Getting Nowhere!

Trying to get homework done. I'm having a lot of trouble with distractions lately, more than usual. It's like I'm trying to beat my brain into submission and the stupid thing is pushing back.

But I wanted to get the Merlin review up before I attempted, yet again, to get homework done, and so here it is. I hardly need to warn you all about spoilers.

For the rest of you,

Ta,
Bec














SPOILER LINE






4.4 Aithusa


So, Merlin eavesdrops (loudly-I could hear him breathing!) on one of Gaius' old proteges. The guy has two-thirds of a tripod thing and the third part's in the Camelot basement. A little too much time is spent with Merlin trying to snag the key off Arthur (although de-trousering him in the middle of court and then pouncing on him to "help" probably will earn Merlin a ban from council meetings in the foreseeable future.)

The slash is now not just obvious, it's bloody dancing in front of me wearing Dobby's tea cozy. It didn't help when Merlin flung himself across Arthur's sleeping body to get a goblet that had landed on the bed (has he ever heard of walking around to the other side of the bed?)

I have decided the writers are deliberately doing this to mess with us, because the way the two are acting, Gwen might as well throw in the towel and move to Ealdor.

I felt sorry for the other knights, who apparently got one line each this week. Percy had a bolt through the leg and it was barely addressed. Gwaine seemed more himself rather than the clown we've seen lately. Elyan did some advising. Leon was even in on the fun a bit. It felt a bit like older brothers teasing a younger one, and Merlin seemed to take it with good humor.

And newflash, everyone: Merlin did a healing spell that actually worked! 4 times!

It was nice to have a week off from Morgana's glowering and Gwen hanging all over Arthur like a bit of Spanish moss. I like Gwen, but come ON.

More and more, I sense that Merlin's not just rebelling against Gaius quietly, he is outright defying him in plain sight. It was perfectly obvious to Gaius who had stolen the key and opened the vault. Merlin's powerful, and he's aware that sometimes the decision is in his hands simply because he has the sparklers to do it with. But the kid needs to listen more, and it's not always going to be happy dragon babies and the bad guys get spelled off in the collapsing tower, oh how convenient. Sometimes it's going to end like last week, where Uther dies and Merlin is facing a new king who hates magic as much as his father. As Gaius says, Merlin needs to think things through.

I thought they could have gotten to the point a bit faster and had more time for the end battle. Wouldn't have been amiss to have Merlin knock EVERYONE out (including Balt from Battlestar) and run into the tower himself, seeing as it was that easy. I wanted to see how tough the puzzles King A-whatever had set up and found only that he tried to gas the person who opened the door and then set the whole building up to go boom when the egg was lifted. Bit disappointing. More brawn than brain needed there. Certainly would have been nice to see Merlin having to pass some worthiness tests or something.

The baby dragon was stolen off of Primeval's set, and I can only hope that the Merlin crew eventually gives him back. He was cute for a baby lizard, but Merlin's crying over the little guy was much more adorable.

Let's just hope that Merlin doesn't decide to hide THIS particular baby dragon in a conveniently empty hut and give it a teddy bear. Let's hope that the custody battle over Aithusa doesn't wind up with Kilgarrah roasting the opposing party (or stepping on him) and let's hope Merlin doesn't raise the thing, because he's got enough things to worry about (Arthur, Arthur, Morgana, Gaius, Arthur. In that order.)

Next week: Morgana goes to Lindsay Duncan and probably petitions her to do evil. Arthur screws up and starts a war (oops) and I predict Gaius will worry, Merlin will try to advise, and Gwen will hang all over Arthur like Spanish moss. Again. Everyone will give Reassuring Speeches of It Wasn't Your Fault but We're Fighting Anyway, Go Camelot, and war will be averted in the nick of time with some well-placed secret magic and Arthur's unfailingly awesome haircut.