My daughter wanted to watch the finale of Merlin, and whilst there was really nothing that actually had aroused my interest in it, there were a few good scenes in "The Diamond of the Day". Yet, the inconsistencies and plotholes predominated those few nice scenes.
Alright, we have Gaius mentioning towards Merlin that Mordred meanwhile surely will have told Morgana about Merlin's true identity. I do wonder now how Gaius could have known that Mordred ran to Morgana at all. He didn't assume that Mordred might have joined forces with Morgana, no, he actually knew. How?
Then Eira was saved by Gwaine when she was "threatened" by a Saxon. The question is how Eira could have known that she would be saved by a knight of Camelot. Furthermore, the Saxon obviously sacrificed himself when "attacking" Eira because neither he nor Eira could have known for sure that he will survive. What was the Saxon's plan? Sacrificing himself? Surely, he can't have attempted to really kill Gwaine, because if he had succeeded, Eira could not have spied and given Morgana the important information that she needed, since having Eira spying on Camelot had been the plan all along. Are the Saxon's really that obedient to Morgana that they are sacrificing themselves? And what if no knight had spotted Eira? Would the Saxon have held the sword to her throat the whole time, over and over again, until one of the knights had noticed it? What if the knights/Gwaine hadn't been interested in her as a woman? She wouldn't have received the information at all.
What about Merlin losing his powers by the slug when actually, according to Balinor, it was impossible to take away his powers since Merlin himself "is magic"?
And why did Uther destroy those magic-stealing slugs during the Great Purge when taking away all magic from sorcerers would have been the ultimate solution to get rid of magic, at least to get rid of some magic by the most dangerous sorcerers he couldn't kill? Those slugs would have been his ultimate power in the fight against magic since they are harmless for non-magic users. Does it make sense to destroy them, except when Uther wasn't that powerhungry badass like season four and season five suddenly wanted to make us believe, because he really thought that everything about magic was evil, even when it could have given him the ultimate advantage in his war against sorcery? Weird. I thought that season four and five wanted to tell us that he was only interested in Camelot and in his power and didn't really have any other reason?
Then Gaius, the one who, since season four, incomprehensibly has always doubted Merlin's knowledge/visions/concerns/attempts in regard to Mordred, suddenly says that if Arthur goes to Camlann, the prophecy will come true. Why the heck does he suddenly believe that? Not so long ago he tried to talk Merlin out of letting Mordred die because the visions can be deceitful. What has changed his mind? Plot-convenience maybe?
So Merlin knows that Arthur is riding to Camlann to face his final battle but he doesn't do anything to convince him otherwise. After all those years trying to convince Arthur to do the right thing, to prevent him from making severe mistakes, this time, when the end is near and when the prophecy reaches its ultimate truth, he doesn't say a word and lets Arthur ride straightaway into his own doom. Why?
Arthur is talking about the principles and values that Camelot was build upon, which is saving the people of Camelot, ALL of them. As we know, Camelot, not the castle but the place as we know it, was build by Uther. Wait a sec, I thought it was such a terrible place before Arthur became king? No? So it wasn't but instead it was a safe place that cared for its citizens? Great. Then why was Uther (suddenly) such a "curse to this kingdom" and such a "selfish, tyrannical and dictatorial" evil psycho? Also very weird.
Gwen says that they "can't save everyone". Since when, given that she once convinced Agravaine to open the gates to the people of Camelot when the Dorocha attacked, in order to save them all? What has gotten into Gwen? Doesn't she care much about peasants and commoners anymore now that she is queen?
Merlin makes a journey to the Crystal Cave and is accompanied by Gwaine. How come that Gwaine can ride out so easily without telling anyone where he is going while everyone is preparing for war, and how come that he accompanies Merlin without any questions? How far away is the Crystal Cave, why doesn't Gwaine want to know why Merlin wants to go to the Valley of the Fallen Kings before they reach their destination?
I also wonder why Merlin doesn't take a sword with him when he is about to enter a region that needs Gwaine's presence because of the bandits everywhere? How did Gwaine travel back to Camelot safely without a sword?
Another question is that now Morgana knows about Merlin's true identity, why didn't it occur to her that he didn't reveal himself to her for a reason? She can't really assume that Emrys, a creature of the Old Religion, really wants to fight sorcery and magic. There must have been at least a slightly doubt in her, there must have been the question why he, for goodness sake, didn't tell her about his powers and why he stopped trying to help her after the druid camp was slaughtered by Arthur when Uther thought that Morgana was kidnapped. Has magic taken away all abilities to think logically from her? Why didn't she want to ask Merlin why he did what he did and didn't tell her about him? Merlin helped her when she learnt of her powers, he told her about the druid camp and was the only one who was willing to listen. Can't she think of a reason as to why he stopped helping her? He also told her that he knows but too well what it's like to hide and that she was the only one who could change Uther's mind. Now that she knows about Merlin's identity, she should have realised that Merlin was right and that she was wrong, that he tried to change things and that he has a good reason, simply because he is a powerful sorcerer himself, a member of the Old Religion, hence someone who wants to have magic back. How come that she ignores all this?
Then she finally captures Merlin in the Crystal Cave, the place where magic was born. Instead of finishing him once and for all, as a Priestess of the Triple Goddess, she only closes the entrance with rocks falling down, something that even the troll had already done in "The Beauty and the Beast" in orer to trap Merlin in the caves of Camelot. So she leaves Merlin at the very place where chances are good that he gains back his powers, instead of finally killing him. As long as people are alive, there is always hope and there are always possibilities. Only when they are dead, all hope is lost. Not even a child would have wasted such a big chance. It would have been the easiest thing for her to simply kill Merlin on the spot, but no, she leaves him at his very "home", the birthplace of power and magic. How can anyone be so silly and ignorant?
Merlin talks to Arthur in a dream and Arthur knows that it wasn't just a dream. He actually witnessed magic practiced by Merlin going right into his head. And? Does he wonder about that? Does he condemn it? Isn't he at least a bit surprised that his servant can talk to him in a vision and that he obviously has magic? What about fighting sorcery and that magic "is evil"?
And then he holds his speech about ending tyranny when stopping Morgana, the evil witch and Priestess of the Old Religion. Wait, I thought that Uther was the tyrant because of his "fear" that triggered his "hatred"? No? Fantastic! So Arthur finally knows and realises that his father had good reasons to fight magic and that Morgana and the Old Religion were the real tyrants, as far as he is concerned?
And what are Gwen's opinions on magic, for crying out loud? She always said that Arthur was a better man than Uther, yet she supports the ban of magic and knows but too well that Morgana is evil. Did she only think that Uther was bad because he sentenced Tom to death? Well, Uther executed the law of Camelot when Tom conspired, even unintenionally, which Uther couldn't have known, with a dangerous magic-user who threatened Uther, his children and his kingdom. Gwen did the same when she used Sefa in order to get a hold of Ruadan and had him killed, a sorcerer who threatened Arthur, the kindgom and its citizens with magic. Where is the difference? What made Gwen believe that Uther was so bad when she obviously clings to the ban of magic and supports it in every possible way, a law that her beloved husband is following strictly?
What about Camelot's allies when an evil witch gathered an "army of thousands"? Arthur talked about Albion and the Five Kingdoms (which Uther had already united in season three- can't mention it often enough), yet he didn't seem to ask them for help in order to protect the strongest kingdom, Camelot, from being destroyed. Why? Where are they?
Arthur rides out in order to stop Morgana before she can reach Camelot. Very well, okay. He also takes Gwen with him. He "knows" that they won't survive it. So... what about Camelot when King and Queen are dead? Who rules and protects the kingdom then? There was a reason why Uther stayed in Camelot when things got too dangerous, because the kingdom needed a king. And here, no matter how noble the intentions, King and Queen ride straight into their supposed doom in order to save the kingdom, even though it will be left without knights and without a king and a queen and a court physician, given that they were totally outnumbered? Where is the logic in that?
What about Balinor? Was he real or just an illusion? If he was real, find it quite disturbing that Merlin got the chance to meet a loving father whereas Arthur's reunion with his father was unpleasant, mean and also dangerous. What has Arthur done to deserve this and why are the show runners so eager to have both Arthur and Uther suffer all the time?
Balinor tells Merlin that magic is the fabric of the world. I thought that the Triple Goddes, the one who "presides, knows and sees all" was the magic itself, the source of it all, the very fabric? And if magic is the fabric of the world and so important, how come that the goddess of it all wants destruction, misery and total obedience instead of helping Merlin and stopping Morgana, the one who destroys all attempts to bring magic back and to reach a peaceful coexistence? It's simple: the Triple Goddess doesn't want real peace. The show better finally stops sending out contradictional messages.
And last but not least, on a more humouros note, Merlin sees Arthur and Gwen sleeping in bed, arm in arm. Good riddance they didn't come close in this very moment ;-)
I liked the final scene when the battle started but I would have liked it much more if it hadn't been shown in this silly constant Matrix-slow motion. It was thrilling when the fight started and it was totally underwhelming and boring to me when all the tension was taken away by the stupid slow motion-fight. Shame.
All in all, this episode was full of plotholes and inconsitencies. Not good enough for a supposedly "epic" finale.
The only character I meanwhile have compassion for is poor Aithusa. She really breaks my heart. Poor soul.
However, I'd like to add that I liked the scene between Arthur and Merlin, even though I didn't quite buy that Arthur really thought of Merlin being a coward. Merlin never backed off, and this time when he does, it should occur to Arthur that there's more behind it. Nevertheless, that scene was beautifully played.
And I absolutely loved Gaius' facial expression, this surprised look on his face when Arthur said to him "vital supplies". It actually made me laugh about a scene for the first time in season five. This was subtle and not very important to the plot, yet fantastically played! I wish there had been more of that. Shame that we got to see so less of Gaius this season since Richard Wilson is a brilliant actor and Gaius used to be a fascinating character.