The One where I meta again
Dec. 8th, 2008 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astri13I'm so scatter-brained, I nearly forgot about the Merlin the Elf assignments so hence frantic typing commenced to make today's deadline. As always, the result could have used more work and I'm not completely satisfied with the characterization but hopefully my poor recipient won't be too disappointed. Sigh.
Also, since yesterday I didn't get around to it.
There wasn't really much or anything in the way of Merlin/Arthur here - and this might have been the first episode where you can say that - but it wasn't a bad episode at all. Nice side effect of liking the side characters as well. :)
Incidentally, someone referred to the slash dragon as an extreme shipper who takes to bashing all other characters beside his OTP. And that cracked me up.
For some reason I especially liked the way they played the theme music during the graveside scene. It had something beautifully haunting. Quite fitting if Arthur and Merlin ever chose to embrace each other in a lovely, outdoor scenery. *cough*
The Philosopher's Stone, eh? Or rather the Mage Stone. Did Rowling get a copyright on the name? Because that wouldn't be right.
Also, since we have our big Finale next week - sniff and also TRAILER!ZOMG! - I wanted to do something different and write up some mini-metas for each of the main cast (and I mean mini, I'm not gonna write long-ass essays about 6 frigging people) of all the episodes so far. So, here we go.
Merlin himself probably is one of the character who hasn't changed terribly much which is interesting since he is the main character. Sure, he has learned more about magic, his own and the magical world per se. He has made friends and enemies alike. But his core personality seems intact, still a little naive, a little innocent, eager to help those in need and fight injustice, unhappy he has to do it in secrecy and still mostly of a cheerful mind. I guess his one big change was something we didn't really witness, when he set out from his village for an uncertain future in Camelot.
His potentially "darkest" moments so far have been a willingness to let a young boy be killed because he wasn't ready to potentially trade Arthur's life for it in the future. The other would be last episode's crisis of faith where he seemed almost ready to have Uther be sacrificed so magic could roam free again. In both cases, he wrestled with it and in both cases it needed a little outside prompting to change his mind.
I specifically left out his first kill or subsequent ones because the way Merlin never made a big deal of it, leads me to thinking it isn't that big a deal. Both were instances of self defense or a defense of others and the guy does live in medieval times. Which were harsh. People back then probably had a different outlook on such matters back then.
Arthur on the other hand has changed greatly if we look at his introduction in the Pilot. Which made me go "oh boy, it's gonna be a long Season - ha - with that prat". Then again, his pratish side hasn't vanished, it's more like another side or more precisely the things under the surface have been revealed. He shows great care and concern for his people, great dedication to his duty but also still the arrogance of youth and his status as a Prince.
Still, the show takes care to show some noticeably differences to Uther. In episode 2 Arthur himself says that Uther will never apologize to him - didn't completely stay true but he has a point - yet he immediately apologizes to Merlin for doing him wrong. And while Arthur clearly longs for his father's love and appreciation, he has a breaking point. Usually he disobeyes by bending the rules somewhat, for example riding out to get Merlin his cure or arguing on Morgana's behalf but refusing to give the order to stop food delivery to the starving people was possibly the first ever taking a stand.
You can see the seeds of the future King Arthur in him but I have to agree with Gaius, he is not there yet.
Morgana This show's Morgana intrigues me because while she is firmly one of the good guys, there is still often a hint of ruthlessness and the potential for darkness in her, none so obvious as in this episode. But it makes her a cross between Morgan Le Fay - the evil sorceress - and Morgana of say the "Mists of Avalon" adaption.
We got some backstory on her. Apparent they kept it intact that Gorlois of Cornwall was her father, though obviously he was a subject of Uther, not his own King. And Uther pretty much pulled a Picard on her Dad and then Wesley'd her in his care. She has developed a kind of sibling relationship with occasional flirting with Arthur. And like Merlin, from early on, Morgana has shown to want to fight for the little people. And often enough the magical people. Though like Merlin she has more reason to do so than others because while it's unclear how much she is aware of her powers, she is aware somewhat.
Unlike Merlin however I can see Morgana crossing certain lines easier. After all, she almost did in this episode. Maybe she is kind of a Proto-Nimueh at this point which would be quite tragic because Nimueh is downright evil now and if she once was a thourough good guy, that is a regrettable fall.
Gwen Another character who probably didn't change too much over the course of the show. She, too, is someone who likes to help people but isn't as passionate as Merlin or Morgana about it, neither in the good nor in the bad way. While she has a backbone when it's necessary, she is clearly more of a follower, more innocent in that she won't cross certain lines, not even be tempted to. That makes her somewhat unique of all the characters as she provide a peaceful, calming influence for everybody else's more passionate nature.
Uther often plays a villanous role in the show, but isn't solely the evil tyrant either. Remember, Merlin's motherr from that other kingdom made it out that their king is a shit who doesn't give a damn about his people. Whereas I totally believe Uther when he said he would have sent soldiers if only the village was iin his territory. Gaius also confirms that the people are mostly happy and prospering under Uther.
The one area where the man sees no reason is magic, even to the point of getting violent with those he loves like Morgana here. Yet he seems to appreciate her trying to challenge him on moral authorities in theory, maybe in memoriam of her father doing so. But you can bet dollars and donuts that once the big, evil M-word is spoken, Uther will once again be blind to anything and everything. I guess in some way it's lucky for Arthur that Uther didn't focus his need for revenge over Igraine on the baby but instead Nimueh and her magic. Therefore, Morgana is right when she says he continues to make enemies of them all, all the main characters have betrayed him on the matter of magic at least one time or another. Even Arthur with the druid boy.
His relationship with both his "children" is complex. He loves them but only shows it small, precious moments. Still, I for one, am glad he hasn't yet been killed off and I'd hope they put this off for some time to come because the dynamic would change so much with King Arthur and I want a bit of the "early years" still.
Gaius who provides the "good" fatherly/mentor figure to Merlin - and unlike Bo Kent he even likes Lex, äh Arthur. He lets himself ruled by caution, science and the wisdom of age though he clearly is a very empathic man. It's apparent that his loyalty towards Uther came at a price at doing things he wasn't content with in the past. But he is probably too rational to dwell on things he can't change though maybe hiding and helping Merlin is a way of atonement for him.
Also, since yesterday I didn't get around to it.
There wasn't really much or anything in the way of Merlin/Arthur here - and this might have been the first episode where you can say that - but it wasn't a bad episode at all. Nice side effect of liking the side characters as well. :)
Incidentally, someone referred to the slash dragon as an extreme shipper who takes to bashing all other characters beside his OTP. And that cracked me up.
For some reason I especially liked the way they played the theme music during the graveside scene. It had something beautifully haunting. Quite fitting if Arthur and Merlin ever chose to embrace each other in a lovely, outdoor scenery. *cough*
The Philosopher's Stone, eh? Or rather the Mage Stone. Did Rowling get a copyright on the name? Because that wouldn't be right.
Also, since we have our big Finale next week - sniff and also TRAILER!ZOMG! - I wanted to do something different and write up some mini-metas for each of the main cast (and I mean mini, I'm not gonna write long-ass essays about 6 frigging people) of all the episodes so far. So, here we go.
Merlin himself probably is one of the character who hasn't changed terribly much which is interesting since he is the main character. Sure, he has learned more about magic, his own and the magical world per se. He has made friends and enemies alike. But his core personality seems intact, still a little naive, a little innocent, eager to help those in need and fight injustice, unhappy he has to do it in secrecy and still mostly of a cheerful mind. I guess his one big change was something we didn't really witness, when he set out from his village for an uncertain future in Camelot.
His potentially "darkest" moments so far have been a willingness to let a young boy be killed because he wasn't ready to potentially trade Arthur's life for it in the future. The other would be last episode's crisis of faith where he seemed almost ready to have Uther be sacrificed so magic could roam free again. In both cases, he wrestled with it and in both cases it needed a little outside prompting to change his mind.
I specifically left out his first kill or subsequent ones because the way Merlin never made a big deal of it, leads me to thinking it isn't that big a deal. Both were instances of self defense or a defense of others and the guy does live in medieval times. Which were harsh. People back then probably had a different outlook on such matters back then.
Arthur on the other hand has changed greatly if we look at his introduction in the Pilot. Which made me go "oh boy, it's gonna be a long Season - ha - with that prat". Then again, his pratish side hasn't vanished, it's more like another side or more precisely the things under the surface have been revealed. He shows great care and concern for his people, great dedication to his duty but also still the arrogance of youth and his status as a Prince.
Still, the show takes care to show some noticeably differences to Uther. In episode 2 Arthur himself says that Uther will never apologize to him - didn't completely stay true but he has a point - yet he immediately apologizes to Merlin for doing him wrong. And while Arthur clearly longs for his father's love and appreciation, he has a breaking point. Usually he disobeyes by bending the rules somewhat, for example riding out to get Merlin his cure or arguing on Morgana's behalf but refusing to give the order to stop food delivery to the starving people was possibly the first ever taking a stand.
You can see the seeds of the future King Arthur in him but I have to agree with Gaius, he is not there yet.
Morgana This show's Morgana intrigues me because while she is firmly one of the good guys, there is still often a hint of ruthlessness and the potential for darkness in her, none so obvious as in this episode. But it makes her a cross between Morgan Le Fay - the evil sorceress - and Morgana of say the "Mists of Avalon" adaption.
We got some backstory on her. Apparent they kept it intact that Gorlois of Cornwall was her father, though obviously he was a subject of Uther, not his own King. And Uther pretty much pulled a Picard on her Dad and then Wesley'd her in his care. She has developed a kind of sibling relationship with occasional flirting with Arthur. And like Merlin, from early on, Morgana has shown to want to fight for the little people. And often enough the magical people. Though like Merlin she has more reason to do so than others because while it's unclear how much she is aware of her powers, she is aware somewhat.
Unlike Merlin however I can see Morgana crossing certain lines easier. After all, she almost did in this episode. Maybe she is kind of a Proto-Nimueh at this point which would be quite tragic because Nimueh is downright evil now and if she once was a thourough good guy, that is a regrettable fall.
Gwen Another character who probably didn't change too much over the course of the show. She, too, is someone who likes to help people but isn't as passionate as Merlin or Morgana about it, neither in the good nor in the bad way. While she has a backbone when it's necessary, she is clearly more of a follower, more innocent in that she won't cross certain lines, not even be tempted to. That makes her somewhat unique of all the characters as she provide a peaceful, calming influence for everybody else's more passionate nature.
Uther often plays a villanous role in the show, but isn't solely the evil tyrant either. Remember, Merlin's motherr from that other kingdom made it out that their king is a shit who doesn't give a damn about his people. Whereas I totally believe Uther when he said he would have sent soldiers if only the village was iin his territory. Gaius also confirms that the people are mostly happy and prospering under Uther.
The one area where the man sees no reason is magic, even to the point of getting violent with those he loves like Morgana here. Yet he seems to appreciate her trying to challenge him on moral authorities in theory, maybe in memoriam of her father doing so. But you can bet dollars and donuts that once the big, evil M-word is spoken, Uther will once again be blind to anything and everything. I guess in some way it's lucky for Arthur that Uther didn't focus his need for revenge over Igraine on the baby but instead Nimueh and her magic. Therefore, Morgana is right when she says he continues to make enemies of them all, all the main characters have betrayed him on the matter of magic at least one time or another. Even Arthur with the druid boy.
His relationship with both his "children" is complex. He loves them but only shows it small, precious moments. Still, I for one, am glad he hasn't yet been killed off and I'd hope they put this off for some time to come because the dynamic would change so much with King Arthur and I want a bit of the "early years" still.
Gaius who provides the "good" fatherly/mentor figure to Merlin - and unlike Bo Kent he even likes Lex, äh Arthur. He lets himself ruled by caution, science and the wisdom of age though he clearly is a very empathic man. It's apparent that his loyalty towards Uther came at a price at doing things he wasn't content with in the past. But he is probably too rational to dwell on things he can't change though maybe hiding and helping Merlin is a way of atonement for him.
