5.07: Merlin - A Lesson in Vengeance

ctg

weaver of the unseen
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Darkness steals into the very heart of Camelot, as Morgana and her puppet Queen hatch a sinister plan to murder the King. But when stable hand Tyr Seward becomes caught in the crossfire, he threatens to ruin everything…


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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The Heart of Darkness, [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]It is in all of us, [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The darker side of humanity, [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Our animal nature. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Some can control it [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]And live their lives in peace, [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Others are consumed by it [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]And release the beast within. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]When one falls from grace [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Their light begins to fade, [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Until all that remains [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Is ones true heart, true darkness. [/FONT]​
 
Hmm Well Gwen is wearing a hooded cape - therefore she must be evil :)

I'm wishing good things for this episode, thanks for the quick blurb and the picture ctg, much appreciated how you do this every week! :)
 
Ok, so. I'm still not fully understanding the whole Gwen thing. Has she had a spell put on her? Is she brainwashed? Has she had a personality transplant? Or is she just a complete bitch?

I would absolutely love it if we could get a decent female character in Merlin. We only have two and they both suck. I mean, can't Gwen have a maid or something? Just one decent female character, that's not too much to ask is it?

Was the fat fella Sam from GoT?

I do love old Merlin though. Though, it's a bit off that all the knights are happy to suspect him and shove him in the cells.

Next week's ep looks interesting.
 
The plot holes in this series are getting worse! In no particular order...

The Queen can wander the halls without attendants or guards
Morgana zaps a knight from his horse but doesn't kill him
Morgana gets the poison and doesn't kill the guy living in the woods
When Merlin bursts in to find Arthur unconscious (no guards again), where is Gwen?
If Morgana can set up the original flash-bang ambush, why not be there in person and kill Arthur herself?
When Merlin is accused, what's his motive?
All Merlin has to do when accused is show he has magic (and this is my friend the dragon), then heal Arthur - a bit high-risk I know.
How did Merlin get back into his cell with the castle on ultra-high alert?

I could go on but what's the point?

PS And you're right, Gwen is a poor character.
 
Horse bug this time and I'm only a few minutes in! No-one who rides falls off like that, not unless their horse is charging full speed then suddenly stops...all good riders (which I'm assuming Arthur to be (well the character at least)) fall in a ball or else you risk seriously hurting yourself...ah well...

Yes it is Sam! I was all WHAAAA? But i do like him, strange to see him though!

hmm still, continue watching the rest :)

EDIT: Finished. Not particularly impressed. I loved Merlin's speech to get himself out of the cells though, that was brilliant. Fed up with Gwen, fed up with Merlin not being all walking slowly up the stairs to the citadel with lightning bolts flashing all around him declaring himself Emeris and smoting Gwen...le sigh...but I do love seeing the old Merlin, he always has such good grumpy lines :)
 
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Okay where do you begin with an episode like this?

Sigh.

Mouse - I'm going to go and say that Gwen has been brainwashed. The technique used is very similar to the one used in Homeland, although the time period is a lot greater in the later; Merlin as a series does not really have the time to have an involved period of psychological torture, so did it quickly. Suspension of disbelief, and there is always the chance that Morgana enhanced things with magic.

As for this episode, loved the return of Emrys. Thought he was played spot on by Colin Morgan, just the right amount of impish superiority a perfect old man Merlin.

The interaction between Arthur and Merlin at the end was some of the best in a while, well it made me smile anyway.

Other than that it seemed a good idea gone astray and I don't know why. They seem to have reset things to an earlier format, only with Gwen in the Morgana role.

And the whole Merlin did it - I can see Gwen saying it to get rid of him, but would anyone really have believed? How man times has he helped saved Arthur's life?

I really enjoy this show and I think the writers know where they want to go, but they're trying to stretch things a bit and the padding is starting to tell.
 
Mouse - I'm going to go and say that Gwen has been brainwashed. The technique used is very similar to the one used in Homeland, although the time period is a lot greater in the later; Merlin as a series does not really have the time to have an involved period of psychological torture, so did it quickly. Suspension of disbelief, and there is always the chance that Morgana enhanced things with magic.

Definitely got to be enhanced with magic, otherwise it's just bizarre.
 
...If Arthur banned hoodies instead of witchcraft, he'd have things sorted in a matter of hours... :)
That made me laugh, otherwise the episode was nonsense.
...it seemed a good idea gone astray and I don't know why. They seem to have reset things to an earlier format, only with Gwen in the Morgana role.
That is certainly part of it, maybe they had an unused script from a few Seasons ago, that they decided to dust down and use.

The other part was that it was as full of plot holes as a sieve. You mentioned a few yourself, so how can you reconcile those with claiming that you really enjoyed it? The slapstick humour returned (I thought we were going to get 'the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true' when Gwen added the poison) and the 'red-shirt' guards made a comeback. I thought we had moved on from this. So much promise squandered.

And another thing, in a land of myth where magic is banned, how come a guy is allowed to set up a magic shop in the woods?

Or if he is, why doesn't Arthur just stake-out a couple of knights there to wait, eating doughnuts, until all the people in hoodies come to visit?
 
Interestingly, this was the first episode of the series where the kids asked me to quiet my mithering til they saw the end... And i agree. The plot holes were atrocious, the story tellling better thn the rest of this series. This is also the first year where the box set has not been on santas list, and this draconian mum only allows for two things to be specifically named... But this year merlin has lost its top 2 mojo... Hmm

Can i ask for a pic of a topless, gawain? Hmmmm.... Maybe :D
 
. You mentioned a few yourself, so how can you reconcile those with claiming that you really enjoyed it?

Quite easily. You can watch something and enjoy it, even when it has flawed, accepting for what it is.

It's like spending time with an old friend, relaxed and glad to catch um, the comfort of familiarity, while at the same time sad and disappointed at how they have screwed their life up
 
Quite easily. You can watch something and enjoy it, even when it has flawed, accepting for what it is.

It's like spending time with an old friend, relaxed and glad to catch um, the comfort of familiarity, while at the same time sad and disappointed at how they have screwed their life up
I'd say, more like concern about leaving them alone, worried that they are living on their own and if they are eating properly, and unsure whether to call the police, an ambulance or social services.

It is also the equivalent of laughing at someone rather than laughing with them, but we seriously digress now.

Also I'm imagining a new male revue dance troupe, 'The Knights in White Satin' or 'The Cabinet-Makers'.
 

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