Tears of Uther Pendragon Part One
Sep. 11th, 2010 08:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daibhidcYep, Merlin's back!
Back at the start of season 2, I wrote:
"Basically, everything seems to be same-old, same-old. Arthur's a jerk, Uther hates magic, Merlin tries to do the right thing in the most cack-handed manner imaginable before finally getting his act together in the last ten minutes, and Gaius is the only one with two brain cells to rub together. (Besides Morgana and Gwen, of course, but they were hardly in this one.)"
Well, Athur's still a bit of a jerk, Uther still hates magic, Gaius is still the clever one, and Merlin is still cack-handed, but apart from that everything is different!
(Oh, and Gwen was hardly in this one. I'm hoping she'll do more in part two. Heck, the dragon was hardly in this one, but I'm sure he'll do more in part two...)
Evil Morgana! Not led-astray-by-her-sister Morgana. Not believing-this-is-the-only-way-to-stop-Uther-but-basically-torn Morgana. Evil Morgana, who casually stabs guards and throws them off battlements. Yes, as ever I think the evil magicians in Merlin have a legitimate greivence, but it's what they do about it that makes them evil, and Morgana has definitely crossed the Moral Event Horizon[1].
Nice use of genuine mythology (mandrake), although I couldn't help thinking "the cauldron was full of exactly the right sort of yuk, nothing wrong with yuk like that."
Merlin really needs to work on some sort of magic that enhances his non-existent sneaking-around abilities.
And it's a two parter! In fact, it feels a lot like Merlin is trying to invent the Season Opener in the style of a Pilot Movie or Season Finale.
Looking forward to part two.
[1]Attentive readers might recall that, back in season one, I was complaining that Morgana wasn't plotting Uther's death. Well, I still think it makes sense for her do to so, but that doesn't mean she's not evil, since she doesn't seem to care what happens beyond Uther's death. Season One Morgana was enraged with Uther for killing Gwen's dad; Season Three Morgana is happy to see Camelot invaded by a brutal warlord who will doubtless be killing lots of people's dads.
Back at the start of season 2, I wrote:
"Basically, everything seems to be same-old, same-old. Arthur's a jerk, Uther hates magic, Merlin tries to do the right thing in the most cack-handed manner imaginable before finally getting his act together in the last ten minutes, and Gaius is the only one with two brain cells to rub together. (Besides Morgana and Gwen, of course, but they were hardly in this one.)"
Well, Athur's still a bit of a jerk, Uther still hates magic, Gaius is still the clever one, and Merlin is still cack-handed, but apart from that everything is different!
(Oh, and Gwen was hardly in this one. I'm hoping she'll do more in part two. Heck, the dragon was hardly in this one, but I'm sure he'll do more in part two...)
Evil Morgana! Not led-astray-by-her-sister Morgana. Not believing-this-is-the-only-way-to-stop-Uther-but-basically-torn Morgana. Evil Morgana, who casually stabs guards and throws them off battlements. Yes, as ever I think the evil magicians in Merlin have a legitimate greivence, but it's what they do about it that makes them evil, and Morgana has definitely crossed the Moral Event Horizon[1].
Nice use of genuine mythology (mandrake), although I couldn't help thinking "the cauldron was full of exactly the right sort of yuk, nothing wrong with yuk like that."
Merlin really needs to work on some sort of magic that enhances his non-existent sneaking-around abilities.
And it's a two parter! In fact, it feels a lot like Merlin is trying to invent the Season Opener in the style of a Pilot Movie or Season Finale.
Looking forward to part two.
[1]Attentive readers might recall that, back in season one, I was complaining that Morgana wasn't plotting Uther's death. Well, I still think it makes sense for her do to so, but that doesn't mean she's not evil, since she doesn't seem to care what happens beyond Uther's death. Season One Morgana was enraged with Uther for killing Gwen's dad; Season Three Morgana is happy to see Camelot invaded by a brutal warlord who will doubtless be killing lots of people's dads.
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Date: 2010-09-11 09:12 pm (UTC)I'm honestly surprised that Doctor Who hasn't done anything like that. Considering all the ways that RTD borrowed from American television in general — and Joss Whedon in particular — the two-hour/part season opening story seems like such an obvious borrowing to make.
Perhaps, because Doctor Who has always introduced major new cast members in the first episode of the season (excepting "New Earth," RTD (and later Moffat) felt that telling a "big" story alongside a character introduction was a little too much.
I have heard a rumor that the upcoming Who season may start with a 2-parter.