Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season One/@comment-5102537-20130214143847/@comment-5995315-20130217144257

I finally watched the first ever episode of Merlin this morning. I couldn't help comparing and contrasting it with the finale. Some of the scenes in this episode really hurt in a way they never did before, knowing now what the outcome of it all will be.

This episode is well done, with lots of thought going into the themes that will drive the series overall. As an American, I was more aware this time around of the importance of Gwen and Merlin's status as serfs (this being the Dark Ages), and how the British develop the Upstairs/Downstairs theme to such masterful effect.

The key bits of dialog were Merlin's, "If I don't have magic, I'm nothing," and, "I'm not a monster, am I?" This sets the mood for the coming-of-age that will unfold over the series, plus Merlin's moral dilemmas. For now, Gaius is the voice of these dilemmas, guiding Merlin and us viewers in the direction each episode wants to take.

A critical theme of the series comes from the Dragon's, "Perhaps your destiny is to change that" (about Arthur). But does the dragon mean the same thing by "fate" and "destiny," and can one really not change one's destiny? This introduces a major theme. One of the central themes of Merlin is going to be moral decisions.

The dialog carried a lot of weight, explaining in few words what the setup was. The finale also did this, with significant meaning packed into almost every word uttered. The ability of Merlin to make a little dialog carry so much weight will become a striking feature of the show.

I'm still not sure how to take Morgana because she changed so dramatically.

Uther's ambivalent legacy is represented when he makes Merlin Arthur's servant. It one of many decisions he'll make that have two sides. One scene in S5E3 touches on this moment directly. Uther reminds Merlin that he made him Arthur's servant in the first place, and for a couple of seconds the reaction on Merlin's face showed that at that moment he could have forgiven Uther anything. Uther's decisions, whatever they are, will drive the action of the show to the end.

The lighting is much brighter in this episode, and the producers have taken pains to show off the castle to us.

The song by Lady Helen of Mora at the end was composed specially for this episode, as far as I know. It's interesting that the song, now called The Witch's Aria, has become famous in its own right and many renditions of it can be found on YouTube and Google. It plays up the magical and sensuous elements that the soundtrack will provide in so many future episodes. It's beautiful.

Anyway, just a few thoughts here.