Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Four/@comment-5102537-20131207132547/@comment-66.205.130.239-20140125081032

I don't agree that Gwen could've (or should have) been kidnapped in the Castle of Fyrien, because one of the main points of that episode was that Arthur was willing to risk his life to save someone who was important to Gwen. I mean, sure it could've been another episode where Arthur saves Gwen, but I don't think that would've had the same impact. Considering that he'd already made it clear that he'd risk his life to save her, and especially since she'd already lost her father, I think having Arthur rescue Elyan added another layer to his relationship with Gwen. It was an entirely different way of showing his love for her.

And I don't understand how someone would think that any knight could've died in The Dark Tower. The fact that Gwen lost the only remaining member of her family is huge. And, in my opinion, I think this was meant to add another reason for Gwen to turn against Arthur, which drives the next 3 episodes. I realize she was enchanted by Morgana, and presumably this was pretty much taken care of before Elyan died, but I think we were supposed to believe Elyan's death contributed to the effect of the enchantment or something along those lines. Both because it was a huge emotional ordeal and also because, with him gone, nothing else would get in the way of her betraying Arthur.

Personally, I really liked Elyan. I wish all of the knights would've been explored much more, but I thought it was a nice touch to have one of the knights be related to Gwen. Obviously, the showrunners weren't interested in getting too deep into most of the knights, so it's hard for me to think that any of the special knights were unnecessary. I see it more like there were a handful that we were supposed to get a small glimpse into, but that's about it. Therefore, the fact that Elyan was just another familiar face who happened to be related to the Gwen was enough for me. Likewise, it was enough for me that Percival had hot arms and didn't say much.

And, finally, I was actually glad that Elyan didn't speak up for Gwen. That would've just been silly to me. Gwen should've been put to death for being unfaithful to the king, so what was he supposed to say anyway??? I liked that his feelings about it were touched on it indirectly (as a reason why he might be acting out in the next episode), rather than explored as if there was anything he could've done about it, other than disrupt his relationship with Arthur.