Merlin - 3x06 - The Castle of Fyrien

[fembuck]

So much Morgana/Morgause!  Twas a delight for the senses!

The Good

The Morgana and Morgause interactions in this episode were mint!  They were almost too gay to function. I swear to god the hand-holding and longing gazes between them were out of control.





.gifs by lovepb 

And Morgana's wooby look when Morgause got was too adorable for words!  She looked like a lost little puppy.  I wanted Morgause to get up and hug her forever after that look.



.gif by lovepb 

I also happen to have a ton of love for Cenred (who I fondly refer to as King Mean Girl, because it so is!) and I found his interactions with Morgause just as, if not more enjoyable, than the last time they were on screen together.  They are just so catty and delicious and Emilia Fox and Tom Ellis seem like they have tons of fun in their scenes together.

I like Gwen and Arthur together as well, I happen to think that Bradley and Angel have good chemistry together so the Gwen/Arthur awkward but adorable romantic scenes didn't bug me (I wanted to scream at Morgana and Merlin for the kiss-blocking).

And though it was a small moment, I really enjoyed Morgana covering her cup when Merlin was serving breakfast and tried to fill her glass.  I don't think that she thought he would try something since he'd just served Arthur and Uther from the same jug, but it was a nice little dig at Merlin letting him know that she remembered what he had done.  Merlin is really the only person besides Uther who Morgana has a justifiable grudge against so I can enjoy her bitchiness in regards to him.

The Bad

Morgana being EVIL.  I hate, hate, hate that they have made Morgana so cartoonishly, so cloak swishingly evil.  I'd say I don't understand why TPTB have done this, but I do know why.  It's because they're lazy hacks and making her completely evil is just easier than giving her depth.  But it's really, really, irritating because they could give her a little humanity without having to devote tons and tons of screen time to it.

They could have shown Morgana looking hesitant when talk of killing Arthur came up, and maybe showed Morgause trying to convince her that it was necessary.  They could have have given a brief shot of Morgana maybe wrapping up Gwen's injured wrists or something to show that she still cares about Gwen even though she is using her. We're talking about mere seconds of screen time here that could give Morgana back some humanity.

The only thing that stopped me for raging for this whole episode was how pretty Katie looked, and the Morgana/Morgause interactions.


Overall, I think I'm just going to have to resign myself to the fact this is a ridiculous show that will never really be satisfying because TPTB are more interested in fart jokes, and having Arthur throw things at Merlin than they in character development and internal logic.  *sigh*

Comments

[fembuck.livejournal.com]

Morgana used to be good. I mean, they spent almost two entire seasons building her up into a sympathetic character that everyone could like and cheer for...And now they're doing this to her?

I know. It's super frustrating. It's like why did they even bother making her a sympathetic character if they weren't the least bit interested in tracing HOW she turned into the iconic Morgan le Faye? She's so cartoonish now that the first season presentation of her seems to be completely useless because there are virtually no elements of that character people loved in this incarnation.

I feel so bad for Katie, because like all of us she obviously has a deep love for her character, but week after week she has to basically assassinate the character she spent two seasons building up because the writers are lazy.

However, those two emotions shouldn't negate every other feeling she's ever had.

This is it! It's not like she's become cold to everyone. She is still capable of love as seen with Morgause, so it makes no sense that she would so callously turn on people who had been so good to her. Honestly, I can see her loathing Merlin, but Arthur and Gwen? Come on. Arthur being a Daddy's boy shouldn't be enough to eclipse the years they spent growing up together. Plus, he's her half-brother and you'd think that would mean something to her considering how close she and Morgause are. And Gwen, Gwen has never been anything but loyal to her. Turning on Gwen especially is just low and there's no reason for it.

Don't worry about the rambling, as you can see my disgust with the presentation of Morgana leads to rambling too!

[mistressdenna93.livejournal.com]

I feel so bad for Katie, because like all of us she obviously has a deep love for her character, but week after week she has to basically assassinate the character she spent two seasons building up because the writers are lazy.

Exactly. It's so sad to watch her sacrifice so much of the character she created just so the writers don't have to put forth the effort to write a meaningful character arch. I seriously keep waiting for her to look into the camera and just be like, "I'm sorry, but this is just too much. I am NOT smirking anymore. Do you hear me? NO MORE EVIL SMIRKING! I'M DONE!"

She is still capable of love as seen with Morgause, so it makes no sense that she would so callously turn on people who had been so good to her.

What bothers me the most about this is that is makes it look like she's suffering from some medieval form of Stockholm Syndrome. It's as though all the love she ever felt for anything/anyone is now focused entirely on Morgause, to the exclusion of everything else... which might actually have been an interesting idea to explore, had the writers cared enough to find a rational explanation for her behavior. Which of course they didn't.

Honestly, I can see her loathing Merlin

Agreed. Merlin (and Uther, of course) is really the only one who honestly deserves her loathing. Part of what's been bothering me about him lately is that he doesn't appear to feel any actual remorse over the fact that he tried to kill her. BEFORE he knew for certain that she was evil. It's as though, because she's evil now, it's somehow okay that he poisoned her then. He doesn't even take into account the fact that his poisoning/betrayal of her might very well have been one of the things that drove her to become the sociopath she now is. He's so fixated on Arthur and his "destiny" that he can't see how hypocritical he's being.

Arthur being a Daddy's boy shouldn't be enough to eclipse the years they spent growing up together. Plus, he's her half-brother and you'd think that would mean something to her considering how close she and Morgause are.

I don't see why Morgause gave up on her original plan to use Arthur against his father. She's not exactly the type of person who abandons a plan just because it failed once (or she would have given up overthrowing Uther three attempts ago), so why did she abandon Arthur? It seems to me that the best way to make use of Arthur and Morgana would have been to manipulate Arthur's bond with her. Arthur falls in love (magical or real, it doesn't matter) with Morgana... Morgana reveals that she has magic... Uther turns on Morgana and forces Arthur to choose between his father and his love... the result? Arthur overthrows his father to defend Morgana. Now Arthur is on the throne and Morgana (and Morgause, vicariously) is in a position of power in Camelot. I'm not sure how Merlin and Gwen would have fit into all that, but I'm sure Morgause could have figured something out. Then they could have reintroduced Mordred and started playing with that bit of the Arthur/Morgana/Merlin dynamic. That's what I would have done, anyway.

Again with the rambling... I think I'm done now.