#gwen/arthur just. had no real development

[urfavcrime]

why are pretty much all of the romance plots in merlin forced.

[sneakyboymerlin]

Any thoughts on s5 merwaine strained relationship (Merlin not wanting to save him in ep1/2,not hugging him in ep4, Gwaine not speaking up for Merlin when Gwen accused him of Arthur’s murder, Eira (ep12).

First off, I’m going to start with the obvious: season 5 eps 1 & 2 are painfully out of character, poorly written imposter episodes. The sole purpose of Merlin’s hesitance to ride out is to uplift Arthur’s character, making him appear more heroic and matured than Merlin, and by comparison to where we saw him in s4, without having to actually develop his character. It’s cheap, lazy writing, to put it bluntly.

But, if it helps… Merlin wasn’t just ~abandoning~ Gwaine. He thought Gwaine was dead and that Arthur was going on a fool’s errand to join him in an early grave. Regardless of the fact that Gwaine was very much still kickin’, this is the place that Merlin was coming from. If the writers really needed to take the route they did, they should have given us a scene of Merlin mourning Gwaine to make this clearer, but since the writers only care about Arthur, they only show us this information through Merlin’s concern for Arthur. But it is present in the text.

In 5x04, we can see that Merlin is frantic to get to Arthur because Arthur is walking into a trap. It’s a time-sensitive mission. The purpose of writing a scene where Merlin shoves off Gwaine’s hug is simply to express this urgency. It comes across worse because, again, the writers do not find it important to show Merlin and Gwaine after they save the battle. They only care about how these events fuel Arthur’s reputation (not to be mistaken with development… he does not truly develop).

The belief that Gwaine simply let Merlin be arrested in 5x07 is a fanon pet peeve of mine. We don’t actually see any of the knights’ reactions in the immediate aftermath— only that Merlin did indeed get thrown in the dungeons. Later, we see that Leon believes the accusation and fully supports Gwen. We also see Gwaine pursuing what he believes to be an intruder in the citadel and, later, releasing Merlin from the dungeons himself with a massive smile on his face. We can pretty easily infer from this that 1) Gwaine did not believe that Merlin did it; 2) He may have been attempting to find the real culprit; and 3) He was outnumbered by the knights who did believe Gwen/follow her orders (such as Leon). After all, if Gwaine had arrested Merlin or believed the accusation for a second, he would have shown guilt upon releasing him from the dungeons. And why have Gwaine specifically be the only knight to release Merlin otherwise?

Gwaine sleeping with Eira is not evidence of a strained friendship between Merlin and Gwaine. Rather, it ends up proving where Gwaine’s loyalties truly lay— and it showcases Merlin’s friendship with Gwaine, which has indeed been ignored in s5. The reason for this is because it is their last episode together, and the writers are aware that fans care enough about their friendship that it needed the attention promised from Gwaine’s intro ep.

Gwaine rescues a cute girl (and gets rescued in return) and takes a special interest in her because he’s attracted to her. Merlin does Gwaine a personal favor by tending to her wounds. Later, Merlin asks Gwaine to escort him into the Valley of the Fallen Kings and does not provide an explanation for why, because he trusts Gwaine to protect him. Gwaine acquiesces, leaving Eira behind even though she asks him to stay. Gwaine makes it clear to Merlin that he’s doing this for Merlin because he wants to and does not expect anything in return— in fact, he feels he’s gotten more than enough in return. Merlin trusts Gwaine enough to admit he’s lying to him, even if he won’t tell Gwaine what about. And Gwaine trusts Merlin enough to leave him to it, then leaves Merlin with his sword since he won’t accept Gwaine’s protection any further.

Offscreen, Gaius reveals to Gwaine that Merlin believes Eira to be the traitor in the court, and provides Merlin’s evidence. Gwaine takes Merlin’s word for it and sets Eira up, sending her to her execution. So, really, the whole Eira situation is functionally meant to boost our view of their selfless friendship… but a bit too late, since the writers have neglected them quite literally all season long. It’s very much a last minute “shit we forgot to care” project.

When they do give Merlin and Gwaine’s dynamic attention, though, the writers make sure to present how close they are, but they ignore this for the most part to focus on Arthur. Essentially, it’s not that Merlin doesn’t still care about Gwaine… it’s that the writers don’t. The writers literally do not care about anyone besides Arthur— not even Merlin, the titular character. Not only did they neglect to give Merlin any character consistency in s5, but they did so (and framed events in a specific way) to ensure that Arthur’s reputation would remain unstained, as he is a personified fantasy of avoiding accountability and being coddled for one’s own wrongdoings.

Fans, of course, buy into this and argue that Arthur can do no wrong because he’s “too ignorant” to know any better, instead placing blame on characters like Morgana for “proving the stereotypes right” or onto Gwen and Merlin for “coddling” him. Thus, these fans coddle Arthur, despite claiming the opposite.

The truth is that Arthur is responsible for his own actions and beliefs. Those actions and beliefs are the mass slaughter of innocent people simply because they have magic. He’s already seen more than enough evidence that magical peoples are not inherently evil or harmful, and applied this same logic to other areas of life (such as nobles vs. commoners), and found that no one is inherently superior or inferior for their birth circumstances. It is only in the topics of magic (and gender…) that Arthur believes this. But even after the Dolma saves Gwen, he still refuses to lift the ban… so, yeah, all in all you can blame the lack of Merlin and Gwaine content in s5 on the writers not wanting Arthur to either develop or be held accountable for his actions. Instead, they wanted to present a character to be lauded above all others no matter what he does. This tells you a lot about the morals of the people writing the story… and maybe some of the things they don’t want to be held responsible for. After all, 35% of all BBCM episodes come with a message of, “If you try to stop this oppressive bigot, you’re just as bad as he is!”

TL;DR: they shoved Merlin and Gwaine aside to make more room for monarchy propaganda.

[astra-galaxie]

I decided I wanted to make one of these! Explanations of my choices can be found below!

Favourite character: Shocker! My favourite character is Diego! Who could have foreseen this coming? I've always loved Diego, and his character development is so well-written! Plus, Pretty Simple was VERY generous when designing him!😏

Liked by everyone but me: This might be a bit of a controversial take, so please don't grab the pitchforks and torches until you hear me out! I don't, nor have I ever hated Elliot; I've just never understood the hype surrounding him. He's just never appealed to me like he does for others, but he's still an interesting character.

Didn't like at first: Asal still isn't high on my list of liked characters, but I like her more than I used to. I had forgotten about the more specific aspects of her character, and when I wrote my Save The World story, I realized she was more complex than I remembered. Mainly how she was hostile towards the Bureau because she thought they were aware of Ripley's involvement with SOMBRA, and after finding out they were unaware, she seemed remorseful for her actions.

Would like to know more about: I feel like there is so much more we could have learned about Arthur. Why did he start the rebellion? Why did he become a writer? How did he manage to escape from the Demon Queen's faithful? How was he captured? So many questions that I want to know the answers to!

Least favourite character: Do I need to say anything about this one? No, seriously, do I? Because I feel like it's pretty obvious why I would hate him, given his LONG list of dirty deeds!

Like the design, dislike the character: While I might not like Morgana, I LOVE her design! Her dress is so pretty, and her hair and make suit her aesthetic! Plus, her accessories are wicked! (See what I did there?😉)

Like the character, dislike the design: Abigail is such a cool and unique character, but I wish her design was better. It just seems so simple and plain... PS could have at least given her some accessories or something instead of just a basic tank top! Someone give this ghost a makeover!

Similar personality: I connect with Evie on a spiritual level. I, too, enjoy hiding away from the real world and doing something I love. Also, I am very shy and quiet, so much so that I am constantly accidentally sneaking up on people!

Fav ship: Maddie and Charlie's love story is so good! It's the perfect friends-to-lovers story, and watching them get together made me so happy!

Least fave ship: Again, do I need to say anything? These two have ZERO chemistry beyond friendship, and their sudden "rekindled" romance made no sense. Gwen and Hope deserved to get together, and I stand by that fact!

Would befriend IRL: Luke reminds me of some of my current and old IRL friends. I think he and I would get along! I've already said that I would like to be his friend, which hasn't changed.

Would never befriend IRL: And because I had to state my dislike of Fabian somehow, this is where I'm doing it! I HATE this guy (but not as much as Horatio) and would NEVER be his friend! I'd rather drive a stake through my heart than be his friend! Whenever he came on the screen while playing S7, I would glare at him...

And that's everything! Can you tell which seasons are my favourite?😉

Again, these are just my personal opinions, so please do not gather the mob! People are allowed to like or dislike whichever characters they choose, so please be respectful of mine.✨

[closetsof-backlogged-dreams]

opinions on morgwen

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDSJFH;DAJKSDJ

hot take of the day: morgwen, when looking at just the plot and its existing holes, actually makes more sense than merthur

ik!! ik!! outrageous. proposterous. INSANITY. but morgwen would actually ASSIST in fixing my biggest problem with the entire series, the biggest hole in morgana's very holey character arc: her hatred for arthur.

ive actually talked about this before, in this post:

"for example, when morgana began to hate arthur and want him dead and stuff—that development came out of nowhere. for the entire series up until that point, she had loved and cared for him. now, all of the sudden, she wants him dead?? now, it had made sense for uther. he had done terrible things to morgana and could very clearly see the line between her love and hate for him. you could to watch her tip-toe along it in real time until she began plotting his murder. that arc made sense. but arthur? there was no point where we saw arthur do anything that would make her hate him the way she did. he was just randomly lumped together with uther as another pendragon she had to kill to get the throne. but, again, it doesn't make sense! she never lumped them together. in the episode To Kill the King, morgana directly compares arthur and uther by telling him that, 'You're a better man than your father. Always were.' again, she never lumped them together! yet, later on, that's exactly what she does."

expanding on the beginning of that quote: in my opinion, this is what a character arc should look like: (and behold, the reason this ask took me a hundred years to answer... a CHART (made by moi))

^that is a very basic idea of a character arc, when a person starts one way and ends in another, all because of different inciting incidents forcing them to change. a slightly more complex version of this will look a little like this:

In this one, there is a very clear "Point B" where you can see that they've changed—that there is still more change to come, but that they have grown. this is how Morgana's character arc is shaped. in season two, you can very clearly see that Point B, and it's actually why it's my favorite season of Morgana's character development. season two showcases her gradual downfall as she struggles being a sorceress in the center of Camelot as Uther's own ward. everything you see her feel and struggle with feels very real.

season three is when it all starts to go awry. we obviously know that this is the season that she reaches that horrible Point C, when her character arc is complete and she turns into that wretched villainess we all know and love.

the issue with this is that there is a very important checklist-style of things she needs to believe in order to turn into this person:

✅find out about her magic

✅hate Uther

✅meet Morgause and believe in her goals

✅hate Arthur

i fully believe that she would not and could not change into the person she became without hating Arthur, because that was why she wanted to take the throne—she believed that both Pendragons couldn't be trusted to repeal the magic ban, and would continue the endless cycle of genocide. if she still cared about Arthur, still had faith in him, then she wouldn't have been so desperate to be crowned queen.

do i think that Morgana's faith in him was already wavering? absolutely. but i also believe that something HUGE had to happen to shatter her faith in him entirely. what could have been one of the best ways to do this?

eating away at her affections for him, slowly, with one or two issues before wiping out every good feeling she has ever felt for him with one big incident. how does morgwen tie into this, though?

it's simple: make arthur and gwen's relationship very obvious to morgana. force her to encounter it often. make her uncomfortable, because SHE loves gwen, has always loved gwen, and now her brother who spent years not even knowing who she was is supposedly in love with her?? that would be enough to eat away at anyone's affection for their brother. morgana wasn't stupid. she figured out their relationship very quickly, and was obviously disgusted with the idea. BUILD on that disgust. and then, once its obvious morgana is heart-wrenchingly jealous of arthur, make arthur do something stupid or harmful towards magic. shatter morgana's faith in him.

it would work so perfectly!! everything would fall into place!! all those weird plot holes surrounding morgana's downfall would make a million times more sense. imagine really only loving two people in the world: your best friend, your maidservant, the love of your life and your childhood friend, your ever-lasting nuisance, your brother. imagine them both falling in love while you can only watch helplessly. that's a perfect villian origin story, paired with uther's abuse, morgause's manipulation, and her own alienation from the people around her.

so, i know this was a lot, and took me a hundred million YEARS to respond to, but i'm literally so passionate about this its not even funny. if you want me to expand on anything or if you have any questions, please let me know!!! i love talking about this part of the show:)

[comma-souptra]

BBC Merlin 10th rewatch thoughts compilation:

(this is also my first full rewatch since I was literally 18 so prefrontal cortex is notably more developed or whatever)

This is SO long and rambled because it’s for me and putting my thoughts down on my blog! But feel free to peruse bc I am just crying sobbing putting words down. Thoughts under the cut for spoilers <3

-fuck this show fr

-starting off strong with Angel Coulby you are the most beautiful woman and the most perfect Guinevere possible

-something interesting is how much more the lack of communication drove me bonkers this time around, like please just explain everything in detail to each other we could solve so many problems

-Merlin also seems like so much more of an ill-moraled character this go around? Like he is truly so morally grey and his logic for “should I do this” is deeply just “does it in any potential way benefit Arthur/the fuckass prophecy”

-TO THE POINT THAT he’s literally like Magic’s #1 Hater for five straight seasons AND can’t see that he is actively making the prophecy unfold every single time

-Gwen/Morgana gfs my angels I’m so sorry this happened to you

-Morgana should have had a friend so badly like one friend (not Morgause) would have saved her

-same exact sentiment for Mordred

-Merlin/Arthur and Merlin/Gwaine literally no comments

-actually this show invented polyamory and throuples would have saved many of you

-ON THE TOPIC Lancelot so badly is both Arthur and Merlin’s queer awakening in my heart. I do think Merlin likely already knew (Will) but I think his relationship to Lancelot made queer relationships seem feasible in some form

-I do not think Arthur knew at all and that’s why he looks so damn confused every time he interacts with Lancelot

-Lancelot is around for SO much less than I ever remember too he really is just stepping in to be pretty and complicate the narrative and then leave again

-Arthur needs glasses so severely I fear because I can excuse a lot of the missing magic moments but I watched Merlin lock eyes with him and use magic during that S5 dice game you can’t explain that one away

-Gwaine my beloved! Proof that a fictional man can be both a butch lesbian to the women in his life and a pansexual man to everyone else

-Morgana and Morgause…. This script is fruity as hell can we be for real. Both actresses said “yeah we played it a little queer” I fear the BBC was not brave enough to give Morgana an evil fucked up gf and went the Kill la Kill route

-I think by Elyan’s death all the knights fully must know that the ambiguous secret Merlin seems to have is in fact his magic and they are just choosing not to say anything out of respect for him (“he’s tell us when he’s ready”)

-EXCEPT: Leon doesn’t know. I do however think Leon just thinks Merlin is gay.

-Gwaine absolutely knows there’s literally no way around that one

-Gwen I feel also had an inkling that Merlin had magic, which I feel is supported by her and Gaius’ conversation in S5E13, I do also think she thinks he’s gay

-I also do think Merlin is gay

-I forgot how much of a through-line the joke that Merlin crossdresses is, it comes up at least three times

-tangentially related, the early friendship between Morgana and Merlin… I mourn u every day! The friends they could’ve been and how happy he was when he thought she knew he had magic (S1? When she thinks he has a crush on Gwen)

-also I forgot how much angst Merlin had about magic towards Gaius, several (justified) comments about how Gaius doesn’t understand what he’s going through

-also so so interesting is that I feel like in so many Magic Revealed fics, we write Arthur responding with shock & confusion & anger (which all rock big fan), but in the finale, once he understands that Merlin is so for serious a sorcerer, he’s just so scared of him?? Which was crazy I don’t think that has sunk in before how scared he looks

-and then they start to get over it and we get the reminiscing about their fight from the first day they met where Merlin confesses to using magic and we get the devastating exchange “you cheated” “you looked like you were going to kill me!” “I should have”

-damn major nostalgia vibe killer from Arthur, DEVASTATING on this rewatch

-also S5E12 when Gwaine and Merlin and traveling through the valley of the fallen kings and get jumped by bandits and Merlin gets cornered and HOLLERS for Gwaine thank you BBC that one lives rent free in my head always

-fuck this dragon for real also because Merlin DOES kind of fail like none of the shit they planned for happened, they got pieces but so much more COULDVE worked out without this fuckass dragon whispering in Merlin’s ear every day Kilgharrah it’s on sight dude

-finally maybe the most sickening parallel I have to offer is S4E13 when Isolde is dying and she and Tristan are reminiscing on the plans they had that are obviously not going to happen anymore and she says “hold me”

-which obviously is striking a significant chord with Arthur as it spurs him to reconcile with Gwen (thank god everyone cheered)

-(also why was the full breadth of her enchantment never discussed back to miscommunication please she didn’t cheat on him like that justice for Gwen’s rep I’m sick)

-BUT ALSO! A season later in S5E13 we get Merlin and a dying Arthur with Merlin trying to explain that they have so much to do so Arthur can’t die, and Arthur says “just hold me”

-I will lose it every time about this one… watching half of a couple die and mourn the chance to live a life together and then mirroring that at your own death with the man you are unexplainably close and connected to

-also the “I’m going to say something I’ve never said to you before… thank you” had such a queer set up that even my parents thought it was going to be an “I love you” when we watched the show for the first time together in like 2014 so… it’s the Spanish supernatural finale dub in my heart

-I think that’s enough I’m just sick to my STOMACH over this show once again, obviously it’s a BBC show from 2009 so it’s not without criticism but it’s genuinely my favorite TV show I’ve ever seen without competition. There is a deeply clear allegory for queerness that has drawn in and continues to draw in queer fans constantly and keep the viewership active. I also just love so badly how campy and classic it is, it’s one of the few pieces of media I have in DVD because I fear so badly to lose it. BBC Merlin I love u what a brilliant and silly and devastating tv show from 2009

[under-your-floorboards]

Okay, sure, all of the knights of the round table after Arthur and Merlin get their shit together and finally court being like “yeah, we knew” is funny because none of them thought to tell them what they all saw, BUT

I present to you, all of them being literally so thrown off by this new development that really isn’t so new. Because they see Arthur and Merlin together all the time, sure, but only while they’re with them. They don’t see the private moments we do, or the carefully intimate conversations in the night when they’re alone in Arthur’s chambers. They don’t see Merlin smoothing out Arthur’s collar after dressing him when he doesn’t need to. They don’t see the domesticity when Merlin is polishing armour by the fire in Arthur’s chambers and Arthur is reading updates from the lower town nearby in total silence. Etc etc

Because let’s be real, all of the knights would die for Arthur or each other, that’s what being a knight is all about, so they figured that Merlin wasn’t any exception. They don’t truly realise the lengths he truly has gone for Arthur.

Leon has been around since the day these two literally MET. Merlin nearly commit regicide his second day and then saved Arthur from the sorceress by the third. Gwaine loves how Merlin doesn’t fall into line with hierarchy roles but can begrudgingly see why he’s so loyal to Arthur, cause he has his moments. Lance respects and admires Arthur a lot, especially after knighting him, which has always been his dream, and knows of the prophecy from Merlin as his one (1!!) in-the-know friend, so he suspects it’s just that. Elyan knows his sister is in love with Arthur, half of Camelot’s court ladies are for Gods sake, but she and Merlin act extremely different around Arthur, Merlin being so much more comfortable around him than Gwen, so he thinks it’s more of a brotherhood like the knights bond. Percy is a bit more perceptive of this, especially considering both Merlin and Arthur never really fall in love with anyone else around them the entire time, they’ve never seen Merlin in love period since they never met Freya, and Arthur had courted before but most of it was arranged or a product of his duty to the throne.

So when they’re like “lol guess who’s finally together” all of the Knights are collectively losing their minds, and replaying everything they’ve ever known about them in their minds since they met.

THAT is comedy

[thisisjustmefangirling]

BBC Merlin rewatch, 1x05 : "Lancelot"

Today, we meet Lancelot !

Why doesn’t Merlin use his magic to protect himself against the griffin ? He didn't even try. Maybe he was too scared... some fics say it's because he was still recovering from being poisoned.

Aaaand from the get go we are introduced to Lancelot as a brave and selfless character, a hero willing to risk his life to save someone else.

It's nice to see Arthur and Uther out in the forest doing kingly things, checking out villages together.

"You could shame the great Arthur himself" awww Merlin you're sweet, acknowledging what a good fighter Arthur already is.

"You face the most feared of all foes, the ultimate killing machine. You face me." This much bragging and ego is giving serious Gilderoy Lockhart vibes and makes me want to laugh but Arthur actually has the skills to support his claim. He took out that Wessex guy in less than 30 seconds. The guy had two swords, and Arthur did not even use his own, he ducked, punched and kneed the guy, and voilà.

I LOVE sword fighting scenes. Especially when they involve Arthur.

Arthur points out he's the third noble to fail the test this month and "How am I meant to defeat Camelot with rubbish like that ?" and I think it nicely sets up the idea that the knights of the Round Table will be coming from elsewhere and deep down he juges them by their skills and honor.

As another post has already pointed out, Arthur rejects the idea of Merlin becoming a knight ("I think I might be able to help") not because Merlin is not noble born but due to what he thinks Merlin lacks for the job. "Courage, fortitude, discipline"

Aaaand Merlin openly lies. "He IS a nobleman".

"Thanks Arthur. You won’t regret it". Merlin doesn’t even bother with "my lord" or "sire" or "your highness" haha.

Merlin suddenly develops a talent for forgery. Congratulations.

Geoffrey of Monmouth's eyebrows are impressive and probably fake.

Gwen highlights Merlin's kindness : "Merlin would do anything for anyone"

Gwen and Lancelot are cute together

Nice music as Merlin and Lancelot walk in the corridor

Did I mention I love to see Arthur training his knights and himself ? Cause I do.

"Lance... lot". Thanks Arthur now I imagine Philomena Cunk going "Lance A Lot" just like she said "King Arthur came a lot, didn't he ?"

Maybe you think that Arthur slapping Lancelot was a dick move; to me it shows he's fed up with nobles who think their skills are better than what they truly are. He NEEDS good fighters to defend his kingdom. "Sluggish reactions. On the battlefield, you'd be dead by now". Have you already been on the battlefield, Arthur ? I wonder.

Lancelot shows he's tenacious by getting back up and declaring he's ready now.

I think Arthur is amused by Lancelot's eagerness to prove himself, and he likes it, and him. Look at his face... He's smirking :

The real dick move was making Lancelot cleaning the stables.

Lancelot went straight to Merlin's room... do they sleep in the same room ?

"Your magic is not a toy, Merlin. It is not for you to use and abuse as you see fit." Ugh Gaius you're annoying.

Also Lancelot is right on the other side of the door while they talk about Merlin's magic ??? Gaius you keep berating Merlin for his use of magic, for fear he could be found out, but you are not discreet at all !

Great fight scene between Lancelot and Arthur, who seemed eager to test this newcomer.

I love the way Bradley moves. I don't know anything about how much training he got for these fight scenes but there's a great physicality to him, his arms and shoulders seem nicely developed and used to the exercise. He hasn’t lost any of that, he was fantastic in "Vikings : Valhalla", though it felt strange to see him playing a villain.

Arthur is in a rush to have Lancelot be tested and be knighted. He smells potential.

I love that Lancelot bested Arthur by being more clever than him and tricking him. I didn’t think it was in his nature.

Morgana eyeing Lancelot makes me laugh

Oh look, women with wimples.

Morgana looks beautiful in burgundy.

I can't believe Arthur is staring at Morgana and Lancelot is staring at Gwen and they bond over "do you think she's beautiful?" Like... Arthur and Lancelot should have had a strong friendship on this show, aren’t they supposed to be best friends in the original texts and some of the adaptations ? I know a book in which Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot have a threesome to make sure Guinevere gets pregnant. Arthur and Lancelot were close enough for that. Of course here, Merlin is/will be Arthur's best friend... but Arthur deserves to have friends, and to have friends left after being betrayed by so many people by season 5. He was too lonely. Look, he's smiling at him here :

"He [Lancelot] is not really my type".

"Sometimes Guinevere, I wonder if you would know what your type was if he was standing right next to you." Merlin you are standing right next to her...

This episode is so funny for this, all the main characters are looking at someone and their looks are not returned. Arthur is looking at Morgana, who's looking at Lancelot, who's looking at Gwen, while Gwen is looking at Merlin, who is looking at Arthur and Lancelot.

MERLIN MAKING GWEN CHOOSE BETWEEN ARTHUR AND LANCELOT WHEN SHE'S NOT INTERESTED IN ANY OF THEM YET OMG. "Just for the sake of the argument".

This is another one of these occasions when Arthur and his knights are wearing CHAINMAIL, something you wear for PROTECTION in BATTLE, at a feast. Yes, you're knights, we get it. You're also the Prince, Arthur. Wear something fancy.

I never get tired of seeing Pierrefonds from afar.

You are wearing your fancy vest this morning Arthur, so why couldn’t you wear something similar last night ?

Uther doesn’t need chainmail either but it could go with his paranoid personality so I'll let it slide, especially since he's wearing a nice dark... surcoat ? I love that Arthur wears bright reds and Uther and Morgana wear darker tones of red.

"How can you trust a man who's lied to you?" asks Uther, and the scene cuts to show Merlin.

Gaius and his books remind me of Giles.

The griffin attacks. Arthur leads his knights. "ON ME ! ON MEEEE". The show does a good job at establishing Arthur's skills as a fighter and leader of his knights, and his qualities such as his bravoury and sense of self-sacrifice.

I wish the show wouldn’t use so much slow motion during fight scenes...

"You said your knights were the best in the land, and you proved that today". So once again it goes to show that Arthur expects a high level of skills from his knights, but for a good reason.

Uther refusing to listen to reason even though it could cost him his son's life is sending me. Arthur will ride out against the creature because it is his duty to protect Camelot but also because his father ordered him to and he yearns for his father's approval and fears his disappointment.

"Merlin you are the only thing I care about in all this world. I would give my life for you without a thought", says Gaius, while obviously still being loyal to Uther somehow.

Arthur thinks he's been "so stupid" for believing in Lancelot and Merlin's lie. It's just the beginning...

"I need... Camelot needs" yeah Arthur just admit you like Lancelot and admire him, it's alright.

"It doesn't matter what I believe. The use of magic is not permitted".

Arthur gives Lancelot his freedom, in his father's back.

Sweet moment between Gwen and Lancelot. She might be developing her crush.

Ooooh right, Arthur and his knights were still wearing helmets that season.

They found a good option for Arthur, because helmets and filmmaking don't really go together (unless it's The Mandalorian), and this helmet protects the head but shows enough of the actor's face to let the viewer enjoy the acting and see the character's emotions.

"I'm failing, and if Arthur dies because I am not good enough..." Merlin's biggest fear.

How come both of Lancelot's shoulders are protected when Arthur is only protected on his right side ? ...it's purely decorative, isn’t it ?

Oh I didn’t expect the forest scene to be so close to the castle.

That's a nice horse Lancelot has. Totally epic sequence.

Arthur is so happy Lancelot managed to kill the griffin, oooooh.

Aw and Gaius is proud of Merlin... That's sweet. Also interesting to note he struggled to enchant a weapon now in season 1 but in the pilot he could stop time without thinking and in season 5 he can accomplish feats of magic like no one else can.

Who are these random people in the room with Uther, Arthur and the guards ? They are useless and shouldn't be here.

"He laid down his life for me ! He served with honour".

"The law is the law. The code bends for no man". "Then the code is wrong !" Arthur, my darling, I love to see you make your own conclusions and realise that your father is not right about everything. Keep turning into the great King you will be ❤️

Lancelot knows about Merlin's magic and accepts him.

Lancelot barging in to say goodbye... Dude, Arthur was fighting for you to be pardoned and reinstated as a knight. He liked you and wanted you to stay and he basically told you so. You don't have to sacrifice yourself all the damn time. Fight for what you want. You are too noble for your own good. YOU killed the griffin. You were the one who fought it and won. Merlin helped, but it doesn't mean that it is his accomplishment alone. It was team work.

Morgana's voice is softer this season than later. She and Gwen are sweet together.

Byyye Lancelot, see you later !

Okay, my conclusions :

Merlin is learning not to mess with other people's destiny, and learning new spells.

Arthur's skills and sense of honor were nicely shown, and he wasn't very prattish in this episode

Arthur is amused by people who defy him, like Merlin or Lancelot. Let him have real friends, pleaaaase.

So many ships were created by that episode.

Lancelot is too noble for his own good and I'm afraid that's what made him a bit boring to my eyes in later seasons.

Arthur is not afraid to go against his father and stand for what is right, he did it at least twice if not three times : by telling his father in denial that he thinks Gaius is right, by freeing Lancelot behind his father's back, and by going to see his father to demand to have Lancelot pardoned and restaured as a knight.

I don't expect perfect costuming (or even historical accuracy) from this show but a tiny bit more consistency and logic wouldn't have hurt. Fan artists and fashion historians, if you ever come this way... I'll take all the art of Merlin and Arthur and Morgana in the BEST outfits.

They've really pulled the knight/chivalry card in this ep and I loved it.

[pippin-katz]

i actually disagree. not every character has to be a favorite (as we all know) and there's nothing wrong with not liking them. You dont need a good reason. As long as they don't spread hate against them, quitely not liking them is fine.

it doesnt make someone misogynistic or racist to just not like a character. its a neutral thing, not everyone's vibe will suit everyone, and not everyone finds the same character interesting.

on the whole are female characters neglected across fandom? sure.

That doesn't mean a person should force themselves to like a paring or a character, just so they dont offend someone LMAO thats not what fandom is for. its people engaging with shit they love for fun and creating stuff from that love.

You seem to be missing my point and manipulating my words.

I did not say that disliking Guinevere makes you misogynistic or racist, but that there are people who ARE that will spread hate.

When I say you need a “reason” not to like a character, that reason can be as simple as “I don’t like her personality” or “I don’t like her vibe”.

THAT is a personal preference a person can have about a character that has nothing to do with a fan-driven ship.

Saying “Gwen sucks because she ruins Merthur!” has nothing to do with her as a character or her portrayal. It is not a commentary or opinion of her character at all, but just a blatantly rude statement because Merthur is not in the show.

If Merlin and Arthur were set up and explored as a potential relationship within the context of the show, and they ended up not doing it/breaking them up within the show, saying you don’t like Guinevere for her role in that plot line would be completely valid. Because they are not explored as a potential relationship, that is not a real criticism of her character.

Nothing I have said implies that you have to like Guinevere, or her relationship with Arthur.

I personally like the chemistry he and Merlin have better. If they had been willing or planning to go that route, I would have much preferred it, but that is not what happened, and that does not mean that what we got is inherently bad because of my personal preference.

People mistake opinions for critiques.

Do not misunderstand, many critiques are opinions, but most opinions are not critiques.

For example: my mother cannot watch the first fifteen minutes of Pixar’s Up because it upsets her too much. She then goes on to say that “it’s horrible”.

Those are two entirely separate concepts. You can dislike something, or be upset by something, but still recognize the quality of that something.

This can work both ways. You can love something, and recognize the lack of quality in it.

Cult classics are a fantastic example. The film Rocky Horror Picture Show is not a well-made, high quality movie. In this case, that is an intentional part of the film’s goal, but regardless, nearly every part of that movie is lackluster in execution. However, I and many other people love it. I am not saying that it is a good film because I personally love it. I can recognize something as poor quality even if I personally enjoy it.

In regards to Guinevere, you are well within your right not to like her. I have my own qualms with the character myself. Her writing in later seasons started lacking the spark and personality she had in season 1, in a way that was clearly not an intentional development. Notice how I did not outright say “Guinevere is a bad character” just because I feel her writing got worse.

When you choose to share your opinion in a public space, you should be thoughtful of how you do so. Not everyone will be, obviously, but if you have no ill intentions, you should be.

THAT is what I mean when I say you should have a “real reason” for disliking a character. If you have an opinion that is a valid personal preference you want to share, that is completely fine, but otherwise, you should “quietly dislike the character” as you put it.

Even if you do not intend spread hate with your own post, there are people who will use it as an opportunity for them to do so.

THAT is my point.

You are correct. Fandoms are meant to be places to engage with something they love, to create and talk about it with other fans. It is meant to be fun, which is why more people, in all fandoms, should think more when choosing what to say and what not to say and how to say it.

If more people made the individual effort to be polite and understanding with their opinions of media, so many fandoms would not be as toxic as they are.

THAT is my goal in saying all this.

I have not been perfect in the past with being considerate or polite in sharing my opinions, and every time, it led to negativity and frustration that could’ve been avoid if I or the other person had stopped to consider how our words could come across.

It ruins the experience of a fandom for the people involved, and many times steers curious individuals away from the content itself out of fear or distaste for the fandom’s behavior.

I hope that this clears things up a bit.

[lexa-gui]

I can't believe I'm finally done! I had a blast making this video, it's been my baby for ages. It's my take on a more darkish continuation of canon. Mind the TW in the video description! This video gets a lot darker than its canon basis.

Here's a thorough explanation of everything in the vid (also TW for attempted suicide):

So! Basically, I kept canon the same here, except for a couple of things. Merlin doesn't age physically (unlike what we see in the show's ending) and Kilgharrah gets replaced with a GoT dragon xd (what can I say the VFX are much cooler). Whenever you see bearded merlin though, that's an older post-Arthur merlin. And the video jumps back and forward a bit.

It starts with an older post-Camelot Merlin (00:05) (during the witch burnings), and then there's a clip that's supposed to be earlier on when Gwen is still alive and queen (00:15) (after Arthur's death though). It's a battle/invasion that I'll leave open for interpretation because I didn't think through it a lot xd, but it can't be in Camelot (the city) itself obviously, because of the sea. I'm thinking they went to a coastal fortress to defend themselves against the invading Saxons.

Then we have more battles (00:23) (I'm thinking the one in season 4, where Merlin calls on Kilgharrah, since he's supposed to die in season 5).

Then we have some visuals for the great purge (00:33).

I leant on a couple of fan theories: that Merlin is magic itself made flesh and blood, and that his birth was a direct result of the great purge (that is to say, because such a great amount of magic was snuffed out suddenly, it concentrated and poured itself into merlin -- basically balance, and magic being this immutable force that can't be created or destroyed, only transformed and passed on).

Then we get to see Merlin through the ages, until the present day (01:10), struggling with his immortality. There's a callback to Camelot and the witch hunts (01:25), and then we get Camlann! Where he called on Kilgarrah this time! (01:36) It is intercut with a later post-canon scene, where Guinevere has been captured by some warlord or another at some point (01:45). Leon goes to Merlin for help and rescues her (this is not long after Arthur's death, which is why Merlin still looks like he does in canon).

At (01:56) we get Camlann again.

Then we have Merlin losing Gwen and Leon to the years (02:01), and we see the impact of being alone throughout eternity on his psyche. We get some nightmares (02:19), mostly centred on Arthur (because they'd absolutely be -- #merthurforlife).

There's Merlin talking down some soldiers going after him during the witch hunts (02:36). In (02:43) we see Merlin in Avalon lake (now I'll be honest here, my intention wasn't to put Merlin on the isle, since I'm not sure if it's even supposed to be accessible xd but I couldn't find a way to put him on the other margin, so let's just assume all is well xd).

We get Merlin in present-day (02:44), still chasing breadcrumbs (and maybe even starting to doubt his sanity a little bit? -- see "Was King Arthur a real person?").

And then,,,, the attempted suicides (02:49). Because you can't tell me a person with Merlin's behemoth amount of trauma wouldn't develop a major depression after lifetimes of waiting around alone -- not even knowing quite what he's waiting for or if it'll ever happen). Aaaaaaand (03:06) Merlin has maybe lost it a little bit. I think he tries to venture into necromancy and some,,,, not-great stuff (magic-wise).

But we catch a glimpse of Arthur at (03:19) so either it worked or... well, you decide.

Also at (03:11), we have a painting of Gwen in the background of Buckingham palace. It was commissioned by Merlin sometime during the renaissance period (does not mean that the painting itself is renaissance style). He made sure it found its way into the royal treasuries and it is displayed to this day, so it would probably have been the work of a famous artist. (In reality, it is a very beautiful portrait by Thérèse Schwartze that I have edited to feature Angel Coulby).

[couragehopelovefaith]

I posted 6,242 times in 2022

That's 896 more posts than 2021!

221 posts created (4%)

6,021 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sobernatural

@buglovescas

@dwcoded

@emeraldcas

@deanshauntedmidnights

I tagged 5,141 of my posts in 2022

Only 18% of my posts had no tags

#supernatural - 3,446 posts

#destiel - 2,716 posts

#deancas - 2,712 posts

#dean winchester - 587 posts

#castiel - 288 posts

#fate the winx saga - 260 posts

#shadowhunters - 177 posts

#tvd - 170 posts

#ftws - 143 posts

#teen wolf - 134 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#the moment when you're supposed to be the responsible employer and see something like this and try to hold back screaming and crying

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Riven and Musa | Cake By The Ocean (S2) (SPOILERS ABOUT SEASON 2) Lilac Edits was really fast with this wonderful Rivusa-edit. Great job! *returns to rewatch it multiple times*

60 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#4

When you have rewatched Merlin six or seven times but want to go through all that emotional rollercoaster to introduce it to your friend, are nervous about her reactions...and these are her comments during episode two: 

“It seems like the show is developing the thing between Morgana and Arthur, but I would much rather want to see Morgana with Gwen and Merlin with Arthur. There is so much chemistry there already.”

“Gwen and Morgana have such bi-energy!”

[I made a mistake of accidentally telling her that Morgana is going to turn “evil” at some point, and now she has wild speculations of what would lead such a just cinnamon roll into that...and I’m sitting there like I’m constipated to avoid spoiling anything.]

[when Merlin and Arthur are fighting] “Oh, come on, just kiss and make up already!”

Also, she is such a ray of sunshine every time Kilgharrah appears and she has already so many crossover-ideas. 

And let me tell you, the big mix of relief, nostalgic pain and amusement that I felt was like no other. 

My inner voice: “Oh, honey, you’ve got a big storm coming!”

82 notes - Posted May 21, 2022

#3

I’m all too used to having “Yes, they are finally happy! Wait... Oh no, they are too happy right now... something bad is gonna happen any minute!”-moments, but it still sucks every time. 

134 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#2

The last year and a half has been challenging enough already, and now Merlin is leaving Netflix too? Seriously? Dammit and other curses. 

158 notes - Posted November 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

My opinions about “Fate the Winx Saga” season 2 (MANY SPOILERS!)

If you haven’t seen it yet and want to experience it fully by yourselves, don’t read any further!

- Without any doubt, this season is even better than the first one. Such an emotional rollercoaster with many surprises and great villains. I loved all of the old and new characters and how these episodes deepened their bonds. It took some time for me to get used to the new actors of Rosalind and Ben - the original ones will always have a special place in my heart, but they did a good job with recasting, I think. 

- I have loved Abigail as Bloom since the first episode, but I’m glad she got so many opportunities to shine here.

- I didn’t especially like Skloom in the original animation, but they have stolen my heart in Fate, specifically during this season (episodes two and seven, my beloved). 

- I was both anxious and excited about seeing Flora, but I was pleasantly surprised. She is a badass, fits into group so well, and I like how her and Terra got closer and kind of sorted out their disagreements. 

- Everyone’s storylines and struggles were good and relatable (especially Bloom’s, Sky’s and Musa’s), but Terra’s took the first place for me for multiple reasons. 

- Stella’s and Riven’s character-developments are definitely also worth mentioning.

- My emotions about Dane have been conflicted this season, but I’m happy where we left with him, that the situation with Riven and him seems to be somewhat okay now and he has a chance to real happiness.

- I love Sam as a character, feel really bad for him and want him to find happiness, but Samusa never really was “it” for me (and it’s not just because I have had a soft spot for Rivusa since my childhood).

- When it comes to Rivusa, I really enjoyed their scenes together and can’t wait to see more of them. 

- Musa is still my favorite Winx altogether, even though I adore all of them.

- Aisha deserves everything beautiful and good in this world, dammit!

- I’m thrilled how much Silva-content we got this season. 

- Transformations and magic in general were done great.

- A good nod to Trix, I must say.

- That ending scene got me so emotional it was almost ridiculous. 

Aaand the downsides...

- Farah will always be the headmistress of Alfea to me and many, many others. The scenes we got with her, and her one last valuable lesson, were touching and I’m thankful for them, but she deserved so much more. There was an amazing build up of Golden Trio in season 1, and it was all thrown to waste. My Silrah-heart had so much hope and now it’s broken. And yes... I cried my eyes out. But when it’s all said and done... I just wanna thank Eve Best for portraying Farah so marvelously (and read loads of Silrah/Golden Trio-fanfics).

- Even though Andreas was very... questionable, I’m sad that there were so few scenes between him, Sky and Silva. 

- Stellatrix belongs to my “had so much hope”-department and well ... </3 

Such a great season, and a heartbreaking cliffhanger. We gotta get season 3, as soon as possible.

268 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[notherface]

Okay but let's look at this from everyone else's point of view.

Arthur is an arrogant prat until someone comes along who actually challenges his behaviour (a servant no less). He starts to loosen up and form real relationships.

Despite growing up with Morgana and being around her constant outbursts against Uther's rule, he never questions her motivations. He never notices how unhappy and scared she becomes, and he never notices how much she changes after her "kidnapping" by Morgause. We don't, on screen, see any evidence that he gives any thought whatsoever to the effect the time away from Camelot has had on Morgana and he never asks what Morgause did to her all these years.

Then he sees an uncle that he trusts despite not knowing him, and despite someone he *does* trust telling him to be cautious. He believes everything he says despite just having been betrayed by another family member, and he does not notice how Aggravaine acts around people who are not Arthur.

Then there is also his girlfriend who he loves with all his heart, but we don't see any on-screen evidence that he knows anything about her - her family, her friends and her relationship with Lancelot. She has been wrongly accused both of witchcraft and being bewitched - she lost her father because he was in league with a sorcerer and got caught. He never questions how this has affected her. In the Lancelot episode, there is plenty that Arthur sees that makes it clear how Lancelot feels about Gwen, though perhaps he doesn't see enough to know how Gwen feels about Lancelot. He does not seem to think about it at all when Lancelot returns from the dead, just how he never thinks about how Lancelot could possibly be alive.

You didn't put a paragraph for Uther but let's add it: there is Arthur's father, who he looks up to and seeks validation from. Arthur does not question his motivations for hating magic, and he does not seek to find out more about why the Purge started, and what changed between magic being part of Camelot and being outlawed. Morgana, who would have been raised in a similarly indoctrinated environment, does not buy Uther's logic but Arthur never talks to her about this, or shows signs of questioning it independently.

I'm skipping Mordered because his character development is so inconsistent I cannot blame anyone for not anticipating his actions. (soz 😅)

And then there is the twink. Merlin, who is Arthur's best friend, who he trusts and relies on every day. Who has been blatantly using magic in front of him for years, coming up with ludicrous excuses (see: tavern) for his actions, which Arthur has never questioned. He does not notice when Merlin gets hurt, or goes missing, unless it affects his own schedule, and he does not notice how his behaviour is completely incongruent with that of other servants. He doesn't ever ask about Will, the "sorcerer" Merlin supposedly grew up with, despite meeting him and seeing him die. He doesn't ask about Merlin's life before Camelot (apart from that once in the episode where it was relevant to the plot) or his work for Gaius, or why he continues to do it despite having a job with Arthur. He never asks if he *wants* to be a physician. He never thinks about how he can both want Merlin's opinion on everything and laugh him off as stupid if he doesn't like what he says.

Arthur is constantly blindsided and betrayed because he regards everyone else as an extension of himself. He is not capable of understanding that other people have a life of their own outside of him, and emotions that do not relate to him. He can forget and forgive that Morgana was gone for years because now she is back, and everything is back to normal. He can forget whatever Merlin most recently went through as long as he is bringing his breakfast and cleaning his chainmail and making jokes. He can ignore Gwen's whole life story up to meeting him because she is with him now and that is all that matters.

Arthur has a very clear idea of what his life should look like and what everyone's role in it is, and he ignores and selectively forgets deviation for his own sense of stability.

Okay but let's look at it from Arthur's point of view.

He's an arrogant prat and then this twink comes into his life and makes him rethink every decision and his way of thinking. He starts to loosen up and make real relationships with people.

Then he is betrayed by his father. His sister. His uncle. And let's face it. His girlfriend. Because this is Arthur's view and he doesn't know what is going on behind these betrayals.

He doesn't know his sister was his sister or had magic. He didn't know when she turned on him. And he loved her and cared for her. And she's standing there giving that evil smirk and blaming him for everything and the poor sod doesn't even know how this came about.

Then he sees his uncle whom he trusted despite everything with a sword in his hand and he doesn't even know where he went wrong or what he did to get in this situation.

Then there was also his girlfriend who he loved with all his heart. And she went ahead and kissed Arthur's knight who he had chosen. The knight who represented the biggest change that had come in Arthur because he was the first knight Arthur chose.

And despite all this, he forgives and loves and still trusts people who come in his life.

And then there's a new knight who represented the growth and prosperity of Camelot. And let's face it, Arthur was not wrong in killing Kara. He gave her a trial and heard her side. But this knight then betrayed Arthur and stabbed him and went to the sister whose betrayal Arthur still had not come to terms with.

And then the twink. The best friend. The one constant in Arthur's life lied to him. About a core part of him. And the first reaction Arthur has is that 'he would know'. That despite everything, Merlin was someone Arthur knew. And yet, all it took was a little time and some stilted conversation to overcome one of the biggest fears of his life. Magic was something that had disrupted his entire life and yet, all it took was this one peasant having it because that's the kind of person Arthur is.

Arthur trusts and loves and gives it his everything. But he also forgives and grieves and blames himself more than he blames others. Even if he had no fault in it. He is resilient and stupidly brave.

'I want you to always be you' will stay with me forever because despite not knowing about the magic, Arthur did know Merlin. Arthur knew what Merlin needed. And he has come a long way from an Arrogant Prat to becoming the Once and Future King.

[friendlyneighborhoodcapricorn]

OHMYGOD IM SORRY IM SPAMMING BUT: ANOTHER DRABBLE IDEA (or headcanons, or preferences with all of them, I don't mind)

the knights having to take apart in like, you know, one of those combat duel event thingies no idea what they're called, and gwaine winning and running up to the audience and lifting his s/o up and kissing them in front of everyone

I believe they’re either called tournaments (one on one) or Mêlées (everyone against everyone) lol

Anyway, the real question is: are they allowed to fight dirty in either of those? No, wait, the real question is: do I care whether or not they’re allowed to?

You watched with held breath as Gwaine went up against Arthur. You knew there was no risk of them actually wounding each other, but some of the blows they landed had to hurt.

“They’ll be fine,” Gwen said, even though she was squeezing your hand like she was trying to break it.

You knew they would be, you had participated in tournaments before. But participating in one and simply watching was an entirely different thing. You were starting to understand why Uther had always looked so tense during them: there was a lot that could go wrong.

Subconsciously, you reached up to touch Gwaine’s necklace. He’d given it to you before the start of the tournament, for safekeeping, and you felt a little better when you felt the cold metal of his father’s wedding ring under your fingers.

“Of course they’ll be fine,” you said to Gwen, squeezing her hand softly. “They’re the best fighters in Camelot.” Raising your voice, you shouted: “Come on, Gwaine! Kick his arse!”

“Hey!” Gwen protested, but she was grinning. “That’s my-“

She broke off, her cheeks flushed.

“That’s your what?” you teased, nudging her with your elbow.

“You know what,” she mumbled, averting her eyes back to the man she loved.

You didn’t pester her. It was only a recent development that she and Arthur didn’t have to hide anymore, and it was only normal that it still made them both fumble occasionally.

It wasn’t like with you and Gwaine: you had been engaged for years and would finally be getting married in the winter, much to the delight of you both.

On the dusty battlefield below, Arthur made a move to hit Gwaine in the chest, but Gwaine stepped aside and slammed the wooden staff they were using instead of swords into Arthur’s ribs. When Arthur stumbled to the side, Gwaine used the opportunity to trip him up, letting Arthur land flat on his back in the dirt. Gwaine, more for show than anything else, put the end of the staff against Arthur’s throat.

“Do you surrender, sire?” he asked, and you could hear the teasing quality to his tone even from where you were standing.

Arthur smiled. “I surrender.”

Gwaine tossed the staff aside and held out a hand to pull Arthur up, and the crowd erupted into cheers. But Gwaine had little interest in the attention of the crowd: he was making a beeline for you.

Gwen, smart as she was, let go of your hand and stepped aside. Just in time too, because the second Gwaine reached you, he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you in for a kiss.

Even though everyone was staring at you, your eyes fluttered shut as you fell into it. That was always the thing with kissing Gwaine: there was no easing into it. It always felt like falling.

“Congratulations,” you whispered when he finally pulled away.

“Are you proud of me?”

Usually, you would have teased him for his ego. But you could tell this was a genuine question, that he really wanted you to be. You tucked his hair behind his ear, your fingers lingering on the small braid you’d made only a few hours ago.

“You don’t have to kick Arthur’s arse for me to be proud of you,” you murmured before smiling up at him. “But it certainly helps.”

[pluckyredhead]

Please Care About Aquaman With Me: Everybody Has a Bad Time in the Bronze Age

Thank you for returning to my irregularly scheduled Aquaman micro-hyperfixation! Last time, I talked about the first 35-ish years of Aquahistory. Now we’re up to 1975 and comics have developed longer plotlines and gotten angstier and more melodramatic - and major characters are fair game to be killed off. Gwen Stacy died in 1974, but the death this post kicks off with is even more shocking.

CW: Child death, comic book sexism.

The very short version of the setup is that Black Manta has captured Arthur, Garth, and Aquababy. He puts Aquababy in a glass ball full of air (instead of water), which he will suffocate in after a few minutes, and Arthur and Garth in an arena to fight to the death. Once one of them dies, he’ll fill Aquababy’s prison with water.

So just to make this absolutely clear: to save his biological son, Arthur will have to kill or be killed by his foster son.

He doesn’t hesitate for a second.

I know we talk about Bruce being a bad dad all the time, but at least when Ra’s al Ghul tried to make him chose whether Tim or Damian would die, he offered himself instead. Arthur had that option here! And yet.

The look on Garth’s face here absolutely kills me and this is the comic that made me start going feral over the Aquafam. Of course absolutely zero time is spent on his emotional reaction to this, but the only father he’s ever known not only just tried to kill him - he made it clear that he doesn’t actually consider Garth his child. “That’s my son up there! My son!!” THAT’S YOUR SON DOWN HERE TOO, ARTHUR. The fact that he calls him “Minnow” while he does it (one of his two long-running nicknames for Garth, the other being “Tadpole”) makes it hurt even worse.

I think this moment, too, is why Arthur and Garth basically never refer to each other as father and son. On paper, they have a similar relationship to Bruce and Dick and Roy and Ollie, who acknowledge their father-son dynamics all the time. But despite Garth saying Arthur’s like a father to him in his very first appearance, after this, they just...don’t say those words. Arthur is Garth’s liege and his friend, but he is not his father.

(Mera is still his mom. He loves Mera so much.)

But wait! It gets worse!

Arthur and Garth escape the arena and shatter Aquababy’s prison, but it’s too late - he’s suffocated. He was only one year old. The panels aren’t graphic - it’s still only 1975, after all - but I’m still not sharing them because that is too sad to make anyone look at.

Black Manta flees, and Arthur tells Garth they’re going after him, but Garth refuses:

Oof.

Arthur - this is so horrible - gives Aquababy’s body to Topo, his pet octopus, to bring home to Mera, and takes off after Black Manta. This is basically like having your dog do it. He doesn’t even bother to break the news to her himself. In fact, he spends literally months away chasing Black Manta but then just, like, fighting crime. Like, he teams up with Batman at one point. What the fuck is wrong with you, Arthur? To make matters worse, it turns out Aquababy WASN’T EVEN DEAD and Mera spends several issues desperately trying to save him but fails, so if Arthur had spent more time thinking about his wife and son(s) instead of revenge, Aquababy probably would have lived. Arthur’s the worst.

Meanwhile, Garth decides to figure out who his real parents are, so he does some digging and discovers that he actually comes from a hidden society of purple-eyed pacifists called the Idylists, and his parents were actually king and queen, but his father went crazy and decided to start a lot of wars for no reason so his people, uhhhhh...killed him. And exiled the queen, hence Garth being born in Atlantis and not Idylist-ville (later named Shayeris). Weirdly this all makes him feel much better and he decides to make up with Arthur? Okay, Bronze Age, okay.

The Aquaman comic was canceled, then briefly uncanceled, then canceled again by the end of the decade. Arthur spent the remainder of the pre-Crisis universe leading Justice League Detroit, a low point for the team, while Garth lurked around the fringes of the Teen Titans but wasn’t a regular member at this point. (He did team up with them while attending boarding school in Scotland, though. He wore a kilt and the Titans fought the Loch Ness monster. It was great.)

Then Crisis on Infinite Earths happened and Tula became canon fodder, dying early on when the radioactive monster Chemo poisoned the water she was swimming in.

Garth was devastated by her death, to the point that he was still very actively mourning her a decade later.

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, new origins had to be established, and Arthur’s came in the 1986 Aquaman miniseries. (I’m going to be covering the rest of the 80s here, which is stretching the definition of “Bronze Age,” but...deal with it.) This miniseries brings in a high fantasy element to Aquaman comics for the first time, with a grandiose plot about Ocean Master stealing magical crystals from undersea cities like Atlantis and Thierna Na Oge. It also establishes the idea that "brother fighting brother” is a key element of Atlantis’s mythology and destiny. Anyway Arthur wears a blue wetsuit and has an emotional affair with the queen of Thierna Na Oge.

Bro, you’re still married.

This was followed by the 1988 Aquaman Special, which didn’t really bring anything new to the table, and then the 1989 The Legend of Aquaman Special, which...did. Arthur was no longer the son of an Atlantean woman and a human lighthouse keeper; he was a fully Atlantean child, abandoned at birth because of his blond hair, following in Garth’s proud tradition of “an all-white city is racist to people who are extra white in a super problematic metaphor for...something.” On the other hand, we do get this phenomenal panel of Arthur hunting:

As a teenager, he encounters a human fisherman who teaches him how to speak and read, but one day the fisherman is killed by Atlanteans for his connection to Arthur. Arthur goes looking for Atlantis, but is promptly thrown into prison, and we learn that his classic orange shirt and green pants are actually a prison uniform that he now wears to remind him of where he came from, which makes sense until you think about it for even a second. He could escape at any time, but he wants to find and speak to his birth mother, so he hangs out in prison, where he meets Vulko, who teaches him the Atlantean language. But then his mom dies before he can ever speak to her, so he breaks out and goes back to land and like, becomes Aquaman and hangs out with the Justice League and stuff.

Finally he’s like “I should go break all those other people out of jail,” but when he gets back to Atlantis he discovers that they’ve fixed all their political problems and he’s welcomed with open arms. Also, he’s royalty:

The current king does what no king would ever do and is like “Well, you should definitely have the throne instead of me,” and steps down. So these are the elements we’ll be working with until the New 52: no human heritage, royal on his mother’s side, abandoned at birth, foster fisherman dad. I wonder if that’s going to get super complicated?

(How do portraits work underwater??? Did this comic forget they were underwater? This comic definitely forgot they were underwater. This happens a lot.)

Then there’s the 1989 Aquaman series. Atlantis is temporarily conquered by giant alien jellyfish. So that’s a thing that happens.

More importantly, Mera abruptly goes crazy because her baby died...*checks notes*...14 years ago, and her delicate lady brain can’t handle it, so she attacks Arthur. I don’t mean to make light of the severe impact losing a child could have on one’s mental health, but the fact that she goes Comic Book Crazy while Arthur is basically completely fine is misogynistic as fuck.

While trying to fend her off, Arthur uhhhhhhh impales her and kills her. GREAT JOB, BUDDY. There is a very somber royal funeral.

LOL J/K. She’s from another dimension, so she’s immune to impalement, apparently! But decided to chill out in the coffin for a while anyway, I guess? This is the fucking funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Absolutely what you should do if your husband is as terrible as Arthur is, Mera is a queen in every possible way.

Anyway she zhwoops off back to her dimension like fucking Bugs Bunny unzipping reality and zipping it back up behind her, and Arthur cries. It’s great. (Oh, and also he steps down from being king, which is probably a good idea because he’s terrible at it.)

Next up: the nineties! Well, part of them. Also, my favorite Aquacharacter!

[closetsof-backlogged-dreams]

okay let’s do more

thoughts on gwen + lancelot

ohhhhhhhhh, this is a good one—so many thoughts on these two.

okay, in order to ~properly~ give you my thoughts on them, i also have to give you my thoughts on arthur and gwen. more specifically, season one arthur and gwen.

when we meet lancelot in season one, i'm sorry, but it doesn't look like arthur and gwen are going to be together at all. there are several points (too many, tbh) where arthur arrests her or someone related to her (like her father) without even flinching. the only reason he ever intervened was due to morgana initiating it and bringing athur into the conversation. overall, arthur really doesn't care about gwen. there's nothing wrong with it. it's not his fault; he just doesn't know her. he cares about people like merlin and morgana far more.

enter: lancelot. i will admit, the part where lancelot is supposed to fall in love with gwen is arguably terrible. horrible. abysmal, if you will. but the actual love? *whistle* it's awesome. (and to be fair, arthur's and gwen's was pretty bad too. obviously wayy better, but still bad.) they're so sweet and loving to each other, and you can really tell that they would make such a good couple with good communication and just a healthy relationship in general. they could have been so great, but they ditched gwen and lancelot for arwen. remember, up until this point, arthur did not give two shits about gwen. then suddenly, out of the blue, they fall in love in an episode in season two after showing no signs of this in season one?? especially when the only relationships that would have made sense when building off of season one were gwen and lancelot??? i'm sorry, it just doesn't make sense to me.

but that isn't even my biggest problem with all this. my biggest issue with both gwencelot and arwen is that they gave us this dramatic love triangle and did... absolutely nothing with it.

i'm sorry, where's the drama? where's the emotional turmoil? where's the who could i possibly choose of these two completely different men, the blonde one or the brunette one? they set up a scenario that should have had so much drama and angst and just completely ditched it in favor of making lancelot leave and not return until like season three for AN EPISODE before FINALLY coming back semi-permanently in season four. like. what?? but honestly, that could've been fine, if gwen expressed any kind of loyalty or devotion to lancelot!! of course they weren't in a relationship, so she wasn't under any moral obligation to, but gwen obviously really cared about him. it felt so odd to me when the show writers just dropped gwencelot like a hot potato so they could pick up arwen and show it off to everybody, like baby simba in the lion king. yk what im talking about. it just felt so out of character to me.

even worse? gwen and lancelot never once have a real conversation about their feelings!! there's one verge-of-death "i love you" (kind of) from lancelot in season two, but again, he disappears and gwen never has the chance to really communicate to him whether she reciprocates or not (which she probably did.) then, when lancelot comes back again, her and arthur are together and that whole drama isn't really addressed.

overall, i think gwen and lancelot could have been such a great relationship if it had just been given the time to properly grow and develop. instead, they only gave it to us in tiny patches without actually developing the relationship, so all we were left with was this sad mess.

[knightofmordred]

people saying gwen and arthur liked each other out of nowhere despite being in each others lives for a long time, did you actually watch the show? they paid little attention to each other UNTIL they got to know one another.

it's a classic situation which literally also happens in real life too ?? 'boy-girl barely know each other but they start hanging out and getting to know each other better, feelings start to develop' c'mon guys be better than this please

gwen and arthur wouldn't have really crossed paths a lot of times anyway. gwen was a maid to morgana and had her duties and naturally arthur was a prince. they would have only seen each other in passing. not everything has to be love at first sight.

gwen and arthur had a slow burn relationship where they both only noticed each other when they were in situations where they had to interact (and naturally got to know each other better by being in places where they had to remain close).

not everything has to be love and sparks at first sight. love without that is valid and just as magical. they did not just "like each other out of nowhere"

watch the damn show again

[farieshades]

:)

You know what time it is.

What would you change about Merlin?

There is alot that could be further expanded on and/or changed within the series BBC Merlin shows. What I think would be most beneficial, would be expanding on the Characters, Changes to the plot and character arcs, along with an addition to what we know as "Old Religion" as it's quite vague and unclear from the little we have from the show.

The Characters

Leon, angel, nothing. 

Percival, give me backstory. I want more info.

Elyan, also backstory. Why did he leave? I want all the info. I also want you not dead sir.

Morgause, what was the point in the duel? Was it to try and convince Arthur that his father was a bastard with his mothers spirit? If so, was Ygraine’s spirit actually just an illusion made to look real, likely not. Morgause looked confused at what Ygraine was saying and shocked and no one was paying attention to her but the camera. She wanted to see if he was an honourable man unlike his father? Do-able I suppose. Suspicious activities happening here. Also, self-sacrifice to unleash mortal-killing spirits is very manslaughter of her.

Elaine, for the love,,, please I would have loved to have her included as Elaine of Garlot. Let her be another half-sister of Arthur and later go on to be a marriage alliance with her marriage to King Nentres of Garlot. Let her have a son named Galeschin, who becomes a Knight of the Round Table [and a daughter also named Elaine]. It would just be a nice dynamic of Angry Half-Sister Morgana and Helpful Half-Sister Elaine. 

Gwen… She required more screen time, let us see her being Queen and making decisions. On that note however, let us see Arthur as King rather than the focus on his childhood when he wasn’t King. It’s the Story of King Arthur and we only get one season with him as King? Let me have Queen Gwen outwitting Kings in strategy that she learned from Leon and Arthur. Let me have Queen Gwen who is powerful in her own right, set in her decisions, but never loosing the gentleness she has in season 1.

Arthur, as above, should have had time to actually rule. Like, ok, reign cut short cause Camlann. Yeah, alright, thats typical. But all the adventures he has as a King never happen. There’s nothing being added to Camelot that the audience sees. There’s no treaties, no alliances, and there’s no Kings bowing to Arthur as a High King. Disappointing. 

Merlin, somehow despite the set up as the most powerful Warlock, is also the weakest version of Merlin that we also see. I’m pretty sure Disney’s Sword in the Stone Merlin has more power than this fellow despite BBC Merlin having more power in his pinky than the Disney Merlin. Merlin is supposed to be the enchanter. The prophet. The shapeshifter. And we get none of that. This boy is dangerous, and untrained, and should have had more emphasis on this. The writers nuked his power.  

Lancelot is doing great, we love lancelot. I’d love to have him a bit more intune with Magic because he was supposedly raised by the lady of the lake, but BBC decided he wasn’t and that’s an okay decision. I’d also like, because the show stressed it so much, more interactions with Merlin + Druids. 

Gwaine I’d have loved to have been confronted by his noble past somehow. I think it would give more to the character development if we see where he came from. Hell, a flashback scene would work. Little Gwaine running away from home. Or maybe, visitations to Camelot and the like. 

Gaius, as much as I hate to say, should have died season 2-3. Before Uther did in my head. Its the change of a regime. The old dying out and the younger generation taking their place. Gaius and Merlin basically share the role that is, in lore, “Merlin”, the old wise mentor for Arthur and the helpful aide that protects him. But, in killing him off, there is a chance for Merlin to blossom as a court Physician. He’d have a seat on the council, and while this would restrict his movements as Manservant, he could easily take on an apprentice (you know a young impressionable boy who needs some Guidance deagle) and follow Arthur on his quests while the apprentice would tend to the folk of Camelot. There, theoretically, should be another (or more) physician within Camelot. One for the nobility, and a handful for peasantry and then a couple of Midwives. From what the show gives us, it feels like Gaius is the sole physician in the bloody kingdom. Which… if healing looks like magic, might be the case horrifically.

Morgana’s story is tragic, but flat. I do love the Evil Morgana route that is taken, but there is a disconnect between Season 1-2 and 3+ in her behaviour. She is strikingly darker, more unhinged as the series progresses. Whether this is bad writing, paranoia, or enchantments, no idea, but it could be written better. Given more time for the change to become apparent for the audience then “Morgana’s back from a year away and now she smirks evily when no one but Merlin can see.”

Mordred has an interesting dynamic in the show, he vanishes out of existence after the Alvarr episode until season 5. I’d have liked to have him as a recurring character even if it's just a mentioned name somewhere. 

Uther’s character is weird because he very quickly blames everything on Magic, even when it has a very logical explanation. “Sorcerers broke into my wards room, that’s why the glass shattered outwards into the courtyard.” is very easily explained by literally anyone breaking a glass window outwardly, no magic needed. But again, changes could be done with how quickly things are forgotten. One episode he’s talking about a guardian power watching Arthur, the next he’s trying to kill someone for protecting their loved one with healing magic, you know?

Ygraine - from the little we’ve seen - is an alright character. She could have more life given in flashbacks, something Gaius, Geoffrey, Balinor, or Uther could have done that related to something present. 

For Vivienne I’d love to know more about Morgause’s birth and how she smuggled her out to Nimueh (or another high priestess but theres only ever reference to Nimueh, then theoretically Morgause who taught Morgana who was the last). Personally I like the thought that they were siblings, as it can be seen that Morgause is a powerful sorcerer and with two children with such magic, Vivienne is a strong contender for also being magic. 

Gorlois is the most boring character and I know nothing about him outside of him living, presumably, in Cornwall. Tell me more about yourself sir. I want all the knowledge.

Balinor I’d love to see more of then “Hey, hello, I’m your son and need help and oops your dead ffs.” He had the potential to be a strong ally and a mentor to Merlin, a possible foil to Gaius and, hells, a mentor to Arthur in teaching him that magic isn’t all evil as Merlin’s obviously not doing that job.

Hunith should have more screen time, but more so, I’d love to see Merlin’s childhood stuff with Hunith just shrugging her shoulders at the impossible magic acts like “yep thats totally normal.”

The Plot of Merlin itself is fine, not much would need to change, however, there were a few times when things just don’t make sense. For example, the cup of life nonsense (alright Holy Grail knock off) didn’t make much sense for the plot. We would have been fine without it. Aithusa’s plotline works only when following the prophecies about the Red and White dragon fight that… didn’t actually happen anyway. 

[Which the prophecy in question is related to Vortigern and stated “The pool is the emblem of this world, and the tent that of your kingdom: the two serpents are two dragons; the red serpent is your dragon, but the white serpent is the dragon of the people who occupy several provinces and districts of Britain, even almost from sea to sea: at length, however, our people shall rise and drive away the Saxon race from beyond the sea, whence they originally came; but do you depart from this place, where you are not permitted to erect a citadel; I, to whom fate has allotted this mansion, shall remain here; whilst to you it is incumbent to seek other provinces, where you may build a fortress.” Which really,,, doesn’t fit the show’s battle of Camlann when Aithusa was there as the white dragon]

The Reversal of character arcs that happen is very annoying. Each episode acted like everyone was a blank slate to learn the next lesson but built on it with nothing that they remembered from the previous. If it were changed to the characters actually remembering what they learned before, the series might have had less deaths and less trust issues and betrayals.

Religion in Merlin is really confusing. Theoretically, Uther is a Christian King following the “New Religion” (that is never actually mentioned) while the “Old Religion” is that of what was before. Which, in the UK at the theoretical time, was both Celtic and Roman due to Roman occupation of most of the area barring most of scotland. The show wasn’t about Religion, really, but touching on the subject would have been nice, and maybe telling us as an audience why. ‘Lore’ wise Arthur would have likely been a Christian King (written by christian authors undoubtedly do not help this) but with tolerance to Pagan/Heathen ideas. At the very least, Arthur was nominally Christian – according to the Historia Brittonum he bore an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on his shoulders in one of his battles, while according to the Annales Cambriae he bore the Cross of Jesus Christ on his shoulders or his shield (translation errors from Welsh to Latin).