Merlin 204: Lancelot and Guinevere

[lokifan_import]

At long last, I’m watching a Merlin episode again! Thank goodness for the liveblogs – I had to quickly reread the last one to remember what happened.

Arthur and Gwen are giving each other significant looks! Arthur is pouting sadly! Yeah, Morgana’s sad about her dad, but let’s focus on the teenage sexual tension! It’s what we’re all here for, right?


MORGANA: You’re so secretive these days! I’m beginning to think there’s a man involved. Is there, Gwen? Is there?! Because you said I was the only one for you!

Sorry, I know they’re being kidnapped, but all I can think about is how horrible that scarlet velvet cloak and blue dress are in combination. Bad Morgana!

...I wish she was keeping them on now though. I’m sure they have a plan, but... eurgh rape threats. Not even very subtexty ones. :S

W00T MORGANA AND GWEN FTW.

Oh dear, poor both of them...

Interesting little moment of class-based morality, which crops up all too rarely: “I will not impersonate my mistress.”

I like that Morgana keeps going with Uther, despite the tension. She’s not my favourite of the quartet but I do like her. Especially, you know, what with all that “she’s more than my maid” stuff. :D BOO ARTHUR. I’m sure he’s got a plan, though.

LOL GWEN IS EXCELLENT AT BEING MORGANA.

ARTHUR: Distract the guards, Merlin!
MERLIN: How?

*bursts out laughing* Well, the traditional method involves batting of eyelashes, Merlin...

Medieval cage-fighting. Huh. Kinda wish Lancelot was the one shirtless and in a collar, but you can’t have everything.

*sighs* Okay, I definitely bought the meaningful eye-contact, but the romantic-music-talking-through-the-cell-window thing is just kind of annoying.

:S And now he’s being angsty, and she’s all soft-eyed. I wish I found this cute, I do.

See now that was more like it. Go Arthur! And go Merlin, you adorable little Best Mate Ever, you. You did look rather sad when Arthur said he cared about Gwen more than anyone, poor love.

I will admit to a certain amount of mean amusement that Mr Martyr failed so entirely. :) COME ON OUR BOYS!

See, the holding-hands thing is cute, but Lancelot’s dialogue just irritates me SO MUCH. I can’t bear platitudes and he speaks in nothing else. ‘I will die with faith in my heart, and that is worth more than anything.’ >.<

YAY RESCUE!

LOL at Lancelot. “The two of you?” He’s so bemused.

:( Poor Arthur.

Ahaha. “I’ll just... sit here, then.” Poor Merlin, lost amidst an angsting love triangle.

Oh my God, Lancelot, YOU ARE SO ANNOYING. No, I can find no sympathy for you deep, deep down. Only the wish that you’d stop talking.

:) Gwen’s truest love is for Morgana. Blates.

Comments

[literaryspell.livejournal.com]

OMG this was so funny! I just watched this episode the other day and you've touched on so many things I thought as well. I have so much love for Gwen and Morgana--and I've never shipped a femmeslash pairing before. It's exciting! I think they are perfect together. Gwen and Arthur make NO sense together. It seems so contrived. In the beginning when they were pushing a little Merlin/Gwen thing, even that felt more real.

I hate Lancelot as well at times--he is not the greatest actor so those lines are extra cheesy.


I feel like they've REALLY toned down the Merlin/Arthur subtext from the first season, and that's so disappointing! I really don't want this show to turn into some Gwen/Arthur lovefest while Merlin sits idly by and watches. *cries* (I don't actually expect Merlin and Arthur together by any means, but I do ship them. And I wish the show's creators/directors weren't shoving the Gwen/Arthur thing down our throats like that).


(I just realised my comment on shipping a femmeslash pairing being 'exciting' might seem like I'm fetishizing it, but it's not that at all. I'm heteroflexible and I've always wanted a female couple to ship but I could never find one in which I liked both members equally, so I meant *that* was exciting. Just wanted to clear that up.)

(OMG the edits... sorry!)

[lokifan]

:) Oh, I'm glad you think so! I've done one for every episode I've watched, but I am the slowest person in the world at telly.

I like 'em too! And no worries, I didn't see it that way - I totally get being excited when you like a new sort of ship (even if it's friends-turned-lovers when you usually like Beloved Enemies, or whatever). Specially if you're not usually a femmeslash girl.

The Merlin/Arthur subtext is definitely toned down!

I dunno, I quite like Arthur/Gwen - at least I find their interaction cute. But I don't think we're anywhere near a Love To Last A Lifetime here - I like them together because I always see them as sudden-onset crushing and enjoying time together, which does make sense. Arthur's wangsting about marriage is kinda... well, sorta makes sense for the period, but still a bit annoying.

I don't know, I love Gwen so so much and I like Arthur a lot, and I like Arthur better when he's around her. It's kinda sudden/contrived, but a thousand times less annoying than BLOODY Lancelot. Hmph.

*watches If Ever I Would Leave You on Youtube* Now THAT'S how you do the Lancelot/Guinevere affair.

[reikokatsura.livejournal.com]

Gwen/Lance is just major LOVE. I don't care how the Arthurian Legend goes. I am not happy with Arthur/Gwen. I supported Merlin/Gwen more than I do A/G, and I wasn't very fond of them either. Morgana/Gwen is rather adorable, but I'm really all for Gwen/Lance (though Lancelot's tendencies to be melodramatic are sometimes a bit annoying). They're so bloody cute together! It's so rare that I ship a het couple, too.

Gwen is a bit all over the place, isn't she? I mean, first she was pretty much hanging on Merlin's every word, and then she was all into Lancelot, and then she's practically in love with Arthur, and then back to Lancelot, and then back to Arthur when Lance leaves the picture. And there's also that bit of Morgana/Gwen that's so *obviously* going on.

I wouldn't necessarily call her a tart, but...
no, I'm lying. Yes I would

I really used to love Morgana. Now? Not so much.

And I love when Merlin and Arthur work together. They're really rather brilliant at it. I love the second season. There's aren't enough Merlin/Arthur moments in it, sadly, but I still loved it (even with the whole Gwen/Arthur thing *makes face*). Can't wait for the third season. I'm really rooting for some more male bonding between the two of them.

[reikokatsura.livejournal.com]

Add: I think Gwen's a bit of a tart, but I still rather love her. Arthur is awesome around her, but I don't like them as a couple. Just friends. It would even be alright if he had a bit of a crush on her (which, with the way she treats him, is very understandable). I just don't want to see them being serious about one another.

In order of preference: Gwen/Lancelot, Gwen/Morgana, Gwen/Merlin, Morgana/Arthur.
In order of actual preference: Arthur/Merlin, Gwen/Morgana *g*

I was a bit into the whole Morgana/Arthur thing they were hinting at in the beginning. If Arthur needs a girl, I'd rather it be her, tbh. They'd probably kill each other, though.

[lokifan]

*grins* Well, you may not care about the Arthurian legend - but I do, and actually it backs you up. Although Guinevere and Arthur have a good, loving, stable marriage and do love each other, it's Guinevere and Lancelot who have the passionate, epic affair. Their love affair is to be treated with respect. :)

I wasn't big into Merlin/Gwen but that's partly because I was shell-shocked by Guinevere and Merlin having sexual tension. It didn't come out of nowhere as Arthur/Gwen does. Still, I like Arthur and Guinevere's scenes together - they're playful and cute, and they act like human beings together.

LOL, really?! I guess we have different definition of 'tart', then - she's had two kisses! And she seems to have feelings for both of them, I take it as natural for a girl that age (I certainly feel that way sometimes).

I wish for lots of Merlin/Arthur missioning! They're such a good team. :)

[lokifan]

I can totally see that with Arthur and Gwen - I like them as crushing friends. I find Arthur's wangsting about marriage rather annoying and I loved their kiss!

LOL, gotcha.

AHAHAHA OH GOD. Well, I kinda like it - but, um. Again, sorry, the legend is immovably in my mind and SEX BETWEEN MORGANA AND ARTHUR MAKES EVERYTHING DIE. NOOOOO!

[literaryspell.livejournal.com]

Normally I wouldn't mind the longing looks and awkward interaction. It's actually adorable. But I think paired with the seriously lacking Merlin/Arthur subtext and the way this sort of came out of nowhere (I mean, yes, obviously I expected it--they get married. But a little more build-up might have been nice and less 0.0 ). I mean, last season they seemed to also be pushing Arthur/Morgana, and that I was more on board with. Gwen and Arthur does just seem suited. I hope it grows on me, though! I don't want to always hate it. This convo has made me want to watch a few eps right now! :D

[reikokatsura.livejournal.com]

I ship Arthur/Merlin completely, so the Arthurian Legend gets pretty shot right there XD

The first-kiss scene made me want to pull my hair out. Love them together as crushing buddies, but nothing more.

I loved the banter between Morgana and Arthur. *Imagines sex between the two of them* Ok, well, I can actually seem Gwen and Arthur having more of a sexual relationship. Merlin/Gwen is cute, but I can't see sex in the picture either. I really can't see Merlin being in a sexual relationship with anyone, save Arthur (though that's probably not going to happen...*sighs* The universe isn't so nice).

It's kind of wrong of me, but I totally think Morgana/Mordred is the cutest thing ever. I mean, he'd have to grow and everything, but still. It looks like they have that whole brother/sister (or mom/son) relationship, but I could definitely see it escalating to something more.

Morgana/Uther is something I also considered (despite their father/daughter relationship). I kind of like Uther/Gaius, too. Old people need loving, as well ;D

>.>

[lokifan]

Definitely see what you mean. They shouldn't rely on 'well, they get married' as an explanation. :) Especially with the rapid switch-up from Gwen/Merlin and Arthur/Morgana.

Although I will admit Arthur/Morgana makes me do throatclutch of fear. OH MY GOD THEIR INCESTUOUS BABY WILL KILL ARTHUR!

Give it time... I do enjoy Arthur/Morgana. But tbh she calls him on stuff that he wasn't going to do anyway a LOT, because he's always being an arse in public/to her then going off to be heroic. So I'm often kind of '...yeah, it's nice she calls him on stuff but actually she just looks like an idiot.'

[lokifan]

Heh.

I like the Arthur/Morgana banter, I think I'd like something happening between them. :) Aww, poor Reiko. There's always the internet!

OH NOOOO. Sorry, it's the Arthurian legend thing again: my brain keeps saying SHE'S HIS MOTHER AND HE'S THE PRODUCT OF HER HAVING SEX WITH HER BROTHER OH GOD NO.

I could see Morgana/Uther happening - in a twisted way, but yeah. Uther/Gaius not so much. Mostly because Gaius is MY FAVOURITE FOREVER AND EVER and Uther is a dick. I like to think Gaius and Geoffrey of Monmouth are quietly having a polite affair behind closed doors :)

[reikokatsura.livejournal.com]

Mostly because Gaius is MY FAVOURITE FOREVER AND EVER and Uther is a dick

It's the eyebrows, isn't it? It must be. His are eyebrows of doom! love Gaius so very, very much. I was so sad when I thought he died in the first season. Like, noo! Gaius! Just let Hunith die! (I like her and all, but I just like Gaius way more).

[lokifan]

It's the eyebrows - and the snark, his dialogue is so funny. And the way he loves Merlin. And the tragic past, and the collaboration with killing magicians, and the going out to bravely die for Merlin when he's not a natural hero.

I totally cried when the voice-over was happening, of the letter he sent in the first season. Like OMG NOOO GAIUS CAN'T DIE!

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

LOL. I actually prefer G/L and I'm a sucker for that kind of dialogue - makes my heart very happy. But I can see where it might annoy you.

But the best part is all the Arthur/Merlin dialogue and the touching and the looks! It gets better and more obvious as the season goes along.

[lokifan]

:) I'm glad! I can see where G/L would be popular among slashers (beyond pure enjoyment of it) - it allows for Arthur/Merlin while still letting Gwen have happy romance!

Heh. Looking forward to it!