evil sorcerer

I did a thing, Merlin fandom.

a few years ago I made this

But I wanted to make a better one

I have searched for as many angles of Bradley and Colin, from as many years as possible.

To create the templates, I have made two Prezi presentations so I can have multiple photos for each angle. You can click on the angle you want, and if it's one I marked with green, you'll find what you need

I'll keep working on it in the future, so it will expand

Colin Morgan reference table

Bradley James reference table

This is how they look when you open the link:

If you click on one, this is what you'll see:

Hi!  Yeah, you’re right, I do really dislike the finale X)  And as for the magic reveal - aka the scene with the “i use it for you, only for you” line?  Yeah, it’s not really my cup of tea.

I try not to talk about the finale too much, because I mostly try to engage with Merlin in a positive way and the finale is something about which I really only have negative things to say.  It’s a failure of storytelling on a catastrophic scale, and I don’t think this scene is any better than the rest of it, personally.

It’s - it’s kind of hard for me to critique individual scenes in the finale, because for me the entire premise of the last two episodes is just so flawed that analyzing bits of it in more detail just feels silly, but some of the things I find unsatisfying about it are these:

- I don’t think Merlin would confess.  I just don’t.  Especially in a situation where it wasn’t unavoidably necessary.  There was no reason why Gaius couldn’t just tell Arthur “we need to get you to the Lake of Avalon to be healed; Merlin will take you.”  There wasn’t any inescapable need for Arthur to be told that Merlin has magic, and without being forced to, by circumstances beyond his control, I don’t believe Merlin would ever willingly give up his secret.  (Maybe later, when they’re approached by soldiers and Merlin has no choice but to use magic to fight them off - but I don’t think Merlin would ever reveal himself without his hand being forced.)

- I do not think Merlin desperately scrambling to justify his existence as a person with magic by saying “I use it for you; only for you” was the right tone for the writers to have him take at the end of this show.

- to clarify: I despise that line.  What message, exactly, are we trying to communicate here?  The point of the ‘liberate magic from oppression’ storyline was that we were trying to get to a spot where people with magic could proudly say it is not a crime to fight for the right to be who you are.  The story was supposed to be driving at the world’s recognition that there is nothing inherently wrong with having or using magic, and Merlin was supposed to be the one ultimately championing that cause.  But instead we chose to end on a flinching, desperate note of ‘i have magic, BUT!  i only use it for you, so it’s okay.  i’m not bad like all those other people.’

That’s bullshit.  Merlin should not have to provide a “but - ” at the end of “i have magic.”  That is not the message this show was driving at for the previous five seasons.  Merlin was supposed to reach a point where he could genuinely declare what Dragoon confuses Camelot’s dungeon guards with: i am who i am and i am who i was and i am who i always will be.  And Arthur was supposed to reach a point where he would acknowledge that magical folk do not need to apologize or make excuses for their existence.

Moreover - the line ‘i use it for you, only for you’ is untrue, no matter how much shippers love hearing it.  Merlin does not and has never used his magic solely for Arthur’s benefit.  Never.  Merlin uses magic for his own purposes, his own missions, for things he personally thinks are important.  He protects Ealdor, hides Freya, helps Lancelot become a knight, retrieves the dragon egg, releases Kilgharrah, saves his mother, heals Gwen’s father, rescues little Mordred.  He does his chores with magic so he can sit around and read books.  He cleans stained shirts with magic so he can show off for his friend.  He makes horses out of smoke and dragons out of sparks because it's fun.  His magic is not and has never been a gift for Arthur alone; it’s part of who Merlin is.

I just think the show missed the mark with this moment.  There is nothing about it that I find compelling or emotionally satisfying.  It does not take Merlin’s character anywhere near the place where he was ultimately supposed to go.  And trying to wrap up Arthur’s “change of heart” on magic in one episode was impossibly ill-conceived.  It doesn’t feel believable.  There is no way that a situation of this magnitude could have been resolved so quickly.  The way they zip Arthur from “magic bad” to “magic good” does his character a terrible disservice.  He’s never allowed to grow or come to the conclusion “magic good” on his own.  He never has to work for it, so his turnaround feels completely empty.  It’s not a victory.  It’s a waste of his potential.  He didn’t have to do any hard work to change himself, so he didn’t actually achieve anything.

Hi, nice to meet you! :D  So, I’ll admit right up front that the first part of my answer to this is gonna be super boring, because I am totally the worst person to ask about other ways this scene (or any scene, really) could have played out.  I’ve never had much interest in AU scenarios, so I virtually never think about them - I think the only exception is the “Will comes to Camelot” story that a few friends and I are perpetually playing around with, and that’s only interesting to me because it’s Will, and I enjoy pretty much anything where he’s concerned. X) 

But besides that, I don’t typically enjoy thinking about alternate pathways - I really like the way the canon Merlin story plays out up until the finale, so generally all I want to do is think about the canon.  I’ve never wanted to dream up new ways for things to go (I dunno why; I’ve just never gotten much interest out of it).  So unfortunately I don’t have any cool ideas about other ways this could have played out, but I know there are tons of people in this fandom who love making lots of AUs, so maybe if anybody has recommendations they can point you in the right direction in the replies here!

In terms of just general thoughts on 2.08, one of the most interesting things to me about this episode to me is how Morgause actually *is* lying (not completely, but enough.)  She doesn’t tell Arthur the whole truth about what happened with Uther, and she doesn’t even truly summon Ygraine; it’s an illusion of Morgause’s own making.  And we know that because “Ygraine” herself gives it away - earlier in this episode, Arthur says, “I never knew [my mother].  She died before I opened my eyes,” but then when the so-called Ygraine appears, the show specifically makes sure to have her say, “When I last held you, you were a tiny baby.  I remember your eyes.  You were staring up at me.”  Which is the tip-off for us - that’s not her.  

And because of this, Morgause has complete control over the framing of what Arthur hears in this scene.  It’s true that Uther went to Nimueh, and it’s true that he knew a life would have to be taken in return, but he didn’t know whose.  Morgause, though, through her illusion of Ygraine, specifically makes it sound like Uther knew Ygraine herself would die (”He sacrificed my life so the Pendragon dynasty could continue”), and I mean, it’s not that I think Uther’s decision is any better just because he was willing to sacrifice some random person’s life instead of his wife’s, but it’s relevant that Morgause embellishes the truth specifically to engineer a particular reaction from Arthur.

And, given this, it’s also relevant to note that Merlin doesn’t actually lie to Arthur at the end of this episode.  He says, “Morgause is lying.  She’s an enchantress.  She tricked you.  That wasn't your mother.  It was an illusion.  Everything, everything your mother said to you - those were Morgause's words.”  And that’s true.  Arthur makes the assumption that this means that the substance of Morgause’s words was all false - and Merlin allows him to think this - but Merlin never actually says as much.  

And to be honest, it shouldn’t even matter what Merlin says.  Afterwards, when Arthur asks Uther flat-out whether Merlin is right, Uther never actually denies the part he played in Ygraine’s death.  Arthur says, “Swear to me that it isn’t true, that you are not responsible for her death,” but Uther just replies, “I swear on my life, I loved your mother.  There isn't a day that passes that I don't wish she were alive.  I could never have done anything to hurt her.”  It’s a pretty clever bit of maneuvering, but it’s not a denial.  He swears that he loved her.  He doesn’t swear that he didn’t cause her death.  

And the thing is, Arthur is fully capable of realizing this.  Uther’s dodge is painfully obvious to everyone listening.  Arthur knows what he really asked his father, and he hears the evasion his father offers in response, same as everybody else in the room.  Regardless of what Merlin said previously about Morgause (all of which is technically correct!), Arthur is still completely capable of arriving at the truth on his own.  Uther’s own words make it very clear.  If Arthur would just think about it a little harder, or look at it a little deeper, he would see that.  

But he doesn’t want to.  He chooses not to examine it too closely.  It would be too hard to accept, and it would hurt too much, and the only way he can make all his difficult feelings go away is to fall back on a familiar, comfortable, “sorcery is evil” explanation.  It papers over the truth for him.  It allows him to continue on with his life without having to confront pain.

And that’s a problem, as I’ve said many times before.  We can rag on Merlin all we want for having the audacity to stop a friend from committing patricide, and we can blame him for arresting Arthur’s momentum and letting Uther live and sentencing the magical community to further suffering, but the ultimate fact of the matter is that Arthur is the one who ultimately chooses to look away here.  Arthur has all of the information he needs regardless of what Merlin says, and he chooses not to pursue it, because it would cause him too much pain.

And it’s not the first time he’s done this.  I talked about it before, in the tags of this post, when Arthur reacts to a so-called sorcerer who dies saving his life, and it’s the same exact progression - he’s confronted by something that challenges his worldview, and for a second he feels troubled/pained/guilty, and then, to escape those uncomfortable feelings, he retreats back into a framework that makes sense to him.  A framework that is easier for him.  A framework that hurts less, and, most importantly, a framework that doesn’t implicate him in any wrongdoing.

So what I’m saying is, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter if Merlin tells Arthur that Morgause was tricking him or not.  She was!  And Merlin’s acknowledgment of that fact isn’t enough to dissuade Arthur from attacking his father; Arthur is still pressing Uther to swear his innocence after Merlin says it.  It’s Uther’s words that make Arthur back down, but those words are also exactly what make Uther’s guilt apparent.  

Where was your OC born, and where did they grow up?

How does your OC remember their childhood? Is this an accurate reflection of what their childhood was actually like?

If your OC could revisit their childhood, what would they want to change about it, if anything at all?

Describe three of the most important photographs your OC owns.

What is your OC's gender identity and sexual orientation? Is this also what they identify as in canon, or are they not (fully) aware?

How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they like who they are? What would they want to change about themself?

What is your OC's occupation?

What does your OC's family look like?

Describe a mundane day in your OC's life.

Does your OC have any physical scars? What is the story behind them?

What does your OC carry around in their pockets? What about their bag?

What is the worst thing that has happened to your OC? How has it affected their behavior, their health, and their life in general?

What is something your OC does (to others) that they would not like if others did to them? Are they aware that they do this?

Does your OC hold grudges? How good are they at letting things go? Do they believe in second chances?

What is your OC's fatal flaw?

Is there anyone your OC has lost contact with? What happened?

What are some of your OC's coping mechanisms during stressful or overwhelming periods in their life?

What are your OC's bad habits?

How does your OC handle preparing for and initiating a difficult conversation? How does the conversation itself go?

How quick is your OC to shift blame? Do they own up to their mistakes, or are they prone to start pointing fingers at others?

How does your OC handle criticism?

How good is your OC at apologizing, if they do this at all?

What is your OC like when they're angry?

What is your OC like when they're upset?

What is your OC's deepest desire? Would they ever ask for this?

How quickly does your OC reach their breaking point? What are they like when this point has been reached?

What are some assumptions others make about your OC? Are any of them true?

What does your OC think others are saying about them behind their back? Is any of this true?

What are three traits your OC has that can both have positive as well as negative qualities?

How paranoid is your OC? How does this affect their daily life?

Are there any places or people your OC is avoiding?

How does your OC handle rejection?

How does your OC handle jealousy?

What would be some of the signs your OC is starting to push people away?

If your OC had to kill someone, how would they do it? If killing is a near-daily occurrence to them, what is their preferred method?

Does your OC believe they deserve it when bad things happen to them?

What is the most common feeling or emotion in your OC's life?

What is the most recurring theme in your OC's nightmares?

What is your OC's pain tolerance like? What is the worst pain they have ever felt?

What is your OC afraid of?

Has your OC ever hurt someone, either physically or verbally?

How easily influenced by others is your OC?

What are common things your OC worries about?

Do others consider your OC to be scary or intimidating?

Does your OC keep their promises? Have they ever broken one before?

Does your OC carry any guilt with them?

If your OC had to pick a new identity and skip town, what would they come up with? Where would they go?

What would your OC do if they knew that this was their last day alive?

Does your OC fear death?

BAFTAS 2016 A celebration of television’s brightest stars

Colin Morgan  ‘I’m a massive Fargo fan’

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For four years and 65 episodes of the BBC’s Merlin, Colin Morgan was playing mainly to children. Now he is making TV squarely aimed at grown-ups. To his ongoing turn opposite Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan in serial killer drama The Fall, last year he added a starring role in Humans, Channel 4’s acclaimed artificial intelligence thriller.

“When I did my research I discovered that what I’d read in the script wasn’t too far from reality. It’s pretty crazy,” he says. “The AI theme seems to be really in at the minute.”

Morgan’s other project for the coming year is The Living and the Dead, a new six-part drama for the BBC written by the team behind Life on Mars. Morgan plays the lead. “It’s set in 1894, during the industrial revolution. It’s about a man who inherits a family home, but when he returns to it he’s haunted by a horrific past. I’m looking forward to it. It really explores the line between what is psychological and what is paranormal and is not like anything I’ve done.”

Favourite recent shows: Fargo – I’m a massive Coen brothers fan and I loved the film, so it was exciting to see it work so well as a TV series.

Childhood TV: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Knightmare, the live-action immersive game show for kids.

Game show you’d appear on: I fear game shows – I don’t really like being put on the spot. I’ll say something obstacle-coursey, like Gladiators. Actually that’s getting absolutely pummelled by someone…

Photographer: Jonathan Birch. Colin wears Hudson suit by Kenneth Cole and rollneck by Linea

——

A celebration of television’s brightest starsThe House of Fraser Bafta TV awards on Sunday 8 May will round off another fantastic year for British talent. In this remarkable portfolio of some of the biggest names on the small screen, everyone from Sharon Horgan to Colin Morgan, and Katherine Parkinson to Stephen Mangan, plus a host of others, reveal their highlights from the TV year.

source : http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/ng-interactive/2016/may/01/baftas-2016-meet-televisions-brightest-stars

http://www.jonathanbirch.co.uk/new-gallery/#itemId=57244fc162cd94a6ca00c040

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