IMHO "Merlin" (1.10): Merlin decides to come out!
Finally!
NBC aired two episodes of Merlin last night, and after ten episodes, they finally showed one with a fair amount of hoyay (or gay subtext).Merlin's home village is threatened by a warlord, but when his mother comes to Camelot asking Uther for help, he turns her down. So Merlin decides he must leave Arthur and go back to the village.
(Incidentally, what about all of Merlin's vows in earlier episodes to protect Arthur — his answering of the dragon's call, and that their destinies are completely intertwined, etc. etc.? All completely forgotten, at least for this episode.)
Anyway, the hoyay is soon flying fast and furious. Why did Merlin leave his village in the first place? "I just didn't fit in anymore," he says. "I wanted to find somewhere where I do."
When Merlin talks to the former village bully, the bully says, "Why did you leave? I wouldn't have told anyone."
Later, Merlin says, "If Arthur doesn't accept me for who I really am, he's not the friend I hoped he was."
In the show, Merlin is talking about his secret ability to do magic. But he's really talking about being gay, right?
"The moment of truth" from the appropriately-named title is the moment when Merlin decides to use his magic to save his village — despite the fact that Arthur will then know the truth.
Basically, Merlin decides to "come out" to Arthur about being gay a sorcerer.
The problem is, when Merlin finally does use his magic, he conjures a wind that sort of blows the warriors away. Seriously? Wind?
Then, before Merlin can admit the truth to Arthur, the dying warlord tries to shoot him with an arrow, and the former village bully throws himself in front of it, not only saving Arthur's life, but also declaring, in his final breath, that he, not Merlin, is the gay one the sorcerer.
(But, um, why doesn't Merlin use his magic — the magic that he just used — to save him?)
Anyway, the show finally gave me some reason to justify my writng all these recaps (other than the geek-lectable Colin Morgan!).
But can I just say? I think the hoyay on this show was wildly over-stated. American shows like Smallville and Xena: Warrior Princess were doing more subtext than this ten years ago. Were our U.K. readers just overly excited because someone was finally doing it with an English accent?
There was also a second episode last night, "The Labyrinth of Gedref," that pretty much proves my point: almost no hoyay whatsoever. So I'm not even going to review it. Neener, neener, neener!
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