6.29.2009 IMHO "Merlin" (1.3-1.4): “Honey, don’t you think Arthur and Merlin are spending a little too much time together?”

IMHO "Merlin" (1.3-1.4): “Honey, don’t you think Arthur and Merlin are spending a little too much time together?”

Posted by

Brent Hartinger

on June 29, 2009

 

Another Sunday night, another two episodes of Merlin (although next week, the show – if it survives, which is questionable given its disastrous ratings – is back to a single episode per night).
Okay, all you U.K. Merlin viewers who have already seen all thirteen episodes and have been saying how terrific it is?
You win. You’re right. This is a great show. Last night’s episodes, “The Mark of Nimueh” and “The Poisoned Chalice,” were the one-two punch that proved to me that this is potentially a great series.
In the first episode, the evil sorceress Nimueh creates a magical plague in the kingdom of Camelot. The evil tyrant Uther (Anthony Stewart Head, who played Giles on Buffy) and Merlin’s kind mentor Gaius, who both agree that magic is bad, have different strategies for what must be done:
Uther says kill the witch who cast the spell, and Gaius says use science to cure the disease.
Merlin, of course, has a third idea: he wants to use his own magic to stop the plague.

(Granted, Merlin is turning out to be a little like Samantha on Bewitched in that he’s doing magic all the time – he just can’t ever let Darrin Gaius, Arthur, and Uther knows he’s doing it!)
Anyway, Merlin’s plan runs into trouble when his use of magic to save Gwen’s (pictured below left) father gets her arrested for witchcraft. Meanwhile, I must resign myself to the fact that – in a major break from Camelot lore – Merlin loves Guinevere (or “Gwen,” as she called here), and she loves him back. I wonder what this bodes for Lancelot, who shows up next week.

I particularly liked the scene in this episode when, in order to save Gwen, Merlin admits outright that he is a sorcerer … and no one believes him. This is a little like when Clark Kent declares he is Superman, and everyone just laughs at how completely preposterous the idea is.

(Later, there’s also a nice “Lois Lane” moment when Morgana says she knows Merlin’s “secret” and she’s okay with it, and Merlin, flustered, assumes she is talking about his ability to do magic — when, in fact, she’s simply referring to his love for Gwen.)
In the second episode of the night – and this was my favorite – Nimueh is back, cleverly tricking Merlin into drinking from a poisoned chalice (and hopefully starting a war in the process). Fortunately, it’s one of TV “slow-acting” poisons, giving Arthur a chance to head off in search of the antidote (a rare flower that grows in one cave on the underside of some roots).
And I can I just say? Yes, it kind of sucks that the only powerful/interesting female character on the show is an evil sorceress, but I really appreciate that Nimueh is so smart. I love that her plans are complicated.
This is also the episode where the show’s much-discussed “ho-yay” – homoerotic subtext – really kicks in.

Or – can I just say? Maybe it doesn’t.
Yes, we learn about the very special bond that Merlin and Arthur share – in the words of the dragon, they’re two sides of the same coin. At the start of “The Poisoned Chalice,” Arthur heads off on a quest to save Merlin’s life (defying the command of his father Uther, natch). But by the end of the episode, it’s Merlin who ends up saving his life.
In short, one can’t get an itch without the other scratching it. They literally need each other to exist.
Now I know I might be knocking myself out of IMHO-ing job here on AfterElton.com, but I’m not sure I see this as anything sexual.
First, Merlin is clearly heterosexual, hitting on every female who walks in the room. The bond Merlin and Arthur share seems to me (so far) like that of brothers – and not the incestuous brothers I wrote about in today’s edition of Ask the Flying Monkey. It just doesn’t seem sexual in any way.
That said, I’m loving where the show is going with this, how Merlin is slowly starting to understand how it’s his destiny to protect Arthur.
Meanwhile, it’s also dawning on Arthur that he and Merlin are connected as well – and, in a way, this is more interesting than what’s happening to Merlin, because Arthur doesn’t understand why he feels the way he does. He just … does.
Then there’s King Uther, who is also sensing the bond that is growing between Merlin and Arthur, and he’s obviously very threatened by it.
Okay, as I’m writing this, I’m sort of talking myself into seeing the whole “ho-yay” thing. But I still don’t see it as anything particularly sexual.
Still, last night’s episodes won me over. This is a terrific show!