thoughts

• bbc merlin tag •

what is up my fellow gays

how is everyone doing? ive had a horribly unproductive week. everyday i wake up and i'm like wow, today's the day, today will be different and then the day actually s t a r t s and i'm like huh

wild

anyway

as the title suggests, i am going to do the merlin tag! not because anyone tagged me, but because rambling about my obsessions and forcing my opinions onto the people who read this book are the two things i do best :)))

needless to say, this will contain hella spoilers for bbc merlin. i am not holding back anything. which means, ellianna love, if youre reading this, kindly fuck off. i have kept many plot points from you for so long, don'T SPOIL IT NOW

edit from future virgil: i didn't realise i was going to ramble on q u i e t so much when i first set out writing this so uh, sorry in advance?

edit from even more future virgil: FUCK THIS IS SO LONG I'M SO SORRY

1 | favourite character?

i mean. it has to be merlin, for so many reasons. for a start, his character development is incredibly well crafted; i wouldn't go as far as to say he was arrogant in the first season? i think it was almost (sadly) the peak of his pride for his gifts, co-existing with his clear struggle of being the village freak back in ealdor before being sent to fucking camelot of all places. back then he was so desperate to know why he had such strong magic, what it purpose was. throughout the preceding seasons, we see him develop his talents, saving arthur's life over and over, and he quickly switches from someone who is desperate for recognition to feeling no need for it at all. it's more that he just wants people (arthur) to see him for who he is and accept him, he doesn't care much for the glory. that's one of my favourite things about him. it also bodes well with the whole magic-being-a-metaphor-for-being-queer thing, which as a mostly closeted trans person resonates with me possibly more than anything ive ever watched? F U T H E R M O R E i really like the way the writers handled merlin's uhhhh mental well-being. he was a pretty happy kid in the first couple of seasons, but over the years you can see the weight of his destiny begin to take toll, and as a result i honestly think season three is the last time we see him truly happy. the darkest hour then happens, he loses lancelot, and although then arthur is king things are still shit, aren't they? by season five our poor boy is just sad all the god damn fucking time, with GOOD REASON, fucking druid prophecies. anyway, what i like about it is that it's realistic emotional development. yeah, it's not the main focus of any episode (except perhaps the sorcerer's shadow? sorta?), but the writers weren't like eh he'll be FINE it's not THAT BAD. i just think he has one of the most well developed characters in the show. that's why i love him.

oh my god ALSO they let him cry! fairly often too! when you would expect a normal human being to cry! it's alarming how rare it is to see male characters actually cry on screen but damn that is something they nailed with merlin.

but honestly guys, despite all that analytical bullshit above, colin is fucking gorgeous and i think that's enough justification for him being my favourite.

2 | favourite episode?

oh, fucking h e l l

okay i do have a definitive answer for this but let's talk through some honourable mentions first.

the moment of truth holds a special place in my heart. will is the first of the many people merlin loses and it hurts like hell YAY. hunith is a legend, but mainly i just love that merlin's friends do actually give a shit about him and that we get insight into his Tragic Backstory.