Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Three/@comment-5102537-20131005094057/@comment-5102537-20131009111256

I have mixed feelings about this episode. It wasn't so bad but I think it was flawed in regard to some things.

The thing that strikes me most is the fact that in the end, when Dragoon takes the blame and claims that he had put the love spell on Arthur and Gwen, they never wondered why he did that. They both knew that it wasn't a spell, yet they never tried to figure out why a sorcerer came to their rescue, risking his own life. If they had thought that maybe Dragoon had really tried to enchant them but it didn't work since they were in love already, fine. That's something they could have believed. But there was no word about the sorcerer intentionally taking the blame and saving Gwen.

What's even worse, later, when Arthur meets Dragoon again in "The Wicked Day" he doesn't seem to remember that this old guy had saved his and Gwen's a*** back then when "confessing" in front of Uther. First thing I would have done would have been to ask who he is, why he had done it and then I would say at least a tiny little "thank you"... Or I would assume that there's more behind it all.

Anyway, I really detested Gwen's usual cold remarks about counting the day until Arthur is king, simply because it means she was counting the days until Uther dies. It's alright that she prefers Arthur over Uther but it's not to say such a thing to Uther's son. Letting him know that she is waiting for his father's death... it's rude and cold. And it actually contradicts her former character description when she lectured Merlin on not letting those die who had done something wrong because they wouldn't be better than them if they did.

Moreover, Arthur didn't object here when Gwen said she was counting the days until Arthur is king. It obviously either never occured to him that this only happens when his father is dead or he simply had no feelings in regard to this and didn't find it weird to hear such a thing from the woman he loved. What's more, shouldnt this make him a little suspicious? Someone who counts the days until another dies could make this person dangerous, doesn't it?

But here we are again at immature behaviour of suddenly immature protagonists who behave more simple minded than they actually deserve, and all only due to lack of depth.

There were scenes I liked, for example Gwen and Arthur having a picnic. I'm quite bored by romantic stories but I think this scene was beautifully shot and it was one of the rare scenes in which there wasn't only the castle, the woods and a campfire but a whole new beautiful place (like it was with the Vilia in "The Darkest Hour" and with Igraine in "The Sins of the Father", for example).

Morgana plotting against Gwen was boring because of the usual question about what made her so hateful and malicious. So nothing new here ever since season three.

I strongly disapproved of Uther slapping Gwen because he has never used physical violence against those he questioned in court or sentenced. Not even Dragoon could make him angry with all the insults that the sorcerer threw at him and Arthur. On the other hand, Gwen accused him of not knowing what love is, which probably had caused him to this reaction, given how much he loved Igraine. If this wasn't just the writer's usual way of showing us what an a*** Uther was, I allow myself to believe that it was his intention to state out that Uther most of all lost his temper when it came to his loved ones and never tolerated any violation of his privacy and offenses towards his family (and hissself). But, who knows? Maybe we were only supposed to believe that he was a badass who slapped women.

Though the constant "it was magic" became old, I can't blame Uther for believing that Gwen had used magic in order to make Arthur fall in love with her. There wasn't only a strong motive (her father's death, her status as a servant) but also "evidence" (the poultice, Arthur's imprudent reaction). Since Uther hadn't thought of magic at first (which was a refreshing thing for once) but was only convinced later by Morgana's accusations, he had no reason to believe that there wasn't magic involved. Of course, Gwen was sentenced for violating the law and for the attempt to damage Camelot, the prince and the king. Nothing odd here.

I think it was distinctive that Uther sat at his table in his chambers in the dark, thinking about his son's motivation and trying to comprehend what was going on, maybe even remembering that he himself was in deep love with his wife. Morgana lighting the candles was somehwat symbolic for "enlightning" Uther about the situation (feeding him false suspicions). This was a great scene.

I liked that Merlin and Gaius once again fought for saving a friend and Dragoon was a good idea. Dragoon's rantings in the end were indeed funny. However, I wonder why he didn't simply escape the cell but waited for Gaius' potion. He could have escaped and hid somewhere instead of waiting until he was at the stake already.

I also wonder why Uther never went after him after he escaped.