(no subject)

[snowystingray]

Okay, I swear I do watch Merlin for reasons other than dur hur hur Arthur/Merlin but come on now, what else am I supposed to do with this? While Arthur is under house arrest, the guards are standing outside his bedroom in the middle of the night listening to strange noises coming from the room as Merlin shouts, "There is no more rope!" and "I don't know if I can hold out much longer!", and the guards daren't peek inside to see what is going on?

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

In other news, man. Usually I am super behind all of the twisted Uther storylines, but between this ep and last week I'm kind of in a, "Dude, whatever, screw you," sort of mood about him. (Well, how much of Arthur's encounter with his mother are we supposed to take as truth? Did Uther really go behind Ygraine's back knowing full well what would happen, or is it closer to what Uther claimed in "Excalibur," that he went to Nimueh in an act of desperation with consequences he never foresaw? Or was he just trying to cover his ass then, too? OHHH DRAMA.) I mean, I still support any and all Pendragon daddy issues.



And I love it every time they remind us that, right, Uther is anything but a doddering paranoiac, and could in fact wipe the floor with any of his challengers.



...And, okay, apparently I am still somewhat attached to his character even if my affronted-on-behalf-of-poor-magical-Merlin side is telling me otherwise. (Seriously! That kid is like one giant heartbreak after another! First his ridiculously pathetic moment last week, all "I'm so depressed about having to hide my true self that I'll just make a quick ADORABLE PONY CLOUD to cheer myself up except, whoops, NOW GAIUS WILL BURN AT THE STAKE. MAN. FML;" and then the end of this ep in Arthur's chambers, having to know that he was thisclose to being open with Arthur about magic and yet it all ends up being one step forward, two steps back. MERLIN. YOUR GRAND NOBLE SACRIFICES ON ARTHUR'S BEHALF ARE GETTING TO BE A LITTLE HEAVY EVEN FOR ME.)

Conclusion: poooooor Merlin. :( :( :( :(

Comments

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I'll just make a quick ADORABLE PONY CLOUD to cheer myself up except, whoops, NOW GAIUS WILL BURN AT THE STAKE. MAN.

LOL. So true. Poor Merlin. Remember when he tried to save someone other than Arthur and how that backfired? Poor kid. Now he's thrown himself and all his magical kind under the bus.

In the mean time, thanks for screwing your son the heck up, Uther. That poor boy never had a shot. Internally you can tell Arthur knows what the right thing to do is, yet Uther constantly makes him look for approval by doing the wrong thing. Uther doesn't understand his son, nor does he try. That's what makes him rather unforgivable to me.

Meanwhile, Merlin's life of suckage is starting to wear off on those around him.

[snowystingray.livejournal.com]

you can tell Arthur knows what the right thing to do is, yet Uther constantly makes him look for approval by doing the wrong thing. Uther doesn't understand his son, nor does he try. That's what makes him rather unforgivable to me.

I think Uther's fallen into the same trap that a lot of overprotective parents do, following the false logic that: I love my child more than life itself --> ergo everything I do is in the best interests of my child --> ergo I can never do wrong by them, because why would I intentionally harm that which I treasure most? And instead it just leads to one giant cycle of lies, and while I was completely overcome as Arthur cried in his father's lap, I was still wanting to yell at the screen BUT ARRRGHHHHH HE IS STILL LYING TO YOU AND THIS IS IN FACT ONLY MAKING THINGS WORSE ARRRRGHHHHHH. I think the fact that Uther so demonstrably loves Arthur is what makes him sympathetic and what makes him frustrating as hell, because you want to give him points for being a loving father and yet he just goes about it all the wrong ways.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately for Arthur, he's getting lied to by everyone. His father, Merlin, Gaius, Morgana. They're all either actively lying to him or not telling something vital to him. I'm afraid Merlin did more harm than good in this round ultimately.

I understand Uther's love for his son (and a good chunk of him not wanting Arthur to hate him if he ever found out the truth), but it's so WRONG and I'm afraid there's been some irrepairable damage done to Arthur. I can give Uther points for obviously loving Arthur, but I've got to take away a whole lot more for him going about it all wrong and his stubborn inability to take responsibility for things. We see Arthur at least sidestep that trait as he IS willing to take responsibility for his errors.

[snowystingray.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid Merlin did more harm than good in this round ultimately.

My thoughts as well. As soon as he burst into the room, it was just... oh, honey, no. I mean, I'm the last person who wants to see Arthur run his father through with a broadsword (so many fandoms, TOO MANY BROADSWORD MURDERS), but at the same time things were coming so close to changing for the better, and now this lie not only takes things back to the status quo but in fact makes them worse because Uther has greater confidence in his ability to go on lying to Arthur, and Arthur has a deeper commitment to following his father in opposing magic, and all of this spells SO MUCH DAMN TROUBLE for Merlin so whhhyyyy did he do it...? And, oh, of course he did it all to spare Arthur from doing something he would later regret, from having his own family's blood on his hands, from entering into the same riddled-with-guilt-from-familial-murder downward spiral as Uther. The fact that Merlin made such a monumentally backward decision for the sole purpose of protecting Arthur? Kind of breaks my heart, just a teeny tiny bit. (And now we're getting back to the whole lying-to-Arthur-for-his-own-well-being, siiigh. This gang is piling up so much drama!)