#2.8 "The Sins of the Father"

[KryptonSite]

New Merlin 6:05PM on Oct. 14!

Here's the BBC description:

When a mysterious warrior challenges Arthur to a duel, nobody could possibly predict the devastating chain of events that is set in motion – least of all the young Prince himself – as the magical family drama continues.

Arthur and Merlin soon find themselves on a strange quest at the behest of the beautiful Morgause. Through her, Arthur discovers a dark secret which could bring about the downfall of the kingdom...

Images: http://www.merlinsite.com/gallery/th...s.php?album=20

U.K. viewers count down to the episode's airing and talk about it LIVE here - and then everyone else talk about it once you've seen it!

[Amar J]

looking forward to this ep, hopefully this plot isnt ended in just this ep

[Paulinha]

Hi everybody. First post on this board.
I am really looking forward to this Arthur-episode too. As I will not be able to watch it before tomorrow I am eager to read your (hopefully many) comments on this episode this evening.

[Vindellavon]

Ai!

[SVFancross]

I'm going to have to process this one for a while.

1) I'm thrilled to see bad-ass Arthur almost kill Uther
2) When Ygraine BLAMED Uther, I knew it was Morgause
3) I'm ambivalent about Merlin's actions. On the one hand, he knew it was truth but also knew Morgause manufactured Ygraine
4) I'm pissed that Arthur's lessons learned was "magic is bad" BIG BIG step backwards
5) I'm pissed that the reset button on his birth has been pushed. When is he going to find out the real truth - that Ygraine died but that it was not because Uther tricked her. Morgause gave him a half truth. In fact, the full truth would have been good enough.

GRRRRRRRRR.

6) Glad that Arthur/Merlin are so close. This also puts Merln 8 billion steps away from revealing his identity.
7) Glad Morgana has protection against dreams and that we now know about the half-sister relationship.
8) I give up on the Gwen brush-off scene. At this point I think it was left on the cutting room floor.

So, in sum, Merlin knows it was a magical birth but told Arthur Morgause was lying (it WAS a half-lie) to stop Arther from killing Uther (which Merlin was right, Arthur would never have forgiven himself).

I hate Uther with the heat of a 1000 suns for being such a coward and lying when Arthur said "swear to me it wasn't your fault". Again, a half-truth, Uther didn't know Ygraine would die but he DID use magic willingly.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR

I swear it seems like we went backward when I thought we'd go forward.

I'll have to watch it again and give it a rating later. Everything but the reset button was great. But damn, that reset button was a real killjoy.

ETA: Arthur willing to put his head on the chopping block was all sorts of cool. Bradley James, I felt, did a fantastic job with the entire episode.

[genvillewars92]

SVFancross I agree with everything you said above! It's official I do not like Uther anymore.Ziltch. In Arthur's words he is a 'Hipocrite and a liar' I was expecting the brush off scene but no it didn't come :P Hats off to Bradley he acted his pants off during the father and son showdown, very emotional.

so the question is, is Arthur ever going to find out the 'real truth'? the poor man needs to know!!

I know Morgause will come back.

[SVFancross]

I think Arthur will eventually find out. Maybe Gaius will out his ex-boyfriend (Uther) at some point.

The question is now the fallout gets bigger because now:
- Merlin KNEW (Gaius confirmed it) but he mislead Arthur
- Uther lied AGAIN the SDFJ:SLDKFJS:LDKFJDS:OFIDSJ (sorry, feel better now). Uther is a COWARD!
- Gaius knew and didn't correct the problem either

I HATE Arthur took Magic=BAD as the take away. I HATE HATE HATE that.

I suspect this is exactly what the producers want - frustrate the hell out of the fans and make them come back to see it finally fixed. But dag-nab-it, I want SOME resolution of something.

jasd;fjasd;flkjasd;flkjsdaf;lakjsffsda;lkj - frustration speaking.

[genvillewars92]

I just don't see how they can bring up the whole mother thing again, I don't know how they would go about it.

[SVFancross]

I just don't see how they can bring up the whole mother thing again, I don't know how they would go about it.

Who knows now:
- Uther
- Gaius
- Merlin
- Slash Dragon
- Morgause

My first thought was Gaius to tell Arthur 1st, Merlin 2nd. Uther won't of his own accord but the more I think about it, the more I could see a circumstance where Uther is FORCED to tell Arthur (as in someone has a knife at Arthur's throat and says tell him the truth or watch him die before your eyes). THEN Uther would tell the truth and Arthur would believe him (small thermonuclear meltdown to follow). Arthur won't believe Slash Dragon nor Morgause so coming out of the mouth of Uther is probably the only way to have it ring true to Arthur.

Circumstances? It's going to have to be something that reverses Arthur's position on magic. I'm a little worried he's going to be a mini-Uther for a while and finding out the truth truth. Between the plot-lines of the rest of the season I see nothing that would make him become more charitable towards those who practice magic (thus far). Perhaps badass Morgause shows up again next Series. Maybe Morgause collaborates with Morgana and Morgana finds out. Now THAT would be EPIC. Morgana threatening Arthur in order to emotionally gut Uther. Works for me. (Yes, I know Morgana is not powerful enough to physically restrain Arthur - but potions or other circumstances could be involved).

I'm really expecting this to be revisited and I'll be po'd if it is later than Series 3.

[genvillewars92]

/\ Hmm, I want it to come out of Uther's mouth, forced sounds good. I read somewhere that Morgause comes back after 2.08 perhaps any of the last few eppisodes, to do what, I don't know. Ooo I want more Morgana/Morgause scenes!

[svfan50]

I hated that Merlin said that Morgause used magic trick to bring back his mother!! HATED IT!!!! GRRRRR

He should have stopped at "Do you want to loose both your parents"!!!! Now Arthur hates magic even more. How will he react to Merlin is a magic being????

Anywhoo...seemed Morgause had another agenda to show Arthur his mother (it seemed that way in the end). Wonder if we will see her soon???

[clois_lover10]

I love Bradley's acting so much! And how about that rope scene, huh?

[the highlander]

I really enjoyed the epi... SUPER EMOTIONAL. The farther away Arthur is, the more shocking it will be when he finds out and the more he will have to "spare" Merlin and Change to accept him.

[Amar J]

the rope scene had me in bits

this episode will just make the fall out even worse when arthur finds out about merlin

[Vindellavon]

*facepalm* I'm sorry, but this episode just proved to me that Beeb isn't looking to hot for development. I don't understand how this fallout's going to work out in the end, and this seires in its own still doesn't have a central plot to begin with. Not good, Beeb.

[genvillewars92]

The rope scene tickled me lmao, Arthur rolling around in dung, i've seen it all

[SVFancross]

The battle for Arthur’s soul is a powerful episode with a controversial ending. Clearly now a major arc for the series, the first victory went to the villain (Uther).


What Worked:



Arthur/Bradley James – In his most dramatic role yet, Bradley James swings from guilt-stricken son to avenging angel with ease. His yearning for any scrap of knowledge about his mother is completely consistent with his character. The jaw-dropping climatic battle between Arthur and Uther is one of the highlights of the entire show. Throughout the entire episode Arthur shows himself to be the future king of legend; honorable, forthright, and brave. His character condemns Uther not only for what happened to his mother but for the hundreds of innocents killed to ease Uther’s guilt. James portrays Arthur’s anguish and anger superbly and when Arthur finally breaks down, the audience suffers with him.


Morgause – A marvelously ambiguous character. Simultaneously she appears the caring half-sister to Morgana and the cunning manipulator of Arthur’s good nature. It is an excellent development for Morgana to have a half-sister and hopefully Morgause will return for more intrigue. For much of the episode it is debatable as to whether she is a good or bad person. The subtle tells: death of five knights, never revealing her purpose for seeking Arthur out, dangling the prospect of knowledge of his mother, all seem to point to her intending to bend Arthur to her purposes. It is a little too convenient that his “mother” reveals Uther’s guilt as a “slip” in her exceedingly brief conversation with Arthur. In the end, it would appear Merlin was right, despite the fact that Arthur was born of magic, the specific claim of deception by Uther appears to be the words of Morgause.


Uther the coward – Although he clearly loves his son and his dead wife Ygraine, Uther is in fact a coward and Arthur’s recrimination was spot-on. Arthur is in many ways the anti-Uther. Where as Uther claims nothing is his fault, Arthur puts his head on the chopping block because he gave his word. It should not escape Uther’s notice that his son easily defeated him and it will no doubt drive Uther to eliminate any threat that may reveal Arthur’s magical birth. His promise to have Merlin hanged if he spoke about the incident is classic Uther.


Arthur/Merlin relationship – Arthur now trusts Merlin like no other. Only Merlin could have stopped Arthur from killing Uther. The bonding over lost parents was typical of their relationship. Merlin is always eager to share, Arthur revealing a little of his innermost thoughts and then changing the conversation when it got too uncomfortable. Step by step, Merlin has become Arthur’s most trusted ally. It was heartbreaking to watch Merlin lie to Arthur. Merlin has only wanted Arthur to trust and respect him. Now that it has happened, due to his lie, Merlin’s life is worse. Yet, Merlin did this because he would not have Arthur destroyed by murdering his own father. A great sacrifice.


Merlin’s disappointment with Gaius – In one brief scene, it’s clear Merlin has come to understand that Gaius is withholding important information from Merlin. He didn’t even bother asking, as soon as Nimeuh’s name was mentioned, Merlin knew the story was correct and that Gaius should have told him about this. Gaius lame excuse about what Arthur would do did not patch this issue up.




Partial/Potential Success:



Uther wins round 1 – In what appears to be a massive reset button for Arthur’s fantastic development, Uther has now cemented the concept that magic is evil in Arthur’s mind. If this was a three act play, we have now gotten to the end of act two and Arthur is at his lowest point. What makes this a potential success is if the third act plays out by the end of this series or, potentially in series 3. If the producers try to stretch out Arthur as a foe of magic for too long, this could seriously undermine the likeability of the character. So, if act 3 happens relatively soon (Arthur accepts that his father is wrong and potentially that Arthur learns about his magic birth), the temporary decent to darkness works. The “reset button” cannot have been pressed so that there are no consequences for this episode. If that is the end result by the end of Series 2, then the episode is seriously flawed. It is a controversial choice, presuming the show intends to ring the bell permanently in the future, and much depends on how quickly this is done. Series 1 was clearly wrapped sufficiently as its own story. Series 2, however, appears dependent on Series 3. How they handle the conclusion for the “battle for Arthur’s soul” is a key issue.

What Didn't Work:


Merlin/Gaius funny moment – Again they have the faux happy scene between Merlin and Gaius at the end. Merlin has just made his life worse and is laughing about enjoying the thanks. This rang false and appears simply like a stale rimshot to make the audience think all is happy now. True, attempted patricide is very dark for a teatime show and something was needed to lighten up the mood, but this was the wrong choice. Far better for a dramatic hopeful statement (like even though Arthur see magic is evil, Merlin or Gaius states they believe he will ultimately see this is not always true) than a pitiful joke.




Overall grade 9. Bradley James was outstanding, Anthony Head played a villain with depth, and the storyline was extremely powerful. Points off for putting the third act off without any hint that good will prevail and for the ubiquitous rimshot funny scene that seriously detracts from an otherwise outstanding episode.

[LovelyLoisLane]

Poll added.

I've been a bit lax in my comments (not just on Merlin either, but que sera sera) so I have to play catch up before I can comment fully.

However, suffice it to say, loved the Arthur progression we got here. Bit of regressions towards the end, but I'm intrigued as to where they will go with this, because I doubt Morgause is all done. (Still wondering why she would have been born in Camelot and not Cornwall like Morgana was, and why they wanted to get rid of the baby.)

[Paulinha]

Thanks for your review, SVFancross.

I thought this was a great episode and would give 10/10.
As I could not watch the episode live on TV I was already "warned" of its potentially
disappointing ending (total reset of Arthur) via this thread.
But now I am pleasantly surprised.
I think (or hope?) this episode was a set-up for greater things to come. Arthur was clearly manipulated by Morgause, who for some reasons wanted to get rid of Uther.
In the end she had no success, thanks Merlin. I guess we will see more of Morgause (hopefully soon), think of the last scene. Morgause does not appear to be very pleased watching Uther and Arthur on good terms in her glass bowl (or whatever it was).
Some other thoughts:
- I cannot hate Uther, despite all the bad things he did/does. His love for his late wife and his son gets me all the time. And I love Anthony Head.
- As always adorable were the scenes between Merlin and Arthur, though Arthur rolling around in horse droppings was a lame ending to the funny rope-scene.
- Bradley James was great. Not only in the Uther/Arthur-fight-scene. During the head-on-the-chop-block-scene he managed to make me feel the axe on my own neck.

P.S.: Sorry for my bad English.

[Lexgirl33]

Wowza! That was really good! Bradley did an amazing job