Hello and welcome to what you thought would be a review of this week’s episode of Merlin. My name is Julia and I’ll be your teacher today. Don’t worry, we’re still going to talk about Merlin, but I would be utterly remiss if I did not take this opportunity to both educate you and prepare you for the fact that this season is totally ending with Merlin revealing his magic to Arthur.
I know what you’re thinking — we’ve been here and thought this before, we’ve thought that there was going to be a reveal only to have our hopes cruelly dashed. Believe me, I have been there. I understand your pain. But this time, it’s really, really, really happening. Not because we want it to or feel like it should or Arthur and Merlin’s future life partnership/destiny/bro-lationship is never going to recover from the betrayal of trust, but because of Television Science, which this episode had so many beautiful examples of that I’d be remiss to not turn this into a teaching moment. And if you’re not into learning, think of it less as that and more as reason to hope that by the series finale (and can you believe we’re already over halfway there?), Shit Is Going To Go Down.
This episode might not have felt less satisfying to you than previous episodes. That’s okay. It’s supposed to. Because what you just witnessed was act one of The Episode Where Merlin Finally Reveals His Magic to Arthur.
The reason it’s happening now, for realsies, because the magical reveal is what I refer to as a macro conflict, like who the mother is on How I Met Your Mother, or “when will those two crazy kids get together?” on 90% of all shows ever. Now, macro conflicts are great. I am a giant fan of macro conflicts. The problem with them is, if your show becomes successful enough to have gone on for several years, fans start getting annoyed. They want satisfaction. You can seduce and engage in televisual foreplay as long as you like, but eventually viewers are going to need you to actually do the deed. But it won’t be that simple, because solving macro conflicts never is. By doing so you have three options: you can end the show right then and there; you can resign yourself to serial conflicts a la any procedural drama ever; or you can take secret door number three and conclude the first macro conflict … only to have it lead to another one. And, for the record, we writers fucking love door number three almost as much as viewers hate it.
Which brings us back to this week’s Merlin, which could not more obviously be setting up for a macro conflict bait-and-switch more obviously than if they came out and said it. If you haven’t seen this episode yet (and if you haven’t, why are you reading this?), there are a bunch of stand-alone great scenes in the midst of a totally negligible Arthur Listens To Terrible Advice (Again) plot. But if for some strange and unknown reason you can only watch one scene from the entire episode, make it this one:
I am not just saying this because this scene made me make choked noises and claw helplessly at my face in a failed attempt to contain all my feelings, or because the acting was so, so good, but because it’s a giant foreshadowing anvil of how, in a few weeks, shit is going to go down. Yes, Merlin is going to reveal his magic to Arthur, but it will fracture their friendship — no, wait, let me rephrase that, it will break Arthur’s heart. (Why, writers?! Why do you do things like that to me? You can’t have Arthur discuss his feelings or so flagrantly telling Merlin that he has Arthur’s closely-guarded heart and the power to break it in the first place! I’m emotionally incapable of handling that!) And, fair warning, if this scene is any indication, the angst aftershock is going to be brutal, so you should probably start creating some sort of doomsday bunker with tissues, hot cocoa, and emotional music to sob to.
So if this season of Merlin is a crash-course called How To Fix Everything (While Fixing Nothing At All), consider this week the midterm. This episode was like all midterms — it reminds you that you’re somehow already at the halfway point (and seriously, how did we get there already) while making you wonder how the hell you’re going to survive the final exam.
And that, in a nutshell, is this lesson of Television 101. I hope you took copious notes on what, exactly, the writers are doing, because you can pretty much guarantee that this is going to be on your final in December.
Clacked by Julia Hass 
on Nov 14, 2011 @ 17:53 EST5EDT
It’s the first time I comment, but I couldn’t wait any longer. First, I love your reviews of Merlin: Thanks for sharing your insight, wit, and love for this show – and even more so for good writing – with us.
Second, I think you’re absolutely right here. It is going to get – a lot! – worse before it gets better, if only because the tag line for season 4 is “The Darkest Hour is Just Before The Dawn”, and that’s clearly about Arthur, Merlin and the big revelation. Besides, it’s plain to see! Arthur has been acting like a Care Bear towards Merlin, calls him “friend” every episode, to the point of actually telling him that he is the only person he (Arthur) can trust (4×06), and so on. They’re heading for an explosion and the fallout it’s going to be heartbreaking.
And I have to say…. that I feel good about that. Meaning that I dread the very idea of them hurting each other, and yet I trust the writers like I didn’t last season. We need to see not only Arthur first reaction to Merlin’s secret, but to see the two of them overcome whatever is coming and reach the other side. The last four years have been the set up for that journey.
Just my two cents – hope is clear, English is not my mother tongue. :)
You know the worst part? It will be Christmas Eve, and my parents will be here to visit, and they will expect me to act like a normal human being while my favorite fictional couple implodes. What, I have my priorities straight. :)
The show is about Arthur and Merlin’s BROMANCE. Ever since the first beginning of this show, audiences are looking forward to that reveal and how Arthur and Merlin can overcome everything and fullfil their joint destiny (and unite Albion and rule Albion together). I believe the majority of the fans are crossing fingers for that and see their long journey of rebuilding their relationship after the “break up”.
Arthur and Merlin, for this show, is like Rachel and Ross, Lucas and Peyton, Chuck and Blair, Carrie and Big, Brain and Justin, Rachel and Finn…. LOL.
when uther died i knew that the reveil will be the two part season finale ,some of my friend still think it will be the wedding,but if arthur becoming king did not even warrant his own ep i doubt him marying would.so am glad to see am not the only one conviced that the reveal would be the 12 ep and the 13 will be the consiquences.i want the reveal so bad but they are so perfect now that am already hurting just thinking about the damage.
If there is no reveal, I can understand what your friend think, but if there is a reveal, it would be BIGGER than anything. It generally is all the show is about.
I completely agree there will be a reveal this season….and it will be B.A.D….and I mean B.A.A.A.D. Epically painful and brutally tragic. Fangirls worldwide will be in hysterics. Merthur will be broken. I can’t wait and am terrified all at the same time. Something is seriously wrong with me! Guh. S4 has been fantastic.
we will definitely have a wedding in the last episodes 4.11, 4.12 and 4.13 (since 4.09 and 4.10 are taken), so that leaves 2 episodes left for the probable reveal. I actually think THE WRITERS ARE GOING TO BE TROLLS. I WANT TO BE PROVED WRONG JUST TO SEE MERTHUR AND ANGST, but i really honestly think so! the scene that julia showed was painful as hell, but i actually think this is the subtle reminder bit which they’ve showed previously in wicked day and the sins of the father. and all the: “we never thought revealing is a key issue” things that the producers kept saying pre-season, which could be a trolling thing or could be you know MODERATING EXPECTATIONS. OR they could show the reveal like THE LAST SECOND OF the FINALE. i would literally explode with anticipation for a year and die before i can see season 5. so i hope it doesn’t happen.
if they don’t show it this time though, the fandom WILL BE BRAYING FOR THEIR BLOOD. merthur and non-merthur fans alike. i think julia is right in saying this is ONE DAMN ARC DRAGGED TOO LONG (okay i re-phrased it over-liberally, but well)
This season only has 10 episodes and that will revolve around Lancelot returning….I’m sorry but that’s all!
This lovely and insightful essay is giving me ALL THE FEELINGS. I am soo so sosososo ready for the reveal; I feel a bit hysterical just thinking about it. I’m going to cry for decades, I can just tell. ;_; Thanks for sharing!
Argh I agree – I dont think its going to be pretty. I hadn’t registered that line quite so much, but yes I think you’re spot on – that exchange IS saying Merlin has Arthur’s heart and he can (and will) break it. And we’ve always known Arthur can break Merlin’s. For all they mollycoddle and featherbed some characters to ludicrous degrees, Merlin is one the character to whom they show minimal mercy.
The other foreshadowing line that struck me was Agravaine ‘sympathising’ with Arthur over Gaius…something like ‘its not so much the sorcery is it? Its all the lies for so long.’ I guess it’s why they’ve finally allowed us to see how much Arthur and Merlin feel for each other – so it’ll hurt more.
The one chink of light for me was the scene at the end of the episode with Gaius and Arthur, which added a touch of subtlety to the whole oncoming train thing. Arthur no longer necessarily believes Dragoon killed his father (wooh for a bizarre plot hole closed!) and has been told that one day he’ll know how much ‘people’ have done for him. And yay to that! Merlin also finally got some outside encouragement about his destiny that didnt come from the Dragon – we were *finally* reminded (with the bow from the bad/good sorceror) that he IS special and revered, and that IMO is criminally overdue. Last season I thought it became harder and harder to remember he was meant to be anything more than a servant with a bit of magic but no particular skill at it.
For all the, as you say, ‘Arthur Takes Bad Advice *Again*’ thing I loved this ep too. Yes there were daft bits, but the underlying intelligence of it, the feeling of character understanding and growth, the fact that they actually bothered to foreshadow – all fabulous. It really is a different ball game this season so far. Suddenly it feels like they’ve remembered what the heart of the series is: Arthur and Merlin & their joint destiny. I’m still apprehensive about what’s to come; Im not confident the ball isnt going to be dropped spectacularly, but far, so for me, S4 is a triumph. :)