Merlin - Eye of the Pheonix
Nov. 3rd, 2010 04:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daibhidcWe're in serious mythology territory here.
(First a quick sidenote: Has anyone else noticed that the Old Religion supressed by Uther doesn't seem to have be replaced by a New Religion? It really came home to me at the start of this episode, where Arthur, in a white robe, is kneeling in a gothic chamber all night in order to gain a vision of his quest object. In most chivalric stories, such a vigil by a knight is called "prayer", but in Merlin it's "thinking". Anyway...)
The Fisher King. We're in serious Arthurian territory here. The portrayal of wounded Fisher King and his Wasteland are more or less accurate, although the Holy Grail gets replaced by a vial of water from the Lake of Avalon. (This may be related to the above sidenote.) In the legends, the King gets wounded by Sir Balin during Arthur's time on the throne, and the Grail quest happens much later, by Sir Percival. Then again, in Malory there are several different Wounded Kings, some of whom are related, so it's certainly not impossible for the Grailking to be someone else in Merlin.[1]
Warwick Davis! Is there any work of fantasy that isn't improved by a guest appearance from the star of Willow? I don't think so.
Good to see Gwaine again. I actually thought it'd make more sense to get Lancelot, since he knows Merlin has magic and therefore Merlin would have more options, but I suppose if Arthur represents Courage and the other knight is Strength, then Gwaine makes more sense.
And Gwen realises that Morgana is evil! Because it's blindingly obvious she's evil and, unlike the Pendragons, Gwen isn't an idiot.
[1]As I understand it, the Morte basically ties all the Arthurian legends Malory was familiar with into one story. In places where they contradict each other he does his best to retcon it all together, but sometimes he just can't and ends up with several versions of the same character. Or two Excaliburs with different origins.
(First a quick sidenote: Has anyone else noticed that the Old Religion supressed by Uther doesn't seem to have be replaced by a New Religion? It really came home to me at the start of this episode, where Arthur, in a white robe, is kneeling in a gothic chamber all night in order to gain a vision of his quest object. In most chivalric stories, such a vigil by a knight is called "prayer", but in Merlin it's "thinking". Anyway...)
The Fisher King. We're in serious Arthurian territory here. The portrayal of wounded Fisher King and his Wasteland are more or less accurate, although the Holy Grail gets replaced by a vial of water from the Lake of Avalon. (This may be related to the above sidenote.) In the legends, the King gets wounded by Sir Balin during Arthur's time on the throne, and the Grail quest happens much later, by Sir Percival. Then again, in Malory there are several different Wounded Kings, some of whom are related, so it's certainly not impossible for the Grailking to be someone else in Merlin.[1]
Warwick Davis! Is there any work of fantasy that isn't improved by a guest appearance from the star of Willow? I don't think so.
Good to see Gwaine again. I actually thought it'd make more sense to get Lancelot, since he knows Merlin has magic and therefore Merlin would have more options, but I suppose if Arthur represents Courage and the other knight is Strength, then Gwaine makes more sense.
And Gwen realises that Morgana is evil! Because it's blindingly obvious she's evil and, unlike the Pendragons, Gwen isn't an idiot.
[1]As I understand it, the Morte basically ties all the Arthurian legends Malory was familiar with into one story. In places where they contradict each other he does his best to retcon it all together, but sometimes he just can't and ends up with several versions of the same character. Or two Excaliburs with different origins.
