Merlin episode 4.2: The Darkest Hour Part 2

(Note, this review will likely only make sense if you have already seen The Darkest Hour part 2. Otherwise it will be nonsensical blabbering. Read an episode synopsis here - http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s53/merlin/recaps/a344256/merlin-the-darkest-hour-part-two-recap.html
Also there is a lot of slash squeeing. You have been warned.)

Payoff is a wonderful thing. After last year’s advance screening I waited weeks for a new adventure and was rewarded with Goblin’s Gold. Ok so I’ve softened to it a little over time but at the time I despised it.

But this time, a great exciting adventure that you’d expect from this show!

So it turned out that Merlin was not quite dead. The writers wrote in some adorable shivery dying just for an excuse for Colin Morgan to look cute. That and he’s the main character, so he is immune to things that would kill most people.

Arthur and Lancelot fight over who gets to take their beloved Merlin back to Camelot and Lancelot wins. The others are also clearly worried, and Percival gets the added bonus of carrying Merlin’s unconscious body in his arms in the single slashiest shot ever.

Up until now, I felt that the producers were very annoyed by their massive and unintended slash fan base. But now, after years of trying to convince us that Merlin and Arthur are straight, it seems they’ve finally thrown their hands in the air and said ‘All right slashers, you win. You can have your overblown gay subtext as long as you keep buying our DVD’s and merchandise.’

This episode was full of slash candy! I’m not even talking subtle stuff that can only been seen with slash goggles. Percival falls on top of Gwaine, just like they do in rom coms when they want a forced romantic moment. My boyfriend almost had to sedate me during that scene.

I don’t get why Merlin couldn’t ride with Lancelot on his pretty white horse. He’d be less likely to fall off, and riding in the way he did would really hurt!

See right there? A perfectly good horse!!

The appearance of the water spirits, who I like to call The Bubble Fairies, was very cool. I like stuff like that, which gives the show a nice mystical edge. It was a nice change seeing it happen to someone other than Merlin, and a secondary character to boot. Not only did Lancelot get to meet the spirits, but the Dragon as well! It was a bit mean of Kilgharrah not to at least offer them a lift though. How was he supposed to know that they already had horses?

Even the Dragon has had a bit of character development. He used to boss Merlin around, demand this and that of him and get steaming mad when Merlin didn’t do what he said. Maybe being out free in the wild for a while has made him less cranky.

Meanwhile, the others are still heading to The Isle of the Blessed, which in this context is probably the most unsuitable name for an island ever. The writers seemed to forget that in season 1, Merlin and Gaius made it there in about a day or so (haven’t seen that episode in a while, but they couldn’t have taken as long as this to get there). Yet Arthur and his Merry Men are so lost that they have to go through the Wylderin caves! It’s no wander Gwen had to ask Lancelot to keep an eye on him…

There was an awesome moment for Sir Leon. He really has progressed from ‘sorry I can’t kill you with my lance sire’ to having a proper character and personality. I imagine that he and Arthur used to be just head knight and second in command. But Arthur has grown so much that the Knights are really his friends who he can confide in. Maybe the friendship of the group helped Leon in the same way. Well, that’s what happens in my mind anyway.

In case you didn’t guess by now, Gwaine is the comic relief. So much so that they blew the special effects budget on some Wylderin just so he could look silly. The others are very quick to laugh off his behaviour, even when he’s being attacked by a swarm of fucking bees!
“Oh that Gwaine, he’s always getting into trouble!”
“Um guys, I’m kind of in tremendous pain here…”

I was happy that we got to finally see Agravaine getting up to his evils. He’s a very different sort of villain, incredibly subtle. He knew that fighting back against Gwen’s protest would be futile, yet it doesn’t seem to stop him. The way he ever so slightly stroked Gwen’s hair - It gave me shivers! Already I strongly approve of this villain, and I think Nathanial Parker is very talented. The only potential risk is that his storyline will be a direct clone of Morgana’s - that Arthur will spend the entire season completely clueless of the enemy in his courtroom. It’s actually very frustrating that Arthur, who I usually love in every way, is so mind numbingly stupid that he doesn’t notice these things and didn’t learn his lesson last time.

Morgana has magical villain transportation powers and sneaks into Camelot to try and kill Gwen!! Another interesting turn around for this show. Morgana and Gwen used to be such great and loyal friends, and people really liked the close bond and interaction between them.

Yet in her hatred and lust for power, Morgana has instantly turned on Gwen. Once she wanted to murder Uther because he killed Gwen’s father, now she thinks nothing of murdering sweet innocent Gwen! Or does she? She didn’t exactly do a good job of killing her. She could have just as easily offed Gaius too, so was she holding back because of him, or because she subconsciously still cares for Gwen? I’m just throwing some theories out there.

The scene of Lancelot and Merlin returning to the others (magical protagonist transportation powers? Or is Arthur really just that bad at following directions?) was unnecessarily overblown, and yet it somehow that’s what made it work so well! The big group hug was so cute, and the exchange between Merlin and Arthur - Just cuddle already! You know you want to!!

Somehow it just fascinates me to see characters in places that they’re not supposed to be. Like Lancelot meeting the spirits and then the dragon, and the knights at the Isle of the Blessed. I have so far associated that place as being part of the magic world which Arthur doesn’t yet belong to.

Pretty major plot hole though - When Merlin is using his Dragonlord powers he tends to be pretty damn loud. How the flying fuck did the guys not notice him using them right in front of them?! Not that it matters though, because it didn’t seem to work that well. Just leave the less important members of the gang to deal with it while the important people go off to be all heroic. They’ll probably die horribly painful deaths, but at least we’ll save a little time.

They finally reach the rift which looks nothing at all like a Skygina. Arthur is about to do his cliché sacrificing himself for the sake of Camelot thing, but Merlin prevents him from repeating himself again by knocking him unconscious in the name of love. When you think about it, it’s actually a bit mean that he spend so bloody long getting there and didn’t even get to do anything!

And then…Wait Lancelot, what are you doing? What are…Wait…No! No you can’t do this, you’re too beautiful to die! Noooooooo!!

That’s the main strength of this episode, the twist ending totally caught me by surprise and now has me and the rest of the fans in floods of tears. Just as we had settled safely into the knowledge that all our favourite knights were going to be sticking around, this happens!

The funeral scene really confirms that Gwen is deeply in love with two different men. It’s really sweet when she and Arthur are holding hands, but the shot of her standing alone next to the pyre says a lot.

So in conclusion, a great way to start the series. Part 2 didn’t have the same spooky tone as part 1, but it doesn’t really matter since the usual setup is great too. The story was exciting and moving, we’ve got an interesting new villain and there was lots of Merlin being adorable.

The story could pretty much go anywhere from this point. The burning question is whether Lancelot is gone for good. The cast pretty much confirmed themselves that no one in Merlin is truly dead for good. Does this mean we’ll get to see our chivalrous hero once again?

Apart from a few errors and plot holes, which I’ve pretty much come to expect from this show anyway, the only thing I have a major complaint about is Gwaine being demoted to bumbling sidekick. Gwaine is awesome and yes he is supposed to be comedic, but not in a way that makes him look like a twat all the time. As I said before, the whole sacrifice storyline has been done before, but the twist ending saved it.

There was a much better balance of each character getting some screen time (with the exception of Uther, but it seems he might be doing something next week). Now that the cast has ballooned so much, it’s going to be touch for the writers to distribute the lines evenly. They also have to be careful not to get repetitive. Time will tell whether or not they succeed.

Top 5 moments
1. Lancelot's heroic sacrifice.
2. Merlin being welcomed back into the gang.
3. Percival and Gwaine's epicly slashy moment.
4. The appearence of the mystical water spirits.
5. Gwen bravely standing up to Agravaine.

Cloud verdict - 9/10.

Next time - Arthur has a fun birthday, Uther does things and Great Dragoon is back!!

Merlin Season 4, Episode 1 - The Darkest Hour Part 1

It’s baaccckkkk!! The months between new episodes of Merlin seem to long, but now we have new episodes for the next 13 weeks. That’s a whole quarter of the year!

Of course I already saw the first episode at the Merlin season 4 premier at the BFI Southbank, but the actual television broadcast is still an exciting time. I wish that I could watch every episode of Merlin on a cinema screen. My tiny tv with it’s terrible sound quality doesn’t do the series justice.

The end of series 3 left me wondering what directions the show would take next. Would Uther still be a broken shell of a man or return to his tyrannical rule and undo everything Arthur did? Would Morgana still be out for revenge, or repent and want to return to Camelot? And what of the Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot love triangle? Would that ever really go anywhere or would the writers continue to just touch upon it then forget Lancelot ever existed?

Uther’s appearance was only brief, yet it packed the necessary punch. It even makes you feel a little sorry for Uther, despite the fact he’s a complete bastard who really got what was coming to him. Anthony Head was fantastic as usual and made the most of the two puny lines he got. Did anyone else cry when Arthur kissed him?

And as for Gwen and Lancelot, it’s clear that something’s going on there! I adored the scene where Gwen asked Lancelot to protect Arthur. In pure Arthurian tradition, he did the chivalrous thing and agreed to do anything for the woman he loved, even protect the man she chose over him. I think Angel Coulby’s longer hair and blue dress are very pretty, by the way. I hope someone cosplays in that outfit.

One thing I noticed though - Has Gwen forgotten she has a brother? Elyan didn’t seem to notice when his sister was being burnt at the stake, and in return Gwen didn’t see her brother off or tell him to be careful or anything. My sister thinks it’s because Elyan survived on his own for years, while Arthur has a habit of being knocked out or almost killed very easily.

So even though right now things are going as most of us probably predicted, that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. Morgana’s vision kind of hinted at my theory that she’ll come to regret what she’s done. Pretty much everything she’s done up to this point has come from others forcing her to do things or manipulating her.

Speaking of Katie McGrath, it’s great to see how her acting skills have improved so much since the show began. She was cast only a few months after deciding to become an actress (not that I’m jealous or anything…) so in the early seasons, it’s clear that she hasn’t had the same extensive experience and training as the rest of the cast. Now she takes her rightful place as The Queen of the Evil Smirk.

But the real highlight of the season is that The Knights of the Round Table are back!! At least I hope they’ve evolved from red shirt/guest star status. They’ve been popular since the end of the last series and I’m so glad the writers have stuck with them. I like how they’re all really good buddies now too. Maybe they’ll have their own sitcom on E4. Gwaine has even turned Percival from a nice, sweet guy to a prankster. They even seem ok with the fact that Arthur and Merlin spend every journey doing their flirty name-calling routine.

The only downside with having all the knights on camera at once is that they only get a few lines each per episode, when we’re used to them getting a whole episode devoted to their character.

But at least Percival, who only got a brief intro in season 3, had his crowning moment of awesome. The scene where he saved the children got the biggest applause of the evening at the BFI screening. I also appreciate the fact that he is allowed to wear non-regulation armour to show off his arms…

It’s also particularly heart-warming to see Arthur’s character development shining through so clearly. Yes, he’s been willing to sacrifice himself for another before, but I’m talking his regular personality and the way he interacts with others. His teasing of Merlin is more in the ‘we’re best friends but not going to admit it’ way. You just want to shake these two and shout ‘admit you’re best friends already! You don’t have to hide it anymore!’ When he meets the girl from the village that was attacked, he instantly recognises that she’s distressed and talks to her kindly, even introducing himself with his first name. Bradley James even looks more grown up and mature than he did before!

We also have a new baddie, Arthur’s uncle Agravaine who has conveniently never been seen or mentioned up until this point. If you’re an obsessive fan like me then you probably already knew that he was coming. But the way he was introduced seemed like it would’ve confused casual viewers and those who avoid spoilers. Some random guy shows up at the meetings and then Arthur is giving him permission to become King. A bit of explanation please?!

At least Nathanial Parker makes a great secret bad guy (Arthur really should do background checks, shouldn’t he?). Strange thing is, in real life he’s one of the nicest people you could hope to meet. When I was watching the filming in Pierrefonds, he complimented Katie on her performance and someone else saw him helping a crew member carry in a huge cart of heavy equipment. Awh, what a nice evil uncle!!

A big improvement in this episode, in comparison to previous season premieres, is that it does a much better job of laying the foundations for the entire season. Possibly even for the next two seasons, as series 5 has already been commissioned (and the fandom did rejoice). This could potentially solve one of the main criticisms that Merlin gets - That the episodes are too repetitive. That said, a whole episode building up to Merlin sacrificing his life for Arthur’s has kinda been done before.

The overall tone for this episode is also a big change. I spent half the BFI screening clutching my boyfriend in terror, and for the TV broadcast he insisted on turning the lights off! I know that in every interview they talk about how the next season is ‘even darker’ but this time they’ve ripped open a hole to the fricking underworld!! And I think everyone who was at the BFI screening now has a fear of chickens!

The way they ‘killed’ Merlin in the climax was really brutal, even for this show! We’ve seen him hurt and come close to death before, but he was picked up, thrown across the room into a stone wall and turned to ice. What the hell, writers?!

But don’t worry, the light-hearted cheesiness we know and love hasn’t gone away completely, and neither have Colin Morgan’s cheekbones!

The producers say that they aim to make every episode like a mini movie, and it is really starting to show. Backgrounds that you’d expect to see in Lord of the Rings, jump scares straight out of a horror film and the wonderful otherworldly cinematography. And of course, Katie McGrath’s legendary dresses!! She is set to become a fashion icon among goths.

So despite a few flaws in the writing, a slightly repetitive plot line and a few characters not getting much screen time, I loved this episode. I can tell I’ll be watching it over and over again without getting bored. It was a bold move concentrating on the supernatural horror tone, but I really enjoyed it. It’s like something you already love being given an extra ingredient to make it even better. It’s been weeks since the BFI preview, so now I’m really anxious to see how Merlin will survive!

Top 5 moments:
1.Gwaine scaring the shit out of everyone by biting into an apple with a loud crunch.
2.Morgana’s forshadowing vision, with cameos from Excalibur and Old Merlin.
3.Gwaine and Percival getting up to mischief.
4.Arthur saying goodbye to his Father, possibly forever.
5.Percival’s epic saving children moment.

Cloud verdict - 9/10.