Hello, it's been a while and as predicted, I haven't actually posted any of the posts I said I would talk about. Like my huge rant on Shitsuren Chocolatier. Which I will probably write up because the DVD was released... yesterday? Two days ago? And well - that huge mess of a drama was just so ridiculous there is no way I can't NOT talk about it. But first of all, let's talk about another show I've started to watch.
Merlin.
And this show is also a huge mess.
I started this show thinking it'd be very interesting. I love Arthurian Legend and seeing it played out in a full length BBC drama seemed awesome to me. I saw .gifs all over tumblr and the cast seemed awesome and amazing. Freakin GILES is King Uther Pendragon. I was excited. And I'll be honest, I am enjoying this show so much. But, I'm not going to say that it's totally awesome. This show is a mess. And I only just finished season 1.
This post isn't going to be long, I just want to point a few things out about season 1,
Starting from episode 1 the show seemed a bit cliche, but it had promise. I found the interaction between Merlin and Arthur amusing. Also King Giles - come on. And the voice of the dragon! One thing I noticed right away though was..... super bad CGI, but this show is from 2008 so all is forgiven. Another thing that I can't forgive is why the hell does Arthur (and everyone else) constantly swing their sword around in such a dramatic fashion whenever they're fighting? Like, really - I would've just stabbed the guy if I was fighting them and they kept swinging their sword around. Honestly.
Also Merlin x Gwen is so cute. But I realize that Gwen is going to end up with Arthur, but still - Gwen and Merlin are so cute. And up until the second last episode I loved Morgana too, but then she did this weird face-heel-turn thing (TV Tropes) and like... what. I mean, I get it, because let's be real - Uther Pendragon is an asshole. I would gladly kill him. He's so irrational and such a tyrant. Like, by the time it hit the second last episode and he killed Thom I was just... yeah - go kill Uther, Please. BUT Morgana's sudden like.. "YO I WANT UTHER DEAD" and then her sudden "Oh nvm, he apologized, aw, love you!" was just... it was just so sudden. All of it. Where is the build up?
And now I'm on to the last episode (still watching it) and it doesn't feel like a season finale at all. It's also just.. ridiculously overly dramatic? Like Arthur's "death" in which Uther carries him and collapses in the courtyard. Merlin yelling at the dragon. It's just.. like, all the episodes before this had been relatively light in comparison and there's honestly been no... real continuation of story? And then we get this. I don't even know what to call this episode because it's hardly emotional. It's just... dramatic. But not in a way in which I really feel anything. I mean, I guess maybe because I know there are 4 other seasons and thus everyone lives, and everything "turns out okay".
Actually - yeah, the thing that probably bugs me the most is the lack of continuation in this series. I wouldn't say each episode is... entirely episodic, because you can slowly see character growth and I would argue that is the story of Merlin. Growth. Arthur and Merlin's growth. BUT at the same time, there doesn't seem to be a real central storyline throughout the season. So it's just.. like yay, enjoyable, light-hearted, amusing drama that is a retake on the Arthurian legends, but at the same time it's like "you have go to be kidding me".
I guess I just need to continue taking this show with a grain of salt and not invest myself too deeply in hoping it will eventually make sense. I've heard that Morgana's "storyline" into evil kind of.. just happens, which will disappoint me so much. I cannot wait until Uther dies though - although he is Giles so that's going to make me sad anyway. Giles :( Annnndddddd.... what else? I can't really think of anything. The last two episodes have just made me think about how much Uther should die, how silly Merlin is and how he honestly makes terrible decisions (and how has NO ONE FIGURED OUT HE HAS MAGIC YET LIKE REALLY?!).
But anyway, enough of that. I just really wanted to talk about this show because... honestly, what a mess. *snort*
Onto season 2!
