Merlin

[beccaelizabeth]

My recorder box remembered this. I only just watched it. Which is pretty quick, for me.

... what was that about then?

I can't see how it plays with or against or around with the legends it pulls names from. It's like the high school AU of Arthurian legend. Nameless baddies, no proper politics, and the relationships between the teened protagonists being the bulk of what we learn here.

This is not a form of fanfic I've ever sought out.

So it has flattened out age differences and pushed context into the background. Okay. Now why are we supposed to care about these people?

It seems to be relying on the names for that. Poor form.

And what was the conflict here? Merlin wants to use magic, Uther wants nobody to use magic. Okay. But... why? Why does Merlin want to use magic? Magic isn't an end in itself, it's for something. Is magic his music, his art, his expression? Well not so far, no, it's his muscles. He just moves things with it. How entirely boring. They're trying to set up some essential difference between the muscle boys and the magic boy, and yet he's using his magic just to do muscle work. I'm not intrigued at all.

The old woman - did she ever get a name? Probably not, old women and people's mother's very rarely do. Feminism lose, there. Anyways, the old woman's use of magic was far more inventive and artistic. Which is a problem from a plot standpoint. First she can do a magic teleport escape. Okay, so far so cool. Then she can change her appearance. Pretty nifty.

Have you seen the X Men films? If she can teleport we have the blue guy with the tail, if she can change her appearance we have the blue girl with the scales. You've seen the opening sequence where the teleporter nearly assasinates the president? Or the sneaky bit where the chameleon replaces an elected official? Now combine those. Use the face of someone Arthur - not Uther, if you're going after his son, but Arthur - wants to meet. Walk up to him. Stab him in the back. Then teleport out. Not only is the mission accomplished, you're home free.

Or, how about using the doll trick? She wants to kill someone, she stabs a doll, someone is dead. She could even do that from concealment, never show her face, and again, be home free with just that one trick.

Or how about the, admittedly stylish, magic death touch of going very pale? That was nifty. Maybe she stole the girl's power. While we're talking X-Men, it's a bit Rogue. But even without that, if she can grab someone and kill them, that could work on Arthur.

So why did she turn herself into the entertainment, sing everyone into cobwebs, and *then* try to walk forward very slowly and stab him in the front? Doesn't make sense. There's no need for it. Her already demonstrated powers are amply sufficient without the big set piece.

So, okay, she's feeling theatrical. And, okay, Merlin is immune, because he's the only one in the room to put his hands over his ears... or because he's magic boy, whatever. Fine. Still, why the slow stalk with the knife? Why make it into a confrontation telekinesis can prevent? Any guard with a knife, any boy with a knife, could have stopped her just as well as Magic Merlin did. Similarly with pushing Arthur out of the way. A boy with a shield could have protected him. Also, given the conventions of slow motion, it's not clear if Merlin even used magic that time. So what's so special about Merlin?

Ah, but a dragon told him he has a destiny. Clearly he's Very Super Special. :eyeroll:

So they've made the magic simultaneously too powerful and too weak. It's a bit rubbish.

And they've given Merlin ranged muscles rather than your actual magic.

And they've not given him a goal, beyond keeping Arthur alive. Because Arthur is Very Super Special Too. We've been told.

And then there's the costumes and props and the architecture. They seem like small things, but what's the atmosphere they're setting? What is there left for Arthur to build if their world is already so shiny?

... tell me again why Albion is important? What's Arthur protecting against? How are we supposed to know and why do we care?

So I'm kind of bored now.

There's swords and magic and ASH and yet I'm bored. That's just not clever.