Merlin - 2x08 - Sins of the Father
Nov. 15th, 2009 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
firthgalOkay, that episode was wicked awesome, but it left me terribly confused and a little angry on Uther's behalf. They kind of butchered him by disregarding EVERYTHING that we've learned about his inner turmoil prior to this episode.
1. Igraine said that Uther betrayed her, that he knew full well she'd die in order to give birth to Arthur. He was aware that there would be consequences, but neither he nor Nimueh knew that it would be Igraine that would die. It is Uther's fault that she died, it was his arrogance and selfishness that caused her death, but he did not know that she would die, never intended for anyone to die. He was desperate for a son and ignored all warnings of consequences. Did he betray Igraine by using magic and not consulting with her about it? Possibly. But he would NEVER intentionally harm her, which is what he confirmed to Arthur in the end (therefore he didn't actually lie to Arthur, he just stretched the truth a bit). But will the casual viewing audience pick up on this? Because I'm fairly certain most people don't typically memorize every single Uther scene or ponder his motivations for doing the things that he does, and even though the Igraine hallucination was mighty suspect, some may take what she said as the whole truth, and it's not, and I can't even imagine Uther's beloved Igraine blaming him for what happened or trying to turn Arthur against him. That was all Morgause's doing, manipulating the truth to suit her own needs (which... are completely unclear. Revenge against Uther? The fall of Camelot? To torment Arthur? I have no idea).
2. Morgause is Morgana's half sister, but she was born in the house of Gorloris, so does that mean that she's Morgana's father's daughter, or Morgana's mother's daughter? The way Uther tried to get rid of her was very reminiscent of how Arthur tries to get rid of Mordred in the legends, and he does that because he discovered he committed incest and Mordred was the evidence of that incest (with Morgause, incidentally). So... is Morgause the love child of Uther and Gorloris's wife? Did Gorloris sleep with a sorceress and Uther ordered the baby to be killed? Did Gorloris's wife sleep with some other random dude and Uther and Gorloris demanded the baby to be killed? What the freak, man? I WANT ANSWERS! How did they know she'd be a sorceress when she was just a baby? I AM SO CONFUSED. Since Gaius swore an oath to get the baby to safety, I am more inclined to think that Morgause is the daughter of Morgana's mother. But part of me also wonders if Igraine and Gorloris had a child together out of wedlock and Uther got rid of the baby? I JUST DON'T KNOW. I know Igraine was barren, but perhaps she wasn't always, and maybe this fueled Uther's obsession? There are so many possibilities, and I've always been enamored with the idea that Gorloris and Igraine had a romance before Igraine met Uther and perhaps Morgause was their child, so, I'd really dig it if that was the case, but I don't think they'll go there. That's almost too Shakespeareanly tragic for our very Shakespeareanly tragic king.
3. THE EPIC ARTHUR/UTHER SHOWDOWN, HOLY CRAP THAT WAS HOT.
I love that we finally got to see Anthony Head do an action scene (as opposed to his stuntman in Exaclibur), and, I will not lie, the faces he kept making cracked me up like crazy. He just gets so into it but is kind of not all that intimidating:
He's too damn adorable for his own good. Anyway, I love that Uther held his own quite well while simultaneously trying to not fight, and once they really got into it he was just OVERWHELMED by Arthur's pure rage. He believed in Arthur's goodness so fully that he didn't really expect him to attack him (but he was prepared for the worst nevertheless). Gah, I loved the horror/shock in his eyes when he truly feared that Arthur would kill him:
A smidgen of remorse here:
Conviction (and perhaps a touch of defiance):
Hope:
Salvation:
And again I repeat: UTHER DID NOT LIE TO ARTHUR. His exact words were "I swear on my life, I loved your mother, there isn't a day passes that I don't wish she were still alive. I could never have done anything to hurt her." Technically, he didn't directly answer the question that Arthur posed to him, but he intentionally misled him, so... which is the lesser of two evils? I just don't know. But oh how magnificent this entire scene was! It was so INTENSE and well played by both actors. Bradley shocked me with how good he was in this scene, actually. Sometimes he makes me laugh with his over the topness in some dramatic scenes, but he played this one just right, and Anthony Head matched him in levels of emotion perfectly. Just... it was wonderful, quite possibly my second favorite scene in the entirety of the series.
4. UTHER PERSONALLY THANKED MERLIN. HE WAS LURKING IN HIS ROOM WAITING FOR HIM. THEY SHARED LOOKS. UTHER THREATENED TO KILL HIM (which we all know means "I love you madly" in Uther speak. He uses it a lot on Morgana). Please show, GIVE ME MORE UTHER/MERLIN. They never fail to make me giddy when they share a scene together. They just play off of each other so brilliantly. AND THEY ARE VERY, VERY PRETTY TOGETHER. Gaius was totally jealous, by the way.
5. UTHER/MORGANA. SHE IS CLEARLY GIVING HIM THE SILENT TREATMENT. But for what? He hadn't done anything douchey yet. Maybe she was just preparing for the doucheyness that would follow? Who knows.
They are married. I don't even care that they didn't share one single word in this episode, THEY ARE MARRIED. LOOK AT THEM.
Ahahahaha, somehow even my thinky thoughts devolve into convoluted reasons for why Uther and Morgana are epic.
1. Igraine said that Uther betrayed her, that he knew full well she'd die in order to give birth to Arthur. He was aware that there would be consequences, but neither he nor Nimueh knew that it would be Igraine that would die. It is Uther's fault that she died, it was his arrogance and selfishness that caused her death, but he did not know that she would die, never intended for anyone to die. He was desperate for a son and ignored all warnings of consequences. Did he betray Igraine by using magic and not consulting with her about it? Possibly. But he would NEVER intentionally harm her, which is what he confirmed to Arthur in the end (therefore he didn't actually lie to Arthur, he just stretched the truth a bit). But will the casual viewing audience pick up on this? Because I'm fairly certain most people don't typically memorize every single Uther scene or ponder his motivations for doing the things that he does, and even though the Igraine hallucination was mighty suspect, some may take what she said as the whole truth, and it's not, and I can't even imagine Uther's beloved Igraine blaming him for what happened or trying to turn Arthur against him. That was all Morgause's doing, manipulating the truth to suit her own needs (which... are completely unclear. Revenge against Uther? The fall of Camelot? To torment Arthur? I have no idea).
2. Morgause is Morgana's half sister, but she was born in the house of Gorloris, so does that mean that she's Morgana's father's daughter, or Morgana's mother's daughter? The way Uther tried to get rid of her was very reminiscent of how Arthur tries to get rid of Mordred in the legends, and he does that because he discovered he committed incest and Mordred was the evidence of that incest (with Morgause, incidentally). So... is Morgause the love child of Uther and Gorloris's wife? Did Gorloris sleep with a sorceress and Uther ordered the baby to be killed? Did Gorloris's wife sleep with some other random dude and Uther and Gorloris demanded the baby to be killed? What the freak, man? I WANT ANSWERS! How did they know she'd be a sorceress when she was just a baby? I AM SO CONFUSED. Since Gaius swore an oath to get the baby to safety, I am more inclined to think that Morgause is the daughter of Morgana's mother. But part of me also wonders if Igraine and Gorloris had a child together out of wedlock and Uther got rid of the baby? I JUST DON'T KNOW. I know Igraine was barren, but perhaps she wasn't always, and maybe this fueled Uther's obsession? There are so many possibilities, and I've always been enamored with the idea that Gorloris and Igraine had a romance before Igraine met Uther and perhaps Morgause was their child, so, I'd really dig it if that was the case, but I don't think they'll go there. That's almost too Shakespeareanly tragic for our very Shakespeareanly tragic king.
3. THE EPIC ARTHUR/UTHER SHOWDOWN, HOLY CRAP THAT WAS HOT.
I love that we finally got to see Anthony Head do an action scene (as opposed to his stuntman in Exaclibur), and, I will not lie, the faces he kept making cracked me up like crazy. He just gets so into it but is kind of not all that intimidating:
He's too damn adorable for his own good. Anyway, I love that Uther held his own quite well while simultaneously trying to not fight, and once they really got into it he was just OVERWHELMED by Arthur's pure rage. He believed in Arthur's goodness so fully that he didn't really expect him to attack him (but he was prepared for the worst nevertheless). Gah, I loved the horror/shock in his eyes when he truly feared that Arthur would kill him:
A smidgen of remorse here:
Conviction (and perhaps a touch of defiance):
Hope:
Salvation:
And again I repeat: UTHER DID NOT LIE TO ARTHUR. His exact words were "I swear on my life, I loved your mother, there isn't a day passes that I don't wish she were still alive. I could never have done anything to hurt her." Technically, he didn't directly answer the question that Arthur posed to him, but he intentionally misled him, so... which is the lesser of two evils? I just don't know. But oh how magnificent this entire scene was! It was so INTENSE and well played by both actors. Bradley shocked me with how good he was in this scene, actually. Sometimes he makes me laugh with his over the topness in some dramatic scenes, but he played this one just right, and Anthony Head matched him in levels of emotion perfectly. Just... it was wonderful, quite possibly my second favorite scene in the entirety of the series.
4. UTHER PERSONALLY THANKED MERLIN. HE WAS LURKING IN HIS ROOM WAITING FOR HIM. THEY SHARED LOOKS. UTHER THREATENED TO KILL HIM (which we all know means "I love you madly" in Uther speak. He uses it a lot on Morgana). Please show, GIVE ME MORE UTHER/MERLIN. They never fail to make me giddy when they share a scene together. They just play off of each other so brilliantly. AND THEY ARE VERY, VERY PRETTY TOGETHER. Gaius was totally jealous, by the way.
5. UTHER/MORGANA. SHE IS CLEARLY GIVING HIM THE SILENT TREATMENT. But for what? He hadn't done anything douchey yet. Maybe she was just preparing for the doucheyness that would follow? Who knows.
They are married. I don't even care that they didn't share one single word in this episode, THEY ARE MARRIED. LOOK AT THEM.
Ahahahaha, somehow even my thinky thoughts devolve into convoluted reasons for why Uther and Morgana are epic.
