IN A LAND OF MYTH AND A TIME OF LEGEND

[whynot]

- Interesting camerawork! Fancier than last season.

- GRATUITOUS SHIRTLESS ARTHUR \o/

- OMG CREEPY DEADFACE. In accordance with the trailer, season 2 seems to be going for MOAR CREEPINESS. Awesome.

- Okay, when Merlin saved Gaius. Can Merlin actually slow down time, or is he actually just doing magic RILLY FAST and the slo-mo is just for the audience's benefit?

- "I knew there was treasure to be found beneath Camelot." This is HILARIOUS. OH UTHER. There has been much speculation on what our favorite Camelotians have been doing between S1 and S2, and apparently Uther has been SEARCHING FOR TREASURE. How long has this been going on?! I can imagine Morgana being like, "Uther. There is no treasure under Camelot." And Uther says, "YES THERE IS. JUST YOU WAIT."
Gaius says, "There are rumors and legends that do say such things but--"
"See?! Rumors and legends! I have gone after things for lesser reasons."
And okay, they can't argue with him there.

I just imagine an Uther obsessed with silly conspiracy theories. (Well, I guess he already kind of is.) Treasure under the castle! Arthur is all :-/ that his father is putting such manpower into something so silly. Arthur is no businessman but it seems to him that if you want to make more money, you don't go and invest your money on chasing urban legends. IS ALL HE'S SAYING. I feel like the writers are saying, "Look! Uther is ALSO greedy!" Okay, he's your villain, we get it.

- omg when Uther goes "...Idiot," at Merlin. Like son like father! <33

- MOAR GRATUITOUS SHIRTLESS ARTHUR

- Only Merlin is allowed in Arthur's chambers. Oh show, you do go on.

- Woah hey, the red jacket got an upgrade! Nice duds, Arthur.

- lol Cedric groping on Arthur, moving in on Merlin's man. Merlin is not pleased. I can't believe how susceptible Arthur is to getting his ass kissed, though. Fanon Arthur wouldn't be so dumb.

- OKAY. Tell me that when that HUGE FUCKING BOAR burst out of the bushes, I wasn't the only one having South Park flashbacks. Half man, half bear, half pig. IT IS MANBEARPIG. Okay, so it wasn't very man-looking. But that's a bearpig if I ever did see one. Thing was the size of a house!

- Merlin magically spearing the boar in the most unsubtle of ways. REMIND ME, MERLIN, why haven't you been outed for a sorcerer yet?

- Gaius has always been Uther's ally against sorcery! FASCINATING. "You, more than anyone, should not give in to these irrational fears." Gaius more than anyone?! Why?? What does this mean?! What has Gaius done?!? Uther trusts Gaius and Gaius loves Uther, but Gaius has been deceiving him for years. Gaius lies to people all the time, but his affection for the people that he lies to is genuine. He loves them even as he's manipulating them. He's manipulating them because he loves them?? Gaius, what is your issue?! Augh, I want fic about Gaius and his lies.

- "MUCK OUT YOUR HORSES." Oh man, I like this Cedric character. Also, he really is rather pretty. Makes me forget he plays British Dwight Schrute!

- The thing Cedric uses to drug Merlin is the same thing that Arthur used to drug the guards from that episode, I forget the name!

- LOL FACE FIRST INTO THE HORSE SHIT. Awesome.

- Clodpole is the new prat.

- SOMETIMES LOVE MEANS WIPING HORSE SHIT OFF EACH OTHER'S FACE

- "I'm not an idiot." <3 everything he does is for Arthurrrrrrr. I'm glad Merlin is pissed at Arthur. I'm glad he's articulating these feelings, and that he's sad and maybe a little resentful that, even after all he's done for Arthur, Arthur is still a huge jerk to him. In S1, Merlin just took Arthur's assholery in a stride, upholding this two-dimensional "I love Arthur no matter what!" sentiment, which can get real old real fast. In fic, the name-calling tends to amount to, "Aww, boys being boys! This is how they show their love, and they wouldn't have each other any other way!" But having someone be an asshole to you and make you clean their horseshit all the time can get real tiring, and I bet Merlin has moments of "I can't believe I'm destined to forever save this jerkwad who doesn't even appreciate me." It humanizes Merlin's loyalty to Arthur, and it makes me interested in their relationship in a way I haven't been recently.

- fatherly Gaius, aww! <3

- SHIRTLESS ARTHUR #3

- "Sound the warning bell" again! Like from my favoritest episode 8.

- HILARIOUSEST FIGHT EVER. EVER. Cedric vs. Merlin: the fight of people who don't know how to fight. What the hell is Merlin trying to do anyway? Knock Cedric out? Restrain him? Arthur's reaction is just perfect. All unimpressed and facepalming and "I can't believe this is happening, but on some level, I unfortunately really can." Arthur catching Merlin and putting an end to the fight is the XDest ever. STRATEGERY: it is why he is a knight.

- So then the gargoyles come to life and are causing chaos, what is Uther doing? Just sitting on his throne. Why? It's the middle of the night, you're not holding court. Your city is being attacked, you should be fighting! But no, you're just chilling on your throne. WELL I GUESS SOMEONE HAS TO. Oh Uther.

- RETURN OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE FAIL TABLE. omg. worst knights ever.

- "NO. MY PLEASURE." lol Arthur. Also, what an awkward thank you.

- Cedric gets a hair upgrade with his new soul! Hee.

- Gaius knew all along that Merlin visits the dragon!!! <33333

- YES YES, I love the dragon accusing Merlin of betraying his kind! Of betraying MAGIC. I would like more on this theme, I've always enjoyed it. He's a child of two worlds, and that puts him in such an interesting place in terms of loyalty. Using the powers of one world to protect the other. Using the powers of one world to destroy that one world!

- A promise to free the dragon! Eeeeee! I love Merlin's expression here, the wry "oh you are SUCH a bastard". He's very strong in this episode. I mean, he's always been, but he's more confident now, and more cynical.

- LET ME BREATHE ON YOU TO EMPOWER YOU. OMG LIKE ASLAN. Eeeee. But this dragon spell is still a total deus ex machina and is kind of TOTALLY LAZY. Unless - because he's got a little bit of dragon in him now - the whole 'loyalty to magic' conflict will intensify in the coming episodes.

- aaahhhh Cedric coming out of the smoke is so cool-looking. Cedric! <33 You may be my new minor character to be overinvested in.

- The ending REALLY REALLY SUCKED. Like, REALLY. Sucked huge hairy balls and it's still picking out pubes from between its teeth. Merlin's method of defeating Cornelius Cedric seems to be this:
1) Be possessed by Cornelius's soul.
2) ???
3) Profit!
What the fuck? I was so confused when that happened but saw there was only like five minutes left, because how are they going to resolve an evil possessed Merlin in five minutes? Answer: they DIDN'T. Is Merlin protected by the dragon's breath? Is he just supermagical now? How did he go from being possessed by Cornelius's soul (his eyes turned black and everything!) to putting it back in the jewel? The answer I'm tempted to pull is that Merlin is, in fact, STILL EVIL and is only pretending to not be possessed so Cornelius can continue bringing about the destruction of Camelot. That would be cool.

- FUCK, man, does every villain have to die?! Can't they just be thrown in a dungeon or something, so I can write fic about them in the future? Cedric is pretty cool. He's smart and ambitious. GAH. I kind of want to write a fic that's made of drabbles about the villains who have died. Nimueh, Edwin, and Cedric especially.

Hmm, not the best. Good Gaius bits, but not enough Morgana and Gwen.

A Katie&Angel interview, S2 speculations. The thing that Angel said about Gwen! About how Gwen has always been politically minded and has always been for the people. It's not just about the aristocracy! I... haven't really picked up on this in S1, but that is pretty great anyway. I WANT GWEN TO LEAD THE REVOLUTION.

How much do you love Angel and Katie fighting over who gets to be the warrior queen? And also Katie being like, "STFU ABOUT THE EVIL ALREADY"? I think very much.