nightfox: (Default)
OK, I was going to be all objective and shit about this episode but, well, fuck that! I am going to be honest about this episode, warts and farts and slash and all.
If you are an Arwen shipper, you’ll probably want to skip this post!




First,there is a damn good reason people ship Arthur & Merlin and this episode is chock full of moments that illustrate why:

-Arthur is truly himself with Merlin and Merlin only. Thus his gripey face and less-than-regal grousing at Merlin in the beginning of the episode. ”Merlin, is there anything e you’re actually capable of doing?”-“Putting up with you!” He lets Merlin see him as he is, not who he pretends to be. Notice that as soon as Gwen shows up, he puts his mask back on and acts the perfect gentleman. He won’t be himself in front of anyone but Merlin.

-Arthur acts like a jealous boyfriend over Merlin. When Merlin spends a moment too long speaking to the pretty new maidservant, Arthur gets pissy and yells for Merlin like a baby bawling for its favourite toy!

-When riding out on campaign, Merlin rides beside Arthur instead of his second-in-command. Hmm…if Arthur really had so much contempt for Merlin then his servant wouldn’t be given ascendance over his most loyal knights.

-When Merlin disappears from his sight for a few minutes, Arthur tracks him down. (Note it was Arthur who found him in the cave with the newly dead seer.)

-Merlin sleeps next to Arthur when away from the castle.

-Arthur worries about Merlin’s feelings, even if he teases him about them. In Annis’s castle and then even more pointedly, later on by the pond, Arthur notices Merlin’s brooding and tries to fix it.

-The pond scene! The amount of UST here is insane. Arthur and Merlin’s continued eye-sex is so overt they really might as well just get on with the real thing cuz they aren’t fooling anyone (except maybe themselves). I swear if boning with your eyes was a valid sex act this show would require an NC-17 rating! I have to agree with the reviewer who said that the “gay subtext” in this show isn’t really subtext and that it’s “about as subtle as an orgy in an owl sanctuary.” Could the producers highlight the Merthur man-love any more? I think not.

Merlin doesn’t actually come right out and declare his undying love for Arthur in so many words but he might as well have here.

- Merlin is so worried about Arthur’s safety that he yells at him like a fishwife! Arthur fully accepts it.

-“I swear I will protect you or die at your side.” = “I love you more than anything on earth. I’d gladly die for you and you alone.” ♥ And more eye-sex, yay!

- They go to sleep back to back but wake up with Merlin tucked under Arthur’s arm. So many feels here! Especially for the way Arthur is so soft about muffling Merlin’s mouth. Yeah, ahem. Yeah.

-Arthur’s tactical thinking goes right out the window when it comes to keeping Merlin safe. Instead of stepping back, letting Merlin spring the trap and then freeing him from it, Arthur throws himself on Merlin to try and save him! His brain seems to fall out his arse when Merlin is threatened. He totally loses his cool!

This brings me back to S4E2 when instead of using the torch he’s holding to fight off the dorocha heading for Merlin, he tosses the torch aside and throws himself on top of Merlin thereby leaving them both at the things’ mercy. Really, he’s so overprotective of Merlin that he’s hamstrung by the feeling.

-Boys are so cute sleeping smooshed together in the rope-trap.

-Arthur’s last request is for the bad-guys to let Merlin go. Merlin of course counters with the you’ll-have-to-kill-me-to-get-to-him declaration! ♥

(I did tell the Arwen shippers to stay away!)


Now, for the rest of my thoughts and feelings about this episode:

• I like the opening scenes of this epi, they echo the opening run Merlin does in S4 but with an ominous overtone that's a strangely endearing, obvious and clumsy foreshadowing of the tone of the coming series.

• Snowy landscapes and the people who live in the snow all dress in black…shameless rip-off of GoT, but I love it anyway :D

• Can they please, please at least give Perceval some sleeves in the snow ? Come on, yes, the man has lovely arms but you were planning on showing them off later on anyway. There is no way a sane man left home for the frozen North without packing something with SLEEVES!!

• Did anyone else notice that they finally put Gaius in the opening credits?

• I for one am quite fond of Morgana’s wolf-sled (yes, yes, even if she does look like she just rode in from Narnia) remember, it is a valid way of getting around in the snow…and wolf-dogs are cool. I have noticed though that for all her power, Morgana can’t seem to summon up a mirror and comb…

• Liam Cunningham! I wonder if he can’t help making the comparisons too…still, here he is as a bad-ass sorcerer…who doesn’t use magic. What’s up with that? According to Sefa he is a great sorcerer but we sure don't see it in action in this episode! (Also, I am assuming from his tattoo that he is yet another Druid gone bad.)

• A to M-“If it was you who’d disappeared I wouldn't bother.” *cough* Bullshit! *cough* We've seen Arthur try to run off pell-mell by himself into a mercenary riddled forest to look for Merlin when he disappeared. (Not to mention that he was prepared to abandon a quest to save all of Camelot in order to save just Merlin. When told he couldn't, he looked like he couldn't decide whether to shit or go blind!)

• Shamelessly shirtless!knights :D

• Creepy half-dead Druid in a cave mentions “the never-ending circle” of Arthur’s fate. While that definitely indicates reincarnation to me, it indicates it with a shitty codicil. Arthur is going to be stalked and killed by Mordred in every lifetime? Or is he just fated to die too soon every time he comes around? However, he also gives hope that this fate can be changed by Emrys so…yeah, classically ambiguous.

• Kilgharrah is here, yay! It’s nice that he’s there to confirm Merlin’s destined role as Arthur’s primary protector.

• I love Queen Annis but why she assumes Merlin is Arthur’s “Fool” is beyond me. Upon first meeting, Arthur clearly stated that Merlin was his servant and while he called him a “simple-minded fool” he didn’t say that Merlin was any sort of Jester. Also, why is she assuming that Merlin has so many failings? While I love what Merlin does in response to her request for entertainment (and I love that Colin really learned to juggle for this scene!), doesn’t it seem odd that Queen Annis would have so much information, however incorrect, about one of Arthur’s servants? I don’t know, that just struck me as very odd…unless Arthur runs his mouth about Merlin to his neighbor…and wouldn't that be telling?

• Sefa’s dad is a thoroughly ruthless bastard. If they dare make him grieve over his daughter’s death later on, I will be pissed cuz here, he is heartlessly throwing her down a deadly path without hesitation or so much as a pat on the head for her efforts. Echoes of Uther anyone? Similar parenting style…

• Someone want to tell me when Gwen became so pompous that she could no longer walk three steps to her own desk to gather her papers for a council meeting?

• Arthur sees Morgana and screams like a girl. WTF? ”Run!” Run??? Arthur??? I was hearing Monty Python’s King Arthur here, “Run away!” (and inevitably Sir Robin’s minstrels). This is not Merlin’s Arthur, sorry, this is just such a jarringly OOC thing for him to do. The enemy approaches and the warrior-king wants to leg it?

Also, why the hell aren’t Morgana and Ruadan using magic in the battle? Morgana just sits on her horse watching and Ruadan (who, according to his daughter, is a great sorcerer) just goes in fighting with his sword like any other man? Um…yeah, logic fail here!

• Merlin saves Arthur’s life, no surprise. Arthur’s dense reaction to it, not really surprising but infuriating. How many times does Merlin have to save his life for him to stop being incredulous about it?

Also, Merlin incants a spell while he is literally inches away from Arthur and the idiot still fails to notice the magic? How they hell am I supposed to swallow that without thinking Arthur is criminally stupid? Or alternatively, so willfully blind it’s insane?

I do love Merlin’s deep irritation with Arthur here though. Gritting his words out from between his tightly clenched teeth and mocking Arthur for failing to note his “many talents”.

• Percival & Gwaine sleeping side by side, shirtless on cold rock. OK, if I’m Gwaine? Homoerotic feels or not, I am using the large man-pillow next to me to get off that cold, hard rock!! Somehow I think the big softie would allow it. Perceval’s pin-up pose is just hilarious too. Hot but hilarious!

• Merlin & Arthur’s bickering on the way to Ismere! “Threatening a King is treason, Merlin.’ “How about threatening an ass!”

• Morgana searching for Arthur (and Merlin) and declaring she didn’t care how long it took to find them made me think: Didn’t Leon & Elyan make it back to Camelot awfully quickly? I mean, if they managed to get home so fast then why was the initial patrol out wandering in the snow for weeks? If it took a search party another few weeks to give up looking for Gwaine’s patrol then why were Elyan & Leon so sure that Arthur & Merlin had disappeared? Um…E&L seemed to give up that search pretty quick. Morgana’s still out looking when they’ve already given up and made it home!


• Queen Guinevere sentencing the serving girl to death! Yeah, I actually liked Gwen here. She girded her ovaries and did what needed to be done. She was clear-eyed, steely and unflinching and even her own brother was surprised. I liked it.

• Hysterical scene with A& M caught in the trap. All pressed together and wriggling :P~ Arthur drops the sword and Merlin cries, “That was your fault, that was your fault!” XD Arthur’s high-pitched squeals of frustration as he flails against the trap…love!


• FUCKING ALIENS IN MOTHER-FUCKING CAMELOT!! This was seven shades of wrong, here! I was torn between WTF?? and laughing my ass off! I have settled down some but I still keep muttering and shaking my head over it. The CGI was laughable too. Who did this scene? I mean, yes, I’m glad Gwaine was saved but really? Really?

• Mordred!! Yeah, I was excited to see the lil fucker. Alex V is a good fit, looks wise. He also got the creepy, soulless smile-with-empty-eyes thing Asa did down pat .



So, I was left with three major feels after this episode 1) FUCKING ALIENS IN CAMELOT!!! 2)Arthur is so in love with Merlin even though he's married (and well, we all know how Merlin feels, the sweet sappy, hopelessly gay-for-his-king man that he is) and 3)I got a bit of respect back for Gwen! Yay, Gwen! You sentence those traitorous teens to death!!

A few farts in church in this episode but overall, I really liked it :D

Date: 2012-10-09 11:58 am (UTC)From: [identity profile] magnolia822.livejournal.com
ext_1007977: (Cols S 5)
Awesome review, bb! I agree whole-heartedly, and your reasoning of the A/M feels pointed out some things I hadn't even thought of. Yay! They're even more in love than I thought.

<3 <3

Date: 2012-10-09 01:18 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Thank you :D Yeah A/M are rather ridiculously in love. They may not admit it out loud but they are literally stupid for each other!

Date: 2012-10-09 12:06 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] yenny2206.livejournal.com
From now on and I will wait until response before posting mine. Since you pretty much wrote everything I was thinking but was too lazy to write it!

I agree with you in everything! Next post I will link your response along with mine that saids " what she said!" :D

Anyways, GOOD MORNING LOVE!!!

Date: 2012-10-09 01:27 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Good morning BB! *hugs*

Sorry, it always takes me a day or two (or three) to gather my thoughts about an episode. I'm not particularly coherent right after watching for the first time. I am too busy flailing and staring at the pretty, feeling more than thinking.

Nice to know I'm not alone in my assessments though!

Date: 2012-10-09 12:31 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] mushroomtale.livejournal.com
Oh my god, bb. *slow clap* I learned so much from this post! You practically isolated every single Merthur moment -- half of which I didn't even pay that much attention to -- and explained everything like it were a science. Yes and yes and yes to everything! *applause* I shall rewatch this episode knowing what to look out for now.

Date: 2012-10-09 01:30 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
*beams* Thank you! I have to admit I am very attuned to the Merthur aspects of the show. They just really stand out to me and this episode had so many moments!

Date: 2012-10-09 02:59 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] mushroomtale.livejournal.com
You're awesome! I hope you make this a thing, if you have time! I usually find myself in a Merthur-induced daze while watching so I discover so many things from your POV that I normally would have missed!

Date: 2012-10-09 03:14 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
I'm definitely going to try to make it a weekly thing, Goodness knows I analyze every moment of each episode in my head! I'm just slower to gather my thoughts than some other people.

Date: 2012-10-09 03:21 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] mushroomtale.livejournal.com
*fist pump* I will definitely look forward to your posts! It'll be good to read before my rewatch. <333

Date: 2012-10-09 01:31 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] jelazakazone.livejournal.com
Brilliant review! I felt the same way about Arthur yelling "run" as soon as he saw Morgana.

Also, I'm in love with Mordred now. Not like Merlin, but still, he's going to give Merlin/Colin a run for the money. Good thing I don't like teenagers:D (He looks soooo young to me.)

Date: 2012-10-09 02:07 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Thank you! Sorry it took me so long. Yeah, remember I said that for me, there were two particularly loud off-notes in this ep? The "Run!" was one and the alien was the other.

BTW, you do know that Alex V is only 2 years younger than Colin?

And...I have Mordred icons for you ;-)

I haven't got to post these yet (I am still working on making icons from all the caps I made) but if you want to look at the Morded icons, have a look at my photobucket. Feel free to snag anything you like.

(And let me know if the link doesn't work, I've never tried to link someone to an album instead of a single pic.)

Date: 2012-10-09 06:12 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] jelazakazone.livejournal.com
Agreed. Definitely. I also found Gwen sentencing Sefa to death a bit extreme, but I think with a little context it would have made more sense. Possibly also for Arthur to yell "run" on seeing Morgana as well.

Aw he seems younger than that. I loved the interview he did. He's so enthusiastic.

It looks like I can't actually dl them, so I will just wait for your post:) Look, I made an icon myself which is not nearly so pretty as any of yours.
Edited Date: 2012-10-09 06:14 pm (UTC)

Date: 2012-10-09 06:41 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
I like your icon! Is that from the promo pics?

Hmm...if you still want any of mine, try going to the album and double click on an icon you want to, you should be able to dl it from its individual page instead of the main page (I signed out of my account and tried it). If that still doesn't work, let me know and I'll post the Mordred icons for you later tonight.

Date: 2012-10-09 06:44 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] jelazakazone.livejournal.com
Yep. Here's another one I made from the promo pics:D

I am not in a hurry. I can wait for the pretties. Take your time, hon:D Thanks!

Date: 2012-10-09 04:13 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] captainraychill.livejournal.com
Damn - I've only ever watched two or three episodes of Season 1 and just did not get into it - but you are making think I am missing so much!! :)

Date: 2012-10-09 04:40 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
:D I honestly didn't get into the show until they'd already done 3 seasons. (Though I could only get my hands on the first 2 seasons initially. I had to order the third from the UK and get a region free DVD player.)

It is not without it's flaws. If you are looking for solid plots and good continuity, this isn't the show for you but if you like character driven television, great acting from most of the principles (Colin is a standout every second he's on screen and Bradley runs a close second...if I had to find fault, it's mostly with the villains), Epic Bromance (which I swear so borders on romance that it's ridiculous), pretty boys and liberal amounts of fun within a fantasy setting then you might want to give the show another chance. I take it for what it is and love it despite what it isn't.

Date: 2012-10-09 05:37 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] alba17.livejournal.com
I laughed at: "Run!", the alien, Gwaine and Percival sleeping shirtless in the cold on a rock. I was surprised they still have Arthur berating Merlin. At least Merlin is acting a little more fed up with it. Agreed with pretty much everything here.

Date: 2012-10-09 06:43 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Thank you! Yeah, I laughed at all that stuff, it was a highly entertaining episode if nothing else ;-)

Date: 2012-10-09 06:14 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] enednoviel.livejournal.com
Wow, brilliant review, thanks!

Date: 2012-10-09 06:44 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Thank you for checking out my insanity <3

Date: 2012-10-09 08:03 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] floating-fog.livejournal.com
An amazing Merthur review is amazing! I love, love, love all your Merthur points! It does seem like BBC finally got what tons of fangirls realized from the first ep: Merthur is otp! Let's hope for more of that coming :D

It does seem like Gwen forgot how to walk, I got so pissed in this part, like, what, can't you move your ass to the fucking table?! It's two steps away! Move! But I must admit that I was super surprised that she caught up to the traitor so fast, I was sure we will have another Agrvaine case here but no, she got it right away, quite shocking.

The aliens are left overs from Dr.Who, don't mind them XD

Date: 2012-10-09 08:49 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Thank you, my dear! Yeah, it would seem that the beebs is at least giving in to the "subtext" while not having the balls to go full out. ANYWAY.

Yeah, I couldn't believe Gwen in that moment. I was like...um...has she forgotten where she came from or what? However, she did do well later on by not being an oblivious tart and instead putting 1+1 together to make 2. When I first saw Sefa sneaking out of the castle, I too thought we were going to have an Agravain season. I was rolling my eyes and mentally yelling at the screen, "Oh come on guys! Can we have a little mystery? Do you have to reveal who the traitor is going to be in the first damn episode again?" So like you, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

You are not the first person to mention Dr Who in regards to the aliens...

Thanks for the feedback, beb!
Edited Date: 2012-10-09 08:50 pm (UTC)

Date: 2012-10-09 09:15 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] floating-fog.livejournal.com
Great minds think alike I guess :D On all accounts

Date: 2012-10-10 09:55 am (UTC)From: [identity profile] ravyn-ashling.livejournal.com
like i tell myself all the time, watching this show for the Arthur/Merlin and pretty much nothing else. XD all the logical failures were hilarious but i loved the ep anyway. Baby Vla is totes adorable, too! and hurrr shipping Percy/Gwaine as well.

Date: 2012-10-10 10:32 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
the Arthur/Merlin has been keeping me coming back for more since the very beginning. For me, it's always been about them.

Baby Vla is completely adorbs! Saw an interview with him and he is just so endearingly sweet and unaffected <3

Mmmm...yeah, the show seems to be throwing Percy/Gwaine together and I'm diggin it. (I can think of a couple other examples from S4, hope they keep it up in S5!)

Date: 2012-10-10 08:27 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] rocknvaughn.livejournal.com
I thoroughly enjoyed this review. Am just discovering the Merthur love (as you know) and yes, this episode was chock full of it!

I didn't really get a lot of the subtext until you started to explain it to me. (Like why Arthur is only an idiot tactically when he is protecting Merlin. I don't know *why* I didn't get that before, but now it is *so* obvious *self Gibbs-slaps*)

Or why Merlin takes incredibly stupid risks when it comes to Arthur...

And the snuggling...Unf! So amazing!

Okay, I'm stopping the *squee-fest* now before I get carried away.

The jury is out on the "alien" until next week. I have to assume it is the Diamair...I'm kind of "Whatever" about it until it turns out to be NOT monumentally stupid.

Liked smart, BAMF Queen Gwen. Let's let her run Camelot and let the boys stay playing out in the woods! ;-)

Date: 2012-10-10 10:39 pm (UTC)From: [identity profile] k-nightfox.livejournal.com
Thanks! This was a particularly rich Merthur episode. The reviewers kinda told us it would be but I hadn't been expecting quite such a treasure trove!

Ah young apprentice, I am happy to help you learn the ways of Merthur! *winks and grins* I didn't actually set out to make this review into a Merthur primer but well, there was just so much there and I had to get my thoughts out!

Love your new icon! I made one of the exact same shot but without the text. Love my snuggling boys!


I love the idea of having Gwen run Camelot so the boys have more time to play together...somehow I doubt she'd agree to it though :P

Date: 2012-10-13 08:33 am (UTC)From: [identity profile] steamyaffair.livejournal.com
LOL!! Love your Merther recap!! I hope you do this every week!!

Yeah, I felt sorry for poor Percy in his sleeveless chain-mail but on the whole, the entire Gwaine/Percy shirtless!slave thing was totally hitting all my good spots. (Must remember to finish that Gwaine/Percy edition to Knot Your Average Fairy Tale)

And I agree - Aliens in Camelot?!?! Holy What-The-Fuck? Also, Mordred is appropriately creepy so that was a good casting call... All in all, it was an awesome premiere!!

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