botherd | (no subject)

I decided to catch up with Merlin so I could watch the new series that's airing now - I'd previously given up on it after that godawful troll episode last year - and hmm, I'm still pretty ambivalent about it.

OMG, Merlin's self-righteousness is killing me. "I should never have trusted Morgana." YOU NEVER DID, THAT'S THE POINT. If Gaius had taught Morgana how to control her powers and use them for good instead of trying to repress them and keep her oblivious to them, if Merlin had tried to be a real friend and tell her that he had magic too instead of letting her feel isolated and persecuted, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. They could have been adorable magic buddies together! Gah, it reminds me of Supernatural when we were meant to believe that Sam was evil for starting the apocalypse and Dean was a saint. SHADES OF GREY, EXPLORE THEM.

The unfortunate demise of Gwen/Morgana makes me sad, too. I wish the writers remembered that they used to be more in love than Merlin and Arthur ever have been.

Anyway, TEAM EVIL. We have hot sisters in love and an army of skeletons; what more could you ask for?

(Next week's episode looks absolutely dreadful, oh my God. I really don't know if I can bear to watch forty-five minutes of Gaius being possessed by a goblin.)

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They don't use Gwen anywhere near enough - that's one of my main quibbles.

The next one does look like the troll episode all over again, just with a goblin. Rather like Troll II, really...I wonder if it's the younger audience that likes the gross-out stuff, because it really doesn't work...

Yeah, Gwen doesn't seem to have any actual storylines anymore, she's just a prop for Arthur to emote at. A shame, because I really like Gwen.

I can see why they'd want to throw in a few comedy episodes, especially seeing as the first two eps have been quite dark for Merlin, but do they have to be so BAD? There must be a way to do something lulzy without resorting to fart jokes.

There better be a Gwen-centric episode soon, or at least one where she has a more prominent role.

I almost prefer the lulzy stuff when it comes naturally in the dialogue, and is peppered through a more 'serious' episode. Full-on comedy episodes in sci-fi/fantasy things rarely work, unless the series is firmly grounded in comedy from the off, or is parodying something else.

She hasn't really had a proper episode to herself at all so far, has she? The only one I can think of is that one where Lancelot and Arthur were fighting over her, and I don't think that really counts. I guess if they take the series to the point where she actually marries Arthur then maybe she'll have more to do, but that might not be for AGES.

I agree, comedy works best when it's interspersed with serious stuff. That's probably a much better way to balance it and keep younger kids interested instead of having episodes solely dedicated to stupid comedy, which makes older people want to turn off.

There was that episode mostly revolving around her and her Dad, wasn't there? I can't remember details - it was so long ago!

The next one does look like the troll episode all over again, just with a goblin. Rather like Troll II, really

Best comment EVER.

Yay! Thank you. :D

(Will stop hogging the comments, now...)

Is it wrong that I liked the troll episode? I mean, I know it wasn't exactly classy television, but the presence of Sarah Parish in anything will make me tune in.

I think it was just as much the focus on Uther (who I can't stand; are we really supposed to want Merlin to keep saving his life?) that made me dislike the troll episode. Sarah Parrish is generally awesome, I just wish they'd given her a better episode to star in.

Ah, I see your point. I'm not really an Uther fan either - and in fairness I've not really made a point of watching Merlin properly until this series, I've just been dipping in and out, so there's probably quite a lot that I'm missing!