Merlin – Tragic love, noogies, and dramatic chipmunks

You don’t have to be a knight to rescue a damsel in distress. This time the grand romance belonged to Merlin, not Arthur, as our favorite once and future wizard came to the aid of Freya, “The Lady of the Lake.” Julia and I loved seeing Merlin in love.

Ruby: It was a dark and stormy night… and then Merlin locked eyes with Freya. That was the first of many breathtaking moments between Colin Morgan and Laura Donnelly in this episode.

Julia: Oh, Merlin, stricken with the systemic need all teenage boys have to play knight in shining armor to a pretty girl. Him! Not Arthur! He’s the hero! No wonder he gets so smit.

Ruby: His whole life is about rescuing/protecting/taking care of people, so Freya’s perfect for him because she needs him. She’s very hurt, and he’s the type who will take home an injured bird and bandage its wing.

Julia: And she is someone he can talk magic with! Poor Merlin. He’s so alone and sad and all he wants is someone who he can be himself with, so he falls for the first person he can. The first time I watched this I had a huge problem believing that Merlin, whose entire world revolves around Arthur, would leave him for a pretty girl. And then I remembered … Merlin’s a teenaged boy, and she’s a pretty girl who understands his magic, and suddenly it makes a lot more sense. God, this show gets teenage anguish uncomfortably well.

Ruby: Yes, it does (Arthur and Gwen’s romance always reminds me of that — it’s your basic high school romance between the football jock and the nice but unpopular smart girl). I’ve been longing for Merlin to have someone to share his magic with, and Freya fits the bill. However, I think what this shows us is the potential for a deeper relationship between Merlin and Morgana. We can see how tender and nurturing Merlin is with Freya, how he assures her that she’s not a monster and that having magic is not a curse; that’s just what Morgana needs. Who knows if they will ever get closer (and it doesn’t have to be romantically, but I’m not against it)? At least in this episode he could (briefly) share that with Freya.

Julia: It’s just unfortunate that the person who gets him is also a cursed creature who probably will kill him. Man, the guys on this show really know how to pick ‘em, don’t they? Trolls, giant cat-things, evil sidhe set on stealing their souls….

Ruby: It has to be this way, if only to give Uther his opportunity to turn dramatically and pronounce, “There can be only one conclusion. It must be magic!”

Julia: I have to say, Merlin in love is probably cuter than everyone else on the show in love. Uther broods, Arthur broods, and Merlin walks around in circles humming. Must be a Pendragon thing, the brooding.

Ruby: Oh, Merlin was so funny walking in circles with his bowl of soup! And I love how Gaius was kind of the grump in this episode. He was like, “Dammit, would you quit that infernal humming and sit down?” It was interesting to see Gaius on Uther’s side rather than on Merlin’s side this time around. Even when they first saw Freya in that cage in the rain, Gaius was telling Merlin to leave her there. That shows what a bad state Camelot is in. When a good guy like Gaius can walk past a girl sitting in a cage in the pouring rain and not do something about it, things are majorly screwed up. Merlin hasn’t been corrupted by Camelot. As an outsider from a small town that nobody’s ever heard of, he instantly recognizes how wrong it is to kill Freya for something she has no control over. And it’s devastating that he can’t do anything to save her.

Julia: Colin Morgan crying is probably the most heart-wrenching thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It’s like … I can’t even think of an appropriately soul-sucking metaphor. His big blue eyes fill up and his chin starts wibbling and … oh my god, I can’t even describe what it does to me. It’s like my soul got run over by a mac truck. And that one tear that ran down his face when he kisses Freya! Oh my god, Colin Morgan, what do you do to me?

Ruby: Even when Freya was in Bastet form, the way she limped away as Arthur’s men surrounded her and the way her big cat eyes became so sad when she saw Merlin — that was just heartbreaking. All the looks and conversations they shared were magical, and although I wish there was some way that Freya could return, I like the way this episode ended. Her death gives the story more weight. But you know what makes this episode enjoyable? It’s not all tragedy and death and despair and doomed love. The darkness is tempered by plenty of comedic moments that melded perfectly with the A-story.

Julia: The Merlin and Arthur friendship was kind of ridiculously adorable this episode. Merlin teasing Arthur about being fat, Arthur teasing Merlin about cross-dressing, Arthur making it all better with a noogie … oh, boys. Remember, Merlin — bros before hos.

Ruby: That scene at the end! Ahhhh, please, I want more of that! Arthur showing that he cares about Merlin’s feelings was especially cute because, for most of the episode, our self-absorbed prince was worrying about his BMI.

Julia: “I’m fighting fit!” Yes, Arthur. Yes, you are. Hey, check it out, gratuitous  half-naked Arthur again! Good to see he lost that strange nightshirt he was going around in. And wants to take a bath. Yup. He really needed that bath. Oh … yeah.

Ruby: One of my favorite scenes! Not just for the sight of Arthur in naught but a towel, but for that priceless yelp (and the equally priceless tantrum he threw) after sticking his foot in boiling water.

Julia: And Merlin sopping wet or with candlelight dancing off those cheekbones … man, it was a good episode for fan service.

Clacked by Ruby T.
on Jun 04, 2010 @ 23:00 EST5EDT