Merlin 4.11

[corilannam]

So Arthur deliberately kept his marriage alliance a secret from Merlin -- and wow, Merlin is none too happy about that! It was kind of ouchy to watch, but I like the underlying implications of it:

1) Merlin is normally privy to absolutely everything Arthur does, including significant matters of state. We've seen that Merlin isn't usually in the room when the council is meeting, which means that Arthur just tells him everything (he has to since Merlin keeps his schedule, writes his speeches, and oh, made all the arrangements for Arthur's last proposal).

2) The reason Arthur didn't tell him about this is pretty obvious: he knew Merlin would immediately do exactly what he did--bring up Gwen--and he really, really doesn't want to hear it. The downside of having a friend you can trust to always tell you the truth is that it's difficult to avoid the truth when you want to hide from it.

3) The threat of exile makes me a little jumpy with the potential implications for the reveal (should that happen any time soon). I cannot tell you how much I do not ever want to see Merlin exiled. But in this context, I don't think Arthur was serious in his threat. I think it was his way of making it clear to Merlin how serious he was about not wanting to hear anything more about Gwen.

I do love later on when Merlin is fretting about whether Arthur is fated to marry Gwen. Why he would think that, I'm not sure. But it's really cute how he worries about whether he's supposed to do anything about it -- he really does take responsibility for every aspect of Arthur's life!

Speaking of Gwen, wow she cleans up pretty when the make-up and costuming people actually make an effort! I am finding myself with a strong craving for Helios/Gwen porn. Anyone else? Maybe a version of their dinner where Morgana doesn't show up and they get to continue to "know each other"?

I do like Morgana when she's negotiating with her erstwhile allies. It makes her look all tough and competent, which is hot, and lets me forget for a moment how very, very stupid and unnecessary all her schemes are.

Come to think of it, I'd take Helios/Morgana porn, too. Maybe an AU where she becomes queen and invites Helios to Camelot to "indulge himself"?

Sidenote: Speaking of incompetent villains, wow, is Agravaine terrible at staging a cover-up for his murder! Like, that was truly bumbling. I'm almost embarrassed for our poor greasy dude, but I guess he did get what he was after.

Another sidenote from earlier as long as I'm at it: When Arthur & Company are standing out on the front steps to welcome the delegation from Nemeth -- where the fuck are Arthur's arms?? Seriously, that's freaking me out how well his sleeves blend into his cloak. It actually distracted me from the crown for almost a minute.

Speaking of Nemeth, I am very much in favor of Princess Mithian! She is lovely and poised and warm and seems to really like Arthur (and he seems taken by her as well). And she likes sports hunting! If he were really looking for a queen, she seems like she could get the job done quite well. Arthur's very awkward attempts at courtship were utterly charming--and she seemed to think so, too.

Merlin's little interventions in said courtship were amusing, though not terribly effective. I totally loved his sour expression when Mithian returned an even better belch in response to the magical ones he gave Arthur -- reminded me a lot of Dragoon's expressions.

His one-sided bitching to Gaius was great. I think that Merlin is not so much concerned about saving Arthur for Gwen as he is put out that Arthur isn't listening to him. *g*

And I absolutely love that Mithian does know that Arthur listens to Merlin and wants Merlin on her side. I love that she talks to him like an equal. I love that she can see past all Arthur's bluster. Dammit, why can't we keep her?

See, the problem with showing us Mithian at this point is that we have to compare her with Gwen. And I'm afraid Gwen comes out the worse for it. I bet Mithian wouldn't have gotten caught and turned into a freaking deer.

But okay, the confrontation between Morgana and Gwen was pretty cool. Well, Morgana was pretty cool. Katie's crazy bitch queen performance gets better every week.

And Gwen does make a cute deer. And animal transformation is now canon! \o/

I loved Arthur's face when he finds his ring and realizes what it is. Even more, I love how he almost involuntarily looks up at Merlin. Poor Mithian. That was the moment her betrothal ended, if only she had known it.

And Gwen got to do something important! Sort of! Mostly by accident! And it didn't actually accomplish anything in the end! But I'll take whatever pittance I can get.

I am very sad for her that she still believes she voluntarily betrayed Arthur. But at the same time, I love that Merlin believes it, too, but still loves her and wants her to come home. Their friendship has always been so lovely.

I'm a little disturbed that Arthur is suddenly so set against believing that Agravaine could be a traitor. He's suspected Agravaine before, and after the whole thing with Gaius, I was assuming that Arthur was keeping an open mind about it.

Or maybe he was, but now he's reacting on sheer emotion because he can't bear the thought of one more person he loves betraying him. His reaction at being disturbed already showed how much emotional turmoil he's in -- after all, when does he ever care if Merlin interrupts him? And he does go to look for the plans and even summons Agravaine just in case, so it's not like he blows Merlin off completely.

And even after he's so harsh with Merlin, Arthur ends up opening up to him at last. My poor baby king, so lost and conflicted and anguished. When he looks up with that vulnerable little frown between his eyebrows and asks Merlin what he should do, I almost died. Their last conversation was nice, though I don't get why Merlin would call him the once and future king -- that makes no sense in their present day context.

I don't doubt that Arthur feels very deeply for Gwen. I just wish, once again, that I could see more of that returned from her side. I am very sad for her that she still believes she voluntarily betrayed Arthur (and a little disturbed by the misogyny of her punishment/penance, even if she had kissed Lancelot of her own free will). But at the same time, I love that even though Merlin believes she did, too, he still loves her and wants her to come home. D'aww. It's good to have at least one friend who still likes you even when you fuck up.


So, next week looks exciting, yes? I can't believe there are only two episodes left. And I kind of want to go look for spoilers for the finale, but I just can't face it yet!

Comments

[corilannam.livejournal.com]

I do love their friendship so much. And while I'm unhappy that Gwen is getting so much blame and want to see her exonerated, I do hope Arthur chooses to forgive her before he finds out about the enchantment.