#it reminds me of BBC Merlin's episode 4

[crowned-clown-rising]

I've never watched the original series, only watched and clapped the fandom from afar, BUT what do you mean that dialogue happens in EPISODE 4 OF THE FIRST SEASON???

[starrieisdelusional]

Merlin fix it season 4 finale

Scene opens with kid arthur in the witch’s hut with morgana and merlin. Morgana asked him where his grandma is (old!gwen) and arthur said shes busy doing chores at home. Morgana notes the kid arthur is coming more and more frequent to their hideout.

Meanwhile back at the castle gwen is at a meeting with all the court members. Discussing about arthur’s removal from the throne. Gwen argues passionately, reminding them how much arthur has given to camelot and it’s people but the council disagrees and the decision is final.

When arthur arrives at the castle, he is confronted with the council straight into the meeting room. They are going to make aggravaine as king and arthur was silent for a second before he agrees. Yeah aggravaine is wiser, older, much more than him. Why the hell not. But gwen objects, saying that they should vote it out with the masses. And aggravaine lets her do it.

Gwen would later on make a polling station or the sort (the masses would either stand with aggravaine or arthur and they will do a head count) and ask the people to vote for either aggravaine or arthur, with both of their supporters made speeches on how great they are and why they should vote them as kings.

The results are in and aggravaine manages to peak in to see that arthur is actually winning and he manipulated the votes to make it seems that he won. The manipulated votes are bring to the council and this solidifies their decision to make aggravaine as king.

Gwen is exasperated but arthur is chill for the most part because he genuinely thinks his uncle is a better leader than him. But later that night an assassination attempt was made on aggravaine and the council blame arthur as the culprit.

Arthur said thats ridiculous but he doesnt have a solid alibi so he is sent to the dungeons to be executed the next day.

Arthur was bring to the crowed the next day for a public execution and arthur accepted his fate, preparing himself to meet his mum and his dad, and maybe even balinor. His only regret is that he didnt visited morgana and merlin for the last time.

But as the axe swings down the executioner is knocked back and arthur feels someone bringing him up to his feet. Merlin appears dauntingly in the crowd, say snarky stuff like “…is this how you treat your beloved king…?”

and the council retorted that aggravaine is the new king of camelot. And the main cast duke it out with the guards of camelot. The roundtable helped them escape and because they hate aggravaine and is going to get executed anyways for this, joins morgana and merlin on their escape.

Aggravaine lets them go for now and the series ends in aggravaine coronation, announcing himself as their new king

Season 4

Main post

[michellemisfit]

I have been so bad at doing tag games, so apologies to anyone who tagged me over the last couple of weeks. I suck! But I’m back!

Thanks for not giving up on me and continuing to tag me @creepkinginc @energievie @stocious @depressedstressedlemonzest <3

Name: Michelle

First fandom you became a part of: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

(Oh boy! @katherynefromphilly’s answers reminded me that I was in a Robbie Williams fan club!! Even once travelled to Germany for a big fan club meet up!! Hahahahaha wow. Memory unlocked! 🤯)

What was the first TV show fandom you joined: BtVS

How old were you: 12 when I started watching the show. Found online forums and fandom at about… 15? 16? Around season 3 going into 4.

Latest TV/Movie fandom you became a part of? Shameless

A tv/movie fandom you haven’t joined but like to creep on? Erm… I think the Glee fandom was the only one where I watched every episode of the show, watched interviews of the cast, attended Darren Cross’ Elsie Fest in New York, read fic… and just wanted nothing to do with the fandom like AT ALL. hahaha. But mostly I’m a ‘dive in head first’ kind of person!

Your favourite fandom: BBC Merlin. there was just something absolutely magical about it. And still is. Fucking Once and Future Fandom, man. The gift that keeps on giving…

The tv show that gives you the most brainrot? Shameless, because again with the ‘dive in head first’. Like, I truly believe you never fully leave any fandom you’ve been in. But the one you’re currently in just takes over your world for a while. And that’s amazing.

The fictional couple that gives you the most brainrot? Ian and Mickey from Shameless. Arthur and Merlin from BBC Merlin.

Guilty pleasure fictional couple? Er. I just don’t really believe in guilty pleasures. Shit that brings you joy should be celebrated, not felt bad over. Go forth and find your happiness.

Guilty pleasure TV show? Again. Nah. Love what you love.

And finally something that made you happy this week? I’m just finishing Heartstopper Season 2 and watching Kit Connor and how much he’s grown as an actor has been an absolute delight this week. I keep stopping scenes and going back to rewatch because he’s just there, making interesting choices, and pulling them off, and it’s wonderful to see! Go Kit!

That was fun! I’d like to tag @faejilly @rutherinahobbit @deedala @too-schoolforcool @harrowhark-a-vagrant @heymrspatel @palepinkgoat @lynne-monstr @katherynefromphilly @juliakayyy @darknutmeg @mikhailoisbaby @malec-crazed-author @vintagelacerosette @crossmydna @mishervellous @rereadanon

[trickster-shi]

Five Fandoms and Five Ships

Tagged by @sparklytimetraveler forever ago, I kept reminding myself to go make a post and never did >_< BUT. Better late than never.

Sterek

What can I say? I love the Grumpy/Sunshine dynamic to bits and these two sarcastic assholes just hit all the right buttons for me. They had such great chemistry on screen and there are so many good fics written about them that I'm always finding new faves to hoard. Still my current obsession and probably will be for a while, I never get tired of reading this pairing. Or writing it.

2. Zukka

I never watched ATLA as a kid, I only discovered it during Covid when Netflix added it, triggering the renaissance explosion on my Tumblr dashboard. I fell in love with all the characters and multiple ships, but this remains my absolute favorite. Sokka had my heart from the beginning and Zuko stole it during the Pouhai Stronghold episode, and I spent way too long binge reading their tag.

3. Cougar/Jensen

No one was more surprised than I was when I just latched onto The Losers, and these two assholes in particular just completely ruined my life for a while. I've lost count of how many times I watched the movie and I even went out and bought the graphic novels the movie was based on, and I am completely content to ignore how those ended in favor of the cute as shit ending the movie had. Also, I can't hear Don't Stop Believin' and not smile like an idiot anymore.

4. Tony Stark/Steve Rogers

...you know, I'm starting to sense a theme here. Hmm. Yeah, we're gonna ignore that for now. ANYWAY. I got hooked hard on these two after The Avengers movie came out and happily read all the team fics where everyone lived in Stark Tower and these two danced around each other before finally getting together. They aren't my only ships in this fandom but they are my top one out of them all.

5. Sam/Dean & J2

Supernatural has probably been my biggest fandom due to just how long I was in it while it was airing and because I participated in the fandom during it's hay day on Live Journal. Which was so wild, eye opening, and amazing. I even managed to save up and go to a convention and meet them, which I still regard as the best weekend of my life. I love both these pairings for different reasons and can't really separate them so they get their own spot together. Even though I haven't read any or rewatched the show in a long time, this fandom will always be my first home.

Honorable Mentions:

Merthur, BBC's Merlin

Parker/Hardison/Eliot, Leverage

Zoe/Wash, Firefly

Charlie Spring/Nick Nelson, Heartstopper

Eddie Diaz/Evan Buckley, 911

Low-key tagging anyone that wants to do it, just tag me back so I can read your post, too! :D

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

In this house we let characters grieve over loss and trauma instead of pretending it never happened and only reference the loss a handful of times in passing without touching on how the surving characters are actually coping with the loss.

[theonceandfutureking6481]

BBC's Merlin Season 1 Episode 4: The Poisoned Chalice Analysis

This is one of my favourite episodes, in this season, mainly for Merlin and Arthur. They are wonderful in this episode, and this is the first episode where you really see them starting to truly care about each other. This is a show fundamentally about love and the relationships between every character, and Merlin and Arthur are at the core of the show. Everyone in this episode though is so brave, and I admire them all so much. I talk a lot about a lot of different elements of Merlin on here but what I really love about this show is how much the characters inspire me, how much I admire them because I'm not sure I could ever be as brave as these characters, but I'd like to be.

Merlin's courage

There's not much in detail I can say about this but Merlin is so brave at the start of this episode. To burst into the king's hall and publicly accuse another king of attempting to poison Arthur. It's funny but one of the parts of Merlin's courage I most admire isn't his bravery to die for Arthur, it's his willingness to speak out when somethings wrong, his willingness to publicly embarrass himself, his willingness to be brave even when he could be wrong. It's a reachable form of courage, I don't think any of us frequently (or ever) have the opportunity to die for others, but in many ways the fact that we could all be as brave as Merlin in this way, that's what makes it feel so much more unattainable and thus more admirable.

The bigger courage though really is when Merlin drinks from the goblet, honestly even though Uther made him, Arthur probably would have drunk it but Merlin didn't let him. Merlin knew he would die if he drunk from that goblet, because he believed Nimueh to be telling the truth (which she was), but (as Arthur says) "he did it anyway." To meet death so willingly, it's not like jumping in front of someone in the moment in a battle, he had to make the choice to drink that poison because he is willing to sacrifice his life for Arthur's. And it hasn't got anything to do with destiny yet, he cares about Arthur, Arthur's his friend and Merlin's a good person. It's just a very noble moment for Merlin, Uther was making him but at the same time you could see Merlin choosing to drink from it, that's a choice and that was incredibly noble.

Arthur and Uther

There is tension between Arthur and Uther in this episode, between their views on the world and honour. It is, I think essentially summed up in.

Arthur: Because his life's worthless?

Uther: No, because its worth less than yours.

It's funny, you can see Uther's perspective here. He is right about one thing, Arthur is the future king, even if he's not inherently worth more than Merlin the stability of the kingdom rests on a secure succession and Arthur is Uther's only heir, there is more at stake here.

But Arthur's also right, a world in which any single person's life is protected more than others because of their social position is not a good place. It is not something Arthur believes in, but in Uther's world its just a given, it's not even a question that people ask.

Uther: This boy wont be the last to die on your behalf

Arthur: I can't accept that

Arthur never accepts this inevitability, he always seeks to risk his life first before any one else's and people follow him because of that, people (even his enemies) see the nobility in him because of that. His refusal to accept what to Uther appears to be an inevitability of kingship (Not a welcome one granted but one nonetheless) is what's going to make him a better king than Uther. As Morgana emphasises when she's persuading Arthur to go.

Morgana: And what sort of king would Camelot want? One that would risk his life to save that of a lowly servant, or one that does what his father tells him to?

Isn't this really just the point, Arthur will be a better king than his father because for him his right to rule is in some way always premised on his fulfilment of what he sees as right. Arthur is always trying to prove himself, especially in the early seasons. In Season 2 Episode 2: The Once and Future Queen when Arthur is fighting in a tournament under an alias so people don't know its him (and they will hopefully not let him win), you really see this.

Gwen: You have nothing to prove, least of all to me.

Arthur: I have everything to prove, to myself.

This is the fundamental point, Arthur is always trying to prove himself often to his father or others but always primarily to himself. Because he needs to prove to himself that he can rule Camelot, that he is deserving of it, so for the fact that he's going to be king to hold any weight he needs to do what he thinks is right, because if he doesn't then what sort of king would he be anyway?

This ties I think into what I mentioned in the last episode about Merlin and the greater good. The idea that Merlin never really makes the choice to kill Morgana or Mordred, except for in a moment where it was Morgana or Arthur, where it was a certain in the moment choice. Yes, he reaches a point where he tries to let them die but this is different to outright murder, and I think perhaps a Merlin who would have killed them is not a the Merlin we know, it is not a Merlin that could have formed Camelot. Arthur and Merlin's goodness comes from always trying to do the right thing, whatever the sacrifice to themselves, and if they hadn't been those sort of people then there is no way they could have been people who made a better kingdom.

Gaius: Arthur may give you a hard time, but at heart he's a man of honour. Not many people would have risked what he did for a servant

Uther

Uther's interesting in this episode, he has one of his worst moments in the show, not the worst thing he's ever done but certainly one of the worst things we witness. He purposefully lets Merlin die, we could understand it when he wasn't letting Arthur go after him, but to try to destroy Merlin's only hope for a cure to teach his son a lesson, that is cruel and so wrong. This takes valuing Arthur's life more than Merlin's to a whole other level, he values Arthur's obeying of him more than he values Merlin's life.

This goes to another feature of Uther's character I was just thinking about. He constantly mistakes control for love. He seeks to control both his children, he wants them to obey him, and if they openly defy him or disagree with him he punishes them. But he does love them, probably more than he loves anything else. When Morgana stages a coup against him and tells him how much she hates him he is broken, and he literally never recovers he does love them that cannot be denied but he spends so much of his life mistaking his controlling them for an expression of his love. It is an expression of his fear, he is scared of being out of control as he was when his wife died. Magic can be dangerous but mostly it caused him great suffering (although really it was him), so he seeks to control it absolutely, there is no nuance there and this is how he behaves towards his children. Hate and fear are terrible things to be motivated by, and Uther shows that. His hate comes from his fear, and his cruelty comes from there as well.

One thing, Uther does accept his fault at the end of this episode. It's not really adequate but its better than nothing and in its own way shows that Uther is capable of character development, and the fact that he will fail to do it in the most important ways is sad. His moment when he says to Arthur that Nimueh "is evil", it is so clear he is talking more to himself than anyone else. Isn't that a sign of trying to persuade yourself, he has to tell himself that Nimueh's evil cause ultimately she was just doing what he asked, and if he doesn't villainise her absolutely than its his fault too.

The one moment that really does redeem Uther a little in this episode is when he tells Arthur that "You did the right thing... I'm proud of you Arthur, never forget that." The last comment is telling, Uther knows he's not the best father, he knows that Arthur probably doesn't realise that Uther is proud of him. So the 'never forget that' is a reminder, I think, for when Uther inevitably forgets that himself. It is a reminder, for us, in its own way that Uther is trying to be a good father, and at least in this realm Uther realises that he very often fails.

Morgana

One interesting thing I noticed in this episode was how frustrated Morgana is with her life. I've never really noticed it before, but its in everything she says and does, even in the episodes before this. Even before she turns against Arthur and Uther and Camelot she is angry, not just at them, she's angry at her life. You can tell she feels like she doesn't have the power to do anything, like she's being controlled and perhaps like she isn't able to anything good or right because of Uther and her position, she feels pity for all the magic users but she is a part of the body that persecutes them. How do you reconcile that?

Morgana: Sometimes you have to do what you think is right and damn the consequences

There is so much frustration in that, and everything she says in this scene. I don't know exactly what this says about Morgana's character or her eventual place in the story but its interesting to note. Perhaps its to say her hatred of Uther and eventually Arthur isn't only because of her sympathy for magic users and eventually her own fear and feelings of being unloved but perhaps has its roots in her anger at this time, in Uther's control and her own powerlessness.

Merlin and Arthur

This is Merlin and Arthur's episode, so its kind of funny it took me so long to get to them, but there's really not that much to analyse in the wider scheme regarding them. They just are, and they are wonderful.

This is the episode where you see they do truly care about each other and they are truly good friends They risk their lives for each other with barely a second thought, and yes that is partially their own honour and decency but it is also fundamentally their care for each other that motivates them. You can tell when Merlin's thinking about destiny when he saves Arthur, it becomes such a huge part of his characterisation later on even though he loves Arthur more by that point he also admires him more so Arthur's destiny seems more important. Merlin doesn't really admire Arthur that much yet, he respects him and cares about him but the sheer admiration he will have for him comes later, and it is that admiration that makes him care even more about Arthur's destiny, because he believes in it far more. Right now though it is just their goodness and their friendship that motivates them.

The final moment between them though is beautiful. The moment when Arthur goes to Gaius' chambers just to check that Merlin's all right, even though he's obviously been told he is. He brushes it aside as usual, brushes how much he does actually care about what happens to Merlin (I mean Arthur did just go on a perilous quest that could have led to his death for him so I think Merlin gets it). But the moment at the end of that scene is lovely. There is just such mutual respect and recognition of each other and what they've done for each other, and the way they look at each other is just so wonderful.

Merlin: Thank you

Arthur: You too

Nimueh

One quick note about her. We will find out eventually what her motivations really are, that she's obviously not just evil. That she is angry at Uther and understandably so. And I wonder if in her there is a parallel for Uther I hadn't considered before. Both of them were involved in Igraine's death and Arthur's birth. And it was as a result of this action that Uther outlawed sorcery and began the great purge. She out of everyone knows best how hypocritical Uther really is. And in her own way, though it is obviously not her fault, it is her actions that set off the great purge. Uther made the choice to blame her and all magic but nonetheless it was a spell she cast that was the trigger, and I wonder if in her own way she feels guilty (just as Uther feels guilty about his wife's death) but like Uther she takes it out in anger rather than guilt. I'm not saying she should feel guilty, perhaps over Igraine's death but certainly not the great purge. However, she most probably does, and like Uther I think she's refusing to feel that guilt, and to avoid that guilt she chooses hatred and anger instead.

Bravery

Everyone in this episode though, is so brave. Gwen, Merlin, Arthur and Gaius all do risky, brave things that could get them killed, though maybe not killed in Gwen's case but certainly in huge trouble. Gwen sneaks into the dungeons and Gaius does magic. We will learn more about Gaius' character later but he is in many ways not a brave person, he is the sort who witnesses injustice and stays quiet, he's not brave. But he's brave here, he does magic, for Merlin, because he loves Merlin like a son. All the courage and bravery in this show comes from the love people have for others, and that's an important message, that the people we love and our own ability to love others can inspire us to be better people and to be brave.

Their immediate response to Merlin's apparent death moreover is guilty, they have nothing to feel guilty about, it's Uther's fault, but they blame themselves anyway. There is in that a contrast to Uther, who refuses to blame himself. They don't take their pain out in anger, they accept it and even though they have nothing to be guilty for the fact that their immediate response is guilt does say they are better people, braver people than Uther.

Other things

Morgana holding that butter knife ready to fight Bayard's men is the funniest thing ever. Like its an impressive butter knife, but it is still so clearly a butter knife.

Also so many bad guys plans in this show rely on Arthur or Merlin being fundamentally good people, like when your plan involves using people's goodness against them you need to re-evaluate your choices in life. I suppose its part of the point though- that they are willing to harm the innocent or take advantage of goodness in their anger. Uther punishes goodness in this episode.

My new motivational quote—> Gaius: "As the Old proverb says: Hard work breeds..........a harder soul." Merlin: "There is no way that's a proverb. You just made that up."

[hiimsociallyawkward]

the darkest hour pt 1

the destiny and chicken podcast is finally back so I finally started rewatching merlin season 4. so basically i'm just going to make a list of things that I thought about while watching

'rests on the shoulders of a young man'??? PLS BBC

the opening scene in camelot. i just love it so much. tbh i'm kind of in love with all the "inner working" stuff of working in the castle

ok also, is this the first appearance of merlin and his purple shirt????? i love it

HIM IN THE KITCHEN?? GWAINE AND PERCIVAL?? I LOVE THIS.

BRO. LANCELOT. FRICK THIS. I LOVE LANCELOT BUT ALSO JUST SANTIAGO IN GENERAL. I LOVE HIM. I'M GONNA BE SAD IN THE NEXT EPISODE

literally. merlin and arthur are so domestic. can they please no. bro bro bro i'm crying. AS;FDLKJF;ASLKD THERE'S A GIF THAT I'VE BEEN SEEING ON TUMBLR OF ARTHUR LOOKING BASHFUL ESQUE AND HE THROWS HIS QUILL DOWN AND I LOVE IT WHAT THE HECK PLS STOP I'M CRYING

gwen is absolutely perfect. how is angel coulby so pretty. also, her serving the king after everything she'd done to him. wow

morgana and morgause going to the isle of the bless 💀💀

FRICK. YOU. AGRAVAINE. I. D E S P I S E. YOU. PLS. DIE. ALREADY

omg the feast back in camelot. when merlin falls and lancelot is the one who runs after him??? and arthur ?? Idek what kind of reaction that's suppose to be. right off the bat it looks annoyed?? but it could also be 'oh i'm the prince, but also i'm worried that's merlin, jeez keep your composure man. come on now, overcompensate so no one knows how you're actually feeling'

again, it's only lancelot and gaius with merlin after he passes out.

merlin wrapped in a blanket like a little burrito is just 🥰 he's talking about the dorocha but still

also they mentioned samhain and i want to talk about but not here. anyways, i'll get back you to guys on this note.

MERLIN WAKING ARTHUR UP. stop that was so homely and i loved it.

when arthur is comforting the girl who came to camelot because her village was raided?? idk if raided is the right word but that's what i'm going with rn

oh haha when the gang rode out to the girl's village and we get jump scared by the chicken?? yes, yes i did get jump scared by the chicken

gwaine and his apples?? yes pls

i just kept on thinking that the dorocha kept reminding me of dementors. idk it's not exactly the same because dementors sort of suck your happiness and merlin couldn't use magic against the dorocha, but still idk i just felt connection vibes

literally angel is so pretty. and then gwen goes to check on the soldier despite SO MUCh danger?? i love her.

omg when gaius goes "no mortal has ever survived their touch" and i'm just thinking. MERLIN MERLIN MERLIN MERLIN MERLIN. anyways

alskfjalsjfa;sdlkfa when merlin and arthur are in arthur's chambers and the candle rolls away and they're pals. they're actually PALS. like they have some quips here and there but they're honest to god pals and not even arthur can deny that

'definitely not humorless' 'that's because you're not funny' PLS

when pervical saves those children and elyan saves them?? i love them all

ofc arthur is gonna sacrifice himself. freaking savior's complex. 'i love him though' to pieces.

UGHHH 'MY LADY' 'MY LORD' PLS. I ASDJFALSDJFALSDFJ

omg. i hate uther with everything that i am, but still arthur taking to his father and giving him a forehead kiss before he goes off to die?? and uther saying 'don't leave me" "please"??? come on. i'm crying

SLAK;FJSLAJF. idc if you ship merthur i sure as hell do but still. these moments between arthur and gwen and just *golden*. just this whole scene. i love them so much. i love arthur so much.

god this show. having the gang walk in slow mo?? pls spare me

FRICK MY LIFE. when arthur gave agravaine the seal it reminded me of the deleted scene where arthur gives merlin the seal and i just get MAD again that they cut it out. PLS

merlin's whole speech about dying for arthur. i mean, we all knew it was coming but still. and gaius. gaius sucks but still, merlin is practically his son at this point, and gaius just has to let him go and i'm crying

fricken hell the knights in their capes?? i can't handle that they look so noble omg

AHH GWEN AND LANCELOT. FIRST SANTIAGO LOOKS SO GOOD BUT LANCELOT'S SMILE WHEN HE SAYS HER NAME.

until the line where gwen goes 'will you grant me a favor' i completely forgot about this heart wrenching fic that I read. Die for you in secret by @emrysofmagic ?? dude your fic absolutely ripped me to SHREDS and i completely forgot about it until the one line and i PHYSICALLY screamed. good on you you're the best.

anyways. i'm dying at this. when lancelots says he'll protect arthur with his life and that gwen has his promise?? pls.

literally, any scene of just lance and merlin reminds of that fic now. whenever i see lancelot looking at merlin i just think he's pining and i'm crying.

god some of the scene are actually beautiful.

LITERALLY

the knights all working together?? bros being bros

merlin using magic and then doing that little lip quirk half-smile at lancelot is just UGH

aw when merlin insists on getting firewood with arthur and arthur asking if merlin is the right person and merlin saying as if arthur knows what he's talking about when it coming to collecting firewood and the knights LAUGHING?? i love them

just the whole scene of merlin and arthur together

i would parse out individual pieces but tbh just the whole thing

i love it

i love them

the callback line where they think they might've 'gotten on' if things were different?? pls

TOGETHER?? STOP RN

oh god you knew this was coming

merlin throwing himself at the dorocha instead of arthur.

all of them running towards merlin

merlin's FACE

anyways. i'll be back tomorrow to rant more about the darkest hr pt 2 so i'll see you then!

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

Quick “Cursed” opinions (no spoilers)

I am still at episode 8, but here’s my opinion up to now if you are wondering if you should watch this show

THE SHOW

Beautiful scenes, very beautiful colors, but horrible transitions that really look out of place 

Generally good actors

Speed-movement. There was no map, no idea where the characters were. Every character could be at any place AT ANY TIME... literally no sense of time or travelling

The fey were supposed to have magic but showed no magic, clearly all the budget has been used for other things

THE ARTHURIAN PART

I was very annoyed at the continuous way the show introduced arthurian characters. Every character but Nimue, Merlin and Arthur was introduced by a name switcheroo, with “Here’s character A... ACTUALLY their REAL name is B!” which was very repetitive

Very interesting concept for the Sword, definitely my favorite part of the show overall

Forget everything you know about Arthur’s family, otherwise you’ll get even more confused (I still have no idea how it is supposed to be in the show)

Some characters were just named dropped, but generally the show doesn’t overuse arthurian names for secondary characters

MORGANA is a gift, we were blessed! Interesting story acr

Every arthurian character has a defined story arc (Arthur has honor, Nimue has acceptance, Morgana has her spoilery arc etc.), but some were better than others (Nimue was a very bland protagonist, in my opinion, and Merlin ended up being a bit useless and being in the show just because he was there at the beginning)

Also, we are told Merlin is so smart, but the show doesn’t show it to us

THE PLOT

The plot revolves around the Sword but the show is too slow in introducing it, and starts veeeery boringly, but picks up by ep ~4

The sword was, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the show and I wished they had spent a little more time showing its backstory

The show is set in a Christian vs Paganism kind of world, but they never use any actual gods? And they are very vague about the whole Pagan thing, which reminded me, annoyingly, of Merlin BBC

Nimue’s journey of self acceptance is... a bit slow, but at least it is good when she can interact with characters like Kaze, Pym and, of course, Morgana

The plot ends up murky in some parts, especially because of the zero attention the show gives to politics. We never fully know what are the relationships between the factions (Uther’s kingdom? how big is it? Are the Red Paladins in only one Fort, do they have multiple forts, are they from Rome? How do they work? Why do they hate the Fay? Are they a faction of the Church? Are the Fey just people who have another religion? Do they all have magic? Is Ector a vassal? Independent kingdom? How come Uther lets the Paladins in his kingdom?) so I was very confused about the power dynamics between Uther - Paladins - Fey, and that is really my main point of complain with the show

The romance subplot is... there... I guess. Arthur and Nimue gave me zero chemistry (personal opinion). When together, the character development/analysis/plot stopped to let the romance goes... which ended up with both characters more interesting when interacting with other characters, as usually they were able to talk about plot-stuff and further their own character development. 

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Getting a constant laugh from this scene in BBC Merlin Season 4, Episode 6, when Arthur ostensibly punishes Merlin for spending “two whole days in the tavern.”

Several things worth noting:

Gwen serves as a useful mediator between Arthur and Merlin in 4x06 (”Although, I’m afraid right now he does want to kill you.”) and 4x07 (when she said she would try and convince Arthur of Gaius’ innocence on Merlin’s behalf). Notice that Gwen must have known that Merlin had gone to get the Fomorroh problem fixed (”Merlin! You’re back. Dare I look.”), but did not tell Arthur this. A small but nice reminder of the strength of her loyalty to Merlin in this episode and the next. 

Arthur’s attempt at intimidation, by drumming his fingers on his chair and fixing Merlin with that deathly stare, just make me bend double with laughter. If even Gwen has to warn Merlin in advance that he is pissed, then he is pissed. You will notice that Arthur was incredibly lenient towards Merlin throughout this episode, even after the “Yes, well you would take her side, wouldn’t you?” incident, but this magnanimity has run out by the time Merlin fails to show up for his job. 

Notice Merlin’s defence of his actions: “Because you’d have no one to polish your armour! Make you breakfast! Organise your clothes!” Is this true? Obviously not. Camelot is full of servants. Merlin grossly overestimates his own value (again), assuming he is the only one capable of simple tasks like polishing, cooking, and organising clothes. You can tell this defence of his disappearance came off the top of his head, because of course, he could not tell Arthur the real reason for his disappearance. 

I love how Arthur and Merlin both know that George is a bootlicking dweeb. (Their opinion, not mine. I think George is misunderstood-- conceited, but devoted to his job.) One turns away to hide his laughter, the other responds sarcastically: “Yes, that’s my favourite, too!”. Later on, they puzzle over how a man can make “jokes about brass”. This is ironic, since Arthur and Merlin make jokes about made-up words (”dollophead”), real words (”clotpole” and “prat”), and vegetables (”cabbage head” and “turnip head”). The difference is, Arthur finds those jokes funny. He does not find George funny-- and neither does Merlin. Therefore, Merlin, sharing Arthur’s sense of humour, automatically knows that spending time with George will be torture. 

It’s hilarious how Arthur tells Merlin that George is “perhaps the most efficient servant I’ve ever seen.” But no sooner than George has left, Arthur calls him “seriously boring”, and claims “I’ve never met anyone so dull”. This shows that Arthur has long since stopped caring about having an efficient manservant. It’s the personality that counts. Yes, he has multiple complaints about Merlin. “He’s shabby-looking, he has apalling manners, he’s extremely forgetful...” One would think, however, that the King of Camelot could have found himself someone who does meet his standards by now. Yet he has not, because Merlin is his friend. This shows that being friends with Merlin has changed Arthur’s perception of other servants. 

So why does Arthur think that George is “seriously boring” and “so dull”? I mean, George tries making jokes! Arthur likes humour, after all. I think the reason is that George’s conversation doesn’t sound very interesting. You have to wonder how their conversations went during the time when Merlin “went to the tavern”. I think Arthur’s boredom comes from George’s conversation and not his jokes-- admittedly lame as they are. I can’t see Arthur and George having a proper conversation. Arthur is so used to that now, because of his friendship with Merlin. With George, it is “I have done this, Sire; I have done that, Sire.” So even though George tries to be funny-- something that Arthur should like-- Arthur is bored. Meanwhile, Arthur can bounce anything off Merlin and get a substantive response-- even complaints about Merlin’s morning greetings. George is shackled by politeness. Merlin is not. He is forthright and challenges Arthur. 

“Tell me something: if he’s so good, why don’t you just give him the job?” It’s at this point that Merlin realises his job is safe, and he is just being played. Look how Arthur is leaning his legs across the table. Is that the posture of a man who means business? Many have noticed Arthur’s “Oh shit” expression, as he realises Merlin has caught him red-handed. When Arthur says, “Anyway: off you go. It’ll be fun,” he pretty much gives the game away. After all, he had the authority to dismiss Merlin on the spot, but instead asked for Merlin to give him “one good reason” not to do so.  You have to wonder how George felt, seeing a man he obviously felt was beneath him (notice how he just nods, instead of saying “Let’s go”) still keep his job after an unexplained disappearance, despite being told that this man “seems to spend most of his time in the tavern.” 

So George is the better servant, but Merlin is the better friend, which is now what counts the most to Arthur. Why? Earlier in this episode, Arthur said that job of being King entailed a lot of “loneliness”, with people constantly expecting things. He also said Merlin was “the only person I can trust” (proof of his paranoia: he ignores the fact that he can trust all the knights, Gwen, and Gaius). What is this trust for? Truth and good counsel. Merlin is almost unmatched in those qualities, hence why he gets to keep his job. 

This whole scene is just hilarious. 

[101flavoursofweird]

A2, A8, B7, B8 and C6

((Thanks!))

A2: How did you find your first fic?

I wanted to read a ‘story’ version of Pokemon Ruby. I got about a thousand  first trainer fics which are all valid.

A8: What was your first fandom? Are you still in that fandom now?

The first fandom I made content for is Professor Layton... I can’t write as much as I used too but I’m still here, somehow.

B7: Which character is your favourite to read about? Why?

So I checked my AO3 bookmarks and the characters with the most character tags are Layton, Flora and Luke. I think Layton and Luke get tagged in most fics, so they’re kind of there by default? But Flora really is one of my favourites to read about because fanfic writers treat her with so much more respect than Level 5 did. Level 5 laid the groundwork, but I’d say most of her character is explored in fanworks. In fics, she gets to go on adventures. She gets to be an active part of the narrative. She gets to interact with other characters. She gets to have bonding moments with Layton and Luke. Her backstory and her loneliness get examined. She gets a future other than— ‘Oh, she went a got a job somewhere... maybe!’ And she gets to have a dozen OC love interests, which are all amazing.

B8: Is there a show or a book that you gave up on that you went back to later? Why did you come back to it?

I first watched Merlin when it aired on BBC (CBBC?) but I never got to finish the series. I didn’t give up on it, just kind of forgot it existed, but then I noticed it on Netflix and I’m currently finishing Season 4 with my friend. Occasionally there are... not-so-good filler episodes. Like the two-parter where King Uther gets bewitched by a troll masquerading as a woman. Those are the episodes that remind me this originally aired on CBBC. But the characters are good and the main storyline is really engaging, whenever they focus on it!

C6: Is there anything in canon that made you want to quit the show? What was it? Why did you hate it?

Voltron: Legendary Defender... I don’t think there was anything in particular that made me quit the show, but I stopped watching halfway through Season 2 for some reason... Obviously, it didn’t keep my interest enough to make me want to continue? Maybe it’s the fact that the whole season suddenly became very Keith-centric. I liked Keith. He was fine! But I just wish the other characters got more focus— especially Pidge and Hunk— and that there was more team bonding in general. (Also, I never saw what was so great about Keith/Lance, so that wasn’t keeping me watching... Another rival-to-lovers ship. Yaaaay, my favourite!)

[ivegotmerlinandmusicals]

Which Merlin episode should have been a musical episode?

First of all, I love this question

Second of all, I'm gonna choose 1 episode from each season because this question is so much fun

And last but not least a quick reminder to not take me too seriously in this. I tried, but I don't really think any episode of BBC Merlin would actually make a great musical episode as I think it would be really hard for the music to really line up with the feels and story.

Season 1, Episode 10 : The Moment of Truth

I've chosen this episode because I think music would do really well with the sort of revolution/ standing up against warlord vibe. I mean, it worked well in Les Mis. And yes yes I know I can't compare it to Les Mis, but in this case, in this episode, I'm going with the same vibe.

Also, there are a lot of overwhelming feelings for our characters. And that's where the music would come in. When the emotion is getting to much to handle with words, you start singing. There is a lot of inner struggle for Merlin. 'Do I tell Arthur, or do I not tell Arthur?' Which I think could be really fun to see as a musical number.

And also, death. Death, apparently, works great in musicals. I mean the list with musicals with major character death is huge. Some of the top of my head are In the Heights, Hamilton, Les Miserables (I mean, who doesn't die), Dear Evan Hansen and Rent (I'm not crying you are). Death causes a lot of emotion and music can really help to make your audience feel that emotion with the characters.

Season 2, Episode 4 : Lancelot and Guinevere

Right of the bat I'm just gonna go ahead and say that Lancelot's already basically a Disney prince so singing wouldn't be much of a shock. For season 1 I was also considering the episode 'Lancelot' but I felt there would be too little to work with (I'm probably wrong, but again, I'm not an expert).

In this episode I like the inner struggle of love and (kind of?) jealousy in Arthur and the struggle of Lance or Arthur in Gwen, so as previously explained, when their struggles would become to much, there could be a musical number.

Also, there is a sort of confession of love on Lance's side and on Gwen's side and even on Arthur's side (just not to Gwen directly) so that contrast could be fun to work with in terms of a musical number maybe.

I actually really like Arthur's struggle in this episode, which is that he knows he loves Gwen, but he also knows it could never happen because of stupid rules and expectations. I think that struggle would deserve a musical number if it were so.

Season 3, Episode 10 : Queen of Hearts

This season was very hard to choose from because the show is getting a bit darker and darker with time and that makes it for me personally a bit more difficult.

First of all I could really see Morgana do an evil frustration song after dreaming about Guinevere becoming Queen of Camelot and a evil plan reprise after learning from Morgause it was a prophecy.

And again, lots and lots of emotion. Yes, the dramatic and sad bits about Gwen potentially getting burned at the stake and how everybody's feeling about that, but also the beautiful bits of love between Arthur and Gwen.

Plus, I think it would be hilarious to have Dragoon sing.

The end

Yeah that's really all I have. I couldn't really choose in seasons 4 and 5 (maybe I'll add them later), but I think I did okay with the first 3. I will again remind you none of this is from an expert's point of view.

Thank you for your question. I had a lot of fun going through the summaries and trying to come up with reasons why it could work.

[kyeshirosaki]

Cursed Episode 4

I watched the whole season despite being skeptical after the first episode because I wanted to like it and enjoy it and I very much did enjoy parts of it in spite of some of the show's bad aspects. Cursed has a lot of flaws, but I still plan on watching a second season if it’s renewed. I’ve never seen BBC’s Merlin, nor do I have much of a background in Arthurian legend like most folks that have been talking about the show. Anyway here are some of my thoughts about the show, good and bad, including spoilers for the whole season.

I think Morgana and Nimue work as good foils to each other. They’re both passionate young women, but where Nimue is an action first kind of lady, Morgana is a thoughtful plotter. Hitting herself with the rock shows that Morgana thinks ahead, but once she realizes Abbes Nora’s fate she’s quick to lose her composure, reasonably so.

It’s good to see multiple kinds of diversity in one piece. Dizier, Clothilde, and the Snake Clan family are a welcome sight despite being pretty minor characters. In the past diversity often meant one token example or a whole token ensemble main cast like Captain Planet. It’s nice to see, even though it can still be better. Majority of the PoC are either inhuman fey background characters or related to each other. Of the characters with speaking roles, I believe Abbes Nora, Kaze, and an unnamed red paladin (all Black) are the only ones to not be part of a family though we do get an idea that we see Kaze with members of her clan.

Pym is actually the reason I kept watching the show along with queer, Black Morgana. She and Squirrel are the only two characters that consistently bring much needed humor into the story. Squirrel has lines that the kid uses well to be funny, but the purpose of Pym’s arc isn’t to bring lightheartedness to the story, it’s just something the actress excels at the her ever expressive eyes and mannerisms. A lot of what makes her character work as well as it does comes of as improvisation that worked too well to be cut. The scene where she nearly becomes a fishwife will forever leave Pym endearing to me.

The whole sequence from Iris’s prayer to Morgana’s goodbye - *chef’s kiss*

Back to Pym, being dumbfounded by a pretty blond and rubbing fish guts into her hair. This bit vaguely reminds me of something you’d expect from Pitch Perfect, especially her repeated claim that she doesn’t know the man that is so obviously calling her.

Again, Nimue returns to those she knows to discover their corpses, only this time she has reason to blame herself for their deaths. We also learn that the sword speaks to her, which is a really good sign that maybe this sword shouldn’t be completely trusted. This brings me back to seeing her as a death seeker. I understand that it’s a magic sword, but perhaps it’s a better idea to grab Arthur as backup or even ask his help forming a plan instead of going berserker and just fully trusting the whispering sword that she doesn’t actually know how to use. I don’t necessarily think Nimue was planning to survive the attack based on her reaction to their dead bodies.

Meta, but I hate the .02 seconds after Nimue asks the sword for help and we see her start to walk down towards the red paladins only to teleport underwater. If she’s teleporting just cut the .02 seconds and let her go from talking to the sword to rising from the water. If she didn’t teleport, how the heck did she get there in the first place? I would like to see it because it defies logic if the grotto is so shallow that it only reaches waist high on the paladins standing in it.

I do LOVE the world building around the old fey symbols lining the path to Nemos. It’s just odd that Nimue can read old fey from studying with her mother, yet later it’s revealed that she never learned to speak the common fey language. It’s like learning to read old English without ever learning to speak the modern language - it’s pretty difficult. Perhaps old fey just isn’t that complex though.

[fart-gate]

SG1

Season 2 episode 5

"NEED"

Notes by me

- heard this episode was some good shit with lots of cough whump cough here we goooooo

- the goauld are collecting raw naquada. What do they need it for

- oh I love the pyramid ships their so cool

- *Daniel runs off recklessly*

"Wish he'd stop doing that!"

- its a cloaked lady!

- when she turns around and sees Daniel for the first time. 404 cloaked lady has stopped working

- Jack is so aggravated at Daniel for being too nice

- OKAY what the fuck dude. Get your disgusting hands off my Sam or I'll punch you in the throat

- I dont think theyre gonna listen to reason Daniel

- miners!

- Sam can sense worms??? She got worm radar ????

- "I get a weird feeling when im around tealc"

"hey who doesnt"

- ITS BREAK OUT TIME

- "lets go daniel!!"

"I'm coming!"

So innocent 😭

- shit is he dead again👀

- that must have hurt like a mother fucker yikes. Reminds me of the episode of BBC Merlin when the rockslide came down and separated him and arthur

- gurl not even a minute ago you were gonna commit suicide and now you want to take over after your dad? Make up yo damn mind

- a sarcophagus! Oh its Daniel

- NICE OUTFIT

- no glasses!Daniel

- she says she dressed him in new clothes while looking him up and down like lady what the fuck. You taking peeps at my boy? You wanna fuckin fight?

- "personal responsibility for you" basically shes saying she owns you now buddy you better run

- wait how many times has he used the sarc now? Its about 3 times I think

- "glass circles" lol

- damn theyre cracked. Makes me think how many times daniel has broken or lost his glasses and had to get new ones.

- whys she so goddamn CREEPY

- why is she so fascinated with trees my respect for her goes down with every second

- she wants to hit that and you know what? She's valid

- "youre my destiny"

"BLEHGR ......what???"

On all levels except physical, Daniel is barfing so hard right now

- also ???? Destiny??? Ok george mcfly

- this psycho: anyway so me and my mom....

daniel: can we back track for a sec I have some thoughts

- "surprisingly difficult to kill you isnt it?" You got no idea Jack smh

- "nice dress"

- sg1 as slaves is something tho 👀

- I'm laughing theyre throwing a feast for Daniel while the rest of them mine coal. Tough luck guys

- 700 years old YIKES

- "I dont think you understand what they mean to me" ❤💕❤💕❤💕❤☺❤☺❤❤❤❤☺☺☺💗💗💗

- daniel being treated like the princesses boy toy lol

- honey.......dont sleep in the sarc

- what possessed him to think that this is a good idea

- jack, tealc, and Sam update: still in the mine!

- DANIELS HAIR IS POOF

- hes LOST his marbles

- "and look!!! No glasses!!" Hes so excited

- hes getting obsessed with this thing

- 9 or 10 times in the sarc???

Jack: hes drunk as fuck

- hes definitely considering marrying her. Bro youre already married. Did you forget

- Temper!Daniel

- ok so hes totally brain washed!

- he felt out of place on earth :(. You know what? The Sarc is bringing out his deep down thoughts and feelings. Things he wouldnt ever tell anyone bc when hes in his right mind, his logic counter acts these thoughts. But his logic is gone so hes just voicing everything he normally wouldn't

- sams memories of jolinar telling her whats what with the sarc! 💪

- its taking his SOUL WHAT THE HELL

- lounging!Daniel "HI JACK!!"

- hes LOST IT FOLKS THATS IT. HES AN EMPTY VESSEL NO THOUGHTS

- kicking his little feet

- of course he wants to marry a woman he met 4 days ago

- "he cant live without me anymore" OH THIS GIRLS A BITCH. SHE DID THIS TO HIM ON PURPOSE. ALRIGHT LADY SQUARE UP SOMEONE HOLD MY BEER

- "we offer the friendship of our world"

".......well thanks"

Jack is having NONE of her shit and I wholeheartedly agree

- awkward kissing!!

- jittery!daniel

- sir that is no way to talk about your wife. So what if shes different when u get her back! So are you! People change! God not having a logic filter in your brain must be exhausting

- concerned!Sam

- ALRIGHT when you start knocking shit over on purpose its time to sit in the corner on time out

- hes having withdrawals. Didnt I already say this man has been thru Enough

- Jack literally jumps on him to hold him down. Did he crush daniels pelvis or what

- Sam is right they need to let him go thru it 😩

- how the hell did he pull fraiser all the way over him lmfao hes not that strong

- oh boy! Crazy!Daniel

- 🚨the archeologist is loose🚨

- "I know what its like" oh???? Jack has dealt with addiction????

- caretaker!jack

- this is heart breaking

- when he just hugs him. Just holds him. The acting from both of them is making me sob

- P3H826 is ready to be sg1s next mission!

- daniels okay!!!! He got thru it ✊😌

- P3R636 is the planet with the Sarc and princess dick face.

- "id like Daniel back on the team" 😤😤😤😤😤😤

- I dont care about you! Stupid bitch! Manipulative ass hat

- Daniel step away from the sarc

- clearly you have no idea what love is if you think its just keeping ppl hostage

- he literally tells her to stop using it and she IMMEDIATELY picks up a staff weapon and blows it to hell like it took zero effort to convince her

- welp! Cry all you want! Youre a dumb bitch and I hope i never see you again lol

- Let Daniel Rest 2k20

~

Whump under the cut

Daniel jackson whump: threatened, gunpoint, sore, nervous, crushed by rockslide, healed by sarc, addiction, brain washing, jittery, withdrawal, anger outbursts , passing out, hospital scene, red eyes, sweaty, pleading, restrained, losing his mind, crying, breaking down, caretaker Jack.

Jack Oniell whump: kicked, hit with staff, coughing, fight with daniel

Whole team whump: forced kneeling, dirty, tired, weak, forced to mine

No glasses!Daniel for 90% of episode

🎶listening to Happiness Is A Warm Gun from Across The Universe Soundtrack🎶 for daniels struggle with addiction

🎶listening to Gone by Bazzi🎶 for Daniel being so confident that he was fine

[nat-20s]

top 5 breakdowns youve had over david tennant doctor who episodes?

okay okay okay so this is biased bc I’ve been rewatching the donna season and she’s my favorite but let’s GO

5. HE BLEW UP A SUN. TO SAY GOODBYE. WHAT THE FUCK. THAT’S LOVE BITCH!!!! AND THEN HE DOESN’T EVEN GET TO PROPERLY SAY I LOVE YOU I SCREAMED. I don’t actually remember which episode this was but I do remember that I was, as the kids say, Big Oof over it 

4. The ending of family of blood like holy shit. Holy shiiiiiittt. I think that even though we knew he was a no second chances kind of guy (which i could write so much on holy fuck am i back on my bullshit) that was the first time that it, like, hit me not only the things he was capable of but the kind of person he was capable of being was actually cruel. I think I had to sit down and reassess things after that.

3. Fires of Pompeii. Just all of it. Donna hearing where they’re at and what day it is and IMMEDIATELY trying to save people. The doctor being so so resignated and her being like umm??? fuck that actually??? Her learning about how much awful knowledge is stored up in his head. Them pressing the lever together, her deliberately reaching out so that he doesn’t have to take the burden of that decision alone. Him watching everybody suffering with practiced outward indifference and her sobbing, feeling all of their suffering, having to watch and STILL desperately trying to save them. The doctor leaving while Donna is watching the family and her having to leave them for a moment and her begging for him to go back. Them finally getting to reach out and save them. the fact that this moment is so vital that FUCKING TWELVE CHOSE HIS FACE TO BE REMINDED OF THE LESSON DONNA TAUGHT HIM I FUCKING CANT DEAL WITH THIS

2. I. DONT. WANT. TO. GO. I think we all collectively lost our fucking MINDS over that ending. David tennant was like: soft. Crying. and I was like SCREAMS. Also the fact that his doctor not from saving like the whole world or galaxy or universe but just so that he can save Wilf, even though Wilf begs him not to and is willing to sacrifice his life?????? Is so wonderful, like, thematically, and also fucking wrecks me.

1.Journey’s end? More like journey’s end my heart. I think I have yet to be so thoroughly traumatized by a character’s ending except maybe the end of bbc merlin. This one might be worse though. It’s been a decade and I get NO closure and I’m fuck. Like when Donna starts to repeat words and both you and the doctor know what’s coming and it’s absolutely fucking devastating to the point where, if you’re like me, going back to the earlier adventures with them is so much worse. Also just like 12 year old me and now year old me both projected pretty heavily onto donna so it’s all just fuckin rough. AND THEN!! AND THEN HE SAYS HIS LAST GOODBYE TO HIS BEST FRIEND AND SHE DOESN’T RECOGNIZE HIM AND BARELY EVEN NOTICES HIM LEAVE AND IM FUCKING CRYING ALL OVER AND IM JUST. This ending is so fucking much!!! Because it’s so tragic on BOTH ends!! Like I know TECHNICALLY donna is okay but you gotta wonder!!! We KNOW she felt like there was something missing from her life before she ever met him so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that happens again but like 10 times worse!!! You GOTTA wonder if she goes through life feeling like there should be someone wonderful at her side, a best friend, a platonic soulmate, but there isn’t, and she, from her perspective, is desperately missing someone she’s never met. I’m!! Fucked up!!!! Also also also i read a snippet from a doctor who magazine that was like “a lot of people fancied the doctor but he was happiest when he was Donna Noble, his nest mate” and I’m losing my SHIT okay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD she was like..willing to die so that she didn’t have to forget what the fuck what tHE FUCK!!! WELCOME BACK TO ME SCREAMING

Honorable mentions:

the hand wall scene with ten and rose you know the one. Planet of the ood is A Lot, like when he lets her hear their song of captivity big oof big big oof. The fakeout in song of sauntarun (i have no idea how you spell this) where Donna is like “i have to go home” and he just immediately breaksdown and is like trying to convince her of all the amazing sights they still need to see and the fucking LINE YOU’VE SAVED MY LIFE IN SO MANY WAYS ooF PRESS F TO PAY RESPECTS BECAUSE I DIED. Actually all of season 4 is just me having a breakdown because they really fuckin love each other so much and make each other so happy and I know how it ends and knowing how it ends I STILL have to watch them make big goofy grins at each other and go off on adventures and delight in each others company ALL WHILE KNOWING THEY’RE GONNA LOSE IT anyway tldr I love Donna and I’m crying

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

Top Picks--January

Yes, January is not officially over and yes I have been watching a lot of TV especially since intercession. I decided instead of doing a “What I’m Watching” for the week to sum up some of my overall favorites for the month. [Although ironically a good amount come from this week.]

You’ve been warned of spoilers....

THE GIFTED 

Now in its second season, The Gifted has quickly become one of my favorites of not only January but of the 2018-2019 season. I enjoyed the first season but this current season has so much more drama and twists and turns that are keeping me tuned in and (believe it or not) I’m actually up to date. Which makes me super upset after the most recent episode and that ending. How am I supposed to wait 2 weeks when characters’ lives hang in the balance? There are a lot of plot lines and characters to keep up with but now so many story-lines are coming together. I can’t wait to see where this season goes (in the remaining episodes) and hope that it gets picked up for a third. (We are entering that scary time of renewals.)  

ROSWELL NEW MEXICO

The latest CW show created by Julie Plec has, of course, caught my interest. While I know this is a reboot from a series made in the 90s I have not watched the original so I don’t know how close it will be following it. So far I am enjoying the concept and the style of the show. It’s nice to see some familiar Vampire Diaries/Originals faces, but I have to keep reminding myself that they will not “wolf out.” I do have a lot of questions (which I understand is good and should continue to bring me back to the show), but I need some of them answered now, like: What kind of powers do the aliens have? How did they learn to use them, etc... This might not seems super important but they are constant things popping into my head while watching the episodes. Right now I’ll just have to wait and see. 

LEGACIES

From one Julie Plec show to the next, you might have seen from previous posts that I am loving Legacies. This spin-off of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries also reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with its supernatural big bad of the week and humor. I love being already familiar with this world and can’t wait to see what guest star shows up from the previous shows. While this week I was not the biggest fan of the episode--Main complaints-I missed seeing more characters--(and I was pumped to watched it following the winter hiatus) I am crossing my fingers this show is getting the love it deserves and will return for a 2nd season. So make sure to watch it if you haven’t already. [Even if this week’s episode will be a dream sequence and those aren’t always the most exciting.]

SCHOOLED

Are you a fan of abc’s The Goldbergs or just feel nostalgic for the 90s and love a good sitcom? Then you should be tuning into Schooled Wednesdays on abc. This spin-off (ha another spin-off) of The Goldbergs which follows Adam Goldberg (show creator’s life) living in the 80s. Schooled jumps into the following decade and follows Lainey Louis as she becomes a music teacher at the school she attended as a teenager. While teaching might be her fall back in order to pay off credit card bills, already by episode 3 you can already tell she is enjoying her new career. While I am a huge fan of the original series (which brought me to this show as it so conveniently follows the parent sitcom) I also LOVE reminiscing about the 90s (as I grew up in this decade). This week they referenced tamagotchis. 

 AT THE MOVIES

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING

The Kid Who Would Be King premiered this Friday in theaters and you know I was in the theater opening night. I was pumped for this movie and every time I saw the commercial on TV everyone around me knew I was going to say that I wanted to see it. A loyal fan of all things King Arthur and always interested to see how they re-invent the legend and let me tell you that it did not disappoint. It met and exceeded expectations. Funny, exciting, and full of magic it reminded me of a cross between BBC’s Merlin and Percy Jackson. I will definitely watch it again. 

BINGEING 

WE FINISHED SEASON FOUR!!!!!! GOTHAM has been a showing that my sister and I have been watching since December 2017. Yes, that might seem like a long time (it feels like it as I just wrote the date down). But it’s been a slow but steady race. The show has gotten better and better as the seasons have gone on and Season 4 has been my favorite so far (and the quickest one we have watched). While there were moments that were frustrating (not a huge fan of Sofia Falcone, Jim and Harvey not speaking to one another and Bruce’s party-boy status--which honestly just felt weird to watch) it really ended on a high note and I am SUPER excited to start watching the last season that is now airing on FOX. 

STRANGER THINGS

For the January break I decided to FINALLY watch Stranger Things because it’s been on my list for like ever. I watched the first season in about four days and have two episodes left of season two. So obviously I am enjoying it. :) The story is so intriguing and the characters are easy to know. It feels like you become a part of the story. I really like how in both seasons there are multiple plot lines to follow and then the characters meet up and work altogether at the end. Can’t wait to finish season 2--just don’t know if I can wait till July 4th for season 3. 

What are you watching? Let me know what were some of your favorites from this month!

[thebluemeany]

Alexander Siddig Master Post: What to watch and where to watch it

WATCH: Good Candy

Peaky Blinders: most shows mash up all their cool shots with a soundtrack for their trailer. Peaky Blinders is that, only all the time. It’s beautiful, slick and oddly soulless: like a Vanity Fair photoshoot come to life. Siddig’s only in the romantic subplot of Series Three (£9.49 Amazon), but wait to buy as it’s on Netflix from September.

Cairo Time: Set in Egypt. Nice little love story. Surprisingly British in a repressed ‘I’d better go/ yes you better go’ sense. Except they all drink coffee rather than tea and smoke hookah. On YouTube. Worth cost of DVD.

Hannibal: Elephants crossing the Alps on a BBC Drama budget: what’s not to like? Actually done very well and in a sort of documentary style. Added bonus that Scipio is Rose Tyler’s Dad. On YouTube.   ☩

Spooks: Nest of Angels episode: Traumatic. Remember seeing it as a kid in 2003 before UK suicide bombers were a thing. It’s harder to watch now. But definitely do as it’s a bold early attempt to tackle a lot of issues. It was and still is a brave piece of drama. On YouTube.   ☩

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: 7 Series, all available on Netflix: hour after hour of episodes. Say goodbye to at least two months of your life. Noticeable increase in quality and complexity Series 4, 5, 6.

Lawrence After Arabia: interesting, well written and with a young Ralph Fiennes. Pace and style is more like a play than a film. Can rent for £4.00 on Amazon.

WATCH DEPENDING ON YOUR TASTE:  aka. The Marmite flavoured Liquorice

Doctor Who - 1001 Nights (audio play): Really neat idea at the core. Doesn’t really get to Siddig’s story until episode four, but listening to the other parts really adds to the build-up. Yes, it’s £12.99, but it’s made by Big Finish (all round reliable candy makers) who employ a lot of old UK actors & writers, so resist urge to torrent.

Waking the Dead:  Endgame part 1 and part 2. Don’t be fooled by the CSI set up - this is a level up in violent and gruesome. You can watch it on the BBC YouTube channel for £1.99.  ☩

The Phantom of the Opera (audio play): faithful to the novel. Adapted by a Dalek. Good Commuting Material. Tad expensive at £12.99. Slightly cheaper if you use monthly credit on Audible.

Syriana – complex little film, full of a great cast. Intriguing, realistic and with worrying similar themes to Lawrence After Arabia but set a century later. Tad heavy going. Available free on Amazon prime.  ☩

The Flat Earth (audio play): Weirdly like Lost. Don’t listen to it on a flight. I think the writer may have been going for a sense of the transcendent in a way that was meant to be life affirming. But it actually conjures up some pretty horrific mental images…so, yeah… part 1, part 2  ☩

OKAY IF YOU’RE BORED: aka. Chewing Gum

Inescapable: the landscape is shot nicely but the story is dull. £5.10 to download on Amazon, but you can rent for 99p on iTunes which is fine because it’s not a film for repeat viewing.

True Love: only improvised drama series broadcast ever on BBC One. Turns out there is a reason for that: actors need writers.  Siddig is in episode four, which is the least mundane of the bunch. Bonus of Jane Horrocks.

Doomsday: post-apocalyptic movie. Oddly similar ‘flee to Scotland’ vibe as Reign of Fire below.  Not done well. 99p on Google Play, but seriously just go watch the infinitely better 28 Days Later instead.  ☩

Doctor Who – Sisters of the Flame/ The Vengeance of Morbius (Audio play): Worth it to hear Siddig play a centipede. ‘Cause its radio you just hear the hundreds of feet pattering every time he enters. £8.99 so try and buy when Big Finish have a deal on. Part one is both better and has more Siddig than part two. ☩

Un Homme Perdu:  version in Arabic & French but I can’t find a copy with English subtitles. That said, there’s not a lot of dialogue: if your French is moderate like mine you can muddle through. Intention kind of reminded me of the British 60s film Blow-Up. Kind of dull in an ‘art-film’ way even without language barrier.  

24 - Season 6: By this point of watching the back catalogue, I’ve got to admit I was getting pretty fed up of variations on Islamic Extremism stories. Siddig’s in episodes 2 – 7 and 9. £7.99 for whole series on Amazon, but low res version available on Dailymotion.  ☩

Reign of Fire: so the poster looks AWESOME (dragons destroying London, hell yes!). But that all happens off screen. Lacking dragon destruction, Siddig, female characters or emotional stakes. Contains FAR too much Matthew McConaughey. Rent for £2.48 to watch Christian Bale valiantly attempt to make the best of a bad job.

BARELY IN: aka Empty calories

Game of Thrones: you’ve probably seen the whole series already. If you want to watch just the episodes with Doran in, these are limited to Series 5: episodes 2, 6, 9, 10 and Series 6, episode 1. The entire globe has downloaded it illegally already, but ignoring that, you can buy it on Google Play for £1.99 per episode. ☩

Turmanbay (audio series): available free on BBC iplayer. Game of Thrones but on the radio. Bit repetitive.

Atlantis: in various episodes across Season 1. Scrappily put together and feels like a kids programme. It’s £12.49 to download on Amazon but I wouldn’t bother. 

Primeval: Theoretically in all of Series 4 and 5 – but in reality very little actual scenes until last two episodes of Series 5 (and even then, the amount of acting is debatable). Crappy production values and scripts lacking depth. If you really want to watch it, its £6.99 to stream on Amazon. ☩

Strike Back: Episodes 5 and 6: SAS video game masquerading as a TV show, or one of those books where the cover has a desert and a bullseye on it and the name of the author is in bigger print that the title. Generic variation on Islamic Extremism story…again… ☩

Doctor Who – The Wreck of the Titan: It’s not bad, just a sort of average Sixth Doctor story and for £12.99 you can live without it.

Merlin: meh, not worth it. Series 1, Episode 10: On Netflix. Better than Atlantis and Primeval though. ☩

The Nativity Story – feels like something they make you watch in school. Pretty, but totally lacking humanity or emotion. Part with Alexander Siddig as the Angel Gabriel is here.

DON’T WATCH: Just plain bad

Clash of the Titans: APPALLING MOVIE. WARNING, WARNING. DO NOT WATCH. Can rent for £3.00 on Amazon, but again DO NOT WATCH.  Should also be under ‘barely in’.

The Diary of River Song: “I went to a marvelous party” episode (audio play): Story is boring and heavy handed on the allegory. Add to that the fact it costs £30.00(eek!) makes it a ‘skip it’.

OTHER/ STUFF I CAN’T FIND

Recon: Seriously does this movie even exist? I can’t find it anywhere. Possibly just an elaborate front set up as a tax dodge…

The Big Battalions: missing, presumed wipe. I work near the BFI so went in to see if they have a copy. They didn’t even have a record it exists. Still, it was made by Carnival Productions (who thirty years later churn out Hollow Crown & Downtown Abbey) so was probably good with high production values.

Wild Arabia - documentary narration kindly recommended by little-Vulcan for its ‘dope landscape shots’. On Netflix