BBC's Merlin has been an interesting take on the legend of King Arthur, Camelot and Merlin. Some of the things they have done in the show leave questions which I'm not sure how they'll manage to answer. I love the basic premise of the show, Merlin finding out about his magic but having to keep it secret and working for Arthur. It leads to some comic moments. The first series for me though was practically a spot the Doctor Who actors game, but once I got over that I've been enjoying it. It's been great watching Anthony Head in something new, even if he is playing the evil character - although he's not too terribly evil in this rendition. The second series for me lagged quite a bit and I was compelled to keep watching. I watched a few episodes now and again, it was still good but wasn't amazing enough to keep my interests from being distracted elsewhere. After I managed to complete the second the series the third flew by quickly.
I love what they've done with Gwen and Arthur however knowing that in the legend Gwen runs off with Lancelot I'm not sure how that's going to work. I've grown to love both Arthur and Gwen and now that they finally got together and you get the sense they really do love each other I'm not sure I would believe Gwen just running away.
Morgana's story has been less than appeal. I understand her hatred for Uther but the way she turned on Gwen I found unbelievable. Really to begin with she was the nice friendly caring ward to the king and her sudden shift didn't feel real. They could've worked that better into the story of her breakage from the others in Camelot and not just Uther. And I cannot ignore the wonderful Dragon voiced by John Hurt. I thought they did a great job bringing the dragon to life and not making it look too fake, although they lose some of its realism after Merlin freed him. I was glad Merlin became the Dragonlord because that meant the dragon could still come in now and again.
Gwain is a great character and finally a knight along with Lancelot (the only one I'm not too happy about mainly because of the implication with Gwen but also I can't stop thinking he might start painting the future and get his head sliced off ala Heroes) Sometimes it is a struggle with Merlin not being able to talk about his magic with Arthur and part of me wants Arthur to find out. Arthur has had to deal with a lot of humility so maybe finding out that Merlin has indeed saved him a lot and he's not the as great of a knight as he thinks would be just too much for him. The ending of series 3 was amazing and if they had to end it there I would necessarily be happy with it but I could live with it. Fortunately it will be back for another series and I'll be watching!
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