User blog comment:Fimber/The Grinch?/@comment-3325613-20121215104127/@comment-5102537-20121215131914

No worries, Merlinfan, and thanks for your comment. You're definitely not alone, there are still a lot of people who enjoy the show.

It's not about getting the exact story that every fan had wished for, which would be impossible anyway. I never had particular wishes when watching the first three seasons but went with the flow and enjoyed what the epsiodes provided to us. But while watching a TV show, a certain direction develops and hints are pointing into a direction that the viewer expects to be dealt with further, alas, it was all thrown out of the window by creating a whole new show all of a sudden. I can't enjoy a show anymore that changes everything so drastically and tells stories that don't make any sense anymore.

Personally, I have never been interested in the banter between Merlin and Arthur. As a matter of fact, this has always been the most boring aspect of the show to me. The more serious moments between them were much more interesting and I was eager to their developing relationship. However, it totally stagnated. For two seasons we've always seen the same: Arthur and Merlin talking about the ones they miss or about some other things, reassuring each other of their friendship, bantering, then getting back to the master and servant-game. And the banter appeared on the most distasteful and misplaced things, for example when Uther died or when he returned as a ghost and was sent back on a bitter note by Arthur. Or when something happened with Morgana, Arthur's sister. The most cruel situations were being downplayed by their silly banter.

When  a TV show broaches stories, like, for example, the story about Igraine, Vivienne, Morgause, Morgana, Uther, the viewer wants to know what's behind it. They didn't need to deal with it for an entire season but it would have been necessary to refer to it again and to integrate it into the plot because it played a very important part in the previous seasons. If it is ignored all of a sudden the audience wonders why they brought it up at all anyway. It's like reading a book and then suddenly the story ends in the middle of it and a new story begins, without a conclusion and without explanations.

Two weeks ago, I was about to write a very positive blog about my all time favourite epsiode The Crystal Cave. But when I read Julian Murphy's and Bradley James's comments about Uther, I was suddenly so very underwhelmed and asked myself what sense this episode even made when in the end we're supposed to believe that Uther was always evil and never really loved his children. Even the epsiodes I've always loved have been crushed subsequently because they led to nothing at all. I can't take a show seriously anymore and I can't believe anything that happened when it's all changed in the end again and when it makes no sense anymore.

And as for your opinion about Uther having always been that way, I have to disagree, of course. The Merlin officials and also Anthony Head have always emphasized that Uther wasn't a villain but loved his children and wanted to protect them. The show has demonstrated this from the beginning, starting with showing us that Igraine's death caused his hatred, and what Uther did as a ghost, he never did that when he was alive. Torturing servants and hurting his son, no way, that wasn't the character we were introduced to before. In my opinion, the producers needed to denigrate him suddenly in order to make Arthur a better man - Arthur didn't achieve much of his own, to be honest but only continues what Uther had started, like uniting the Five Kingdoms (it was Uther who did it), continuing peace in Camelot (it was also Uther who did this) and continuing the ban of magic. So they needed to make Uther evil in order to make Arthur better. They also needed a better reason for Morgana hating everyone so much and as we know, Uther is the scapegoat for this. So by subsequently making Uther evil, the audience is supposed to understand Morgana's reasons better.

The whole show has become total nonsense.