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]

I so wish they would add some depth to the female characters.

Season two really made me begin to suspect that TPTB didn't really give a shit about the female characters, and this season is just really cementing that. It's like Arthur, Merlin and Uther don't really get much character development, but there are numerous episodes that try to trick us into thinking they are developing. Morgana and Gwen have gotten no such character study moments. Gwen's episodes are usually all about the men in her life, and Morgana has had all personality except of EVIL and (possibly incestuous love) stripped from her. It's like the writers were too bored to bother explaining how this slightly spoiled but generally decent and kind woman could slowly turn into one of the biggest villains in Arthurian legend.

Gwen's a much to blame as she hasn't seemed to care about Morgana at all when in the first series, after her father died, Morgana was practically her whole world.

So much word! It's like they have Gwen thrown a few confused looks are Morgana and that's supposed to represent their friendship. Where's the episode where Gwen and Morgana have to go on a quest together and talk out their issues? Where are the scenes where Gwen questions Morgana about her distance? The only time this season Gwen has seemed to really care about Morgana was in the Crystal Cave when she was dying, and even then I feel like the writers just had her be concerned so that they could get that shot of Arthur hugging Gwen to comfort her.

And Morgause needs some humanity injecting back into her, like she had in The Sins of the Father.

*sigh* I know. I'd love to see the ideological Morgause come back. The only that was concerned with justice and safety for those with magic, instead of this Morgause who just wants to see Morgana in a shiny crown. But of course, Morgause had a legitimate point of contention with Uther/Camelot last season so of course they had to assassinate her character as well in order to try and make the baby-drowner seen sympathetic.