Merlin- anyone else disappointed?

[LittenTree]

I mean, the whole of the 5 series has been heading for the idea that Merlin and (benign) magic would triumph and Arthur would become 'the best king Camelot ever saw'- yet he pops his clogs at about 24! The BBC review called it 'his sacrifice'- well, what did he sacrifice? He didn't 'give himself' for the sake of his people any more than anyone else who die din that battle, did he?

I get the the whole Excalibur thing happens in 'the legend' though just about every tea shoppe west of Bristol has its own 'legends' about Arthurian legend, doesn't it? So why the death boat on the lake? The haven't exactly stuck true to the story to date- so why at the end? Leaving Camelot with a bereaved queen and still no guarantee that magic can again flourish!

It was a lame ending, but the whole series has been riddled with inconsistencies so I'm just glad I no longer need to shout at the TV over it.

Yes lame and disappointing. Even the big reveal that Merlin had magic was lame. I would have preferred him to win the battle of Camlann in his own form, rather than just saying to a wounded Arthur "Oh actually I'm magic".

And he defeated Morgana with a sword, rather than magic.

Yes, the defeat of Morgana was a bit pathetic, wasn't it?

I so wanted Merlin to have a chance to detail in exactly how many ways his magic, responsibly used, had saved Camelot from Darkness- for Arthur to have a revelation rather than his 'you lied to me' routine.

As the BBC review said, cough at the wrong moment and you'd miss the fact Merlin had revealed at all!

You know, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Merlin series! It was fun watching Merlin grow and learn under Gaius and of course the dragon! It was an uplifting show, for the most part, and it always ended on a good note. I noticed that some who were commenting on other sites were able to make the glib comments that after all, King Arthur HAD died. But I think the point here was that many of the Merlin programs had stories buried in them just waiting to be told; like the one with the Caliph, where he wanted the chance to ?serve? Merlin, and of course what we all wanted to see, was Merlin being able to exercise his magic, but instead of following the threads and leaving an epic story, they just killed Arthur, Gwaine, Mordred and Morgana off suddenly with no rhyme or reason. None of the promise was fulfilled. For goodness sake, it was supposed to be a "family program." Like someone else said, we didn?t get to see the beginning of a good time for magic. We didn?t get to see the growth of the King?s family, it was just over and done so quickly that it took my mind two days to finally accept that it had happened! Up until this program, I loved going back and rewatching the programs because they were full of good stories that all ended well, with all the banter that took place between Merlin and the king! That is until I saw the travesty that was the last program. I have never felt so let down, before. I had opened my home to these actors and this program and in a manner I can only speculate on, I felt betrayed by the writers and producers of this series. There was a lot of promise in this series, and they totally failed to realize it at the end!
My 24 yr. old son said he wondered if all the writers had quit. Definitely a thought!

Agree, a complete let down of a finale

Agree as well .... the ending was so abrupt that it almost seemed as if all the previous episodes hadn't actually taken place at all.

I know that the legend has Arthur killed off, that he'll rise again to rescue Albion etc., but not - as I understood it - as a young king .... and, the series has certainly banged home the promise of a golden age for Camelot throughout. Which wasn't shown at all, or even really implied. The whole basic foundation of the series was Arthur's ignorance of Merlin's magic ... then latterly Morgana's scheming and obsession with Emrys. What happens ? .... she's killed by a sword, albeit Excalibar .... without even a final epic showdown of good vs evil magic between her and Merlin before she was killed. I could go on (and on ...)

The lorry thing at the end was also crass and completely spoiled what was left of the atmosphere. I get them wanting to portray the passing of time but there are 1001 ways of doing that without effectively smacking viewers in the face - especially when still emotional from Arthur's death (and the way it was done). If anyone's seen the Gangs of New York, I thought it showed time passing very well by focussing on the graves, their gradual deterioration and disappearance, with the skyline of New York changing in the distant background. Having a screeching lorry thunder past that made me jump out of my skin felt so inappropriate.

Maybe stupid to get worked up about a TV series but it really did feel as if the writers couldn't be arsed and didn't care how regular viewers felt.

I think the writers and producers were under the impression they were going to get a 6th series funded, and maybe found out they weren't quite late on in the piece, thus the blunderbuss ending. I have read somewhere of possible 'spin-offs', maybe a movie? But they may be hard pressed to attract their loyal, core audience if this last episode is how they remember Merlin!

Sloppy.

The bad ending must have been down to the short notice cuts. Surely, they wouldn't have done it for any other reason.

Gutted. Firstly by the fact it was all over and secondly that it ended so badly. It was Christmas and everyone died on Merlin and Downton. At least they all made it on Call the Midwife!

The only solution is to have two - three more series. Arthur can come back to life because he hasn't actually given Camelot it's glory days yet and then he can die again after two more series or so and it will explain where the legend of him raising again will come from. (we will all just never speak of the lorry again. I think that's best anyway)

I felt it was far too 'rushed' and that if they wanted to end on this series then they should have extended the final episode or made the series longer and done a proper job IFYSWIM. Like someone else said, you invest in the characters emotionally and after the sad scene with Merlin and Arthur at the lake.......it was disappointing.

I too agree with everything Merlinfan has said. And after watching all of those series over the years, it was a disappointing ending, and yes, far too rushed to fit everything into those final episodes.

The BBC are so stupid at times. They have tv which is hugely popular and then they ruin it, or don't make any more, or enough - Merlin, Zen, Sherlock.....

Yes, it was a bit like when Angel was cancelled and they just said 'buggrit, we'll finish NOW then'. I was deeply pissed off.

I'd reckoned that there would be a series in which M was Exiled for the use of magic, and then there was massive reconciliation with Arthur and they could go forward together to be the Best Rulers Of All Time.

Ah, Sarge, that makes sense. It certainly came across as a last minute 'Quick! End it now!' Incidentally, is he attractive in RL??! I only ask because I'd only ever seen him play 'heavies' as an extra in cops'n'robbers type dramas before!

I think we all agree that it was a sorry excuse for an ending. We had watched this series as a family for 5 years, and really enjoyed it. I kept going over the ending in my head and wondering if I'd missed something. Really disappointing.

It's weird how funny & engaging the series could be and how awful most of the plot & writing was; was it just Morgan & Bradley who redeemed it with their natural rapport?

Because the writers broke so many conventions from the start I thought they'd break the tragic ending convention, too. I wouldn't have bothered viewing if I knew the ending was usual sad one.

Agree - I was also deeply pissed off. A lame, disappointing and stupid ending.

My son and I have been huge fans from the beginning.

At the end of the final episode we just looked at each other in sheer disbelief and total disappointment.

I was so incensed I wanted to complain to the BBC but couldn't find a place to do that, so anyway glad to have the opportunity to have a moan here

Sarge, isn't the actor who plays Arthur from Devon? Maybe he never had a northern accent to lose.

Rubbish ending with homoerotic embraces and declarations that were nauseating. My dd 10 even said, "I think they should snog" . Would have been a better ending if they had.

Thank God im not the only one who thought the ending was awful!
Poor old Merlin tuned into a homeless bag man treking down a dusty road faded into obscurity, No place for him in Camelot then ? Looked awful, Morgana would have laughed her head off!

Merlin seemed "in love' with Arthur.......simpering, ' i did it or you, its all for you, i was made to serve you..whatever, terrible, terrile ending.

When Emrys appeared on the mountain top sending flashes of tjunder/lightnng to kill Camelots enemies we were all on the edge of our seats, and then.......nothing! Like Simone cowell would sy "all dougnut no jam"