then a body parts falls out of it… we’re just meant to read it as ‘general suspicion’, that then leads him to follow them…
(rather than question Gaius… which would be the more obvious option… Hmmm… 🤔)
3rd November 2021 @ 10:58 pm
rather than question Gaius… which would be the more obvious option –
You know, I think the show always saw it as their “mission” to tell the Arthurian legends in a new unexpected way. But I actually think it became their greatest downfall and, possibly, the root of most of their problems. I think because they felt they had to be new and different, no matter the cost, they sacrificed a lot of quality for it: Consistency, obvious options, better storytelling, character development etc. Those stories have endured for so long not necessarily because they always reinvented the wheel but because of elements and themes, ways of storytelling, that endured across time. I think Ruth said it in the podcast on 5.8: So many times the best and most obvious solution to a problem was straight ahead of them but they didn’t take it because they had to be ‘different’. And that compulsion led them more and more into a corner with no way out. And I think the story we ended up with, especially in later seasons, really wasn’t worth the price they paid just to make it surprising or different.
2nd November 2021 @ 5:54 pm
I heard Gaius saying he used Belladonna on the badly injured as a last resort, as more an easing of pain/end of life palliative type thing, like the poppy. Supposing many things they used back then were poisonous in large and prolonged amounts, remembering Gwen read reducing muscular inflammation, and under circumstances can lead to hallucinations, then I can totally believe that giving someone liquid belladonna in its purest unprepped form would lead to the muscled relaxing so much the brain shuts the body down in shock. However too much, like anything, is too much for the body to take.
But yeah wow, I’d forgotten where I’d heard belladonna in the show before til you said haha.
3rd November 2021 @ 11:00 pm
I obviously have no idea about such things but it just didn’t come up with any of the uses and effects Gaius described in my research. Anyone here with herbal/medical knowledge?
4th November 2021 @ 12:58 am
Nothing useful I’m afraid. Your comments and researched reminded me that about 15 years ago I read a crime novel called Belladonna and for a moment I thought ‘clearly it must have deadly properties if it was used to murder people in this novel, right?’ But then after some research into what this book was and how the plot went… turns out the belladonna was used to make the victims hallucinate. So that just confirms the witch finder stuff, and doesn’t help with this at all… sorry!! 🙁
30th October 2021 @ 7:28 pm
An episode I actually remember! This episode is pretty fun. Still no idea why we are doing this storyline but I had fun watching this episode, so that’s a huge upgrade to previous episodes.
I really like Dolma, even though there are some weird misogynistic/transphobic undertones to the whole thing. I think most of those undertones come from the way the show has previously done crossdressing jokes, which makes you hyper aware of the fact that the show thinks that those things are funny. And I do feel like that was the way it was originally intended here as well. But Colin played it so well that most of it is gone now, and we get quite a cool character.
That leads me to prefer Dolma a hundred times over Dragoon. Dragoon has always been a pain to watch, while Dolma is kind of delightful. Maybe still a bit cringe worthy, but somewhat charming. I wish Merlin would have transformed into her more than into Dragoon. It would have saved me a lot of pain, as well as the staff in Camelot.
I have no idea what to make of Dolma’s character, where it comes from and how much of it is Merlin making conscious decisions on “playing a role”. Basically the same problem as with Dragoon. But this time Dolma flirts with Arthur? Show, what am I supposed to make of that?
And I do believe that Mordred realised that Dolma is Merlin. I think he was just bit slow, but I saw the realisation dawning on him. When he was commenting on Arthur’s remark he was still trying to figure it out but I do believe he does right after. It’s a very subtle performance, but I focused on Mordred when watching that scene and at some point I could see some utter bewilderment in his face as he was watching Merlin doing whatever the hell he was doing. Honestly, Mordred realising it is Merlin and watching the whole thing unfold is comedy gold. It’s wonderful.
31st October 2021 @ 3:53 pm
I have no idea what to make of Dolma’s character, where it comes from and how much of it is Merlin making conscious decisions on “playing a role”. Basically the same problem as with Dragoon. But this time Dolma flirts with Arthur? Show, what am I supposed to make of that? –
Especially after Merlin’s tragic admission last week that he doesn’t have a girl, I think his portrayal of the woman ‘Dolma’ comments quite nicely on how little or how much he knows about women. Basically, I see this as Merlin ‘acting’ as he thinks an older woman would. I can imagine him thinking back to some older ladies he knew from Ealdor and (hilariously) trying to channel their serious and also more unreasonable aspects (which, obviously, we all have, not just old ladies). I think that’s where the flirting and the comedy comes from: Merlin’s failure to understand and act as an elderly woman but also those irrational parts he gets right and which we can detect in ourselves or some elderly ladies we know. I think that’s also why the serious parts are so touching (much more than with Dragoon) because when Merlin acts out the serious parts in a credible way, we feel respect and understanding and respond to it. I can only think of one scene where he has achieved the same thing with the Dragoon persona.
30th October 2021 @ 1:22 pm
My favourite line of the podcast this week is
‘Revel in Arthur’s competency’ (hope that wasn’t a misquote!) Arthur’s competency is awesome in that scene you mentioned, but I wished his competency or awareness was the thing that lead to finding out about Gwen. I wished we got to see Arthur catching little changes in Gwen, leading up to this episode. Maybe he latched on to her sneaking off (from right next to him!) and made a plan with Merlin to follow her. Seeing through her careful act to detect these subtle changes in her would have been a far greater proof of their love to me.
Which brings me to the use of the ‘with all my heart’ memory to represent their love, particularly Gwen’s love for Arthur. Are we forgetting the problemetic context of that situation three years ago? You know, the one where Arthur is stunned to find out Gwen’s love for him is strong as long as her old crush doesn’t turn up from the dead, which sort of might make her a little tempted to start making out with him? And Arthur, not Gwen, goes on this journey to discover he needs her after all and forgives her. Yes, I cut out her banishment caused by Arthur. But the point is the original ‘with all my heart’ was the conclusion to Arthur having it in him to take her back and believe in their love. To be honest, I was never impressed with that line in season 4. It’s like Gwen is saying, this time I promise to love you with all my heart; little distractions with Lancelot types won’t happen again. So to use that dodgy quote, considering its whole cheating context, as a short-hand for their love is bizarre to me. Which brings me to the point that Arthur and Gwen don’t really have a definitive moment where they fought for their love; certainty not one where Gwen fought for their love. So they use this memory which is the most dramatic I suppose. Of course, all of this would have been different if they discovered Gwen’s enchantment in series 4 -then it would have been more about Arthur saying I was a fool to banish you, we worked through it and triumphed over Morgana’s schemes. So you can have faith in our love now and follow me into the lake. Sorry for mini-rant, but like someone else said earlier, still not over series 4. It just gets worse when they attempt to build on it here!
I cringed at the Dolma idea when I read previews of the episode but found it was executed much better. The fat joke in this episode, however, doesn’t sit right with me. And wasn’t there a more graceful way of carrying Gwen than swinging her over the horse so carelessly? I mean, we know that’s a doll but Merlin and Arthur don’t! It’s in such contrast with Arthur’s genuine concern for her.
I loved Arthur’s expressions with Gwen after he finds out. It just shows if we made this evil Gwen storyline about their emotional journey there was quite a bit of potential. It makes me wish this was a historical spy drama with a young king discovering the queen he loves is a double agent…who is genuinely in love with him but pretends to fight against him for complex reasons. Okay I just wished Bradley/Angel were in this hypothetical movie and got to play something more nuanced!
31st October 2021 @ 3:45 pm
And wasn’t there a more graceful way of carrying Gwen than swinging her over the horse so carelessly? I mean, we know that’s a doll but Merlin and Arthur don’t! –
You know, when I first watched this episode and how they slung Gwen over that horse, I was really concerned because I thought that if she happened to be pregnant (after all, we know that Arthur and Gwen slept together just last episode – this was back when I thought that the writers had seeded in scenes and events for a reason, i.e. for a later reveal), she would be in danger of losing the baby.
As to your comment about Gwen not fighting for their love, I think in some way her status as a servant prevented her (at least as long as Uther was alive) to be more proactive. She could reciprocate enthusiastically but not take the first step. Also, I guess this had to do with Arthur being above her in status. I thought she was brave and proactive in a different way, though. She could have been fighting for their relationship but instead mostly chose to give Arthur the choice. Remember at the end of Sweet Dreams when she says that Arthur will marry another princess and when Arthur says that things may change she says, “Well, until then…” then curtsies and addresses him as ‘my lord’? Something similar happens in ‘The Changeling’ when she responds to Arthur’s fraught ‘Is what I want really that insane’ with an assurance that Elena won’t make him miserable and that she will be there watching him as he grows into the king Camelot deserves. So, while she may not have been the most proactive fighting for their relationship, she has always fought for Arthur because, as a servant, that was often the only avenue she could take. And perhaps that might be said to be an even stronger proof of her love as it more utterly selfless than a fight for their relationship.
HOWEVER, there are also moments where she could have been more proactive and wasn’t, mostly in those episodes when they were away from the castle and thus the hierarchical lines smudged. Sometimes, this was due to a combination of Gwen being confused about her own feelings and her suitors not giving her the choice at all (see 2.4 Lancelot and Guinevere). In 3.7 (The Castle of Fyrien), I think Gwen tried to protect Arthur by, first, not wanting him to come to Elyan’s rescue. She was ready to sacrifice her brother for that! Also that episode didn’t predominantly feature their romance but, like we said back then, mostly friendship and sibling relationships.
She ought to have fought more in 4.12 and 13 but those episodes were so awfully edited that their storyline was fraught in any case so there is no making sense of it anyway.
But where we really should have seen Gwen fighting for their relationship is after their wedding, when everything became official and when, logically, the two should have faced perhaps the most prolonged and severe criticism from the council or nobles or other citizens of Camelot. Of course, the damned three-year gap deprived us of that and, thereby, Gwen also as she was given no opportunity to show us her proactive commitment to their marriage. And now (in season 5 time), as we have said, she spends half her time enchanted (unaccountable) and the other half her scenes with Arthur are curtailed for length and their relationship oddly formal.
Anyway, sorry for the rant – I just wanted to come back to what you’ve written as it’s been on my mind also.
1st November 2021 @ 11:38 am
Yea, Arthur absolutely should have been the one to catch on to Gwen. Which you could have done, if you’d have him grow concerned, then suspicious, over the four episode arc. Which would (just about) justify making this plot line four episodes long…
2nd November 2021 @ 7:17 pm
Oh I really wish Arthur got a chance at noticing stuff more too. Though Gwen was a lot better at playing innocent whilst secretly hating everyone’s guts inside, there must have been times when she was just so un-gwen towards something. Like their style of love-making changing (which of course they can’t go into in a kids show), or how she keeps avoiding kissing Arthur, or like you say, Arthur feels the bed shift nearly every night when Gwen gets up and is away for an hour. Arthur shares a bed with this woman and since the dark tower he refuses to keep a protective eye over her safety and sanity.
Gwen clearly wants to act like all is normal but if she’s really not liking being around Arthur and can blame it on her PTSD from the dark tower, she must surely have a separate queen’s bedchamber to sleep in to have time away from Arthur constantly trying to spoon her.
I agree that there never really enough to go down memory lane to when convincing Gwen of her real love for Arthur, considering that even when she was arrested for enchanting him, they previously went on a nice picnic where he told her his dreams of running away and becoming a farmer, but when she was in jail, Arthur did nothing to valiantly rescue her or prove his love for her then. He moped whilst conveniently an old doddery sorcerer did all the work.
Their true love’s kiss could have been a good’un to bring up, her love for Arthur being what broke him out of his love enchantment. Wow much of their moments are shadowed with enchantment and the other person simply not being there….
Yea I never like how people are flung across horses in this show, when they are unconscious or injured. Sit them on the horse like normal and prop them up on the rider sat right behind in the saddle. That’s a perfectly dignified and comfortable way to transport your drugged wife on horseback.
29th October 2021 @ 3:55 pm
I have finally caught up! I have been so busy since September that I wasn’t able to keep up with the podcast, but I’m back on track now and very happy to be, especially since I landed on this episode which was previously one of my favourites…. yea… previously…
Aside from the general messiness of the plot, I was so disappointed with what had been my favourite scene at the lake. The dialogue was far too short and easy to convince Gwen- as you said they just give the actors no time to actually act. It’s not often we get a scene that is so purely romantic in the show so this felt like it could really be something, but it just wasn’t. I do, however, appreciate Arthur’s despair and I like the way Gwen has to go further and enter into the lake on her own (as opposed to him holding her while the spell happens or something), she came under the spell alone and in a way she has to fight her own way out.
-When Gaius talked about the spell being a ritual he had heard of I was sort of disappointed. I was on board with the idea that Morgana had messed with Gwen’s brain through the psychological torture with mandrakes (which we have used before) and reinforcing her own status as a friend and someone to be trusted. I think this is a more powerful emotional concept, though more difficult of course. I was similarly disappointed when Gwen’s betrayal of Arthur in kissing Lancelot was put down to magic- it takes away her agency and edge as a character. The writers are just so desperate for her to be the purest of the pure, when they create these storylines they have to find a way to give her no culpability- as they do for Arthur. It makes the characters and storylines less interesting, and actually harder to love.
I also wish there was emotional fallout for Morgana- she could be genuinely sad to have lost her friend, which would show some humanity in her. Oooobviously they wouldn’t want that, because the show can’t deal with goodies and baddies who aren’t black and white morally.
When Arthur finds out about Gwen, I do like Bradley’s performance. His inability to lie or act normally does speak to the hurt he feels and to his own ‘goodness’- even if he lies occasionally, it is not like him to be duplicitous.
Lastly I just want to say that though overall, I like some of Gwen’s costumes this season, WHY DO HER DRESSES HAVE METAL EYELETS???? They ruin it for me! Metal eyelets were invented in the 19th century!!! Handsewing does take time for sure, it’s just such a shame because it cheapens the look of the dresses and they stick out so much it takes me out of the show 🙁 I do appreciate that the vibe has changed though- while her old costumes looked soft, natural with lighter shades and linen fabrics, her regal dresses are much more saturated and heavier, shinier fabrics.
Anyway, the episode was at a pretty location so yay. Glad I’m back again, I’ve missed all the wonderful conversation that happens here as well as Ruth and Michelle’s lovely voices!
1st November 2021 @ 11:44 am
You’re baaaaaack!
Also, I’m sorry you came back for an episode you were excited about, that turned out to be disappointing. Tough I am happy that for once it wasn’t us that ruined the episode!!! Hahaha
Good to have you back 💕
29th October 2021 @ 3:33 am
On the whole I think this is one of the stronger S5 episodes. I did generally not like this arc, but think it could have been tighter and better if they cut the middle two episodes. Not to constantly rewrite S4. but I also think this plot could have moved to S4–the transition from Morgana the Mole to Gwen the (Enchanted) Mole seems more interesting than Agravaine the Made Up Character Mole. The impact is obviously more devastating. If they intertwined with better exposition about what happened to Morgana with Sarrum, would have been an interesting way to make her character more layered, as the bond with her and Gwen could have had some real threads. Also would have been a clearer evolution for Arthur from totally incompetent to competency in dealing with the problem. Really, anything but Agravaine. Clearly I’m not over S4 still.
I like that we don’t drag out Arthur finding out. In my headcanon – Merlin told him, and Arthur finally trusted him – which makes Merlin’s continued refusal to tell Arthur about his magic more tragic. Aka, actual Arthur growth. And we’ve done the whole “Arthur finds out a beloved family member is a mole” scene twice already, so regardless of how they played it, repetitive.
The Gwaine line about Timothy is so dumb and basically feels like they needed to pay Eoin Macken for another episode so they squeezed him in here.
Can someone explain how Morgana has Aithusa on her side? From kind treatment? Shared trauma? I thought Merlin is supposed to be special because he can control dragons?
As far as Dolma – I loved it when I first watched about 5 years ago. Similar to you, I anticipated it worse in my memory, having I think now a better understanding of gender fluidity, I assumed it was probably offensive. turns out I still loved it for all the reasons you mentioned on the podcast! As far as why they did this – I feel like they saw a fun challenge for Colin and took the opportunity to stretch him. I’m rewatching How I met your Mother now (a show with a lot of humor which in retrospect inappropriate and offensive) —-and a lot of Barney gags seemed to be based in the writers wanting to give Neil Patrick Harris new things to do because his range is awesome. I’m sure there are other examples too of shows I’m not thinking of.
31st October 2021 @ 3:11 pm
Can someone explain how Morgana has Aithusa on her side? From kind treatment? Shared trauma? I thought Merlin is supposed to be special because he can control dragons? –
Here it is: it doesn’t make any sense at all and just shows that after ‘Aithusa’, the writers had no idea what to do with the dragon, so they conveniently forgot about him for the rest of the season until someone suddenly suggested: wouldn’t it be cool if Aithusa became Morgana’s pet.
Then everyone said: ‘Ohhh, cool idea’ and ignored the one person in the back asking, ‘But didn’t Kilgarrah say about Aithusa’s birth that “Sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time I believe it is clear. The white dragon bodes well for Albion, for you and Arthur, and for the land that you will build together.”? Surely we need to follow up on that?’
Then the other writers ignored them or, at best, countered that the audience wouldn’t remember this titbit anyway.
The only other explanation (which many fanfic writers have explored) is that Aithusa came to Morgana because Kilgarrah and Merlin had completed neglected her. And that’s not great either – and there is not really evidence to accuse the two of that.
In fact, all this is just spinning reasons from nothing. Because we get nothing, no explanation or even a hint of a justification. And they could have done so much with Aithusa and, perhaps this is me being ignorant, it wouldn’t even have been too hard to make it all make sense.
1st November 2021 @ 11:48 am
Sadly I have to 100% agree with Mary on the ‘can anyone explain Aithusa?’ question. No. The answer is a straight up super simple no. It makes no sense, and goes back on half the stuff the show taught us, and it’s infuriating:( 🙁 🙁
29th October 2021 @ 2:54 am
This was weirdly fun for this arc and season 5. It’s such a relief that this episode wasn’t as offensive as it could have been. And we actually tell Arthur things and let him make decisions! The comedy meant there were no real stakes but it wasn’t as jarring as the previous episodes. The emotional bits actually landed pretty well for season 5! Sorry if this comment ends up being a bit disjointed or unclear. I have a cold and wrote the whole thing out of order.
The first scene was very strange and a couple of lines really stuck out to me. Firstly what’s up with evil Gwen’s “I’m not sure Arthur would ” and Percival agreeing with that? What are they trying to imply with that? Second, evil Gwen says getting the levy collection route was difficult. Why would it be difficult? She’s the second highest ranking person in the kingdom! Couldn’t she just ask Arthur or Leon for it. Am I misunderstanding something about how this system works?
Seriously, what is the chain of command here? Arthur treats Mordred like he’s an established knight when he’s really young and hasn’t been around that long, Gwen’s amount of authority depends on the plot and everyone forgets that Merlin’s a proper physician whenever convenient. I would love to get any idea of what the hierarchy of the castle is.
So much of Gaius and Merlin’s inaction regarding evil Gwen could have been fixed by adding a line in this episode or the previous one saying they checked for all the enchantments (including the Fomorroh) they knew about when she got back from the dark tower while Gaius was examining her. That’s all it would take. It would also explain why Merlin’s reacting to her the way he did in season 3 with Morgana. Then Gaius could remember this obscure ritual and now we need to get Arthur involved because there’s an actual plan.
Did Gaius know about this enchantment all along and not reveal it for whatever reason? Gaius is the worst and again completely unnecessary. I’ve been trying to work out how many of his scenes actually require his presence and there’s hardly any. You could replace all of his appearances with Morded or any other character and nothing significant would change.
Two more points from that whole scene – First, Gaius knows Morgana’s a high priestess and has knowledge of all of these rituals so why isn’t he sharing everything he knows about this with Merlin? Why doesn’t Merlin know anything about this stuff? He’s had three years of peace to prepare for this.
Second, if this is what Mandrake roots are for then was this part of Morgause’s plan with Uther? She could have had this backup plan of turning Uther into a puppet in case the siege failed. A puppet Uther would have given both Morgana and Arthur some really interesting conflict. That would have been an interesting version of season 3.
Okay so I went back and checked and the Dochraid was aware of Morgana’s destiny. If she’s aware of that it makes sense that she would also be aware of Emrys, so why isn’t she taking him more seriously? And is Merlin an enemy of the old religion? Sure he kills a whole bunch of people belonging to the old religion but isn’t he also a figure of the old religion? Not just as Emrys but also as the last dragonlord. Or are only dragons part of the old religion. Where do Alator’s people stand on this? Maybe the Dochraid’s bizarre statements are like Nimueh’s whole thing where she acted in a specific way as a high priestess and the murdering was a separate thing.
A very small point I can’t stop thinking about – Excalibur. Did Merlin just borrow Excalibur for a day trip? Or did he take it out for a day hoping Arthur wouldn’t notice? But Arthur’s watching him come back so he must know right? Did he lend his sword that he pulled out of a stone a few years ago for a mysterious quest involving magic? I’m so glad you guys brought this up. I had to rewind that scene twice because it was so distracting.
Didn’t Arthur find out the truth about his father’s death in The Secret Sharer? It’s been 4 years at this point! The whole magic is evil thing is getting a bit old at this point. It seems so half-hearted. At least we end on a positive note this time. There’s only 2 episodes left but I hope the conversation with Dolma makes him reconsider his views.
You know it’s weird that Arthur doesn’t question Merlin’s knowledge of random sorcerers considering the events of the Disir. What does he think of Merlin’s opinion on magic? It makes sense here because he’s distracted but it must have occurred to him at some point right? This episode and the Disir were written by the same person so it must have occurred to them.
It’s always been fairly easy to figure out what Arthur thinks is happening in an episode but season 5 has been so weird that there’s a lot of unanswered questions about Arthur’s POV. My ideal episode would be an episode that’s solely from Arthur’s POV. There’s significant plot stuff and magic happening in the background but we only see what Arthur sees and his interpretation of everything. It would be really interesting to see Merlin from Arthur’s POV and it would give us some worldbuilding.
I thought the falling off a cliff bit was supposed to be Morgana or something magical at first. It was really weird that it wasn’t. Based on the amount of significance it got it really should have been something magical.
Mordred’s channeling the spirit of a child from a horror movie in that fireside conversation and it’s so funny. I really don’t blame Merlin for being suspicious in that conversation. I really wish they’d just made Merlin and Mordred friends in season 5. They could have done so much fun stuff with those two teaming up to solve problems.
Mordred’s confrontation with Morgana really strikes home how young he is. He’s so earnest and genuine in that scene. He’s had a tough life but he seems to share young Merlin’s kindness and hopefulness. He’s probably the age Merlin was in season 2 and I wonder if Merlin realises that. Would it even affect his feelings on Mordred? I get why Merlin’s reluctant to trust Mordred after what happened with Morgana but I wish we did something more with that.
I’m not going to question anything from the whole lakeside conversation with Arthur and Gwen. It was just lovely. I am always a sap for true love bringing someone back like this. Also I really love both of their performances in this scene a lot. There’s not much to say about it except that it’s great. Okay I have questions, though I love that Gwen gets to choose to walk in her odd walk makes it seem like she’s being pulled in by a force bigger than her (true love?).
I really wish this episode had more of Gwen and her POV and explored what this enchantment is doing to her. I would’ve loved to have seen a version of this episode that’s just Arthur and Merlin talking to Gwen on the journey and getting her to the point that she walks into that lake willingly. It could be a contrast between the Mandrake ghosts in the tower who were caricatures of her friends based on her own insecurities and her real friends who are actual people that care about her and are going to great lengths to save her. I don’t know if I’m explaining it properly here.
I liked Dolma a lot more than Dragoon. Maybe this character is so beloved because they’ve fixed most of the problems with Dragoon. She’s much more pleasant to watch and the ridiculousness of the ruse and the interactions with Arthur actually work much better than they do with Dragoon. Most of what Merlin does in this disguise actually feels like Merlin and the humour isn’t forced or ooc. It really didn’t feel as offensive as it could have. I have a lot of appreciation for Colin Morgan taking it that seriously.
I don’t understand the point of Arthur forgetting about Merlin in the end. it contradicts all of his behaviour in the episode! If they wanted a comedy beat then they could have just flipped the lines. Like Dolma starts walking off and Arthur asks for Merlin and then Merlin has to come up with something ridiculous to get out of that situation. It’s much funnier and actually fits with the episode and the characters.
Going back to Merlin and Mordred because I have too many thoughts about this whole relationship. Is this what all of Mordred and Merlin’s interactions are like? Like do these characters ever have a normal or chill conversation. They live in the same place, hang out with Arthur a lot, presumably go on quests together so
assuming Mordred has been around for a year they probably see each other a lot right? Because these are the conversations they would’ve had in the first couple of months! None of these characters have any chill whatsoever and that must make their interactions so baffling to everyone else. They’ve accidentally made this whole situation completely absurd. Now there’s a serious way to analyse this but there’s also so much potential for comedy here. I know we’re in a doom and gloom zone now but it’s very difficult to take this seriously.
SPOILERS
At this point I’ve given up trying to make sense of the ending and what Mordred is going to do.
Until this point he seems like a genuinely good person who really just wants to be a knight and befriend Merlin. He’s also very loyal to Camelot and Arthur. He’s clearly not evil, just really intense for some reason. I don’t know how they’re going to make him turn on Arthur and Camelot and join Morgana. I mean I know the broad strokes but not the specifics (Arthur kills his girlfriend?). I could see him turning on Merlin but that still wouldn’t explain why he joins Morgana! I’m really curious what it was like watching it without knowing all the spoilers and if it worked better that way.
SPOILERS END
This whole arc is like tangled up thread and the more they try to unravel it the worse it gets. Every episode ends up contradicting stuff from the previous episodes and causing more problems than it has to.
It feels like they’re writing this week to week. They know the beginning and the ending and the middle is whatever they can come up with on the fly. It seems unlikely but that’s what this arc feels like. There’s no reason for this whole thing to be this convoluted.
This was one of the better season 5 episodes. We’ve got Gwen back which is great! I guess we’re entering the end half and things are going to start getting really dark as we finally start setting up the finale. Let’s hope it gets better from here. And Alator’s coming back so I’m looking forward to that!
29th October 2021 @ 11:31 am
“I don’t understand the point of Arthur forgetting about Merlin in the end.” was my question too back then when I rewatched the whole show.
If only they have used Katie’s version for the final reveal, that Arthur admitted to Merlin that he had already knew his magic for a while. Here would make more sense as Arthur knew Dolma was Merlin and just made fun with him……
29th October 2021 @ 4:09 pm
I don’t want to venture into the spoiler-y territory here, so I’ll be pretty vague – but the whole idea of “Arthur knew all along”, while it makes Arthur more competent and perhaps sounds very cool and dramatic for a potential magic reveal, also makes Arthur more cruel. So he knew as a king, having the power to change the law, and yet he didn’t tell Merlin and let him live in fear, just for the sake of messing with him? That’s rather callous. I think it maybe could have worked when Arthur was still a prince. I saw a nice fic prompt once, where there is basically this unspoken understanding between Arthur-the-prince and Merlin, that Arthur knows about Merlin’s magic, and Merlin knows that he knows, but they don’t talk about it bc it’s too dangerous. That would have a nice potential as a story, but it would be a completely different story.
29th October 2021 @ 8:35 pm
Oh gosh!!! I just try to make this scene a bit less absurd, but you are absolutely right, if Arthur knew and did nothing it is even worse!!! So back to square one, I don’t understand why in this scene Arthur would forget Merlin.
29th October 2021 @ 10:55 pm
There was also a nice genre in fandom for a while, with fics in which Arthur knows, and he thinks that Merlin knows, and they have an unspoken agreement not to talk about it, and then when it comes out, Arthur’s all WTF DUDE, I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS?!??
And I’ve always enjoyed those, too!!
29th October 2021 @ 4:28 pm
“My ideal episode would be an episode that’s solely from Arthur’s POV. There’s significant plot stuff and magic happening in the background but we only see what Arthur sees and his interpretation of everything”
– I am reminded of the Buffy episode where it follows Xander’s POV instead of everyone else’s who are actually life/death fighting the evil thing. In the end he’s like ‘oh my day was pretty uneventful’ even though he had his own things to deal with, but everyone else is sat down at the end looking like they’ve been through hell, and Xander never had to be involved. That’s how I see it with every episode Merlin has had to deal with the problem and Arthur is blissfully unaware of the trauma and loss Merlin has suffered and thinks the problem unproblemed itself out.
“I would’ve loved to have seen a version of this episode that’s just Arthur and Merlin talking to Gwen on the journey and getting her to the point that she walks into that lake willingly. It could be a contrast between the Mandrake ghosts in the tower who were caricatures of her friends based on her own insecurities and her real friends who are actual people that care about her and are going to great lengths to save her”
– Oh wow I love this idea! It really sucks even more now that Gwen spent the whole episode asleep and then it took a minute to convince her to walk into the lake. It would be a much neater plot for Gwen if the journey took longer than Arthur was comfortable keeping Gwen drugged up, so leaves her to wake up but they need to tie her up to take her to the cauldron on the last day. That way Gwen’s spouting all sorts of evil arguments at them as they walk but Arthur and Merlin have more time speaking with her and keep trying to remind her of all the good memories and convince her her thoughts are down to brainwashing. By the time they get to the lake she might be on the fence. Oooh I like it!
“If they wanted a comedy beat then they could have just flipped the lines. Like Dolma starts walking off and Arthur asks for Merlin and then Merlin has to come up with something ridiculous to get out of that situation”
– Again, what an idea! They should have had you in the script writing room haha. Exactly, they could keep the moment more uplifting whilst keeping Arthur likeable this way. And also Mordred could have helped Merlin get out of the situation, like saying “do you want us to start walking away whilst you fetch our companion, Dolma?” And Arthur being reluctant to leave without his friend but must show a little trust in this magic wielder that she will give Merlin back. I hate the way the show thought we’d think Arthur forgetting Merlin AGAIN was funny.
30th October 2021 @ 5:57 am
That episode sounds very interesting! I really need to get around to watching Buffy after this show is done. An Arthur POV episode could also bring back the idea of Arthur knowing he had a guardian angel looking out for him.
I really thought they were going in that direction after they mentioned that she would have to walk in willingly! It’s so weird that it isn’t. If this arc wasn’t about Gwen or her relationships with her friends and husband or her role as queen then what was it about???
Mordred and Merlin working together to change Arthur’s mind about magic would have been a wonderful way to end this episode. I don’t think I’m ever going to understand this show’s sense of humour. I think that’s one of the big problems of season 5, the characters and their relationships have grown and the tone is darker but the humour hasn’t matured or changed.
1st November 2021 @ 4:16 pm
Ruth and I are both really struggling this recording season with keeping things straight, and remembering what we’ve said in which episode, so Ruth may have already said this, or it may come up this week (I think it comes up this week 🤔🤦♂️) but regarding Gaius… basically he exists to be a sounding board for Merlin, as otherwise poor Colin would have to monologue all of his lines… but yes, you’re of course absolutely right, we could solve this by giving him a new magic knowing friend. A lot of people suggest Gwen, which makes sense back when they still has a relationship (🙄), but now they’ve drifted quite so far apart, and she is queen, I don’t think her knowing about Merlin’s magic and keeping it from Arthur would be justifiable. Personally I’ve always campaigned for Gwaine finding out. ((Old school Gwaine, not this new ‘I’ll be whatever the episode needs me to be’ Gwaine). And his loyalties have always been to Merlin first, and he’s always been a bit anti royalty, and a bit of a rule breaker… it wouldn’t break his character to keep Merlin’s secret from Arthur.
And of course, additionally, as you say, we have Mordred now! Make Merlin (reluctantly) turn to him with magic problems, have them become reluctant friends, and then have the betrayal be double, Arthur AND Merlin, and all of Camelot. Boom boom boom.
SIGH!
The only other reason to keep Gaius around is what you bring up after. What doesn’t Arthur ask about all those sorcerers Merlin knows? And the easy reason is because Merlin got the information from Gaius. Gaius knows everything and no one questions his magic knowledge and his magic connections. Done. Simple.
I wish just once the show wouldn’t go for simple… 🙁
28th October 2021 @ 10:33 pm
OMG, Michele, ‘The hands of a hundred winters’ by fourleggedfish is one of my favourite ever story series of Merlin fanfiction, and it starts during the events of this episode but then turns off into alternate events. It delves so deep into Arthurian lore, magic reveal and progression, and gets so dark in places (eventually Merthur but not in a smutty way), and is so much better thought out than the rest of season 5. And it proves you don’t need Morgana, Gwen or Mordred there at the end to make the whole thing work (insert Michele’s do do’s). I wholeheartedly recommend all three parts and here’s a link if anyone’s interested: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830772
Aaaanyway, to start off, I love that Percival not only got a few lines, but also shows smarts in his job. Whilst the others in his patrol skip on by, he’s the one to pause and double back and catch the suspicious shadowed figure. Whilst we would watch this scene and face-palm at the fact he lets Gwen go on alone and promise not to tell the king of anything, it’s only because we have knowledge of Gwen’s evilness, but understandably Percival doesn’t and would put her loner behaviour down to grief and leaves her to it. The only thing I might be looking too much into is how realistically hasty Percival is to see off Gwen when she mentions wanting time alone to think of Elyan. Dunno if this scene was meant to make Percival the best knight to find Gwen because he was the least developed, or he was best knight because he could relate most to Gwen’s situation, as it hinted once that Percival’s whole family is dead and likely has untreated PTSD from that. Yet he doesn’t say anything like ‘I understand you needing a time and place to think about your brother. I would go back home to do so if I could. But it’s still not wise to go there completely alone since we lost you not long ago. If ever you want to go downtown again, let me escort you.’ Yet he just sods off. It’s like Gwen knows that depression and emotions makes medieval men uncomfortable so she could use her dead brother to be left alone without any more explanation needed. She might as well have said she had to go deal with ‘women’s things’ and Percival’s willingness to let the queen walk off alone would be the same. And Gwen also saying that ‘Arthur wouldn’t understand’ her needing to go to the old town to be amongst memories? What does that say about Arthur, or what Gwen thinks of her husband? Is this evil Gwen playing Percival, or is this insecure Gwen stating what she really believes and this is what the mandrake magic is feeding off?
I love how Arthur stares at Gwen from across the table. It’s a little suspicious and on the nose, but it shows just how many emotions and thoughts he’s having. It’s like he’s trying to see how obviously evil her behaviour is so that he can once again kick himself for not noticing sooner. He’s watching for a slip-up in her so very normal Gwen manner. He’s searching for signs of Morgana in her eyes and in her speech. He might even be thinking ‘what, another ride together? So you can get more hired goons to kill me?!’ He’s clearly so frustrated and on edge around her, and you’re right, his ‘everything is fine’ acting is never as good as others (and I mean Arthur NOT Bradley) deliberately to contrast Merlin’s expertise at pretending. No wonder Gwen has cute narrowed eyes as he leaves abruptly.
Okay, Arthur takes aside his most senior knight and captain of the soldiers and tells him of the new route, and also… his young most junior knight too…? Why Mordred, I mean, logically. Not just story-wise to get him suspicious…
“Why did I promise to help Gwen when I have no idea what to do.” This quote is interesting because it might have meant something a couple episodes ago if, like Ruth said, Merlin had been in the meantime trying and failing to narrow down how Gwen has become evil. Whispered ‘Finite Incantartum’ at her from around a corner, looked for forromoh heads, etc. But he hasn’t done anything until now, and what’s also odd is that early Merlin would constantly leap at the chance to help first before even knowing what to do next, it doesn’t stop him or get him in a mood. It’s also clear Gaius isn’t give a flying fig right up to when he wants to show off his old religion knowledge again. The way Gwen behaves doesn’t seem to have anything distinctive compared to other brainwashing spells or enchantments, so why does Gaius just sit there and say ‘oh I think she’s defo suffered this ritual’ based on nothing? If he knew she spent time with a high priestess in the dark tower and came back hating everyone, and there was no ‘snek in nek’, he should have mentioned the TEINE DIAGA to Merlin in the first evil Gwen episode! I love the hint of accusation in Merlin’s stare and voice when he says “you KNOW what happened to her?” As in ‘You’ve suspected all this time and didn’t pipe up? People have died!’
“Morgana Pendragon is one of the only ones who knows the old ways”. No, Morgana is a woman who’s been on this planet for 27 years and has only known of her powers for 5 years, and started being taught about the old religion and evil magic 4 years ago. I don’t think she is at all an expert and even scratched the surface of the old ways. Kilgharrah is over a thousand years old, at least try to speak to him first, we’ve not seen him for ages!
It’s so strange seeing old Merlin when he visits the Dochraid, and it must be because this is Emrys, NOT Dragoon. Dragoon is comedic and cringey. This is the first time old Merlin has been played straight all the way through his scene. He’s serious, badass and taking no bull. He’s almost too dark and bloodthirsty. This is the one true version I can believe is actually a version of Merlin in the far future. And seeing him wielding Excalibur is really interesting. He’s using the prophecised king’s sword more than the prophecised king has in the whole show. It plays into my headcanon that the more someone besides its true owner uses the sword, they get darker and more corrupted. Depending on the person, that would lead to worse circumstances. A bit of a ‘super soldier serum emphasizes good qualities of a good person and bad qualities of a bad person’ type thing. Even his voice is not as put on as before, it’s much deeper but without the croaky comedy like before, a much more realistic elder Merlin’s voice, especially when he says “I wish you no further harm, tell me what I want to know.”
If we didn’t see the Dochraid later on the episode, I would be convinced that Merlin had just straight-up killed her. I am reminded of David Tennant Doctor and the Christmas Sycorax fight. “You get one warning. That’s it. I’m that kind of man.”
Also, if Arthur knew he sent Merlin off to find answers, where does Arthur think Merlin has gotten his info from, and was he the one to entrust Merlin his own sword for protection on the road or did Merlin nick it?
I actually like that the Dochraid says that Merlin is ‘no friend of the old religion’. The show has not been consistent with ‘is magic and the old religion separate’, but like I said in the Disir episode, I think we are meant to believe they are. The triple goddess is the deity, and the old religion is one such corrupted religion worshipping her. Separate from Merlin, separate from druids. The Disir are mad because Emrys had recently told Arthur not to let them reign in Camelot, and the ‘earth speaks’ to the Dochraid, so she already knows and treats Merlin/Emrys as the enemy because she’s team Morgana who’s all about the OR. That part at least makes sense to me.
“I’d be breaking by own decrees.” So the times when you wanted to see your mother’s ghost, heal your dying father, send your father’s ghost back to the underworld, and save Mordred’s life, WEREN’T breaking your decrees. This moment would have landed better if Arthur, up til now, had not ever wanted to touch magic or abuse using magic in the way his father did if he truly believes magic is not to be trusted, up to this point. And using it now for the first time against his beliefs to ‘save his queen, save his wife’, would have stood out and meant just how much he was willing to do for love. But like Uther, we have seen him use magic many times for his own personal reasons and not shown so much moral restraint.
Why isn’t this a mission for only Arthur and Merlin. Later, Arthur is thankful Mordred has sussed what is happening and has tagged along, but why is it so secret? Why can’t all friends and main knights go along too just as they did when rescuing Gwen from the dark tower?
Aside from Gaius being the worst and foreshadowing bringing the few crossdressing gags full circle, I like the conversation between Arthur, Gaius and Merlin about the Belladonna, and how Arthur thanks Merlin for slightly sugarcoating the extent of the drugs’ effects on a healthy body.
Surely though glamors exist in this world where magic is an element, and surely are a lot simpler and easier to perform and hold than only ever using a ageing spell (now adding a gender-bending DLC).
Bradley’s face as he stares at Gwen while she spouts false love is just gorgeous! What a jawline!
Again, why is Gwen calling Arthur ‘My Lord’? This isn’t just an evil Gwen thing, she calls him this a lot during the season, it’s weird!
“That’ll be the highest peak. Always is, isn’t it.” Oooh Arthur, did you just break reality boundaries a little haha
The notion that Arthur was considering having to chop his own arm off to get free is terrifying, even if there never was any real threat of that happening. Merlin’s head injury can be explained as it always has been, healed by magic, though it should do him more harm than this (coughFanfictioncough). But maybe if we got a sense of more urgency that Arthur feared Merlin was really hurt and couldn’t reach him, or that Gwen could wake at any moment, or sense of more time passing between Arthur deciding to perform the mutilation. Like maybe, before they fell it was light, but now we see the sky at sunset to show Arthur has spent more time with his arm trapped and has waited longer for Merlin to wake or use his (magic) sword as a levering the boulder before realising what might have to go down if he waited any longer. To try wrenching his arm out once, nudging Merlin and waiting a few seconds before his actions hint he’s about to cut his arm off is a little far-fetched and extreme. It’s not just me right? The episode WAS deliberately giving us that impression, right?
I agree that they don’t look like they were hurt enough and the rockfall lead to nothing. Merlin could have been sitting there at the campfire, needing to take things slowly, and feeling groggy and sick because he had bad concussion, which makes his ability to summon the magical strength he needs to have later look less likely and raise the stakes. Arthur at the very least could have a broken wrist so the next day, Merlin has steadied it with a splint or something, but it means Arthur is struggling to carry Gwen and needs to allow the others to take over sometimes.
Love the contrast between Merlin trying to avoid eye contact with Mordred as much as possible and Mordred being ONLY about the eye contact. Chills.
Alex is amazing. On several rewatches I sometimes just watch Mordred during the scenes he’s in, particularly when the focus isn’t on him, he’s working his socks off with his facial expressions and subtle character reactions that are just pure gold! Whilst they are hiding under the rock and Merlin and Arthur are in the front arguing over Merlin causing a distraction, I watch Mordred behind them moving his head rapidly around trying to see where the dragon is and secondarily reacting to the conversation, it’s just gorgeous. And when he lets out an emotional breath after attacking Morgana. Beautiful. I do agree though, it would probably make more of an impact if this was because Mordred was trying to calm himself after the first major physical magic he’s used for a long time, and he’d used it on his once-friend. We haven’t really seen him use magic with a deliberate hand gesture before, it’s usually been emotional outbursts or non-vocal telekinesis…
I’d be interested to see how Mordred actually got out of, or had to explain how he managed to shake off Morgana, had the arrival of the Dolma not interrupted.
I commend Colin for his acting like a woman. I have no idea if this is the same exact ageing spell he’s always used, minus the beard, or if this new spell completely changed Merlin’s sex, but when I first watched this years ago, I could never figure how he was putting on that voice. At times it sounds so convincing I thought someone else was overdubbed really well over Colin’s lip movements. Other times I thought it was indeed Colin himself. Either way, I both hate and love the show for doing this to him.
I think behind the scenes, because Arthur and Mordred are filmed on two different cameras separate to Colin, and because no-one could ever keep a straight face, they had to in the end just have a person behind Bradley’s and Alex’s camera reading Merlin’s Dolma lines from the script, there are outtakes where, bless him, Alex just can’t stop laughing and we hear Colin’s woman voice out of shot.
There are a few fanfics that make this episode another momentous magic reveal episode. Arthur either sees through Merlin’s ageing spell, or Merlin isn’t actually strong enough in the end to both stay old and cast the spell on Gwen in the cauldron, and when Arthur and Gwen get out of the lake, they looked shocked and Merlin realises they are staring at him because he looks like normal Merlin again.
I wish it took a little longer for Gwen to be convinced to walk into the water, or for Arthur to share more happy memories with her to give the scene more personalization. Again, dipping into the Hunger Games reference pot, after a while of talking, Gwen maybe starts to doubt her bad brainwashed memories of Arthur and asks “You once went alone of a quest to rescue me from Hengis… real or not real?”
I tear up nearly every time as the beautiful Arthur/Gwen theme music swells when Gwen is lit up and being freed of the mandrake magic.
Hate hate hate the part Arthur was about to walk away. Ten years of friendship, and Arthur had still forgotten Merlin was not there. No, I refuse to believe Arthur would do this. It’s not even funny. It’s horrible! Gwen doesn’t look out of it enough to not question if her supposed friend came along, and Mordred doesn’t even call out that Merlin’s still missing, even if it’s for pretense. Arthur should be demanding immediately for the sorceress to give his friend back. What slightly redeems the scene is Colin’s peeved off performance as the Dolma and his sassy dismissing hand gestures.
And finally unfortunately, Gwen isn’t going to need any recovery time, PTSD or trauma, or guilt to over-come after this episode. She’s not changed after these last 4 episodes, nor anything to suggest she remembered all she did, or that Elyan’s death is fresh in her mind. The Brainwashed Gwen saga is officially over and forgotten about, and has no impact on the plot leading to the finale.
(phew) I’m actually so so looking forward to ‘the kindness of strangers’. It’s in my top 3 favourite season 5 episodes. Great podcast as always 🙂
29th October 2021 @ 12:18 am
That fanfic sounds EPIC! I’m putting it on my (loong) “marked for later” list 😀
-It’s so strange seeing old Merlin when he visits the Dochraid, and it must be because this is Emrys, NOT Dragoon. Dragoon is comedic and cringey. This is the first time old Merlin has been played straight all the way through his scene. He’s serious, badass and taking no bull. He’s almost too dark and bloodthirsty. This is the one true version I can believe is actually a version of Merlin in the far future. –
I had the same feeling! This scene also made me realize that it’s probably the only one where we don’t use aged Merlin for comedy at all. Which is sad, because it shows the unused potential of this character.
-when I first watched this years ago, I could never figure how he was putting on that voice. At times it sounds so convincing I thought someone else was overdubbed really well over Colin’s lip movements.-
I went through the same confusion for the first time. But this is all Colin. I’m now listening to an audiobook narrated by him (Worldship Humility if anyone’s interested) and he puts on like over 20 different voices there, among them of many different women with different accents and timbres. I keep forgetting that it’s just one person narrating the book. He’s just a genius, that’s all 🙂
29th October 2021 @ 4:31 pm
Oooh I will have to listen to that 🙂 You’re right, he’s just so good! Often when men try and put on a ‘women’s voice’, they go all squeaky high-pitched and weird. His voice was realistically well done and suited the Dolma perfectly!
31st October 2021 @ 2:54 pm
I had the same feeling! This scene also made me realize that it’s probably the only one where we don’t use aged Merlin for comedy at all. Which is sad, because it shows the unused potential of this character. –
I think he’s given a serious performance as Dragoon when he tried to heal Uther before and I remember it well because that was the only time when I could actually believe ‘Dragoon’ was a version of the Merlin we knew. I remember pointing out then that at one point we could actually hear young Merlin’s voice in Dragoon and that just allowed me to feel much more in the scene and for this character. I really wish I had any information about how the Dragoon character was developed. In 3.10, when he first appears, did they have a meeting about how he was going to behave and speak? How much did Colin’s performance influence the writing of Dragoon in later episodes? I can well imagine that in 3.10, he was mostly ‘a means to an end’ (i.e. save Gwen) and they wrote him to fulfil that function but, because Colin is great at comedy, inserted some extra lines for that. And then they just kind of stuck with that portrayal not because it made sense but because Colin did it so well?
3rd November 2021 @ 1:39 am
-But this is all Colin. I’m now listening to an audiobook narrated by him (Worldship Humility if anyone’s interested) and he puts on like over 20 different voices there, among them of many different women with different accents and timbres.-
WHOA! Colin Morgan narrates audiobooks?!?! Sign me up!!!
29th October 2021 @ 3:14 am
” But like Uther, we have seen him use magic many times for his own personal reasons and not shown so much moral restraint.”
Ugh, yes. this goes back to a thing I mentioned a few weeks ago – I find Arthur’s inconsistency the most frustrating. Are we SUPPOSED to draw lines to Uther? If so, why did we have 10,000 episodes where Arthur learned his lessons and made character progress?
“Hate hate hate the part Arthur was about to walk away. Ten years of friendship, and Arthur had still forgotten Merlin was not there.”
Ugh, yes, see point made above which also applies here 🙂
28th October 2021 @ 6:15 pm
I liked and disliked this episode. I felt they brought in old jokes that just don’t land anymore because of the character’s dynamics with each other. I love how they gave time to show how smart, resourceful Gwen is in the beginning. The show sometimes doesn’t give Gwen enough screentime to show us that she’s amazing without telling us. Even though she’s evil, it shows how awesome she is. Also yay for the rare Percival scene. I liked how he was suspicious, it just showed his personality and train of thought well. He’s not the strong quiet guy in the background anymore. He’s the only other character in the shot and he does it well. It brings so much to his character, wish I got to see more of it. I was very surprised when Arthur’s first instinct was to pull out his sword when he found out about Gwen. Also, I found it odd how Morgana treated her in the beginning. In the last episode, she treated Gwen like a partner in this plan, even though she’s tortured her, there was almost a sense of them being friends even though that wasn’t the case but it depends how you read it where this is what Morgana wanted all along, a friend even though she had to torture them like this to get Gwen to that point. Or she’s simply just manipulating her. But in this ep, in the beginning, she’s treating Gwen more coldly, almost like her henchmen. Very sudden shift.
I wish, wish wish wish I could have seen 5 mins before this happened with Arthur and Merlin in the beginning. First of all, how did they get there? How did Merlin persuade Arthur to go there with a sword? What did he say to Arthur to get him to come over? What did Arthur know before he saw Morgana and Gwen together? Does this mean Arthur has character development with the Agravaine story? Where he didn’t believe Merlin when Merlin blatantly said: “Your uncle is evil and I’m right, trust me.” Is he trusting Merlin more now? Because if so, that’s a great development. But why Arthur? Why did you bring out a sword so suddenly? Your wife is there! Your WIFE. And you pull out a sword?! Gwen is evil now! She could protect Morgana and is very good with a sword mind you! Either Arthur could get hurt or Gwen! Don’t swing your sword around while your enchanted wife is right there! Who knows what can happen! ALSO! “No, my lord.” Merlin? You’re not in public. Why are you suddenly being all formal to him? Is this your way of showing the gravity of this situation? I liked how firm he was about it and Arthur listened.
It makes me sad that the only mention of Elyan is through Evil Gwen using his name as a guilt trip. There is no scene of Merlin mourning him. Or the knights after the funeral. They did it with Lancelot. Was Elyan that disposable? I loved when Arthur took Leon and Mordred out to that small room. I don’t know why but it felt very Game of Thrones-like. Epic in scale. Exciting. Don’t think it’s happened before. Very fun. I love Arthur’s competency. Even though I don’t like Gaius, I like learning about characters’ pasts. Oh, I would have loved the whole Mordred being mistaken as Emrys. So many fun ideas. I agree with your ideas with Dragoon. I liked the theme of the consent of this with Gwen and the cauldron. And there’s a goddess involved in this, love it!
Arthur has a grudge against Dragoon still. This means Gaius and Merlin haven’t told Arthur the truth, Arthur needs to know about Dragoon, it’s holding him back with accepting magic more. Also, that discussion sounded a bit sexist. So just because it’s a woman sorcerer means that she’s naturally going to be good? I agree with Dan!! Poor Merlin. Gaius is so mean! And yes! Why is Gaius suddenly so mean to him!? “Why I keep him is beyond me.” OUCH! I know it was played for laughs but it’s a bad bad joke and makes no sense. Only a few seasons ago Gaius saved Merlin from the fire! And was kind of nice to Merlin most of the time. Like his son. It’s been a while since Gaius was so harsh. This is S1 Gaius. Why aren’t other characters more confused about why the physician is cruel to his basically adopted son? He doesn’t even scold him quietly, no he takes it a step further and discusses how useless Merlin is to others in front of him.
The fall scene shocked me. I don’t think they’ve done something this intense before? Merlin looked seriously knocked out and unresponsive, did you see just how far down he fell? And how he did not wake up for a long while? And the rocks between Arthur’s arm!? How he tried to get the sword THEN trying to either pull it out or snap it in half so he could cut his own arm off!? Great performance by Bradley with the struggling expression and shout. As much as this shocked me i appreciate that they added this in. So new for the show to explore. Shows how tough Arthur is mentally to be able to do that to get his arm free. Why is his arm and hand not bruised or damaged in the next scene? Also Poor Merlin having to carry all that luggage and to him fall not because of a gag but because that’s how much he was carrying, of course, he’d struggle and fall! A great consequence to Arthur not realizing how much stress he’s putting on Merlin until it’s too late and what a serious consequence that was.
Merlin felt so snarky to Mordred when Mordred confronted him at the fire scene. I feel like they’re trying to make Mordred seem creepy just because they want you to keep guessing if he is evil or not. That’s it. it sucks. Also i loved the Arthur hopping like a bunny when he carried Gwen and shouting at them while escaping from Aithusa. Nooo don’t hurt Aithusa. I liked the Mordred and Morgana scene where you could still see Morgana’s humanity! Amazing! Merlin felt so fed up with Arthur at the quarry when Arthur forgot about him and i don’t blame him! Even Gwen and Mordred forgot! I’m shocked. and Merlin finally had the chance to tell Arthur how he thought for probably a while. Amazing insight into his inner thoughts and feelings. I still liked the Dolma. I just remember Alex and Bradley were busy laughing the whole time with the scene with the Dolma.
Angel did brilliantly! So touching. The most emotionally intimate moment with Arthur and Gwen. shows the depth of their love for each other.
31st October 2021 @ 2:46 pm
I wish, wish wish wish I could have seen 5 mins before this happened with Arthur and Merlin in the beginning. First of all, how did they get there? How did Merlin persuade Arthur to go there with a sword? What did he say to Arthur to get him to come over? –
Same here. Also, I wish, wish, wish that we’d seen Merlin tell Arthur things throughout the entire series. Obviously not everything but there were so many moments where telling him was logical and not telling him absurd. And the one time Merlin is doing the normal thing and is, clearly, being believed (and doesn’t get his head chopped off – Gaius’ eternal chorus to ‘justify’ not telling Arthur anything previously), we don’t even get to see it.
However, it does create a wonderful space for fanfiction and I definitely remember reading a nice one that filled in this missing scene. If you want, I can try to dig it out for you.
It’s been a while since Gaius was so harsh. This is S1 Gaius. Why aren’t other characters more confused about why the physician is cruel to his basically adopted son? He doesn’t even scold him quietly, no he takes it a step further and discusses how useless Merlin is to others in front of him. –
Could it be that we were MEANT to realise the inconsistency in Gaius’ treatment of Merlin? I mean, perhaps the scene was meant to show Gaius trying to act inconspicuously. Gaius is best when he stays out of the limelight, agrees with his superiors and doesn’t draw attention to himself. In a high-stress, make something credible up on the fly, Gaius is pretty useless (as we have seen before with the invention of the infernal ‘tavern’ excuse.)
1st November 2021 @ 11:41 am
-Same here. Also, I wish, wish, wish that we’d seen Merlin tell Arthur things throughout the entire series. Obviously not everything but there were so many moments where telling him was logical and not telling him absurd. And the one time Merlin is doing the normal thing and is, clearly, being believed (and doesn’t get his head chopped off – Gaius’ eternal chorus to ‘justify’ not telling Arthur anything previously), we don’t even get to see it.-
Yes! I agree 🙂
-However, it does create a wonderful space for fanfiction and I definitely remember reading a nice one that filled in this missing scene. If you want, I can try to dig it out for you.-
Please please do! So keen to read some 🙂
-Could it be that we were MEANT to realise the inconsistency in Gaius’ treatment of Merlin? I mean, perhaps the scene was meant to show Gaius trying to act inconspicuously. Gaius is best when he stays out of the limelight, agrees with his superiors and doesn’t draw attention to himself. In a high-stress, make something credible up on the fly, Gaius is pretty useless (as we have seen before with the invention of the infernal ‘tavern’ excuse.)-
That is true! I didn’t think of that. Thanks 🙂
2nd November 2021 @ 10:09 pm
Sorry, it took me a while to find it. Here you go: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/9755925/1/Words-of-a-Servant-or-How-Merlin-Always-Knew
3rd November 2021 @ 1:02 pm
It was so good! Thank you so so much for sending this to me. I really enjoyed it. Beautifully done.
3rd November 2021 @ 11:01 pm
Glad you enjoyed it. You’re welcome. 😊
28th October 2021 @ 4:03 pm
I really like this episode. It gives me Arthur/Gwen vibes like no other episode in the whole show, to be honest. It’s just the bit where Arthur has to fight for Gwen and reach out to her, and I think it’s beautiful. The scene in the lake makes me tear up. Bradley and Angel are gorgeous.
It’s also the episode which makes me wish more than ever that we got 2 seasons of older Mordred and him and Merlin reluctantly working together. I like their dynamic this episode. BTW, I don’t know if I’m in a complete headcanon space with that, but I always got the impression that Mordred recognized Merlin in Dolma instantly and was kinda messing with him, trying to see what excuse Merlin will come up with for his disappearance 🙂
Let’s talk about the Dolma! I’ve seen it go two ways in fandom; there are people offended by it, and there are people who basically reclaimed it for themselves, saying that of course Merlin would be okay with effectively changing his gender appearance, after all, he’s pure magic, magic has no gender, hello. I think you can guess that I’m in the second group 🙂 It’s true that Colin Morgan plays it seriously – and apparently, according to Alex Vlahos in the DVD commentary for this episode, they made Colin reshoot all his shots from this scene because he was playing it even more seriously (or, “too” seriously according to some)! Which makes me think 2 things: 1) I would kill for seeing that first version, 2) Colin, you have my eternal respect for still resisting to go full comedy in the final shot, thank you from the bottom of my queer heart.
Some random thoughts:
The scene with transporting Gwen’s body through the castle and Gaius randomly bitching at Merlin is RIDICULOUS. He says “keep up, boy” and “why I keep him is beyond me”. Is this a lost dialogue bit from s1? EVERYONE knows Merlin at this point. He’s the king’s personal servant. Did Gaius really think nobody would be suspicious if he suddenly started treating Merlin like some random serving boy?
Also, thank you for making me wonder if Dragoon/Emrys smells the same as Merlin. Which leads to the question of how does Merlin smell. Which… oh, well, I guess I’m going to be distracted for the rest of the day 😛
29th October 2021 @ 4:38 pm
I hadn’t thought much about Gaius’ acting in the hallway much til now. You’re right, its so rude, even if its all put on. Merlin has spent 10 years in the castle, he must have racked up a good amount of authority and respect by now amongst the knights and fellow servants by being the manservant to the king and extra points having medical knowledge. For Gaius to talk about him as if he’s a 18 year old dogsbody again in front of everyone, using the word “boy” and “oh he’s so slow and useless” is so horrible. Plus totally unnecessary, if you don’t want to be paid attention to when passing through a crowded hall, DON’T yell at the top of your voice to deliberately make people notice you and suddenly be interested in what you’re doing!