Merlin - The Drawing of the Dark
Dec. 17th, 2012 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daibhidcSadly, nothing to do with magic beer.
So we start with Merlin engaged in his usual paranoia about Mordred, this time because he thinks Mordred has let a Saxon escape. I've honestly never been sure if we're meant to see these scenes as Merlin being the only one who can see the Truth, or (as I've tended to, even knowing Mordred's story in the original myths) as Merlin being totally unreasonable and closed-minded. (Or indeed if we're meant to be unsure.) This episode answers that question, at least. Merlin's distrust is a Bad Thing because it contributes to Mordred's Face-Heel Turn in a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy).
The supposed Saxon is actually Mordred's ... sister? girlfriend? ... Kara. Unfortunately, she's not as impressed by Arthur as Mordred is, and rightly points out that their kind are still being persecuted. (Because Merlin talked Arthur out of legalising magic a few episodes ago in order to kill Mordred. Outstanding work there, Merlin.)
Good to see that Merlin hasn't gone completely off the deep end over Mordred, and is prepared to keep Kara secret. And I loved the bit with the broken tree and the deer. Not that it helps, because Arthur finds footprints. And Mordred's conclusion that Merlin did tell Arthur is completely reasonable given Merlin's actions -- it's also the first time Mordred's gone from "vaguely creepy" to "bl8dy terrifying".
Kara and Arthur both have really epic speeches in the trial scene, and both make good points: Arthur is trying to make things better, he hasn't managed it yet, and (IMO most importantly) Kara did kill people. (Not that I approve of hanging her.)
(What I would really like to see - but with just the finale to go, won't - is for Arthur to finally legalise magic, and Morgana's reaction to be "So what? I'm still not queen!" losing her pretence of the moral high ground, and possibly making some of her followers think "Hang on a minute...")
Mordred now feels let down by Arthur, and again Merlin tries to stand up for him -- Not because he wants to help Mordred, but because he's starting to realise this is how we get to Mordred being a villain. This leads to a 180 degree turn in Merlin's attitude; instead of trying to keep Mordred away from Arthur, it's more important to keep him away from Morgana.
Unfortunately, this means Merlin does betray Mordred after all, since Mordred's planning to free Kara and leave with her. There's a great scene where Kara slits the guard's throat without a second thought and Mordred is clearly wondering if this was a good idea after all.
Gaius kindly tells Merlin that there are some paths nothing can change, rather than "Actually, you caused the very thing you were trying to stop." Which doesn't stop Merlin making one last chance to change destiny.
With Merlin's encouragement, Arthur makes one last attempt to save Kara for Mordred's sake. And it doesn't work. So she gets hanged. I wasn't expecting that to actually happen, at least not on screen. And Arthur now thinks he shouldn't have trusted Mordred, when what he should actually have learnt is that he should have made it easier for Mordred to trust him...
I was just thinking how nice it was that Mordred, unlike Morgana, hadn't suddenly had a "ranting villain" switch flipped in his head, when we got the final scene. Ah, well.
And Morgana now knows Merlin is Emrys. Uh oh...
Mythwatch: Kara is another randomKryptonian Celtic name (usually spelled "Carra"). The Drawing of the Dark, as I alluded to above, is the title of a novel by Tim Powers about Merlin running a brewery.
So we start with Merlin engaged in his usual paranoia about Mordred, this time because he thinks Mordred has let a Saxon escape. I've honestly never been sure if we're meant to see these scenes as Merlin being the only one who can see the Truth, or (as I've tended to, even knowing Mordred's story in the original myths) as Merlin being totally unreasonable and closed-minded. (Or indeed if we're meant to be unsure.) This episode answers that question, at least. Merlin's distrust is a Bad Thing because it contributes to Mordred's Face-Heel Turn in a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy).
The supposed Saxon is actually Mordred's ... sister? girlfriend? ... Kara. Unfortunately, she's not as impressed by Arthur as Mordred is, and rightly points out that their kind are still being persecuted. (Because Merlin talked Arthur out of legalising magic a few episodes ago in order to kill Mordred. Outstanding work there, Merlin.)
Good to see that Merlin hasn't gone completely off the deep end over Mordred, and is prepared to keep Kara secret. And I loved the bit with the broken tree and the deer. Not that it helps, because Arthur finds footprints. And Mordred's conclusion that Merlin did tell Arthur is completely reasonable given Merlin's actions -- it's also the first time Mordred's gone from "vaguely creepy" to "bl8dy terrifying".
Kara and Arthur both have really epic speeches in the trial scene, and both make good points: Arthur is trying to make things better, he hasn't managed it yet, and (IMO most importantly) Kara did kill people. (Not that I approve of hanging her.)
(What I would really like to see - but with just the finale to go, won't - is for Arthur to finally legalise magic, and Morgana's reaction to be "So what? I'm still not queen!" losing her pretence of the moral high ground, and possibly making some of her followers think "Hang on a minute...")
Mordred now feels let down by Arthur, and again Merlin tries to stand up for him -- Not because he wants to help Mordred, but because he's starting to realise this is how we get to Mordred being a villain. This leads to a 180 degree turn in Merlin's attitude; instead of trying to keep Mordred away from Arthur, it's more important to keep him away from Morgana.
Unfortunately, this means Merlin does betray Mordred after all, since Mordred's planning to free Kara and leave with her. There's a great scene where Kara slits the guard's throat without a second thought and Mordred is clearly wondering if this was a good idea after all.
Gaius kindly tells Merlin that there are some paths nothing can change, rather than "Actually, you caused the very thing you were trying to stop." Which doesn't stop Merlin making one last chance to change destiny.
With Merlin's encouragement, Arthur makes one last attempt to save Kara for Mordred's sake. And it doesn't work. So she gets hanged. I wasn't expecting that to actually happen, at least not on screen. And Arthur now thinks he shouldn't have trusted Mordred, when what he should actually have learnt is that he should have made it easier for Mordred to trust him...
I was just thinking how nice it was that Mordred, unlike Morgana, hadn't suddenly had a "ranting villain" switch flipped in his head, when we got the final scene. Ah, well.
And Morgana now knows Merlin is Emrys. Uh oh...
Mythwatch: Kara is another random
