This is a very superficial review of this premiere. I really disliked Brianna's wedding dress. It was coarse, almost like burlap, and the beige color was odd and not flattering. I know they could have done better, remembering how much effort was put into Claire's wedding dress. Brianna didn't look much different than usual on her wedding day so it was odd that Jamie appeared so breathtaken (made up word) when he saw her. Also, what is wrong with Claire's hair- it does not need to be so frumpy and unbecoming- not to mention obviously fake. It doesn't do justice to her beautiful face. I was hoping they'd get that straightened out this season. She's become an uninteresting wallflower and no longer compares to the strong, fiery heroine she was in the first couple of seasons. Jamie's now the main hero of the story- which is fine, he deserves it. In this role he's the most beautiful person I've ever seen, top to bottom and inside and out. And his hair looks good. But they are not as interesting as a couple this way, now that he completely overshadows her. I loved seeing Jamie in a kilt again, but wish the whole outfit and hair more closely resembled what he wore in season 1, rather than a hybrid between a new world frontiersman and a highlander - that would have been more impactful. At any rate, the fiery cross scene was very nice, harkening back to the now extinct clan culture, and allowing Jamie to be Laird again.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Merlin
(2008–2012)
A Guinevere with inner beauty
6 September 2018
I LOVED this TV series. Loved all the twists and surprises. Loved Merlin as undercover magician and as Arthur's peer instead of an old man. Especially loved the twist of having an atypical Guinevere, who was adorable but not the classic regal beauty you'd expect for the part. This Guinevere was all about inner beauty; she was warm and kind, strong and brave, and connected strongly with Arthur, standing up to him but also making him feel great about himself (especially in the earlier seasons- she was more subdued in later seasons). This worked so well and added depth to Arthur's character and to the show overall. In the book "The mists of Avalon", Gwenwyfar is unsympathetically portrayed as a shallow woman whose main worthiness comes from her physical beauty. The Guinevere in Merlin is such a lovely contrast with that one.
The whole cast had great chemistry. Casting is almost everything, and it was done so well in this series.
One negative was the character of Morgana, who was one dimensional with a less than plausible evolution from good to bad. She was somewhat unimaginatively portrayed as a powerful woman who is evil. We get enough of that in real life and I thought they could have added some complexity to her character.
A comment about "accuracy" - there's no such thing as "accuracy" when it comes to magical folklore. Almost nothing is known about the real Arthur. The beauty of a timeless legend is that you can keep its higher level meaning while varying the lower level details. That's what keeps it interesting across the millennia.
The whole cast had great chemistry. Casting is almost everything, and it was done so well in this series.
One negative was the character of Morgana, who was one dimensional with a less than plausible evolution from good to bad. She was somewhat unimaginatively portrayed as a powerful woman who is evil. We get enough of that in real life and I thought they could have added some complexity to her character.
A comment about "accuracy" - there's no such thing as "accuracy" when it comes to magical folklore. Almost nothing is known about the real Arthur. The beauty of a timeless legend is that you can keep its higher level meaning while varying the lower level details. That's what keeps it interesting across the millennia.
abysmally bad
17 August 2009
This show was remarkably unsympathetic. If you want to watch a one-sided bashing of Michael Jackson, this is the show for you. It was kind of like watching a witch hunt... ominous background music made transparent the point of view of the show's creators. In the last half of this show, he is cast in SUCH a negative light, all the focus is on his worst moments, photos of him are so, so unflattering. And wow, Diane Dimond really hates him; she is so vicious, dripping with malice, waiting eagerly for him to "fall splat" on the floor, practically rubbing her hands together and cackling. I would love for these judgmental people to have their lives scrutinized in such a malicious way... my god, I feel so sorry for this man.
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