User blog comment:Fimber/When family is what destroys you/@comment-5253758-20121120211348/@comment-5102537-20121120220530

Hi Melee, thank you. Nooo, I don't mind long responses! And how could I, I'm writing monster-posts myself :-D

However, I have to disagree on what you wrote about younger viewers not understanding these things. That is, I disagree that they don't notice them whereas you're right that they probably don't really understand WHY such things are happening. I mean that they don't question it the way that adults do, and that's where I see the problem.

I also have to disagree that this show is realistic. On the contrary, it is totally exaggerated and unrealistic because the character's behaviour is meanwhile so incomprehensible that I can't find realistic parallells anymore. Morgana's hatred for Uther and everyone else can't be explained by anything we have seen so far, so there must have happened something in the missing year with Morgause. When you say that things are not going the way we wish them to be, you are right - but honestly, do you hate your parents because they educate you, because they punish you when you have done something wrong (or when they feel you have done something wrong) and do you really think that killing your own father, torturing him, trying to kill your brother, trying to kill your friends and committing mass murder is realistic? And all that only because Uther didn't acknowledge Morgana as his daughter out of very good reasons? Or only because of fear? There is a big difference between having arguments and difficulties within the family or trying to and indeed killing and torturing your family members.

Arthur wasn't afraid of speaking up against his father. He did quite often but he also obeyed when necessary. In those times, children didn't have the freedom we have today and the rules were a lot stricter. Even in the times when our grandparents grew up, education and family rules were much stricter and they punished their children for things we would laugh about today.

Neither Arthur, nor Uther or Morgana actually have any reason to torment, to hurt and to kill each other when we take a closer look at the happenings. Yet the show is telling us that you can't trust family, that it's right to hurt and to kill each other, that you are pardoned if you just have ANY reason for hating someone and that even in the afterlife a soul doesn't deserve peace and to rest.

The show totally fails to deal with such things in a sensible and reasonable way when it deals with methaphysical and philosophical subjects like the immortal soul and the afterlife or when it deals with psychology and ethical questions, it can't show any depth anymore but reduces everyone and everything to only two-dimensional characters and shallow plotlines. My problem with it is that they obviously think that being mature means to be cruel and shallow when actually the opposite is the case. Growing up means to get a bit wiser, not a bit crueler.

Morgana's sociopathical behaviour has nothing to do with realism according to what happened on-screen for us to see. Would you let your loved ones suffer in the afterlife or would you rather try to give them the peace they deserve? And wouldn't you want to know how they are doing where they are when you had the chance to talk to them after their death? And wouldn't you want to clarify things either with your children or your siblings or your parents rather than torturing and killing them? For all the things that almost everyone has done on the show, they would go to jail for their entire life or for years in our real world. Merlin is no exception. So much for realism. We would never accept such behaviour (and this includes everyone, Uther, Arthur, Morgana, Gwen, Gaius, Merlin...), yet most viewers see their actions as being the right things to do. The show needs to question everyone's actions, otherwise it's just a shallow action-drama of no importance, done for teens without any depth.