Merlin - Lancelot de Lac
Nov. 26th, 2011 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daibhidcWhew, that was an emotional rollercoaster and no mistake!
It starts with Arthur finally proposing to Gwen. (Side note: I know rooms filled with candles are a TV shorthand for "romantic scene", but does that really work in a setting where they're the only light source available?) Agrivaine and Morgana aren't happy about this, so Morgana consults with an ancient witch called the Dochraid (and by the way, it now appears to be official policy that all practicioners of the Old Religion are Scottish). This is interesting, because it turns out there's a prophecy attached to Morgana, just like there is to Merlin, According to the Dochraid, she's supposed to bring back the Old Ways, contrasting with Merlin and Arthur ushering in a new age.
(It is apparent that there are multiple interpretations of the Old Religion, and some of its practicioners are more in favour of a new age of justice and equality than others, who think that not having an insane sorceress on the throne is practically the same as their beliefs being oppressed.)
Anyway, with the Dochraid's advice, Morgana brings back Lancelot as a shade under her control. She then sends him to Camelot where he disrupts Arthur and Gwen's wedding preperations.
At first it appears that this isn't going to work; Gwen is glad Lancelot is alive, but doesn't feel anything for him. Morgana, however, has an enchanted bracelet to sort that out.
By this time, however, Merlin's noticed something's up because, whoops, Morgana doesn't know he's a sorcerer, and therefore neither does her Lancelot. This was deftly done; of course Merlin's going to apologise for not magicking him back to life, and the way he did so wasn't too forced in allowing for the interpetation "If I had magic..."
The slow build-up of Gwen's magically enhanced emotions, from "Oh heck, I'm still kind of attracted to him" to "I know I love Arthur but I'm so confused" to "I'm going to meet up with him in the most suspicious manner possible because I can't think of anything else", was nice. Particularly clever was the joust where Lancelot yeilds to a wounded Arthur; beating him would, if anything, have put her off, but making her grateful to him for his actions towards the man she actually loves makes her real and induced feelings less easy to distinguish. And this wasn't spelled out, although it was clearly there, all done by Angel Coulby's facial expressions.
And so they make their assignation, and Agrivaine is on hand to "expose" it. Now Bradley James, lets be honest, doesn't usually get to do much with Arthur. He's a basically nice guy, he's a bit arrogant, and he bravely fights monsters and trades sarcasm with Merlin. But Arthur's hurt anger when he confronts them was brilliantly done, and his confused hurt anger when he talks to Gwen afterwards even more so. (And on another note, we don't often get to see him actually swordfighting with an equal. Mostly his opponents are magical creatures, and it's just "stick the sword in once that very-convenient-rockfall has it stunned". So his fight with Lancelot was pretty dramatic.)
With ten minutes to go, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how they were going to wrap this up. And ... they didn't. Gwen gets exiled, Lancelot commits suicide, Arthur descends into gloom. Morgana and Agrivaine win. Although I'm sure Gwen (and maybe Lancelot?) will be back for the finale, if not before.
The last scene was odd. Arthur says Lancelot deserves a proper funeral, but doesn't actually attend himself, nor indeed does anyone else. And if Merlin knows a spell that can restore Lancelot's senses, wouldn't casting it oh, at any time in the previous 45 minutes have been an idea? (Yes, there's probably a perfectly reasonable explanation, but we don't get it.)
Mythwatch: Despite her authentically Celtic-looking name, the Dochraid appears to be completely original. The word "dochraid" is Gaelic for "servitude", perhaps indicating that she's a "servant" of the Old Religion.
The title is a reference to Lancelot's traditional epithet, sometimes said to be because he was fostered by the Lady of the Lake. In this case, it's a reference to him rising from the Pool of Nemhain. Nemhain is yet another Celtic warrior goddess.
"Shade" comes from Greek myth, where the spirits dwelling in Hades were mere shadows of the people they had been.
The mysterious knight who enters in the joust and, after winning, is revealed as one of Arthur's knights, is a standard Arthurian trope, and it's quite often Lancelot. (Because if a mysterious knight revealed himself to be Sir Calogrenant, would anyone care?)
Oh yeah, and some versions of the Arthurian legend have a minor bit about him discovering Guenevere is having an affair with Lancelot. Almost forgot about that bit...
It starts with Arthur finally proposing to Gwen. (Side note: I know rooms filled with candles are a TV shorthand for "romantic scene", but does that really work in a setting where they're the only light source available?) Agrivaine and Morgana aren't happy about this, so Morgana consults with an ancient witch called the Dochraid (and by the way, it now appears to be official policy that all practicioners of the Old Religion are Scottish). This is interesting, because it turns out there's a prophecy attached to Morgana, just like there is to Merlin, According to the Dochraid, she's supposed to bring back the Old Ways, contrasting with Merlin and Arthur ushering in a new age.
(It is apparent that there are multiple interpretations of the Old Religion, and some of its practicioners are more in favour of a new age of justice and equality than others, who think that not having an insane sorceress on the throne is practically the same as their beliefs being oppressed.)
Anyway, with the Dochraid's advice, Morgana brings back Lancelot as a shade under her control. She then sends him to Camelot where he disrupts Arthur and Gwen's wedding preperations.
At first it appears that this isn't going to work; Gwen is glad Lancelot is alive, but doesn't feel anything for him. Morgana, however, has an enchanted bracelet to sort that out.
By this time, however, Merlin's noticed something's up because, whoops, Morgana doesn't know he's a sorcerer, and therefore neither does her Lancelot. This was deftly done; of course Merlin's going to apologise for not magicking him back to life, and the way he did so wasn't too forced in allowing for the interpetation "If I had magic..."
The slow build-up of Gwen's magically enhanced emotions, from "Oh heck, I'm still kind of attracted to him" to "I know I love Arthur but I'm so confused" to "I'm going to meet up with him in the most suspicious manner possible because I can't think of anything else", was nice. Particularly clever was the joust where Lancelot yeilds to a wounded Arthur; beating him would, if anything, have put her off, but making her grateful to him for his actions towards the man she actually loves makes her real and induced feelings less easy to distinguish. And this wasn't spelled out, although it was clearly there, all done by Angel Coulby's facial expressions.
And so they make their assignation, and Agrivaine is on hand to "expose" it. Now Bradley James, lets be honest, doesn't usually get to do much with Arthur. He's a basically nice guy, he's a bit arrogant, and he bravely fights monsters and trades sarcasm with Merlin. But Arthur's hurt anger when he confronts them was brilliantly done, and his confused hurt anger when he talks to Gwen afterwards even more so. (And on another note, we don't often get to see him actually swordfighting with an equal. Mostly his opponents are magical creatures, and it's just "stick the sword in once that very-convenient-rockfall has it stunned". So his fight with Lancelot was pretty dramatic.)
With ten minutes to go, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how they were going to wrap this up. And ... they didn't. Gwen gets exiled, Lancelot commits suicide, Arthur descends into gloom. Morgana and Agrivaine win. Although I'm sure Gwen (and maybe Lancelot?) will be back for the finale, if not before.
The last scene was odd. Arthur says Lancelot deserves a proper funeral, but doesn't actually attend himself, nor indeed does anyone else. And if Merlin knows a spell that can restore Lancelot's senses, wouldn't casting it oh, at any time in the previous 45 minutes have been an idea? (Yes, there's probably a perfectly reasonable explanation, but we don't get it.)
Mythwatch: Despite her authentically Celtic-looking name, the Dochraid appears to be completely original. The word "dochraid" is Gaelic for "servitude", perhaps indicating that she's a "servant" of the Old Religion.
The title is a reference to Lancelot's traditional epithet, sometimes said to be because he was fostered by the Lady of the Lake. In this case, it's a reference to him rising from the Pool of Nemhain. Nemhain is yet another Celtic warrior goddess.
"Shade" comes from Greek myth, where the spirits dwelling in Hades were mere shadows of the people they had been.
The mysterious knight who enters in the joust and, after winning, is revealed as one of Arthur's knights, is a standard Arthurian trope, and it's quite often Lancelot. (Because if a mysterious knight revealed himself to be Sir Calogrenant, would anyone care?)
Oh yeah, and some versions of the Arthurian legend have a minor bit about him discovering Guenevere is having an affair with Lancelot. Almost forgot about that bit...
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no subject
Date: 2011-11-27 09:25 am (UTC)I interpreted that as not restoring him, but as setting his spirit free, so he couldn't be used again - that he woke up seemed to be a welcome surprise. But I could be wrong :)
I'm not sure doing that earlier in the ep would have helped, because before the whole thing with Gwen went down Merlin and Gaius didn't know that's what Lancelot/Morgana was trying to do, and after, Arthur wouldn't care, because it's Gwen he's upset with. They'd need to prove she was enchanted to make it OK, and they think she genuinely felt/feels that way for Lancelot - because they all know she used to.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-27 12:56 pm (UTC)It's true Gaius and Merlin didn't know what Morgana was up to, but they knew she was up to something. And if Lancelot were "released" before he could do anything, it wouldn't really matter what her plan was.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-27 12:59 pm (UTC)But yeah, I mostly agree that this kind of thing is always a little irritating, and some explanation would have been nice :)