Merlin - With All My Heart
Dec. 1st, 2012 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daibhidcYou say you want a resolution? Well...
...you get one. An episode that sorts out the Gwen situation, advances the myth arc a bit, and almost leaves you feeling Evil!Gwen wasn't basically filler.
Hey, it looks like Merlin told Arthur exactly what was going on and took steps to prove it. Now there's something you don't see every day. Shame that Arthur promptly proves himself totally inept at dissembling.
"Teine Diaga" is indeed Irish Gaelic for "Sacred Fire". Which set me wondering why so much Old Religion terminology is Celtic when the actual spells are Anglo Saxon. But it's a small step from there to wondering why either of these are "old languages" at all, and that way madness lies.
The Dochraid from "Lancelot du Lac" returns[1], and tells Emrys that Gwen must willingly enter the Cauldron of Arianrhod. And we get reminded that Merlin is destined to be the greatest sorcerer of all time when he easily beats a powerful Old Religion demigoddess.
Serious Emrys is a revelation; generally when Merlin takes the aging potion he goes into a crazy-old-man-refusing-to-suffer-fools routine which is certainly appropriate for the character, but is no way to talk to a religious figure. Even one you're pointing Excalibur at.
Arthur needs to be involved in the ritual, which means Merlin needs to be disguised. And since Arthur knows Emrys and blames him for Uther's death, it needs to be a different disguise. Is it just me or is crossdressing a bit of a theme? In the past three episodes we've had Arthur suspicious of Merlin's interest in Gwen's outfits, Arthur accidentally wearing Gwen's nightdress, and now female!Emrys.
Unfortunately, Gwen continues to be the only person in Camelot who ever notices anything weird, in this case that everyone is acting weird around her. Well, not quite the only person. Mordred is pretty good at it, which can't possibly end well. This time, however, it's a good thing, as he's able to help Arthur and Merlin up the mountain.
Nice to see the white dragon in action. And Merlin dragonlording at ... him? her? Were we ever told? And Mordred standing up to Morgana was awesome, I love the "exact words" stuff, first with Mordred saying he's only heard the name Emrys (because he knows the person it's attached to is actually called Merlin) and then the Dolma saying that if Arthur killed her he'd never see Merlin again.
Speaking of which, one of these days, Merlin is actually going to have a plan for leaving before the sorcerer (or soreceress) shows up. And his Dolma disguise is just plain embarrassing. He sounds less like an old woman and more like Julian Clary.
The Power of Love weakening Morgana's spell enough for her to enter the water was nicely done, complete with Title Drop. And Merlin/Dolma finally does something about trying to get Arthur to legalise sorcery. He then tries to push it into getting him to aknowledge Merlin's true worth. Nice try.
Mythwatch: Since I forgot to mention it during "The Dark Tower" because there was so much other mythology flying about, this is as good a place as any to mention that the legend of the mandrake is that it's a man-shaped root which screams when you pick it, killing everyone in earshot. (In real life it's a hallucinogen which sometimes has a double root which could look like legs if you really use your imagination.) Screaming and hallucinations; exactly how the Teine Diaga works.
Gwen is bound to the Silver Wheel, and can only be released by the White Goddess summoned from the Cauldron of Arianrhod. Someone's been hitting the Robert Graves. In mythology, Arianrhod appears in the Mabinogion, mostly notable for the geases she throws at her son Lleu Llaw Gyffes (you're not a proper Celtic hero unless you've got a bunch of arbitrary geases; the very reason Arianrhod was so angry with Lleu was due to a complicated situation involving her uncle's geas).
Anyway, Graves associated her with his White Goddess. "Arianhrod" literally means "Silver Wheel", suggesting she may have been a moon goddess. Interestingly, I think Graves also ties Guinevere (whose name possibly translates as "White Lady" or "White Enchantress") with his White Goddess.
The name Dolma may come from the Tibetan name of a female Bodhisattva associated with achievement through hard work and compassion, or that could be a coincidence. Almost definitely a coincidence, the bit about being paid in old clothes made me think of Granny Weatherwax. Hey, it's modern mythology!
[1] Although given that Old Religion practitioners and spirits are crawling out of the woodwork all the time, I'm not clear why she's the only person who'd know anything about this.
...you get one. An episode that sorts out the Gwen situation, advances the myth arc a bit, and almost leaves you feeling Evil!Gwen wasn't basically filler.
Hey, it looks like Merlin told Arthur exactly what was going on and took steps to prove it. Now there's something you don't see every day. Shame that Arthur promptly proves himself totally inept at dissembling.
"Teine Diaga" is indeed Irish Gaelic for "Sacred Fire". Which set me wondering why so much Old Religion terminology is Celtic when the actual spells are Anglo Saxon. But it's a small step from there to wondering why either of these are "old languages" at all, and that way madness lies.
The Dochraid from "Lancelot du Lac" returns[1], and tells Emrys that Gwen must willingly enter the Cauldron of Arianrhod. And we get reminded that Merlin is destined to be the greatest sorcerer of all time when he easily beats a powerful Old Religion demigoddess.
Serious Emrys is a revelation; generally when Merlin takes the aging potion he goes into a crazy-old-man-refusing-to-suffer-fools routine which is certainly appropriate for the character, but is no way to talk to a religious figure. Even one you're pointing Excalibur at.
Arthur needs to be involved in the ritual, which means Merlin needs to be disguised. And since Arthur knows Emrys and blames him for Uther's death, it needs to be a different disguise. Is it just me or is crossdressing a bit of a theme? In the past three episodes we've had Arthur suspicious of Merlin's interest in Gwen's outfits, Arthur accidentally wearing Gwen's nightdress, and now female!Emrys.
Unfortunately, Gwen continues to be the only person in Camelot who ever notices anything weird, in this case that everyone is acting weird around her. Well, not quite the only person. Mordred is pretty good at it, which can't possibly end well. This time, however, it's a good thing, as he's able to help Arthur and Merlin up the mountain.
Nice to see the white dragon in action. And Merlin dragonlording at ... him? her? Were we ever told? And Mordred standing up to Morgana was awesome, I love the "exact words" stuff, first with Mordred saying he's only heard the name Emrys (because he knows the person it's attached to is actually called Merlin) and then the Dolma saying that if Arthur killed her he'd never see Merlin again.
Speaking of which, one of these days, Merlin is actually going to have a plan for leaving before the sorcerer (or soreceress) shows up. And his Dolma disguise is just plain embarrassing. He sounds less like an old woman and more like Julian Clary.
The Power of Love weakening Morgana's spell enough for her to enter the water was nicely done, complete with Title Drop. And Merlin/Dolma finally does something about trying to get Arthur to legalise sorcery. He then tries to push it into getting him to aknowledge Merlin's true worth. Nice try.
Mythwatch: Since I forgot to mention it during "The Dark Tower" because there was so much other mythology flying about, this is as good a place as any to mention that the legend of the mandrake is that it's a man-shaped root which screams when you pick it, killing everyone in earshot. (In real life it's a hallucinogen which sometimes has a double root which could look like legs if you really use your imagination.) Screaming and hallucinations; exactly how the Teine Diaga works.
Gwen is bound to the Silver Wheel, and can only be released by the White Goddess summoned from the Cauldron of Arianrhod. Someone's been hitting the Robert Graves. In mythology, Arianrhod appears in the Mabinogion, mostly notable for the geases she throws at her son Lleu Llaw Gyffes (you're not a proper Celtic hero unless you've got a bunch of arbitrary geases; the very reason Arianrhod was so angry with Lleu was due to a complicated situation involving her uncle's geas).
Anyway, Graves associated her with his White Goddess. "Arianhrod" literally means "Silver Wheel", suggesting she may have been a moon goddess. Interestingly, I think Graves also ties Guinevere (whose name possibly translates as "White Lady" or "White Enchantress") with his White Goddess.
The name Dolma may come from the Tibetan name of a female Bodhisattva associated with achievement through hard work and compassion, or that could be a coincidence. Almost definitely a coincidence, the bit about being paid in old clothes made me think of Granny Weatherwax. Hey, it's modern mythology!
[1] Although given that Old Religion practitioners and spirits are crawling out of the woodwork all the time, I'm not clear why she's the only person who'd know anything about this.
