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Merlin: Still giving the finger to Continuity
Hello my Children. Den Mother Colleen here with a review. I have finished watching the third season of Merlin and thus have updates on character and plot developments...as well as more veering from the accepted myth. When I wrote my last review I was still fairly early in the third season. So a whole bunch of stuff has happened. Follow me to the list.
1) Merlin still needs to grow out his hair. Seriously, Colin Morgan's hair stylist should be shot for cutting his hair that short. His ears just take over his entire head.
ATTACK EARS! Seriously, grow out the hair.
2) Morgana continues to be a bitch and a traitor.
3) Sir Gwaine, the biggest lush of the Knights of the Round Table, enters the scene and much drinking and brawling ensues. He is portrayed by Eoin Macken and appeared in four episodes of season 3, including an episode labeled "Gwaine." He has a lot of issues with the noble class, though he is part of said class himself. It appears that the writers have decided to be pretty true to myth with Gwaine...which is a nice change. Anyway, Gwaine and Merlin get on quite well. Oh and I totally want to fuck him.
Meet Gwaine. He likes to drink. A lot.
4) Apparently, Guenevere has a brother named Elyan, portrayed by Adetomiwa Edun -haven't a clue how to pronounce THAT name. Which brings us to change in myth number 11: Elyan was a knight of the round table according to the myth, but was in no way related to Gwen...and was called Sir Elyan the White, son of Lord Bors. I wonder if the writers of Merlin were being deliberately ironic here. Anyway, he's a decent guy with a penchant for getting into trouble. Morgause and her puppet King, Cenred, kidnap him to get poor Gwen to lure Arthur into their clutches. Trap ensues. Trap fails.
I give you Sir Elyan the White...no really.
5) Arthur almost marries a fairy. Wackiness ensues.
6) Morgana continues to be a bitch...oh I already said that. Well in this case, her bitchiness is due to her dreaming about Guenevere becoming Queen. So she sets up Arthur and Gwen up to be caught by Uther. Then she frames Gwen for witchcraft -as in she enchanted Arthur to fall in love with her. Merlin makes himself an aging potion so that he can be caught leaving the enchantments...and almost gets burned at the stake. Gaius saves him in the nick of time. Arthur and Gwen decide to keep their love on the DL...which lasts about two more episodes.
A much more familiar looking Merlin...
7)Harry Potter's cousin Dudley shows up for a tournament at Camelot. And MAN has he lost a lot of weight. Anyway, here he goes by Gilly. He is magical and uses it to try to win the tournament...and tries to kill Uther whom he fights in the finals. Its battle of the big ears when Merlin uses HIS magic to stop him. They talk later and Dudley decides that Merlin was right and he shouldn't have used his magic for personal gain. So yay all around.
vs
Big Ears and Yellow Eyes FIGHT!
8) Season finale part 1: The Holy Grail reappears. Morgause gets Cenred to capture said grail. They use it to make his army immortal in order to invade Camelot. Morgana is crowned queen. Fuck.
Queen Morgana...for now.
9) Season finale part 2: Arthur, Merlin, Gaius, Gwen, Gwaine, Elyan, Sir Leon (a knight of Camelot), hide out in a cave. Arthur broods over learning that Morgana is a) his sister and b) a TRAITOR. Merlin verbally bitch slaps him out of it. We learn that they are actually undead by the appearance of Merlin's dead girlfriend, Freya. Merlin learns from Gaius that if you empty the grail of the blood of the evil dead, they would actually die...permanently.
10) Part 2 continued: Merlin calls Mr Dragon for a ride to the lake of Avalon to retrieve Excalibur...apparently it can actually destroy the soldiers. He returns to the cave. The intrepid band of buggered are almost captured by Cenred's immortal army but are saved by the arrival Lancelot and Percival, played by Tom Hopper. He is really tall. And REALLY strong. He makes a whole bunch of big rocks fall on the undead soldiers.
Percival the freaking Tall!
So they go to some old ruins of a castle. Where we are finally introduced to the actual fucking round table. They decide to invade Camelot to rescue Uther. Arthur then knights Percival, Lancelot, Elyan, and Gwaine. Yay. Whilst the rest of the band go after Arthur's daddy, Merlin and Lancelot go after the Cup. All battle the evil dead.
The Round Table!
Merlin and Lancelot finally get through their bunch and Merlin is about to get the cup when Morgause shows up. She magically tosses Merlin across the room and is about to kill him when GAIUS magically tosses HER across the room. She is about to counterattack when Merlin finally decides to use his magic and magically tosses her into a column...and possibly kills her. Merlin uses Excalibur to knock over the grail and all the blood leaves the cup. And all of the evil dead go phoom. I would say boom because they all explode but its more of a puff than a BOOM. Morgana appears and goes apeshit when she sees Morgause possibly dead. She magically huffs and puffs and brings the room down all around her. She and Morgause disappear. So Morgause may or may not be dead.
Schrodinger's Morgause...
Arthur and Merlin sit on the steps in front of the Citadel of Camelot and discuss Uther. Apparently, Morgana's betrayal has massively fucked him up. Merlin tells Arthur he may have to take the throne. Then Gwen and the knights of the round table show up. Gwen and Arthur kiss...aww... Poor Lancelot.
Knights of the Round Table...at last.
Season ends with change in myth number 12: Merlin places Excalibur within the stone. Excalibur is NOT the sword in the stone. In the myth Uther's sword is the one in the stone. After it breaks during a battle, Merlin gets Excalibur from the Lady in the Lake and gives it to Arthur. But it was a cool scene anyway with Dragon voice over saying, "when its (the sword's) task is complete you must promise to put it where none can wield it." Take me up, cast me aside indeed.
Merlin's solution to the "where none can wield it" command.
And that's it for Season 3. I love that in one episode we get the Holy Grail, Excalibur, the Sword in the Stone, and the Round table! Huzzah for Iconic Overload.
Oh and while I was looking up images I found a picture of my FAVORITE Merlin. This is from the 1981 movie Excalibur. Merlin is portrayed by Nicol Williamson...who utterly ROCKED! When I think of Merlin, THIS is who I picture...plus I totally dig the skullcap. Also, it has Helen Mirren as Morgan le Fay...which was just awesome.
