Merlin is one of those materials that I discovered purely by accident, and not because it was blatantly recommended to me by somebody. I saw pictures of this medieval series and thought I could give it a try because I wanted something else besides Ice and Fire to occupy my attention. It was during the height of my obsession for Game of Thrones and I wanted something as rich and as mesmerizing a world as Westeros, I wanted knights in armors and dragons and ladies in gorgeous dresses and tourneys and jousts and magic spells. Camelot seemed like a perfect fit.
The BBC series that began in 2008 featured a different telling of the Arthurian legends. Instead of a long-bearded and old wizard Merlin from the stories, we had a young warlock who had a great destiny paved for him to discover and realize. The title role played by (the really amazing) Colin Morgan, Merlin was set to serve and help the then young and slightly obnoxious Prince Arthur, portrayed by (the equally fantastic) Bradley James. Together, and with the not-so-little help from Merlin's concealed magic, they set aright the threats and villains besieging what was destined to be the great kingdom of Camelot, as well as the united lands of Albion.
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| © 2008-2012 BBC / Merlin Television Partners |
Right from the beginning, I have deemed the series campy. And when I thought of comparing it with the complexity of Game of Thrones, it just paled in comparison. But Merlin did not pretend to be more than it was, especially during the first couple of seasons. It is a family show, meant to be seen by kids, so the good always defeated the evil, along with the great dragon's wisdom and Merlin's powers. The four lead characters, Merlin, Arthur, Morgana (Katie McGrath) and Gwen (Angel Coulby) were a delight to watch. And even when the series went on to become darker and more mature, the series balanced the sense of foreboding with the chemistry between the characters, especially between Merlin and Arthur.
Towards the last two seasons, however, I just felt like the plot got unbearably repetitive for every episode. I think the reason why I stuck with it until the end was because I got really invested in the characters already, and I hoped to see Arthur be the greatest King he would be or Camelot as the kingdom of legends. The end, to be honest, made me feel betrayed. Merlin had so much potential and the series minimized it to defeating the villain-of-the-week instead building up to a stronger and more virtuous king who had brought forth a new era where magic was allowed to flourish.
But the end, oh that damned end that had me restless and weeping for hours and days, was probably the best the series could offer considering the path the general plot had taken. As both the actors and even the producer had said, without putting it implicitly, the series was about the platonic love story between Arthur and Merlin who trusted and needed each other and who made the other a more worthy person. Colin and Bradley did a really really supreme job of translating into the screen the chemistry between them and their characters. It was probably what made me love this series more than I should. Colin and Bradley made us, the viewers, relate to Arthur and Merlin by wishing that we could have someone like Arthur to believe in or someone like Merlin to trust in.
I really couldn't have prepared myself for the sentiments this utterly campy series had brought me. And I have got more than I came for--stunning costumes, amazing musical scores, deliciously beautiful sets and mise-en-scene, exciting cavalry sorties, magic spells, sorcerers and witches, kings and queens and knights and ladies, engaging and clever dialogues, superb actors and actresses (Colin won Best Actor!!!) portraying complex characters, and the emotional investment on a story I will keep coming back to in the time to come.
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