Merlin – Goblins, farts, and donkeys, oh my!

Julia: I’d like to believe some character growth has been achieved but … eh. Arthur and Gwen go down with me in the same category as Psych‘s Shawn and Juliet, or Duncan and Veronica in Veronica Mars. This is the anointed couple the show runners really, really want you to like, only most of their viewing audience … doesn’t. Or at least, I don’t. I appreciate that they’re trying to work out the heinous crapfest that was Arthur/Gwen in season 2, but the damage is done. Unless Arthur and Gwen are being cute, maybe a little flirty, but mostly friendly, I get traumatic flashbacks and have to put my head between my knees and breathe into a paper bag.

I also still don’t get why farting in front of Arthur was so awful, but I was raised in a house where farts are literally applauded and praised. Sometimes rated. Maybe I’m weird like that. My dad’s also bald, so I don’t get the whole bald shame thing either.

Ruby: Bald Uther — hot or not hot?

Julia: Depends. He was sort of rocking a Lex Luthor-esque vibe there. Which, if that’s what you go for, hot.

Ruby: I think he should have walked out there and owned the look. That cap with the ridiculous ear flaps was so lame. You know, Uther, a smooth scalp when combined with an even smoother British accent is SEXY — ask Captain Picard. Here’s what you do. Put on your leather jacket, march into the court, and using only your smoldering eyes, dare any of those bastards with their luscious shampoo-commercial locks to say one wrong word about your awesome bald head. Pretty soon, those lame-ass knights will be shaving their pates, trying to look like you.

Julia: That would have been way better than whatever the hell he was wearing. I don’t see how anyone could be embarrassed about farting when Uther was both farting and wearing that … thing … on his head.

Ruby: How hilarious was Merlin’s “All girls do it too — don’t they?” He’s such the perfect BFF. Only he could say that and make it come off as sweet and comforting and not at all condescending.

Julia: Speaking of BFF, Arthur! Arresting Merlin! He had such a sad face while doing it, too. Though it’s really pissed off a lot of people because a) Merlin being arrested by Arthur for magic is his worst nightmare ever and it was played off for a bit of comedy and b) Arthur loves Merlin, right (in a friend way, calm down, geez)? Why did he arrest him? I agree with the first point — they squandered a potentially great moment of drama, but as for the second problem, Arthur really had no choice, there were gaurds with him. What was he going to do, be like, “Hey guys, what’s that! Over there!” and then run away with Merlin into the sunset? (For the record, not opposed to this option.) He did try to do something about it, he just got interrupted by turning into a donkey in the middle, which is so not his fault.

Ruby: I think the only reason Arthur arrested Merlin is because Gaius is the one who accused him. Gaius loves Merlin like a son, so Arthur probably thought initially, “There has to be some truth to this if Gaius is turning Merlin in.” And the kinds of things that were happening were pranks and thefts — no one was getting killed. So maybe it was conceivable that Merlin was trying to have a bit of fun. Still, I doubt that Arthur ever considered Merlin a threat. He knows both Merlin and Gaius too well, as he proved when he tested Gaius. I think he was suspicious but he knew that Merlin was telling the truth about the goblin and it was just a matter of proving that.

Julia: Right, and there’s no way even Arthur could talk Merlin out of that one once Uther got involved and Merlin had nothing to clear his name. Arthur’s just lucky Camelot has truly awful security. Seriously, does anyone who goes to their dungeons actually … stay there?

Whatever. I don’t know why we’re dissecting Arthur when we got him shirtless, which is what’s truly important here. Shirtless and fighting his curtains. Which he lost to. Pretty miserably.

Ruby: Shirtless Arthur sighting #289. You know what was missing from this little bedtime scene? The teddy bear.

Julia: For a second I thought when Arthur rolled over he was going to grab Merlin and cuddle him close but no. No. That would have been too much to hope for, after all.

Clacked by Julia Hass
on Sep 26, 2010 @ 13:02 EST5EDT