Merlin

[brigdh]

I finished the last episode of Merlin! The slow-motion, uber-dramatic long shot of Uther carrying Arthur across the courtyard? Hilarious. I mean, it is probably bad of me that I found it so utterly funny, but- the slow-motion! The swelling music! The close-ups of Uther's face! Arthur's really obvious Christ-symbolism pose! The strange lack of other people to, you know, help the King out as he wanders across the main part of the castle! I almost fell off the couch laughing.

Also, I found the choice of which character was going to die to be a really cheap shot. I mean, clearly it wasn't going to be Arthur, but I was sure it would be either Uther or Gaius. But instead, Nimue (that's probably spelled wrong)? Seriously, show? You cannot pose a complicated moral question of sacrifice and what a king's life is worth and then have your protagonist solve the problem by defeating the bad guys, yay! Merlin's mother would also have been unacceptable, since one episode does not an audience connection make, but at least it would have been emotional for the characters themselves. And would have actually have been playing within the rules of games.

Also, also, the magic system in this universe is really inconsistent. Why does life have to be balanced by life, but floating swords/lightning bolts/making the pages in a book turn really fast don't have to be balanced by equal exchanges of energy?

I find that I don't really have the emotional connection to the show that would make it be a real fandom of mine. But it's so close; I feel like I kept seeing the shapes of something that would have been really interesting around the edges of what the show actually is. There's the connection to the vast body of Arthurian legend, of course. Or the story of what makes a good ruler, if peace can be justified by the many bad decisions and tyrannistic tendencies of Uther. Or the story where the choice to use or not use magic was a difficult decision with arguments on both sides (not just the random prejudice of one dude) and real consequences (do neighboring countries still have magic? do they have advantages therefore? Also, why are unicorns okay but not sorcerers?). Or the story of a group of young people learning to govern, balancing idealism against realpolitik. Or the story that's a comment on class and status, where the power behind each noble is their servant.

But none of those are actually Merlin.

Still! I am now looking for fandom things. Rec me vids, stories, authors, whatever you find neat. Rec yourself, please! There are, obviously, a few authors I already know I want to go read, but tell me them anyway, in case I forgot someone. What do you guys like?

Comments

Re: Merlin vid recs

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Oh, vids! Thank you so much. This is a lovely list of goodness.