If you will pardon the pun, season one of the BBC’s Merlin was “magic”. Season two was hard pressed to surpass it. We would have settled for equaling it. Sadly neither was the case. It certainly had its fun and memorable moments, but overall sank to the level of your average TV show.
Eeeevil wizard? Bad guy checklist: Greasy hair? Check. Fur or feathered outfit? Check. Dutch angle? Classic.
Season two in a sentence: Merlin has hardly grown since his climatic showdown with Nimueh of the old religion in last season’s finale and rather has increased his slapstick bumbling in the service of the other half of this comedic duo, Prince Arthur who would be dead every other episode if not for Merlin and who will soon have no Camelot to inherit if uber-dufuss King Uther continues his cavalcade of mistakes, hijinx and magic hating shenanigans while the forces of magic line up against him because of it – and oh, by the way there is a chained dragon in the basement who is getting antsy.
The smiling but under-used Morgana returns, still played by Katie McGrath (and her lovely jaw).
It was like that old Folgers Crystals commercial:
“We’ve secretly replaced season one‘s writing staff with those from a sitcom. Will the audience be able to tell the difference?” Ahh, the answer is “yes”. Merlin spent much of season two running endlessly and getting entangled in contrived situations while exchanging goofy slapstick with Arthur. Hey, we are all for a little humor, but as an addition to the serious tenor of the show, not its driving force.
Be thrilled to the amusing antics of Prince Arthur – trying to cook a chicken…
Bad Guy checklist: Cage bars? Check. Very strange over-sized collar with fur trim? Check. Animal bones? Check. Even a little dutch angle? You pass!
Despite this, Merlin season two still continued to entertain if not impress. However the goodwill built up from season one has now been spent. Much evaporated during a most dreadful mid-season slump with a wretched two-part anchor. It was a plot where Uther marries a troll. Oh, so funny. Ha ha; and wacky hijinx ensue. “Oh Uther, you kissed a troll!” …Ugh.
They also went to bed… We wanted to throw our viewing device out of the Fortress onto the arctic ice to be used as a litter box by passing polar bears.
Season one antagonist Nimueh had her arc build with multiple well written appearances. The final climatic showdown with her felt natural. Season two wandered in this department.
Are you serious? The “Witchfinder”? Is that outfit even fitting the period? More like something out of the Salem witch trials. So stereotype. Hit us over the head any harder with this tired message and we will be concussed.
Is this a R.O.U.S. (Rodent Of Unusual Size) from Princess Bride? Who was the season-arc antagonist? The Druids? Morgause? Mordred? The dragon? These giant flesh-eating gerbils from episode 4?
We can tell you who was the last antagonist, but none were a season long driving force. Without that pressure to push against, Merlin himself was adrift fighting tier two plots to various levels of entertainment.
“I’m Morgause, this season’s Nimueh. I like necromancy, conjuring death knights, oh, and long walks on the beach. Plus I am Arthur’s equal with a sword. Hmmm, kinda strange that last one.”
The show has a budget. We understand. Star Trek saved money up by making lower cost “ship treks”. Merlin too seems to have adopted this system. However if the producers of Merlin cannot get 13 episodes in the can without 5+ “castle treks”, they really need to reconsider their funding options. Additionally, make sure you keep the writing quality up -especially in those episodes that do not have new sets and effects to bouy them.
How about a castle trek where Merlin falls into a contrived and obviously doomed love affair? One that leads him so out of character that he is ready to leave everything he has fought for going on 22 episodes (and he was NOT even spelled).
“Okay, everyone stand perfectly still and do absolutely nothing but stare for 30 seconds while she transforms into a hideous beast.”
The season one dragon arc ended on an intense and awesome final note:
“You will not see me… again!” — (* that is until the first episode of next season…)
We believed what was said back then, which is why it had such weight. Season two, after deftly sidestepping that vow went on to trivialize the dragon encounters. They became the deus ex machina; the cheap answer to this week’s plot problem.
“Young wizard, do not forget your promise to free me.” Translation: “I know I have had little to do in this whole stupid season. Anyway, the viewers likely need a reminder that you did promise to free me once. It will happen sooner or later after we save up our VFX budget.”
For much of season two there is little movement on many of the major arcs: the old religion, Morgana, the dragon. Then in episode eleven the pedal gets put to the metal. Yes, the last three episodes were exciting, but lost some significance due to lack of careful build-up. Sure we liked them, they entertained and left you with a decent season ending note. However they could have - should have been more.
Mordred makes a couple inconsequential appearances. He still wonders why he has no friends.
“What about me, Lancelot? My appearance this season was even more inconsequential. But I got to reaffirm my now requited love for Guinevere. You don’t think that will cause trouble in the future, do you?”
Arthur: “Huh? Morgana, you’re in this episode? What does that make, like three?”
If Merlin was not such a good series and one which we thought had great potential, we would not care if they dropped the ball in season two. But it is, and we do, and they did.
Who is this mysterious man? What is his connection to Merlin? What are his chances of living though the whole episode?
Hey look, we found the VFX budget! Definitely not, “How to Train Your Dragon”.
Our Takes on all the Merlin Seasons:
Merlin [2008] Season 1
Merlin [2009] Season 2
Merlin [2010] Season 3
Merlin [2011] Season 4
Merlin [2011] Season 5
