Merlin 4.01 - The Darkest Hour

[corilannam]

Please, please, can the rest of the series be just like this?? I enjoyed this so very much. My whole brain is just a constant stream of merlinmerlinmerlinmerlinmerlin right now.

New opener! A YOUNG MAN! Yes! Merlin has finally been allowed to exit puberty! New clothes next series? Let's put our requests in early.

Also, they sure weren't kidding about what a difference the switch to 35mm film made. Wow, everything is gorgeous and cinematic. It finally really feels traditionally Arthurian.

So once again, it's a year later. I'm kind of happy about that -- so much room for new canon stories!

Uther is slowly fading out, which I ought to be sad about, I suppose. It's hard to have much empathy for him at this point, but I do miss him as a character. Gwen has given herself the role of full time caregiver, an arduous and thankless task even when you're caring for a king. You can see the strain wearing on her; nice job by Angel Coulby there. Hopefully they'll keep letting her act!

Nice to see that the knights have all settled in so well. So many lines for Sir Leon! So much cuteness (kitchen raid!! *hearts*). So much Elyan! I swooned appropriately when he and Percival saved the wee children -- Percival carrying all three at once, at the expense of his torch, was even better than the trailer promised. These are definitely the brave knights of the Round Table I've been waiting for.

Still, Percival should at least get some sleeves when there are chilling ice demons roaming around.

It was also nice to have Lancelot back just so Merlin has someone else to talk to. My only knightly disappointment was the very small role of Gwaine. We've spent the hiatus building up Gwaine into such a major character in fic and discussion, it was kind of weird not to have him involved in much of the episode.

The plot is pretty cool -- love the use of Samhain and the sacrifice of Morgause. I love that Morgana knows the name Emrys now. When she saw old!Merlin in the vision, I really, really wanted her to recognize him, but alas, it was not to be. I like the goth queen look, but I do wish she weren't so unrelievedly evil. Every time she rejoices in the deaths of the common people, I feel sad for S1 Morgana (though it's less smirky this year, thank goodness). But I love her increased powers; that opening scene was badass.

I am very curious about her relationship with Agravaine and how that alliance came into being. Actually, I'm just curious in general about Agravaine and his history and motivations. He's meant to be another of Ygraine's brothers, yes? Poor Arthur. Family just never works out for him (and how sad was it when he said he hoped Uther would be proud of him "this time"? even now, he still doesn't believe he ever had his father's approval).

Okay! Let's get on to the important part, which is obviously the Merlin/Arthur!

SQUEEEEEEEE: Okay, so how much do I love the journey when Merlin doesn't say anything, isn't even in Arthur's line of sight, and yet Arthur is still so aware of him that it bugs him that Merlin's on edge? SO MUCH. One of my favorite things has always been the way they can totally abuse each other in front of Arthur's knights and nobody even blinks an eye. LOVE LOVE LOVE that Merlin wrote Arthur's speech for him -- and LOVED EVEN MORE that little smile Arthur had as he sent Merlin off to polish it. He totally let his shirt ride up ON PURPOSE. I KNOW HE DID.

The moments of shared terror and vulnerability were wonderful, both in Arthur's chambers and in the moments right before Merlin sacrificed himself to save Arthur (you know, again).

NOT QUITE AS SQUEEFUL: I was a little disappointed that Arthur just rolled his eyes when Merlin collapsed in the feast. HOWEVER, I am choosing to interpret that as meaning that Merlin frequently falls over during feasts, probably from "whiffing the barmaid's apron," if you know what I mean. Lancelot was certainly the only one who seemed to think it was unusual, presumably recognizing the signs of magic.

I also wasn't completely thrilled with the "if things were different, we could have been good friends" conversation. They've had this conversation before. And they've been together for so long now. I just wish they could get past that barrier. Or at least stop talking about it. I dunno. It was my only down moment in the whole episode, though.

So, anyone else have a terrible feeling that Lancelot is not long for this world? I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that he's going to end up being the one to sacrifice himself to keep his promise to Gwen and save Merlin. (No spoilers, please, if you know for sure!)

Comments

[srin.livejournal.com]

Haha, it's true, that armour doesn't look at all fun to cozy up to.

Really, they just need to hurry up and do the reveal; then Merlin can make magical armour that appears and disappears as needed, they can snuggle at the drop of the hat, and everyone'll be happier.

[corilannam.livejournal.com]

That's going to be awesome when it happens. Only they will probably have an awkward adjustment period when Merlin starts just magically dropping Arthur into an armored box for safe keeping whenever a battle breaks out. "It's just more efficient that way!"