Arthur and Gwen Article: SciFiBulletin 5.06 Spoiler Free Review

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posted by missNST

Merlin: Review: Series 5 Episode 6: The Dark Tower (spoiler-free)

Morgana kidnaps Gwen and takes her to the Dark Tower…

We are very definitely getting into Stephen King territory with this episode with some real horrors, both physical and psychological – I’ll be very interested to see what certification this gets from the BBFC for the DVD release. This certainly isn’t an episode for younger children! The Dark Tower isn’t part of established Arthurian lore – its origins appear to be in Shakespeare’s King Lear – but it fits in well with the BBC variant, which hasn’t hesitated in the past to adopt elements from every version of the myth, and is now doffing its hat to Stephen King’s epic saga, in which Arthur-Eld is a key part of the backstory of the Dark Tower.

This is one of the first times that we see Merlin in his proper role to Arthur: he’s not just a guide in this episode, he is the one who has a lot of the solutions, and we’re seeing a gradual realisation by Arthur that this is the case. Arthur, Merlin and the knights’ quest is counterpointed with some nasty scenes for Gwen, and a more subtle play by Morgana than she’s sometimes used. We also learn more about what happened to Arthur’s nemesis during the three-year gap between series four and five, which do help to explain the changes we’ve seen in Morgana this year. Both Angel Coulby and Katie McGrath excel, making up, particularly in the former’s case, for what has seemed like a reduction in role for the character in recent weeks.

Don’t let anyone spoil the developments of the final act: it remains to be seen whether what they set up will be retreading old ground, or whether the show is willing to go even darker…

Verdict: Those who wanted a more proactive Merlin will be pleased by this. 7/10

EPaws likes this

EPaws INTRIGUING! SO THERE! YES TO PROACTIVE MERLIN - LESS OF THE FREAKIN EMO SHIT!

kbrand5333 Anyone else notice that the remarks about Katie in all these reviews are kind of saying "she generally sucks, but she's actually not bad in this one." ??

Yasmine29 Yes, i noticed that, it's not far from the truth !! Katie is a good actress but she has to improve all the time because of the fabulous acting skills of the others. This will be a fantastic episode !

famfan Well.... this is going to be very interesting....

vaniadinis my body is not ready...........not ready to see my gwen suffer, but i'm looking for Angel's performances and a very concern arthur

kbrand5333 See, I disagree, Yasmine. I do not think Katie is a good actress.

Yasmine29 Yes, Kbrand 5333, you are right. I have misspoken, i think she isn't too bad for someone who didn't have an acting formation, but she is bad compared to Angel Coulby that's for sure !!!!!

lailastar Poor Gwen, they really like to torture her character. She has gone through more losses and pain than any of the other characters and there are more losses to come, a brother and possibly a husband.

Theogirl ^ This. I just want to give her a hug.

Lucerne28 It is going to be hard watching poor Gwen being tormented , and then having her free will taken away for several episodes thanks to the witch Morgana. I need more details on episode 9 asap. I need something to look forward to during these dark times. I hope Gwen and Arwen fans get a big pay off after what promises to be one hell of a torturous ride for our favorite heroine.

Bonne-Bell I'm pretty sure that Morgana's going to get away with this like she always does when it comes to Gwen and the only pay off that Gwen is going to get is getting de-enchanted in the end. This is what always happens with this show so I'm not expecting much. So pissed off right now. She might even end up losing her brother, her only remaining family member, over this,

EPaws Oh I noticed plenty that everyone finds Morgana what she is a cartoon cut out. Trust me, I didn't miss it or the regular fact that everyone is mentioning and I do mean everyone is mentioning that there is not enough ANGEL COULBY in the episodes to date. She has a right to anger. She has a right to retribution at her own hand.

EPaws May, I am equally aggravated that Guinevere never gets to own her anger or indignation or be allowed emotions and getting even. That she is just a passive used doll in this shit. Pisses me off entirely.

arwentko1 Bonne-Bell if she does end up losing Elyan, then I hope they give her some scenes with her reaction to her loss and not turn it into a Merlin, Morgana or Arthur story as have happened in the past. Let this be about her afterall. I would really like to see how she handles the loss of her brother, if this is the case.

hapybeinginsane Me too! But in spite of the fact I am still a little mad at Elyan in lieu of his actions waaay back in 4x09, he is the only family Gwen has left and I really, really don't want her to lose him. I know that Angel would handle the acting of grief amazingly, but she has had to do it so many times already that it certainly would not enamour me having to watch it yet again. Not is it repetetive and boring, but it just goes to show how little imagination the writers have when it comes to Angel's storylines. That said, her wearing black and acting strangely in 5x07 could be thought by other characters to be as a result of her loss, which is why they may not be suspicious at first.

merlinfreaks I really can't wait any more!!! 2 days to go though !!!!!!! Does Elyan DEFIANTLY die??? Just curious :)

Bonne-Bell There's rumors that he's going to die. And one of the teasers is a prophecy which seems to be telling the knights that one of them will die on the mission.

kenya1234j I am so looking forward to this episode.

HumbleQueen We don't know Elyan definitely dies, but every time we get clues to this episode seems more and more like it. The whole black dress thing will be interesting probably because of its double meaning. So we'll be seeing more tragedies that the Gwen character will have to endure, having gone from a maid in service to the ward of the king, to being queen over the kingdom. The unfortunate part is that she's not been given much screen time this season, because her story would be quite an awesome one if handled right. And all the changes and trials that her character has gone through is an amazing challenge for an actress. No small matter and it's one of the reasons Angel is so good for the part because she rises to that challenge. Stacey is right, many of these reviewers seem to have noticed she's been scarce early on in the season; hoping against hope that it gets made up for in upcoming episodes. So one thing we can see, this episode doesn't end well. Once again, I'll have my tissues handy. Somehow I'm not nearly as unnerved as I was on the approach of 4x09 though.

lailastar Like I said somewhere else she will not be able to mourn him properly because of the evil enchantment, true emotion will be missing. It will be after the enchantment is lifted she will feel the pain of loss, but pretty sure TPTB will simply skip over this and mismanage this situation, once again not allowing her to show her anger and rage against Morgana for taking her brother away from her and not be able to mourn him as she should have. I want Gwen to hit Morgana and hit her HARD, so she feels pain, they should at least give her that satisfaction

Bonne-Bell You and me both, lailastar. Hence my frustration with this show. You know it's just occurred to me that all of this is going to happen on the eve of her father's death. Morgana used her father as a tool for her personal vendetta against Uther and then lied to Gwen about her involvement in her father's death. She's now going to be kidnapping and torturing her on the eve of his death and might possibly kill her brother on that same day. I swear if they try to pull some bullshit redemption storyline for Morgana at the end of the series, I will lose it. She's a fucking psychopath who preys on people and feels no remorse for anything that she does. That redemption ship has sailed.

ellarose88 Agreed Bonnie! Especially if they kill Elyan off!

HMGwen I think Gwen is not only going to get mad she's going to get even. I think when the enchantment is broken and everyone figures things out, GWEN is going to be the one that takes it to Morgana, and it's long overdue. I read that Gwen and Morgana will actually fight this season. My guess is Merlin will block Morgana's powers again (you know this show believes in recycling) to level the field. Talk about your get-the-popcorn moment. Gwen will probably beat up Morgana so badly she comes close to killing her (who can blame her) but pulls back. She realizes by killing her she will become just like Morgana, showing the Gwen that we have come to know and love. She will not let despair and sorrow define who she is. Morgana lets circumstances make her what she is. I don't care what happened to Morgana while in captivity, it's no excuse for her heightened cruelty. This arc will show that Morgana, despite her claims, would have been a bad ruler for Camelot. The one-week reigns are clue one,but her meltdowns and her twisted thinking that her imprisonment has exacebated, shows she has no business handling the responsibility of a kingdom. Gwen, however. will come out of this ordeal stronger, fully understanding the full demension of being a queen - good and bad- making her a better consort for Arthur and a magnificent queen for Camelot. Long may she reign.

kbrand5333 ^Damn, I hope you're right.

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Guinevere by Melisey

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A/G - I'm not a princess

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S1 Chibis - part 1

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Sweet Dreams Everyone

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The King and Queen of Camelot

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Ah, found it. Here is the email and other contact information for BBC Merlin

posted by Bonne-Bell

If you want to contact them to let them know that you're upset or to praise them for when they actually do something good.

1) Johnny Capps
43-45 Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill
London W11 3LQ
UK

2) Merlin
Primrose Studios
109 Regent's Park Road
London NW1 8UR
UK

3) BBC Audience Services
PO Box 1922
Darlington
DL3 0UR

4) BBC Wales (Cardiff)
(c/o Merlin Production Office)
Broadcasting House
Llandrisant Rd., Llandaff
CardiffCF5 2YQ
UK

5) Email feedback page: link

6) Telephone 03703 500 700 * (weekdays 9.30am to 7.30pm).

7) link (they don't allow for messages to be sent on their tumblr but if you reblog something of theirs and comment, they'll see it).

8)link

9)link

10) Main BBC complaint page (thanks, Stacey):
link