impala_chick (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
impala_chick) wrote2019-09-02 11:04 am
impala_chick) wrote2019-09-02 11:04 am
Entry tags:
1x10 to 2x02 Merlin Meta
Season 1, Episode 10 Ealdor is probably my favorite episode of the first season. The episode puts a lot of character relationships in motion, and I could really see those developments affect the core four. This rewatch was mostly to help me with the Merlin_Canon fest, but I am becoming a bigger Gwen fan as a consequence.
Gwen and Morgana putting on pants and hauling armor and weapons to help Merlin highlighted the gravitas of the situation. Both Gwen and Morgana cared about their relationship with Merlin and considered him a friend worthy of their support. Arthur also came to the realization that Merlin was a friend who needed his support, but I think he went back and forth on whether Merlin would actually want this help.
I have questions about how they got out of the castle. I like to believe Gwen and Morgana told Arthur, and that Arthur was in on the plan from the beginning. Then he had to cover for them and wait until cover of night to leave and disobey Uther. Also, it would be odd at this point in the series for Morgana not to involve Arthur and encourage him to do the right thing (considering she was the one to bring him into their plans for most of season one).
I appreciate how we can very clearly see Arthur and Gwen's contrasting leadership styles. Arthur, once he's made the decision to help, jumps in with both feet and gets hands-on by teaching and planning and inspiring the villagers. Gwen and Morgana are realists who could see the flaws in the plan, and worked behind the scenes to inspire the women of the village to take a stand.
But Gwen was really in her element. She showed her leadership stripes much more than Morgana by searching for solutions and then standing up to Arthur on multiple occasions. She was the one character besides Merlin to really understand why it is so terrible for this small village to be terrorized by bullies. The part where she first hassles Arthur about not eating the porridge (and then eating it herself) was a good example of how Gwen generally tries to smooth things out first and appease as many as possible. But then later on, she confronts Arthur and explains why it matters whether he eats the food. I love this scene because of how it shows that even though Gwen grew up working in the castle, she's never been considered posh or royal. She may never have been as poor as Merlin's family, but that doesn't mean she sees herself as "Other" in the way that Arthur does. Morgana keeps herself apart from the villagers too, but she at least can empathize with their plight and feels the need to help.
And then when Gwen stands up and says "the woman should fight" - this is the moment Arthur starts to fall for her. I firmly believe Arthur has a competence kink a mile wide, and this moment highlights how Gwen is not afraid to put plans into motion. She already had the support of the women of the village, which means she'd been talking to them and drumming up support. And she wasn't going to take no for an answer. My only disappointment with this is - in the future, why aren't there any lady Knights??
Arthur starts to see Gwen as an equal, which is helped by the fact that she is wearing pants and they are outside Camelot's jurisdiction. He also sees her as someone strong and capable of defending a position and explaining things he doesn't understand. Later on in season two, after he stays at her house, he also comes to understand what it means to respect her (which is something he always struggles with when it comes to Merlin). She shouldn't have to put him in his place, but when she does it's like a light goes off for him. And once he sees her as such a competent and persistent person who isn't afraid of him, he desires her and makes a move fairly quickly. This lines up with Arthur being fairly impulsive with his feelings (and learning to control them).
Merlin is so worried about Arthur discovering his magic that we seem him caught in a web of his own design. Instead of teaching Arthur anything about his own life in Ealdor (except for that lovely conversation before they go to sleep), Merlin seems to step out of the way and let Arthur do as he wishes. It fits because in Merlin's mind he's basically holding the secret weapon, but he ends up doing that a lot. Instead of seeing a situation as an opportunity to work with Arthur, he distances himself so that he's ready to use his magic instead. Hunith at first encourages Merlin to open up, but by the end it seems like she does a 180 on this. My guess is that she starts to see Arthur as more of a glory-whore or a bit more bloodthirsty than she originally assumed.
I definitely felt this distance by 1x13, and season two starts off with a huge disconnect between Merlin and Arthur. Merlin sees how much influence Gwen is able to have over Arthur, and he seems to exploit that a bit in season two when he asks for Arthur to hide out at her house. He knows that Gwen will be able to put Arthur in his place and that he can learn from her. Their interaction has the added bonus of keeping Arthur at arm's length - so that he can't see Merlin's magic or Merlin's competency. I think this purposeful distancing also means that Arthur is left confused by their boundaries. He doesn't know how to be close to Merlin, and he doesn't know if Merlin wants him to be. And Arthur would assume that this rift is because of him and his shortcomings (not Merlin and his secrets), because Arthur has a ton of anxiety about his future role as King. Arthur also has been brought up to believe that everything that is wrong is his fault, and only he can fix them. He's not dumb, he's anxious.
It's hard for me to assess Gwen's feelings on Merlin or Arthur. She's open and easy in her affections for Morgana, even though she always knows her place. Their relationship is one of mutual respect and familiarity. I think Gwen was always attracted to Merlin for his wit and his moral courage, and maybe his softness too. She's also open in her affections for him, at least when she kisses him. She also is attracted to Lancelot instantly because of his softness and his brave heart. I think she appreciated Arthur's moral courage when he came to Ealdor with them, but he still seems like just a warrior to her (she's unsure of his intentions because she asks Morgana why he came). She doesn't see Arthur as particularly soft until he apologizes to her in her home after he's a prat, and there seems to be a shift between them from her perspective. She gives him her favor at that point, which means she sees herself as someone worthy of giving such a thing to a Prince, and she seems him worthy of having it (even though they cannot be together).
Maybe this is part of the trouble Merlin has. He doesn't see himself as worthy of Arthur's affections or praise, even though he craves both. I think that's highlighted in 2x01 because Arthur is obviously teasing him about Cedric, but Merlin just totally freaks out and feels usurped. He misses Arthur's tone completely. And then when Cedric takes credit for Merlin's save, it's completely personal for Merlin. Why does Merlin forget that Arthur did fire him in season one but then quickly rehired him? It seems obvious to everyone except Merlin that Arthur wants him around.
Gwen and Morgana putting on pants and hauling armor and weapons to help Merlin highlighted the gravitas of the situation. Both Gwen and Morgana cared about their relationship with Merlin and considered him a friend worthy of their support. Arthur also came to the realization that Merlin was a friend who needed his support, but I think he went back and forth on whether Merlin would actually want this help.
I have questions about how they got out of the castle. I like to believe Gwen and Morgana told Arthur, and that Arthur was in on the plan from the beginning. Then he had to cover for them and wait until cover of night to leave and disobey Uther. Also, it would be odd at this point in the series for Morgana not to involve Arthur and encourage him to do the right thing (considering she was the one to bring him into their plans for most of season one).
I appreciate how we can very clearly see Arthur and Gwen's contrasting leadership styles. Arthur, once he's made the decision to help, jumps in with both feet and gets hands-on by teaching and planning and inspiring the villagers. Gwen and Morgana are realists who could see the flaws in the plan, and worked behind the scenes to inspire the women of the village to take a stand.
But Gwen was really in her element. She showed her leadership stripes much more than Morgana by searching for solutions and then standing up to Arthur on multiple occasions. She was the one character besides Merlin to really understand why it is so terrible for this small village to be terrorized by bullies. The part where she first hassles Arthur about not eating the porridge (and then eating it herself) was a good example of how Gwen generally tries to smooth things out first and appease as many as possible. But then later on, she confronts Arthur and explains why it matters whether he eats the food. I love this scene because of how it shows that even though Gwen grew up working in the castle, she's never been considered posh or royal. She may never have been as poor as Merlin's family, but that doesn't mean she sees herself as "Other" in the way that Arthur does. Morgana keeps herself apart from the villagers too, but she at least can empathize with their plight and feels the need to help.
And then when Gwen stands up and says "the woman should fight" - this is the moment Arthur starts to fall for her. I firmly believe Arthur has a competence kink a mile wide, and this moment highlights how Gwen is not afraid to put plans into motion. She already had the support of the women of the village, which means she'd been talking to them and drumming up support. And she wasn't going to take no for an answer. My only disappointment with this is - in the future, why aren't there any lady Knights??
Arthur starts to see Gwen as an equal, which is helped by the fact that she is wearing pants and they are outside Camelot's jurisdiction. He also sees her as someone strong and capable of defending a position and explaining things he doesn't understand. Later on in season two, after he stays at her house, he also comes to understand what it means to respect her (which is something he always struggles with when it comes to Merlin). She shouldn't have to put him in his place, but when she does it's like a light goes off for him. And once he sees her as such a competent and persistent person who isn't afraid of him, he desires her and makes a move fairly quickly. This lines up with Arthur being fairly impulsive with his feelings (and learning to control them).
Merlin is so worried about Arthur discovering his magic that we seem him caught in a web of his own design. Instead of teaching Arthur anything about his own life in Ealdor (except for that lovely conversation before they go to sleep), Merlin seems to step out of the way and let Arthur do as he wishes. It fits because in Merlin's mind he's basically holding the secret weapon, but he ends up doing that a lot. Instead of seeing a situation as an opportunity to work with Arthur, he distances himself so that he's ready to use his magic instead. Hunith at first encourages Merlin to open up, but by the end it seems like she does a 180 on this. My guess is that she starts to see Arthur as more of a glory-whore or a bit more bloodthirsty than she originally assumed.
I definitely felt this distance by 1x13, and season two starts off with a huge disconnect between Merlin and Arthur. Merlin sees how much influence Gwen is able to have over Arthur, and he seems to exploit that a bit in season two when he asks for Arthur to hide out at her house. He knows that Gwen will be able to put Arthur in his place and that he can learn from her. Their interaction has the added bonus of keeping Arthur at arm's length - so that he can't see Merlin's magic or Merlin's competency. I think this purposeful distancing also means that Arthur is left confused by their boundaries. He doesn't know how to be close to Merlin, and he doesn't know if Merlin wants him to be. And Arthur would assume that this rift is because of him and his shortcomings (not Merlin and his secrets), because Arthur has a ton of anxiety about his future role as King. Arthur also has been brought up to believe that everything that is wrong is his fault, and only he can fix them. He's not dumb, he's anxious.
It's hard for me to assess Gwen's feelings on Merlin or Arthur. She's open and easy in her affections for Morgana, even though she always knows her place. Their relationship is one of mutual respect and familiarity. I think Gwen was always attracted to Merlin for his wit and his moral courage, and maybe his softness too. She's also open in her affections for him, at least when she kisses him. She also is attracted to Lancelot instantly because of his softness and his brave heart. I think she appreciated Arthur's moral courage when he came to Ealdor with them, but he still seems like just a warrior to her (she's unsure of his intentions because she asks Morgana why he came). She doesn't see Arthur as particularly soft until he apologizes to her in her home after he's a prat, and there seems to be a shift between them from her perspective. She gives him her favor at that point, which means she sees herself as someone worthy of giving such a thing to a Prince, and she seems him worthy of having it (even though they cannot be together).
Maybe this is part of the trouble Merlin has. He doesn't see himself as worthy of Arthur's affections or praise, even though he craves both. I think that's highlighted in 2x01 because Arthur is obviously teasing him about Cedric, but Merlin just totally freaks out and feels usurped. He misses Arthur's tone completely. And then when Cedric takes credit for Merlin's save, it's completely personal for Merlin. Why does Merlin forget that Arthur did fire him in season one but then quickly rehired him? It seems obvious to everyone except Merlin that Arthur wants him around.