User blog comment:Edrea/Why so many bad things happened because of Merlin?/@comment-5102537-20130624094348

Edrea wrote: "I know when I read your profile that your favourite character is Uther. How did or do you feel when they killed Uther in that way (with all the inconsistencies, illogical behavior, etc) ?"

Okay, since you asked for it ... :-D As you might imagine, I really disliked the way they did it. Pretty much everything about this episode was nonsense, except for the great acting performances, of course. Uther died much too soon because it took away the entire thrill and essence of the show. Merlin's reason to keep hiding his magic was unbelievable and underwhelming because Arthur never convinced me that he really hated magic and really was a threat to Merlin. Moreover, as we learnt later with the show progressing, Arthur continued his father's work in regard to sorcery, yet Merlin loved him nevertheless and trusted him to be the great king he expected him to be, which made no sense. He can't disapprove of Uther but love Arthur when they're doing the same things.

It was also very questionable and cruel to make Uther suffer so much. After decades of being devastated because of the death of his wife, his last year on earth was a year in hell. I think it was even sadistical to make someone suffer so much, especially on a show like Merlin. Having lost really everything and being completely weak without control over hisself, having given up his whole life and not being able to deal with what destroyed him was real torture. Had they let him recover someday, having changed (which he actually did when being broken), it wouldn't have been as cruel as it was when they let him die in pain after decades of suffering and a year of complete misery and torture.

When taking a closer look at this all, it wasn't exactly his hatred that destroyed him. His hatred kept him from leading a happy life and it destroyed any hope for him (and others) but what destroyed him was his love for others. He started his hatred because of his love for Igraine and he went broken and died because of his love for Morgana and Arthur. Actually, in the end he learnt that trusting and loving others was a mistake and led to misery. Every positive feeling in his life turned into the opposite and bit him in the butt. What a cruel lesson. The only reward for his love he got was from Arthur, yet it was too late and he died a painful death.

Then, as we have already mentioned here, Merlin behaved cold and selfish, and I couldn't believe I was really watching "Merlin". Gaius suddenly abandoned his old friend and Merlin used Uther's suffering to blackmail his so-called best friend. Merlin literally jeopardized Uther's life when wasting precious time. This silly and stupid banter while a person is slowly dying, the father of Arthur no less, was despisable. Uther was totally unimportant in this episode. Gaius was cold and acted like a robot who was only on bowing terms with Uther even though they had a history and had known each other for decades.

Arthur suddenly knew about the circumstances of his birth when telling Agravaine that his mother died at the hands of magic even though this was the second biggest secret on the show. Who told him, how did he react? They simply ignored all the fuss about Arthur's birth of the previous seasons and made him know about it on a side note without dealing with it. Gwen couldn't keep her mouth shut and felt the need to tell Arthur that she didn't care for Uther because of him but because of Arthur, ignoring that she was talking to Uther's son (again) while Uther was slowly dying and while Arthur was desperate and sad... and Arthur obviously didn't feel the need to take offence in it when someone speaks ill of his father (again).

Morgana wishes even more misery, suffering and pain on Uther when she wants her face to haunt him in his death, because suffering for so long obviously isn't enough for her.

Then Merlin was devastated in the end because his plan had failed but surely not because a person died a painful death due to his silly and selfish actions. He didn't even feel sorry for Arthur but only had a bad conscience which is why he sat in front of the throne room. Gaius suddenly tells Merlin that now that Uther is dead, Camelot can be led to peace and prosperity even though he had told Merlin in season one already that Uther brought peace and prosperity to Camelot and that he was a good king. Also, Gaius showed no sign of grief at all. And after a night of grief, Arthur comes out of the throne room, the sun is shining behind him ( Uther is gone, now the sun can come out again) and he immediately starts to banter with Merlin. What a happy time.... Yes, let's be silly and joyful because we're so hungry and like each other so much. To hell with Uther who just died, we want breakfast.

A few seconds later, Arthur is being coronated and Merlin shouts joyfully "Long live the King". Uther didn't even get a funeral onscreen. No time for the viewers to say good-bye because everything was rushed and Arthur couldn't wear the crown soon enough. Where were Uther's friends and knights? Where was Arthur's speech? Lancelot got two funerals, Uther not even one. Simply because the viewer was supposed to feel that it was about time for Uther to die and that he was totally unimporant because now the happy time with Merlin and Arthur bantering like teens can begin.

This was the short version of what I think about the episode ;-)