Merlin was certainly exciting tonite!

[ragged]

Or am I the only one who was riveted? :)

I was busy watching birth videos on Youtube while DH yelled at the telly towards the end.

Brokeback Camelot is apparently good this year.

I watched. I always do, to get my fix of Bradley James.

Why can Merlin never listen to the dragon? When he asked for a cure for Morgana, the dragon said he would be responsible for what "will" happen. He didn't say "what might happen" or "what could happen", he said "what WILL happen". Why can't Merlin work out from this that they would all be better off if Morgana died?

Actually, I was thinking wouldn't they all be better off if Uther died, then Arthur would be king and Magic would be restored? Uther is an arse (and he's been shagging around!)

Was Morgana a little girl when Uther spent a year looking for her? I am trying to figure out what he told people at the time about why he was looking so hard, and Arthur said they had grown up together so she must have been part of the court for a very long time?

Morgause, the Blonde-Witch-with-Too-Much-Eye-Liner, what did she tell Arthur about his mother? I missed that the first time around.

No, Morgana was "lost" at the end of the last series and found at the beginning of this series. There is a year gap between the two series.

She wasn't actually lost, Uther just thinks she was. She was taken by her half sister Morgause who is a witch.

Morgause told Arthur that his mother had been unable to conceive him naturally so Uther turned to magic to allow her to conceive. Unfortunately, magic being what it was, because Arthur's life was created, another life had to be taken to maintain the balance and the life that was taken was Arthur's mother's. Uther was so angry that his wife's life had been taken, he decided all magic was evil and hence his purge of anything or anyone magical ever since.

You missed a fantastic episode - the best imo. Arthur is furious when he finds out and confronts his father in a sword fight - very high drama.

If Morgana strides purposefully down a corridor in a billowing red cape whilst her shiny tresses blow in a gentle breeze once fricking more I will cry. And yes, evil look to camera, we get it. Morgana is evil. Merlin you should have let her die. Listen to the dragon. The dragon is wise.

I also watch if for a Bradley James fix but I have to say Colin Morgan has been excellent this series. I think he's quite a good little actor.

Ah, Morgause is her half sister! Wiki doesn't say that, but I thought she must be.
I must have missed the episode when she was lost.

Uther is so annoying. Merlin should push him and Morgana out of a window.

100% agree with everything you wrote SOH.

Morgana bores me to tears with her evil looks and floucy walk.

Arthur is simply gorgeous and I can't take my eyes off him.

Colin Morgan is a fantastic actor. I didn't like him at first, but the more I watch, the more I appreciate every little nuance of his acting. And he does grief sooo well. Him crying yesterday nearly set me off.

(Arthur otoh doing anger is pretty near orgasmic though

Angry Arthur with top off is the stuff dreams are made of. I very much like him with a sword too.

And yes, I didn't like Colin at first but I think he's maturing and is moving away from the bumbling oaf caricature and is developing some nice subtle nuances. He is very good actually.

Morgana can sod off.

I liked Gawain last week too.

ooer, the thought of Arthur topless, angry and swishing a sword around - I have come over all hot and bothered I may need to sit down for the rest of the day a while.

Yes yes to Gawain! Much preferred him to Lancelot who came across as a bit wet really.
Although, no surprise there. As a teen, reading the Arthurian legends, Gawain was always my favourite knight and Lancelot was nothing but a man who couldn't keep his trousers up.

SOH, how much more do we have in common I wonder?!

BTW, if you are willing to talk about it, what is your take on Gwen as a serving girl?

We have beautiful children in common too.

Lancelot was dull wasn't he? Aesthetically pretty but he was just meh. I couldn't bring myself to care.

Gwen as a serving girl is ridiculous and silly of course. It took me the first series to stop harrumphing about the massacre of the legends and now I've managed to let go and take it for what it is, I think it's fine. It makes for good Saturday night fodder, nice dynamic I think. She works well as a contrast to Arthur. Merlin's better though at setting up the dichotomy between noble and servant, at putting Arthur in his place. The Merlin/Arthur love story overshadows everything else rather.

I knew a rl Gawain (actual name) and he was Gawain. Just fair and noble and beautiful. He married my friend.

Oh of course I would have said that about our children if I had seen photos of yours

You are like my dh. We were both so excited when the Merlin series was announced and sat down to watch episode one eagerly. But dh was so disgusted with the mangling of the legends that he has refused to watch an episode since (though watched last night - sort of - but only because he was feeling ill and wanted to be cuddled by me!) He keeps saying "it should be this", totally failing to understand that Arthur is not historical fact, just legend, and that legend has been played with many times over the centuries. I just see this tv show as one more version - no more legitimate than any other. But as 5inthebed said, rather strong on the Brokeback Camelot side of things, so more worthy of being watched that it might have been.

Shallow? moi?

(Meant to comment on Gwen but have cut my finger and am bleeding all over the keyboard)

Don't bleed on your keyboard. Very bad for it.

Are all of your fingers intact?

The Arthurian legends are so diverse that I think you're right. This is just a new version. It is difficult to accept Merlin as younger than Arthur though for example. Some things remain fairly constant.

It's good fun. And something the whole family can watch. You don't get that much anymore. My 3yr old adores it.

I've hidden my profile again haven't I?

Hang on...

Thanks for making your profile public again. I have looked at it before. I remember the caption "so I married King Charles" - lol. Your dh looks much nicer as he is now (assuming he is the same man? eek! not sure now, maybe be doing usual trick of putting foot in mouth )

And yes, gorgeous children, you are right. Are they always so smiley? Make the most of it while you can. My ds1 was a constant smiler (in photos anyway) until he hit 11. Now he doesn't even allow photos of himself except on rare occasions. The one of him on my profile with his head on his hand was taken unbeknownst to him.

Oh and rofl at the caption "have purple hair and I'm cross. There's little else you need to know". I love it!

Re Merlin: I think having Merlin younger than Arthur does have a place. It allows Arthur to lord it over Merlin in a way he couldn't quite manage if Merlin were, say Gaius's age. So then you have the glorious situation of Arthur lording it over Merlin, while at the same time Merlin is secretly controlling Arthur's destiny.

LOL at you worrying. DH and I met as teenagers. There has only ever been him iyswim. He did not like his hair like that. He grew it for me and my Darcy fetish. He had proper ringlets. I loved it. It was 6 years ago and he was all velvet shirts and eyeliner back then. He's a copper now though. They make him cut it short.

The pictures are all dd. She's my pfb. Well p only b. She is the sunniest, happiest child. I do not like the idea of her becoming a sullen teenager.

I no longer have purple hair. I have red hair. And I'm never really cross. Sarcastic maybe. But I'm perennially chipper. I was a bit maudlin that day as I was recovering from swine flu and despise having my picture taken. There are very few pictures of me in existence.

Anyway, yes Merlin. Him being younger does make for a new dynamic. And I like it. Good for the old human interest. I mean swords and battles are all very good, but I like the banter too.

I seem to remember a lovely book about the young Merlin that I read as a teenager called The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart.

Hattymattie, I know it well. It is the first part of a series of 3 but The Crystal Cave is best. I love all that stuff when Merlin is young and doesn't know what he is destined for and then finds out he is Count Ambrosius' bastard son.

SOH, you know, I took ds3 to his swimming lesson after my last post to you, and I sat through the lesson thinking "those photos were all of one child, you idiot, why did you think there were 2?" So apologies, it was just me being dim. As for not wanting to think about dd turning into a sulky teenager, I know, it is tough. Ds1 was my smiliest, funniest, sweetest toddler - he laughed like a drain when he was only a baby and people would stop and stare at him. Now he is the only one of my children who won't be cuddled, only smiles at other's misfortunes and won't show any affection towards his mother. It is heart-rending. But I have said too much.

Off to dream of Arthur - mmmmmmm.

MIL says dh was like that. He was the smiliest, happiest baby (I've seen the pictures), a sunny toddler, a happy boy and then a miserable teenager. Never smiled, wouldn't have his picture taken, awkward, uninvolved, guarded.

He's the loveliest man though. He is DS1 too. 2 younger brothers and a younger sister. Maybe eldest child syndrome? He's very affectionate now and loves his Mum.

I bloody love Merlin, and this particular incarnation makes me happy in so many ways.

Yesterday's episode was very dark wasn't it? It made me very happy. I do like a bit of angst on a Saturday evening

Brokeback Camelot? I can't pretend that doesn't add a little extra dimension to my devotion

I am a recent discoverer of Merlin, and I so wish I had seen it from the start, as I'm having to piece the story together as it goes along.

Everyone else in the house mocks me for loving it, but DH watched half of it yesterday and then - having missed the last half so that he could go on his rugby forum - did come and ask me what had happened!

I look forward to Saturday evenings with a passion

Glad I am in good company Serenity and BIWI. BIWI - you can watch all the back episodes on YouTube. Just search for Merlin series 1 and 2 (13 episodes per series). That should keep you out of mischief for a while!

SOH, thanks for that. It means more than you may realise. Your description of your dh is ds1 exactly, even down to the 2 younger brothers and 1 younger sister. I desperately want back the affection he used to show me and have often asked dh (who is a devoted son) if he was like ds1 when he was a child, but apparently he didn't go through the horrid teen phase.

Another one here with a non-smiling DS! I was looking out some old photos recently, and I got a real shock to see how many pictures there were of him as a little boy, smiling. I was so taken aback to realise that I never see him smile/laugh any more.

I'm just hoping that he will morph into a lovely, smiling man at some point.