#s3e13

Rowdy "Sack-of-Potatoes" Yates

S1E9 Incident of the Town in Terror, S3E10 Incident of the Buffalo Soldier, S3E13 Incident near the Promised Land, S3E6 Incident on the Road to Yesterday

metaphysical

Leading me to believe that in that scene when Hunter is looking at his helmet, he is actually thinking back to the time of their first mission. To the time where everything was simpler, where his brothers were alright, where all they had to worry about was how to complete their missions, and not fight against an empire in the search for a peaceful life that they'll most likely never get.

I've been trying so hard over the past nine hours to understand the different perspectives on this episode. I know when it hits the Youtube crowd, it's going to split a lot of opinions.

Personally, I adored this episode. It felt like the culmination of so much of this series' ideals, a masterclass in cosmic horror, and the tragic yet natural next step for Merlin's character.

I truly believe that what Merlin experienced was Realization. In this case, the Realization that there are things in the cosmos that are impossible to understand. What you do with that knowledge is one of two things:

You release control and accept the journey - accept that there are things you cannot know. This would be the final step you need to become a Mother, for understanding the borders of what is safe to know is the best way to protect others from it.

You can fight to maintain your understanding of the world - double-down in your belief. That would mean you were wrong, and you can't be wrong. This isn't fair! There must be an answer! Either find the answer or make it yourself. This would be the Dark Sonia route. Become so nihilistic that the only possible escape is recessing into memories, and in those memories, be consumed.

Honestly, it parallels so much of what I'm seeing of how fans are reacting to this newest episode. Some are accepting it as it is, others are fighting against it and attempting to rationalize it as a trick.