Merlin – I can’t help falling in love with you

In preparation for series four of Merlin, I read my old reviews of the show and made a promise to myself — I would not spend the entire season once again yammering on about Merlin and Arthur and how perfect they are both separately and together. I would not wax lyrical on their (b)romance and relationship. No, I would be a grown-up reviewer who wrote grown-up reviews, so let me be clear that this article is not about that. It is not about the warmth and affection that radiated off my computer screen every time the two of them were together, or how magnificently their relationship has evolved. It is not about their snarky back-and-forth, the lingering looks, and the meaningful non-conversations about feelings they at least attempted to have. It is not about the loud-pitched noises I made or how I spent most of the episode rocking back and forth and clutching my pillow.

It is about none of those things because, for once, I actually have nice things to say about the episode besides “the scenery/costumes are awesome” and “oh my god, Merlin and Arthur, oh my god.”

Let us be perfectly clear — Merlin is not my favorite show because it is well thought out. It is not my favorite show because it is really well written (and totally doesn’t have gaping plot holes you could see from space). It is not my favorite show because I agree with the showrunners when it comes to handling both fans and characterization. And lord knows it’s not my favorite show because of the positive portrayals of female characters. It is not my favorite show because it is anywhere close to the best show I watch. And yet, Merlin remains my favorite show for one very, very special reason, and that is because those thirteen hours a year that I get of all these characters and their faces and their wonderfully contrived quests give me more feelings than it is probably healthy to feel. I don’t care that it’s imperfect or not particularly high-brow, or whatever. If the show were a person, it would be my boyfriend who I had epic, screaming fights with. We’d break up and make up so many times people would lose count and everyone would tell me I could do so much better than that douche, and I would agree. Because I could do better than that guy, but how could I break up with him when I loved him so much and he made me so happy and also he was so, so good-looking?

I don’t know what got into Merlin during the hiatus break. Maybe he realized how much he truly loved me. Maybe someone pulled him aside and gave him some sort of come-to-Jesus talk about how if he didn’t start making grander gestures he was going to lose me and that scared him. Maybe he just felt like doing something nice. But whatever happened, Merlin decided to do the nicest thing they possibly could have done for me — they seriously improved their writing. No, it’s not perfect, (see also: Arthur’s random uncle Agravaine, who likes to skulk in the shadows in a way that is not at all suspect, yet Arthur trusts for apparently no reason whatsoever, because no one ever learns anything in Camelot, ever) but there is some real solid foundation-laying that went on in this episode.

Morgana, who usually gets the shaft from the writing team and is given nothing to do besides smirk and evil monologue, has been given some real rich material for a season-long character trajectory. Sure, it still doesn’t make sense why Morgana turned so evil in the first place, but what’s done is done. In the season opener she’s already killed her sister Morgause (which, to be fair, was at Morgause’s behest), is alone for the first time, and has already been told that by doing so she has created her own doom in the form of the mysterious Emrys.  Aside from the fact that this is great because it finally gives Katie McGrath an opportunity to show she can act, it fits in well with the show’s theme of characters creating what will ultimately destroy them in the end. (See also: Merlin and Arthur saving Mordred, or Merlin’s failure to save Morgana from going to the dark side, or when Merlin freed the dragon, or… well, basically anything Merlin does, ever.) Will the writers end up exploring the psychological effect that both being alone and attempting to deal with the inevitability of her own downfall will have on Morgana? Probably not. But it means a lot to me that they at least started down that road.

But the character that reaped the greatest rewards from the renewed attention to actually writing coherent storylines was, far and away, Arthur. Which, in turn, led to what was the best acting I have ever seen out of Bradley James, who floored me with every single scene he was in. He’s never been a weak actor by any stretch of the imagination, but his Arthur, much like Morgana, doesn’t tend to get a lot of material that highlights acting talent. But this new turn they’ve had Arthur make into maturity? It is really, really paying off for him.

Let’s face it, even though Arthur is second only to Merlin in terms of importance on the show, he tends to yo-yo in maturity and intelligence based entirely on what is most narratively convenient. This usually becomes most evident in season premieres when the writing staff decides to re-establish Merlin and Arthur’s relationship by taking away any bonding they may have done in the last season and instead having Arthur throw things at Merlin. This season premiere did show an Arthur who was bossy to Merlin and certainly established that he tends to take Merlin for granted, this is a far more mature incarnation of Arthur — one who has clearly grown into his responsibility. While he goads and teases Merlin, it’s done with obvious warmth and affection. It’s impossible to watch the show and, as you may have in the past, forget that Arthur actually thinks Merlin is pretty cool.

Even Arthur’s relationship with Gwen, which in the past has caused me such extreme pain that I have forced myself to skip certain episodes, seems to be inching towards a more realistic one. Instead of being all sunshine and butterflies and rainbows, we see a relationship that grew up too quickly and asked too much of Gwen, and that in turn makes us not hate Gwen nearly as much for knowing she’s eventually going to cheat on Arthur and break his heart.

I mean, let’s look at the picture this episode painted of her relationship with Arthur. Arthur barely has time for her except to drop by and tell her he’s off to go and probably die, has her looking after his decrepit father (his father who had her father executed), and who is extremely stilted, emotionally. Gwen, this episode shows pretty clearly, isn’t Merlin. She isn’t privy to Arthur’s deepest thoughts and the intimacies of his day-to-day life. Arthur doesn’t really seem to talk to her. She therefore doesn’t know how to cut through his emotional retardation and listen for the affection he’s totally incapable of actually voicing. She is, for all intents and purposes, in the same position as Merlin — a glorified servant poised to maybe one day, be more than that. The only difference is that sometimes Arthur makes out with her. (Though let’s be honest, that’s a pretty huge perk. Am I right, ladies?) Lancelot, on the other hand, is all broody and gorgeous and nobly self-sacrificing. And when the choice is between a hot dude who’s married to his work/emotionally unavailable or a hot dude who will do anything for you no matter how it breaks his heart, can you really blame a girl for going for what’s behind door number 2?

Realistically speaking, I in no way expect this marked improvement in writing to continue, because I know Merlin. The finales and premieres up themselves in quality season after season, and they make up for all the extra effort by having what comes in between them be filled with random farting monster of the week and shoehorned romantic storylines of extremely dubious quality. Then again, who knows. I certainly never expected this much plot coherency, either, so Merlin may still have more left to surprise me with.

Either way, is it any wonder, after this episode, that I can’t help but be so deeply in love?

Clacked by Julia Hass
on Oct 03, 2011 @ 10:30 EST5EDT