Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season One/@comment-5102537-20130428092325/@comment-5102537-20130501140209

ReganX wrote:

I'd say that Uther not asking his allies for help was either because the writer didn't think of it, or so the situation would be presented as more urgent. Similarly, nobody seems to have any kind of provisions in their larder since people are flooding to the city to be fed within a couple of days of the crops failing, and the food stores end up rotting.

As for rationing, it'd be a very difficult call for a King to make as, on one hand, the kingdom is vulnerable and needs its army to be strong to defend it but, on the other hand, it's an excellent way to stir up discontent among the population if people feel that their King is letting them starve to death to feed his army. One note I quite liked is that it's clear that the royal household is suffering the effects of the food shortages, rather than being insulated from the crisis at everybody else's expense. When Gwen smuggles food out of the kitchens, it's dry bread rather than the makings of a court dinner.

I believe that since the food stores ended up rotting, every kind of food, may it be fruit, vegetables, meat or bread rotted too. That's why I'm wondering how  Gwen could smuggle out food (dry bread) and how Uther wanted to feed his army when nothing was left. When considering that the reserves of the ordinary people rotted, all the food of the royal household and in the entire castel must have rotted too, which is why Merlin killed that poor rat that Arthur ate - but he mysteriously managed to make a sauce... with what, I wonder?

I'm quite sure that Godwyn would have provided help without trying to conquer Camelot, but then Godwyn surely wasn't planned to play a part in the show at that point of time.

Of course, the main story was supposed to be the friendship and Arthur's "pure heart", but although I liked this storyline too, I think there was even more to it than merely the bromance. The harsh and cruel rules of the Old Religion as well as the food-problems strike me much more than Arthur and Merlin trying to give their life for each other, though a happy ending was predictable. Fortunately :-)

And did I write "pray"? I meant "prey" of course... I shouldre- read before posting.