Everyone who watches TV (or movies, or reads books, or whatever) has certain tropes that they find irresistable, to the point where if a story contains them, the quality of said narrative almost becomes irrelevant. For some reason, people don’t really like to admit to having these narrative kinks, probably because it makes them feel sort of slutty, taste-wise. It’s the intellectual equivalent of saying you’re only dating someone because they’re hot and the sex is good. I, however, will freely admit to having several very strong trope kinks that supersede the quality of a show for me; adorable established couples, the found family/island of misfit toys scenario, banter, scenery/cinematography porn, excessive amounts of whimsy, strong female character development, and rampant homoeroticism. Combine two or more of those and I’m pretty likely to get hooked on a show. I guess I’m just kind of slutty like that.
Merlin obviously hits quite a few of these – banter, scenery porn, whimsy, and more homoeroticism than an Ancient Greek epic. And while that last part in and of itself should be enough incentive for me to watch and love the show (and it often is, let’s not lie), I can never help but feel guilty that Merlin, like many shows who go for the whole gay-or-bromantic tease, tends to do that at the cost of kicking one of my other favorite tropes – development of strong female characters and relationships – in the face.
When it comes to Merlin I can mostly set aside my guilt, because it’s not like the Arthurian legend source material has a single sympathetic female character in it to begin with, so I can reason with myself that it’s really not the show’s fault. (And as I say this I guiltily ignore all the other modern Arthurian adaptations that have managed sympathetic female characters anyway.) Also, it’s really, really, really super gay, and that just works for me. It works for me so well that if we have episode after episode where female characters just don’t show up, I can almost forget I have any sort of feminist problem in the first place. All my other shows have strong female characters! That totally excuses my adoration of this show, which is an unqualified sausagefest! (Plus the guys are so attractive and I’m so shallow!)
On the other hand, we have episodes like this week’s, and they make me uncomfortable. Not because they’re not good, but because all of a sudden my crippling feminist guilt becomes almost impossible to ignore.
Oh, they made a really valiant effort, because this episode was pretty much the gayest episode since… well. Since last week’s episode. We had a plethora of Merlin earnestly advising Arthur while gazing up at him through his eyelashes scenes, a completely unnecessary insinuation that Merlin was attempting to get Arthur into bed with him (still unclear why that’s what Arthur thought Merlin was doing unless that was what he wanted Merlin to be doing), Arthur’s pained and woebegone glances to Merlin for silent comfort before showing mercy to his dueling opponent, and long, slow-motion gazing over firelight scenes straight out of some sort of 90’s teen romcom that had me half-expecting for strummy singer-songwriter music to start playing so Merlin and Arthur could walk towards each other in slow motion to the center of the dancefloor for the slow dance they’ve been waiting their whole lives to dance.
And none of that is even touching on what is perhaps the gayest scene that has ever played out on Merlin, aka the pre-duel scene where Merlin and Arthur shake hands for such a long time that I’m pretty sure it legally goes past brotherly hand-clasping and straight into foreplay territory. I have watched this scene about a dozen times, not just because it was well-acted (it was), but because I keep being confused by the fact that Merlin and Arthur don’t make out. I’m like a kid who keeps shaking out a cereal box because they’re convinced a toy is going to fall out. Maybe, I tell myself, if I rewind it for the million and first time, Agravaine won’t walk in the tent and totally cockblock his nephew (again). This has yet to work, but I’m convinced that eventually, if I keep believing it will, it will.
Even with the lack of makeouts, though, there is one note that made this scene utterly discordant to me – the part where Arthur takes off his ring and gives it to Merlin. It sounds gay. It looks gayer. When he started doing it I immediately anticipated that Arthur would give the ring to Merlin, tell him it was some sort of royal seal, and entrust him to look after his kingdom should he fall. It would, of course, be bittersweet, because he’d probably ruin it by saying something stupid like “and trust my uncle Agravaine, because even though all he does is give me terrible advice, I still think he’s a stand-up sort of guy”, but it just seemed so utterly plausible. But no. Instead, Arthur tells Merlin that if he falls, the ring should go to Gwen.
Oh, right. Her.
I’ve recently come to a pretty important Merlin-related realization; the icky feeling that I feel whenever Gwen comes on screen does not come from a place of abject hatred or thinking that she was always going to seem not good enough for Arthur. It is not (just) because her and Arthur kissing is hella awkward. No, the awkward, nauseous feeling comes from the massive cognitive dissonance in my head about who I think Gwen is and what she should be, and the version of her I see when I actually watch the show.
This week’s episode should have been at least a semi-victory, feminism-wise. Morgana actually got some depth! It wasn’t a lot, but it is at least an interesting meta-point on her character that she is in a constant struggle between her two fathers, Uther and Gorlois (or, at least, her idealized version of Gorlois). Queen Annis was a phenomenal guest character that I hope to dear God is reoccurring. She wasn’t fundamentally good or fundamentally evil, she was multi-dimensional. She was interesting and competent and extremely human, and I loved her. Her last conversation with Morgana was everything I have ever wanted from two women on this show – namely, there was a conversation between two women on the show about someone other than Arthur. That never happens! It was so great to see it happening!
As I was watching Queen Annis, though, I couldn’t help but continue to think one thing over and over – this is exactly who I’ve always wanted Gwen to be. Even though Annis never actually fought, she was fierce. She was smart. She had herself together. Annis wouldn’t date someone who could so easily be persuaded to break up with her, let alone let him break up with her so terribly, and she certainly wouldn’t take him back just because he looked really cute in his PJs and was all “so, uh, I picked a flowering weed from a ditch for you, are we cool?” I spent the entire episode cringing because oh, Gwen. Honey. First of all, if a boy can be convinced to break up with you that easily, he’s just not that into you, and second of all, you deserve so much better.
That’s right, I said so much better. Yes, Arthur is probably my second-favorite character on this show and on some weeks even beats out Merlin to be my very favorite. But between his daddy issues, emotional constipation, latent homosexuality, and propensity to try and kill himself off at every opportunity, he is a crappy-ass boyfriend. Not to mention that honestly, he’s just stupid. He’s almost as stupid as Merlin, and nearly as suicidal as well. In fact, a large reason why I think Merlin and Arthur should just get together already is some half-formed idea that maybe if they started doing it, their stupid would combine to create a force field which would stop their stupid from leaking out and convincing people like Lancelot that semi-pointless self-sacrifice is the romantic thing all the cool kids are doing these days.
I understand the practical reasons why shows that are strong on the bromance tend to be weak on the development of their girl characters, and it boils down to time. Writers feel that they can’t balance plot and an epic bro-lationship and girls who actually have personalities, too. But frankly, that’s always seemed ridiculous to me. Why can’t Gwen, Merlin, and Arthur have some sort of Harry Potter-esque relationship where they’re all besties, even if two members of the trio are totally in love with each other? Why can’t, whenever Merlin and Arthur go out to do stupid quests, Gwen have stories on her own where she holds down the home front? What about the Gwen and Merlin magical detective agency? Remember when they used to do that? Why does Gwen’s only way of existing in the Merlin universe have to be through Arthur?
Gwen does have a narrative function to serve, if only attempt to impart a modicum of common sense upon Merlin and Arthur. But right now, Merlin viewers are constantly being asked to choose – Merlin and Arthur, or seeing Gwen on screen? And it’s not that I don’t know what my choice is (always Merlin and Arthur), it’s that I wish that I never had to make that choice in the first place.
Clacked by Julia Hass 
on Oct 31, 2011 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
It’s not fair to call these write-ups “reviews.” They’re shipper manifestos.
One more thing: It’s clear that Guinevere is an affront to your feminist principles (and to your delicate stomach, apparently). I wonder if you have ever once looked beyond your (priveleged) stance to consider what Guinevere means to women of color? To feminists of color? I only ask because you’ve shown such concern about the representation of certain marginalized communities (gay men) in television — so I wonder if that care extends to OTHER historically underrepresented groups.
*POST AUTHOR*
Okay, I normally have a policy of not responding to any comments, especially ones obviously made by trolls, but this one I need to take.
I not only understand how important it is to women of color to see themselves represented by a future queen, but the casting of Gwen was one of the main lures to me when I began the show. However, and this is an issue that I have addressed many different times in many different instances, not just when speaking about Merlin, but showing a marginalized group on television to me does not count as progress unless they are depicted well. I raised this same argument when Kurt and Blaine initially became a couple on Glee – that as glad as I was that there was suddenly gay visibility, to me having such a sanitized and, frankly, bland couple wasn’t progress any more than Cameron and Mitchell on Modern Family(and their hyper-stereotypical flamboyance) was progress.
Equality isn’t equality until a character – of ANY minority – is treated with the same respect they’d be treated with if they weren’t. It wouldn’t matter to me if Gwen were white (and, as I have noted before, white women don’t fare much better on this show), what matters to me is that as far as I’m concerned, justice isn’t being done to her character, and that is part of a trend on this show of justice not being done to ANY female character. If anything, the fact that Gwen could be such a breakthrough POC character but is regulated to only existing to show up and forgive Arthur of all his flaws makes what would already be inexcusable for any female character an even worse transgression.
I appreciate both your comment and your passion on this subject, but in the future I would appreciate if you could, perhaps, read my article before commenting, as the entire article is not a critique of Gwen but rather a lament that she isn’t given a larger or more fleshed-out role. Instead, you seem to have seen that I enjoy the idea of Merlin and Arthur together, seen from my picture that I appear to be white (which I neither am nor consider myself to be), and assumed that I held a bigoted point of view that I clearly explained I do not.
I do understand now why a lot fans said that whenever they said something negative about the potrayal of Gwen in this show, they would be automatically classified as racial discrimination or something. I really hate that. Let’s NEVER bring this issue to this show.
Frankly speaking, the potrayal of Gwen in this show is full of simpering and shallowness. And the writings on her so-called romance with Arthur is CHEAP, with an always dewelling of violins. And they push it so much that a lot of times, they have to sacrifice the characters’ personality. I am very surprised that I find the writings on Lancelot and Gwen is much much better. For a kid show, that relationship has the depth it should have.
Can I say how much I agree with you on all points? I want to love Gwen so much. I really do. And she does have her moments where I say, “Yeah I kind of get why this girl is awesome”, but yes, the cognitive dissonance between Gwen and Arthur’s interactions which mainly consist of some schmoopy words, twee advice from Gwen, and then a lukewarm kiss, and the interaction of Merlin/Arthur, which is laden with chemistry, banter, shared history, fate/destiny, real arguments and challenges such as most romantic couples actually face, etc. There’s just no contest. Despite Merlin and Arthur not actually being a real couple, they seem so much more real than Gwen and Arthur ever could.
I think you’re right on about how Gwen needs to be more of a character in her own right. Everything we see about her is a reaction to Arthur or Lancelot. What’s more, her reactions are infuriatingly docile. Like you, I expected her to give Arthur at least a little bit of a hard time when he came crawling back, flower in hand. She should have been at least a little pissed off after being told she wasn’t “appropriate”. But no. Instead she was like “Aww that’s alright, I understand your hard hard life as King of Camelot, so I easily forgive your callous wishy washy behavior”. Insert lukewarm kiss. *sigh*
Like you say, this isn’t just a problem with Gwen. Morgana too has suffered the trend for this show to reduce female characters down to the simplest easiest stereotype they can find. The Morgana we have now is nothing like the shaded character we knew in season 1 & 2. She’s a caricature, a cartoon villain, with little subtlety or even logic. She no longer feels any of the principles that caused her to rebel against Uther in the first place. It’s like her brain and personality got sucked out by a vacuum. Her story would be so much more interesting if she was a villain who at least believed that her cause was just. Now she doesn’t even have a cause other than hand rubbing, cackling revenge. They might as well just paint her green and give her some flying monkeys as henchmen.
Likewise, I can’t help but feel that Gwen could be so much more interesting if there was a sort of triangle between Arthur, Merlin, and herself, ala Harry Potter, as you suggest. It would leave her free to have her own stories and viewpoints and character development, unrelated to her romantic entanglements. Of course that would mean less time for the bromance, but that’s why they should have just taken the risk and made it a romance, full stop.
first love your review made me laough so hard despite how humourless this ep was.second i agree with everything you said about gwen,i wanted to slap her,he did not even bother to pick good flower ,even the flowers merlin got for gwen that first time were better than this,come to think of it,all the good staff gwen as gotten from athur ,the picnic,the love note ,the flowers were all merlin it almost make it seam like gwen is in love with the idea of arthur and not the actual man how much does gwen really know about arthur but i digres,the least arthur could have done was make a big deal with the apology,yet gwen acted like nothing happened,merlin was in the same position with arthur this ep in which arthur ignored all his advices in favour of his uncles advices and when they got back to the castle and they were being given the hero welcome merlin did not make it easy on arthur and preaty much let him know he was not his hero and arthur had to acknowledge that he should have listern to merlin,i loved that moment,loved that merlin did not just take gwen view of all is well that ends well.
the other thing i hate about this arthur /gwen thing is, this conflict of class war fair does not seam real to me.so arthur is ok? having gwens brother who is not of noble birth as a night but he can not date a commoner?,second am yet to see this relationship really be a issue in arthurs position as king or even prince,we have not heard anyone complain or even talk about their relationship and am sure arthur or merlin would have head something if that was the case,if they want the diff in their class to be an issue then they need to write it as an issue in the show and stop just asking as to believe, they say it is so it is.third the chemistry between the actor is so none existance that it make gwen and arthur painfull to watch and if you put them side by side with merlin /arthur their is no contest.i ship arthur merlin because of the improbability of it all,merlin is magic,he is a simple servant and he is a man,even if it were to be canon and they did fall in love, that love is preaty doomed,this really is the love that would have the deck stacked against it and for that alone it will be more interesting to watch.
There is NO contest to Bradley and Colin’s Arthur and Merlin. It’s there for everyone to see(except maybe little kids). And Bradley and Colin is the best assets on this show. Producers can only dream to have chemistry like these two.
I’m amused to see that after being told those who don’t rate Arthur/Gwen are betraying women (from the ‘feminist/queer’ perspective), now we’re betraying women of colour. Seriously? This is a character in a kids TV show we’re talking about! And the Arthur/Gwen relationship is one of the least feminist friendly you could find – talk about being defined through your love affair with a man!
In my eyes, Gwen as a character has all the depth of a Disney princess and less attitude. In series 1 they gave her the most minor of flaws – but it was endearing-she was shy and when she got nervous she stumbled over her words and babbled. I liked her in series 1 – the slightly drab maidservant no one much noticed, good-hearted and brave and a bit bumbling and with a crush on Merlin he didn’t even notice. She was fab! Then everything changed. As a character now imo she is a cipher- the Perfect Woman. Perfectly beautiful, good, noble,unselfish, wise (oh but she’s wise), brave, clever, kickass, fancied by absolutely everyone and with a mysteriously gorgeous wardrobe for a servant…there isnt the slightest hint of a human flaw. She’s a fanfic Mary Sue.
From my point of view giving her scenes where she also becomes The Wisest Politician Of Them All or A Great Battle Leader or The Finest Tactician Since Alexander The Great isn’t actually going to help make her any more three dimensional (then we’ll have General Barbie!’, Easily Controls The Council Barbie!, Mysteriously Skilled Warrior Barbie! to add to Wise! Barbie etc etc) Giving her some actual recognisable human flaws might help. Having her written as a character in her own right as opposed to Gwen-Who-Is-Arthurs-Love-Interest might help too; but I notice looking around that Gwen’s greatest enthusiasts are really enthusiasts for Arthur/Gwen or even (rarely) Lance/Gwen rather than anything.
Beyond that basic issue with her characterisation, the reason for me why A/G is so dull is because its written & played that way- in my opinion. Its sweet, its cute, its utterly without passion or conflict or obstacle apart from the painfully artificial ones they desperately try to construct (as in this episode) then rip down at once in case they upset anyone. I do wonder if they’re playing it as this dull deliberately – if they are intending to show Guinevere of legend and her real passion. But maybe thats too much to hope. I wouldn’t be surprised actually if the writers try to address the legendary G/L love for the ages by having Lancelot come back as controlled by a sorceror (guess who? smirk smirk), Gwen still feeling guilty Thus Not Herself, and Magic Makes Them Kiss But Of Course Go No Further! (because theyre too absolutely good to ACTUALLY betray Arthur), then the reset button is pressed and hey presto – thats that messy bit of legend neatly out of the way and on to the Disney ending. (I dont really get it myself – if Dr Who can be honest enough to show death, loss and betrayal and its as much a kids show as this – why do the writers have to run away from the legend in Merlin? Go figure)
Anyway – this ep did a sterling job of demonstrating the lack of passion in A/G for me- Arthur breaking up with Gwen was reminiscent of someone reluctantly laying off a faithful employee because the economic conditions have just got that bad. A bit embarrassed, very guilty, really dont want to do it but needs must old chap! And Gwen’s reaction to being chucked out of the blue after a long relationship – quiver her lip and give Wise! advice on How To Be a Good King. Because Arthur being a good king is all that matters to her. There has to be a halo next series. They could attach it to her hairclip.
Morgana is just as depressing as a character. For me now she’s ridiculous – her motivations and characterisation have become about as complex as a Disney villain’s – much like Agravaine’s – and there we go with the Disney again. And she had such promise in season 1! :(
When you think of it there actually aren’t that many fleshed out characters, recognisably real people- in the show – even Gaius (who all too often gives lousy advice) isnt acknowledged as giving lousy advice by the writers. He’s meant to be seen as always right and Merlin as wrong. Only Arthur, Merlin & Uther (IMO) were given the gift of complexity. Morgana had it for a while but it was inexplicably taken away.
So – in a nutshell- Arthur and Merlin are the ones I care about because they are real- they’re as flawed and messed up as the day is long while being undeniably great and good at heart. They make mistakes by the bucketload; they have anxieties and insecurities and fears and SO many weaknesses. It’s the relationship with all the hidden, unspoken feelings and more obstacles than you can shake a stick at, and if our culture weren’t so freaked by overt m/m love relationships on screen it could be epic. And please don’t even TRY to tell me Im not a feminist because I love it.
Im tentatively hoping that this series, the writers have finally realised that this – the chemistry and complexity between A and M – is the heart and guts of the show and what makes it great. In the last ep, Merlin was the one Arthur confessed his fears to, the one he didn’t want to disappoint, the one who understood him and cried for him. This series is (so far) in that respect beginning to get things back to the greatness of Series 1 and for me that gives a wave through to all the plot holes and cardboard characters. So far I love it. End of tome. :-p
thank you for the review. i seriously check religiously everyday to see if you’ve updated omg.
just my 2 cents worth, i have no problems with Gwen’s character actually, in this episode especially i think she got a lot of dislike for forgiving Arthur much too quickly for her own sake. i was incredibly annoyed as well, until i realised the scene where she looks out at Arthur and co. leaving to fight the army she shows why she is so willing to forgive. In response to Gauis’ statement that Arthur is not alone, she simple says: “i know that, but i’m not sure if he does”, and this to me shows a understanding and patience of Arthur’s character which is not submissive in any sense, but it’s not exactly too-noble-to-be-true love either. it’s like Merlin responding calmly back to Arthur when Arthur shouts at him: “well why isn’t Gauis doing anything then?”, because sometimes it’s just understood. too bad they played Arthur slightly a bit too cocky in the last scene though, i think that’s what made Gwen look so bad.
but yes if she just had more screen time, just appear around the corners of screen dropping one line here and there, we could develop her character better? the thing is though her character is fundamentally SUPPOSED to be the kind, sweet and adorable person, and her only flaw would be lancelot. i just can’t see her developing in a way which either 1) make people dislike her as a queen, or 2) become too sickeningly sweet. so i think just the way she is fine.
okay after all that gwen defending, because i still like her, i must say i’m a merthur shipper so um. arwen can love each other for all they want, but chemistry is with merthur and colin/bradley. their love is freaking transcendental.
and please to those who are feminist and anti-racist and all that, yeah. you’re right. our entire fandom is racist and anti-feminist because we ship a slash pair and may not like gwen and morgana’s characters. oh but we freaking love angel coulby and katie mcgrath. so if your favourite ideal character is not on screen, JUST STOP WATCHING. and leave the rest of us to be anti-feminist and racist all the time. and cause you like labels, i’m NOT WHITE, and the first thing i see when i see angel coulby as gwen is not how OH SHE’S BLACK EVERYONE’S GOING TO HATE HER, but what a lovely beautiful person who got the shorter end of the stick in terms of the script.
Dear Julia, I am so proud that so many fans here are wise, fair and emotionall mature. I have always like your reviews, but reading so many wonderful replies here (except maybe just a very minor part of them) makes me fall in love with this blog. I think you’ve done such an amazing job to stimulate something spiritual, something meaningful. That’s actually, sometimes, beyond this kid show. So, thanks, sincerely.
Well-put, I agree with every single thing you said. I would add that generally terrible quality of this show (writing, etc), it’s not just the slash that draws people in. The two male leads are actually very strong actors, comedically and dramatically speaking. They have some deeply stupid lines/CGI to contend with, but they make the slash happen with their earnestness and sincerity.
You touched upon this at the end, but I think it deserves elaboration: the female characters used to have potential for depth. For one thing, it appeared Morgana (and possibly Arthur) had feelings for one another. Finding out they are half-siblings would have had a much more interesting impact on both of them if the writers hadn’t completely dropped the continuity ball there. Morgana was also shown to be a fantastic rider and fighter in her own right, (and could compete with Arthur) which was another thing the writers ret-conned into oblivion.
Much has gone on in Gwen’s life since the beginning of this story as well. Clearly there is interesting backstory about her brother and family. With her father dead and her (estranged) brother back in her life, there must be conflict to explore. Conflict directly related to the main plots, involving the knights, etc. What about her blacksmithing career? How does she deal with losing Lancelot? What about her crush on Merlin? And most importantly, what about the only positive female-female relationship on the show? What insight does she have on Morgana? Shouldn’t she be invaluable on that front?
The lack of female characters that make any sense is part of the reason people ship Arthur/Merlin. As a woman of color myself, I wanted to like Gwen, but there’s nothing to like or dislike. She doesn’t do anything.
I like your comments. The writing on the female characters are quite superficial.
I hope they can explore the inner turmoil of Morgana’s heart rather than a pure evil magic witch. I hope they can explore the relationship of Lancelot and Gwen very carefully as that’s the legend and from the previous series, I DO feel they two have that DEEP undercurrent feelings to each other and they CONNECT to each other deep in their hearts/souls.
I always laugh out loud when A/G appeared with violions dewelling all around. That’s shallow and artificial. It is a joke.
Thanks, yeah. I feel like two things need to come across in a romance: intention and chemistry (/mutual attraction). The intention part is there, but with no momentum. G/A simply have to be, because the legend says so. So there they are. Gwen isn’t really participating, Arthur just keeps going toward and away from her at random. This can be rectified with chemistry, which is also so painfully absent in this case. The two look somewhere between bored and fearful in/of their scenes together, for which I don’t really blame the actors as much I do the directors and writers. There’s no banter, hell there are no two-way conversations (he sort of just tells her things, and occasionally she makes blanket statements back), spoken or otherwise between them.
Gwen was so lovely in Ep7. Loved her scene with Merlin, it was one of their best in all four seasons.