I haz watched Teevee
Nov. 29th, 2009 05:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astri13Catching up on posting a few episode thoughts here.
It was okay but less then it could have been IMO. Not that I wasn't deliriously happy to see the arc - and apocalypse - back but maybe that was also a problem. After all those comedic filler episode, it felt kinda like whiplash and I missed build-up to it. I mean, last week we get wacky hijinks at a convention with lobotomized fangurl Becky and fanboys espousing how great the Winchester life is and this week we get ZOMG!apocalypse with heavy drama and seeing how much the Winchester life sucks.
I prefer my arcs to be arc-y and tight-paced.
That said, I loved Crowley. Typcial role for Mark Sheppard and he always does well in it.
Liked seeing Meg again.
Hellhounds are actually kind of scary. Not many beasties left that are.
Cas walking amongst the Reapers was cool. Cas being badass was cooler. Yup, I liked that he used Meg as a bridge because I don't view that scene remotely in terms of gender roles but in terms of captured angel - smug demon - angel being clever and ruthless. As for their vessels, they could be in Spongebob and Mickey Mouse for all I care inthat scene.
Ellen and Jo, well, what I can I say, it WAS a great swan song. For all intents and purposes they got the dramatic focus of the episode, the big heroes death, the emotional gravitas. On the other hand, this show has the habit of killing off characters with potential. Too many and too quick. *waves to Peanut gallery, you know who you are*
I wasn't sure what they wanted to tell me about Dean and Jo. That he saw her newly matured self in a different light now? I could buy that and I had no problem with their scenes. I didn't think his offer to sex was an insult to her nor her decline of it one to him. Not among grown-ups. And the goodbye was sweet. But that last shot seemed a bit "too much" for as little as they really knew each other. Mourning for lost potential maybe? Could see it but it was a bit too on the nose for my taste.
And btw, burning the picture? U.R. doing it wrong. Photos are supposed to serve as memorabilia of the ones lost..
Liked that Lucifer was depicted a lot more evil here. And his talk was Castiel was nicely atmospheric.
Also a no-brainer the Colt didn't work. Come on.
However, Lucifer is one big whiny child. And that is exactly the level on which he tries to relate to Sam - "waah, so misunderstood, waaaaah". At first it was God who didn't wipe his little butt to his satisfaction and now it's Michael. Sigh. And one of these days I really need Sam to do an eyeroll at that bullshit and show me that those tactics don't work anymore. That he doesn't view the world - and his family - the way snot-nosed Lucifer does. Because I have lost any and all patience for that view.
So, first half of the Season nearly done and I have to say, the verdict is: so-so. A lot of missed potential IMO. And the brotherly bond? Couldn't have been less convincingly and organically insta-fixed IMO. Unless they do a LOT more on that front, that shallow surface relationship has lost its impact for me. For a good way to bring estranged characters back together, look at your own first Season, show. Not this.
It was okay. Nice they focused a bit more on Merlin. Who btw, is your TITLE character, show, not the bumbling fifth-billed comic relief. But the love interest storyline wasn't very gripping to me.
I felt for Merlin who basically acted like a lonely teenager, first smitten by a pretty girl, and I didn't mind Freya but there wasn't a lot going on in the episode.
Arthur saving Merlin from the bounty hunter was squeeful, though. As was the cute food-stealing. And Arthur's surprisingly liberal stance on cross-dressing. *g*
However, if I could pick and choose which elements of Arthurian legend I would desperately need to see onscreen, how the sword and the lady got in the lake wouldn't be quite at the top of my list. But okay.
Well, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I knew what would happen in this one so maybe that is why I could pretty much stomach it, even found a few amusing bits.
Not quite sure why the love spell had the enchanted people not only acting crazy about each other but crazy in general. Seems like overkill.
Lots of silly rom-com nonsense. And this time around, I was rather bored by the Arthur/Gwen. At first that great love of theirs comes out of nowhere at the beginning of the Season, then they make it crystal-clear she prefers Lancelot, then it disappears for a few episodes and now she Gwen is the one acting all pin-y and billed as Arthur's one true love.
I know it's supposed to be a light entertainment family show but even from those I expect a love story with a more convincing throughline than that.
Uther's eyrolls at the hijinks were funny. Uther exasperatedly asking his new BFF Merlin what was up with Arthur was even funnier.
Um, is Vivian now gonna be pining for Arhur for the rest of her life? That sucks for her.
However, one bit in the episode was glorious to me. The absolute "WTF is WRONG with her, I'd do him in a heartbeat" reaction from the scheming King Alined about Vivian's initial rebuffal of Arthur. I giggled all through the episode.
Oh, and did anyone notice how Arthur and Merlin tend to walk in lock-step all the time? Awww.
The previews also told me that Morgana still has a speaking role on the show. Good to know.
It was okay but less then it could have been IMO. Not that I wasn't deliriously happy to see the arc - and apocalypse - back but maybe that was also a problem. After all those comedic filler episode, it felt kinda like whiplash and I missed build-up to it. I mean, last week we get wacky hijinks at a convention with lobotomized fangurl Becky and fanboys espousing how great the Winchester life is and this week we get ZOMG!apocalypse with heavy drama and seeing how much the Winchester life sucks.
I prefer my arcs to be arc-y and tight-paced.
That said, I loved Crowley. Typcial role for Mark Sheppard and he always does well in it.
Liked seeing Meg again.
Hellhounds are actually kind of scary. Not many beasties left that are.
Cas walking amongst the Reapers was cool. Cas being badass was cooler. Yup, I liked that he used Meg as a bridge because I don't view that scene remotely in terms of gender roles but in terms of captured angel - smug demon - angel being clever and ruthless. As for their vessels, they could be in Spongebob and Mickey Mouse for all I care inthat scene.
Ellen and Jo, well, what I can I say, it WAS a great swan song. For all intents and purposes they got the dramatic focus of the episode, the big heroes death, the emotional gravitas. On the other hand, this show has the habit of killing off characters with potential. Too many and too quick. *waves to Peanut gallery, you know who you are*
I wasn't sure what they wanted to tell me about Dean and Jo. That he saw her newly matured self in a different light now? I could buy that and I had no problem with their scenes. I didn't think his offer to sex was an insult to her nor her decline of it one to him. Not among grown-ups. And the goodbye was sweet. But that last shot seemed a bit "too much" for as little as they really knew each other. Mourning for lost potential maybe? Could see it but it was a bit too on the nose for my taste.
And btw, burning the picture? U.R. doing it wrong. Photos are supposed to serve as memorabilia of the ones lost..
Liked that Lucifer was depicted a lot more evil here. And his talk was Castiel was nicely atmospheric.
Also a no-brainer the Colt didn't work. Come on.
However, Lucifer is one big whiny child. And that is exactly the level on which he tries to relate to Sam - "waah, so misunderstood, waaaaah". At first it was God who didn't wipe his little butt to his satisfaction and now it's Michael. Sigh. And one of these days I really need Sam to do an eyeroll at that bullshit and show me that those tactics don't work anymore. That he doesn't view the world - and his family - the way snot-nosed Lucifer does. Because I have lost any and all patience for that view.
So, first half of the Season nearly done and I have to say, the verdict is: so-so. A lot of missed potential IMO. And the brotherly bond? Couldn't have been less convincingly and organically insta-fixed IMO. Unless they do a LOT more on that front, that shallow surface relationship has lost its impact for me. For a good way to bring estranged characters back together, look at your own first Season, show. Not this.
It was okay. Nice they focused a bit more on Merlin. Who btw, is your TITLE character, show, not the bumbling fifth-billed comic relief. But the love interest storyline wasn't very gripping to me.
I felt for Merlin who basically acted like a lonely teenager, first smitten by a pretty girl, and I didn't mind Freya but there wasn't a lot going on in the episode.
Arthur saving Merlin from the bounty hunter was squeeful, though. As was the cute food-stealing. And Arthur's surprisingly liberal stance on cross-dressing. *g*
However, if I could pick and choose which elements of Arthurian legend I would desperately need to see onscreen, how the sword and the lady got in the lake wouldn't be quite at the top of my list. But okay.
Well, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I knew what would happen in this one so maybe that is why I could pretty much stomach it, even found a few amusing bits.
Not quite sure why the love spell had the enchanted people not only acting crazy about each other but crazy in general. Seems like overkill.
Lots of silly rom-com nonsense. And this time around, I was rather bored by the Arthur/Gwen. At first that great love of theirs comes out of nowhere at the beginning of the Season, then they make it crystal-clear she prefers Lancelot, then it disappears for a few episodes and now she Gwen is the one acting all pin-y and billed as Arthur's one true love.
I know it's supposed to be a light entertainment family show but even from those I expect a love story with a more convincing throughline than that.
Uther's eyrolls at the hijinks were funny. Uther exasperatedly asking his new BFF Merlin what was up with Arthur was even funnier.
Um, is Vivian now gonna be pining for Arhur for the rest of her life? That sucks for her.
However, one bit in the episode was glorious to me. The absolute "WTF is WRONG with her, I'd do him in a heartbeat" reaction from the scheming King Alined about Vivian's initial rebuffal of Arthur. I giggled all through the episode.
Oh, and did anyone notice how Arthur and Merlin tend to walk in lock-step all the time? Awww.
The previews also told me that Morgana still has a speaking role on the show. Good to know.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 04:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 04:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 04:30 pm (UTC)I loved Merlin 2x09 but I couldn't be bothered to watch 2x10. I just stopped ten minutes in because...I dunno, it was so silly and as they're heading towards the end of the season, there should be a bit more drama. I did like next week's trailer though.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 04:44 pm (UTC)It wasn't terribly bad or anything but mostly the Season is just one big ball of missed opportunities in my eyes.
but I couldn't be bothered to watch 2x10. I just stopped ten minutes in because...I dunno, it was so silly and as they're heading towards the end of the season, there should be a bit more drama
The episode was a big ball of cheese - and not really of the good kind but I had prepared myself for epic badness so it was bearable, I guess.
The remaining three look very good though.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 04:59 pm (UTC)Gwen/Arthur geht mir auf'n Geist. Erst reden sie nix miteinander, dann sind sie urplötzlich unsterblich ineinander verliebt. Dann ist sie mal kurz in Lanzelot verliebt und dann wird's für 'ne Weile still und dann is's auf einmal wieder die One True Love. Das is' so typisch "OMG, wir brauchen 'ne Lovestory, weil jede Serie eine hat und war da nicht was mit Arthur, Gwen und Lanzelot in der Original-Legende? Und hey, is' das nicht ein toller plot device, den man so manchmal aus'm Ärmel zaubern kann?"
DIESE SHOW BRAUCHT KEINE LOVESTORY, MANN!!!!!!!!!!!! How about some Merlin/Arthur/Gwen/Morgana friendshippy stuff instead?
Ich will die Merlin & Arthur Show zurück. Und irgendwie herrscht da generell gerade genauso ein Stilstand wie bei SPN. Die sind auch nicht weitergekommen als in Staffel 1. Die dehnen das jetzt absichtlich aus, damit sie genug Stoff für kommende Staffeln haben oder so...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 05:19 pm (UTC)Ich hätte ja nicht mal was gegen eine love spell comedy Ep gehabt, wenn sie es meinetwegen a la Shakespeare aufgezogen hätten, dass ein Liebeszauber schief geht und jeder sich in den "Falschen" verguckt, sagen wir mal Merlin in Morgana, Morgana in Arthur und Arthur in Merlin als extra Schmankerl etc. Klar ist das auch klischeebehaftet aber dann haben wenigstens alle Figuren was zu tun und man beleuchtet mal die Beziehungen untereinander.
und war da nicht was mit Arthur, Gwen und Lanzelot in der Original-Legende? Und hey, is' das nicht ein toller plot device, den man so manchmal aus'm Ärmel zaubern kann?"
Einerseits ist es zwar ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Legende aber das ist zum Beispiel Morgana = Halbschwester und Mordred = Sohn von Arthur/Morgana auch und das haben sie offensichtlich auch geändert.
Ich will die Merlin & Arthur Show zurück. Und irgendwie herrscht da generell gerade genauso ein Stilstand wie bei SPN.
Meiner Ansicht nach haben die sich teilweise sogar zurückentwickelt. Arthur/Merlin war in der 1.Staffel viel intensiver. Die ganze Beziehung ist viel weniger im Fokus als sie es mal war. Und nicht eine einzige richtiger Arthur/Merlin Ep diese Staffel. Letzte gab's zwei. Dafür werden wir mit sage und schreibe drei Arthur/Gwen Stories beglückt. Sigh.
Und SPN, naja, da fand ich die emotionalen Verknüpfungen auch schon wesentlich besser. Dabei mag ich es sogar, dass sie nicht mehr so aneinanderkleben. Allerdings nicht so, wie's jetzt ist. Vielleicht liegt es auch daran, dass ich Einzelkind bin und das zwischen Geschwistern teilweise so ist, aber ich würde mir viele Dinge in einer Beziehung wie auch immer geartet, so nicht bieten lassen wie das die Charas tun.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 05:32 pm (UTC)Yo, ganz genau. Das hatte ich ja auch schonmal vor'n paar Wochen angemerkt. Irgendwie scheinen das größtenteils nur noch storylines zu sein, die nicht wirklich at the core die Beziehung zwischen Merlin & Arthur haben, sondern sich irgendwie um andere Charaktere oder irgendwie "outside plots" zu drehen, die mit der eigentlichen Geschichte nix zu tun haben. Mein kurzer post dazu hier: http://i-am-schizo.livejournal.com/705724.html
Yo, soweit ich weiß, war auch die Original-Gwen nicht wirklich in Arthur verliebt, sondern in Lanzelot, oder? Und hier scheinen sie ja net ganz zu wissen, was sie nun eigentlich wollen. *lol*
Hätten sie einfach ganz draußen lassen sollen, aber yo, zeig' mir halt die show, die ganz ohne het love auskommt!
Und SPN deprimiert mich ohnehin. Anders als du trauere ich aber halt der Liebe der ersten beiden Staffeln nach. Generell kann ich momentan mit SPN emotional nicht mehr wirklich viel anfangen, auch wenn ich kurz bei 5.04 mal wieder zum alten squee zurückgefunden hab'. Ich weiß nich', was die momentan machen und was für 'ne Art von Beziehung sie glauben, dass Sam & Dean momentan haben. Schon komisch, dass ausgerechnet in dieser Staffel, Dean tatsächlich das erste Mal love gesagt hat. Aber naja, mal schauen, was da noch kommt. *scratches head*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 06:01 pm (UTC)Geliebt hat sie wohl beide aber Lancelot eben viel, viel mehr. Von daher war das am Anfang der Staffel noch eher nachzuvollziehen als da von Gwen's Seite aus vielleicht leichtes Interesse war aber als Lancelot kam, war Arthur sofort abgemeldet.
Und auf einmal erzählt mir die Show, Gwen hätte sich vor Kummer verzehrt und nur auf ein Zeichen von Arthur gewartet. Und dann sitzt sie da und fiebert dem Stelldichein entgegen. Wann ist das denn passiert? Wo war ich?
Da passte hinter und vorne nichts mehr zusammen, außer die wollen Gwen als eine Frau darstellen, die sich einfach dem zuwendet, der grad da ist, solange Lancelot NICHT da ist. Und das kommt ziemlich schäbig rüber. Arthur, mit all seinen Fehlern, ist ja auch ein Sympathiefigur und nicht der Fiesling vom Dienst, bei dem man sich da vor Schadenfreude ins Fäustchen lacht.
Hätten sie einfach ganz draußen lassen sollen, aber yo, zeig' mir halt die show, die ganz ohne het love auskommt!
Hm, schwierig. *g* Vielleicht ein paar ganz alte verstaubte procedurals. Also, wenn "chicks of the week" nicht zählen.
Ich weiß nich', was die momentan machen und was für 'ne Art von Beziehung sie glauben, dass Sam & Dean momentan haben.
Ich weiß es auch nicht, nebeneinanderherleben? Da fehlt die ganze Tiefe, weil sie sich einfach mit dem, was letztes Jahr passiert ist, nicht auseinander gesetzt haben. Und das war viel zu gewaltig, um es unter den Tisch zu kehren. In keiner normalen Beziehung liefe das so ab, nicht mal in den schlechten.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 09:19 pm (UTC)LOL I wonder if they bring Katie with the others when they shoot or if she comes only for her one sentence she has to say by episode.
but even from those I expect a love story with a more convincing throughline than that.
My thought exactly. If I wanted a show where people just suddenly fall for someone with absolutely no previous hints, I'd watch Glee. Arthur is still in love, of course, but Gwen's change of mind was rather disconcerting. I tend to block this storyline all together, it's just boring.
The absolute "WTF is WRONG with her, I'd do him in a heartbeat" reaction from the scheming King Alined about Vivian's initial rebuffal of Arthur.
I wasn't even sure I had heard right, I had to play it again!
And I loved Uther interracting with Merlin
without threatening him of killing him.(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-02 08:37 pm (UTC)My set-visiting friends say she is indeed hardly there when they shoot. Can't be too nice a feeling. Poor girl.
Arthur is still in love, of course, but Gwen's change of mind was rather disconcerting. I tend to block this storyline all together, it's just boring.
Yeah, probably a good idea.
I wasn't even sure I had heard right, I had to play it again!
It was awesome. Last week the crossdressing and now this. *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-29 10:03 pm (UTC)That's exactly what I thought!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-02 08:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-11-30 01:14 am (UTC)I really liked 209 of Merlin because of so sweet Merlin-Arthur scenes. Didn't bother aboout storyline though.
As for 210 i expected worse, a lot worse. Gwen totally annoyed me there but i ignored her and watched for comedy of 'Artur in love' and (again) for nice Merlin-Arthur scenes.
The preview for the next ep looks intriguing but i'm sad they'll make Morgana bad (i know it's classic but still...)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-02 08:40 pm (UTC)Good idea. :)
As for 210 i expected worse, a lot worse.
Yes, me, too. It played better than I expected. Granted, I expected the worst so maybe that was a good thing.