nyxelestia | Dissection of the Merlin 208 Trailer

So, because it's 2am and I'm about 10,000 words behind on my NaNoWriMo fic, I've decided to further procrastinate by starting a discussion about Episode 208, based on the trailer!

Okay, I don't have a link to just the 208 trailer, so if anyone has one (like, the one from the end of the episode), it would be greatly appreciated.

My particular dissection/analysis/prediction/rambling of the trailer for Episode 208:

So, before we begin the trailer, I wanted to analyze who 'Morgause' is in the legends. She is often named as either Arthur's half-sister, or Morgana (in the form of Morgan Le Fay). Or, she is named as Igraine's sister (in which case, she is also usually named as Morgana's aunt). Now, in the trailer, she's somewhat young and could possibly be their sibling. but we've seen how little that can actually matter (especially when magic is involved). However, she know Arthur's mother, somehow, so I'd guess a friend, and possibly she is Arthur's aunt in this particular case. Somehow, she is very closely related to the family, one way or another. Maybe not by blood - Morgana is Arthur's sister by honor in this TV version of Arthurian legend, and Morgause being a close friend of Igraine's or her sister would certainly be a justifiable reason behind her knowing about Arthur's birth.

The other main thing to know about Morgause is that she is actually the original mother of the character Mordred. In fact, it is only when her character is ever combined with Morgan Le Fay's that Morgana becomes Mordred's mother. We already know that Morgana, while close to Mordred and having already taken on a nurturing role in relation to the boy, is not actually his mother. Do I think Morgause will turn out to be Mordred's mother in this series? Not likely. But, between this reference and the scene in the trailer with her standing at the altar of candles and the crystals, she is deeply involved with magic, somehow.

I'm hoping out that Morgause's character will be a remedy for the show's latest stream of feminism fails from 205 and 206, as Morgause is in chainmail and armor in the first scene we really see her, and she kills a guard using a sword, and it seems to hint at her going up against a knight in the arena, either in a tourney or as a challenge of some kind. As a side note, she is frequently also named as Morgan Le Fay's sister, so perhaps this common bond of feminism between the two will serve in its place.

The next episode will likely be very largely Arthur centric - or at the very least, we will see a dramatic development in Arthur's character. He's going to learn something about his mother, and he's going to go up against his father. On the note of his mother, we can see his loneliness concerning her, as he clearly wants to know all he can about her, and yet has likely run into a midieval equivalent of a firewall concerning her in his life so far. In that sense, he is like any other 'little boy' who just wants to be with his mummy. Flip side, something makes him go up against Uther and attempt to actually fight and/or kill the man. For the obvious reasons, we all suspect this is due to Arthur finding out about the circumstance of his birth. But, be careful - we've been duped before. :D (Though, yes, I admit I will firmly believe Arthur's going to find out about his birth, until I see something otherwise). And even if not, if what he finds out is going to make him go up against Uther, then it has to be BIG.

And, yay for Sir Leon! ^_^ Merlin's concern for Arthur is great, and I think his magic will get a bit of a development in this, too - the cracked old castle in the back ground seemed strangely familiar to a certain character-changing isle's set...:D His character will hopefully also get some attention as he apparently stops Arthur and Uther from killing each other (or at least trying to).

Now comes the hard part - waiting and seeing. :|

Thoughts? And, if any of you have any other (spoiler) material on the episode - interviews, photos, screen caps, sneak previews, ect. - feel free to post! (Though, do remember to include a spoiler warning in the subject line for it!)

ETA: Found two caches of promo pictures of the episode (which is apparently being called The Sins of the Father). I'd go into speculation, but like I said, it's 2am, and I'm going to be doing so much homework and NaNoWriMo writing tomorrow, so frankly, I NEED SLEEP. If I don't get swallowed up by ~~the work~~ the earth, I'll come back to speculate on them.

http://lhwo.hostrator.com/merlin/season2/promo/2008/promo1.htm (actual promo pics)

http://lhwo.hostrator.com/merlin/season2/promo/2014/promo2.htm (some behind-the-scenes stuff)

Threaded | Flat

From:

saint4u.livejournal.com

After reading what you wrote I am hoping that indeed Arthur gets some kind of development in terms of how he views magic and, if he does indeed find out the truth about his birth and how Uther and Gaius hid it from him after all this time, how he feels about having a father who has hidden the true reason his mother died away from him all this time. I agree that it has to be something major for Arthur, once a loyal son who served his father for the most part without question, suddenly calls him a hypocrite and attacks him with a sword. So the best best for cause of such a reaction would be to learn he is of magical birth and in so being is something his father has told him to hate and loathe and kill his entire life. The son has become a part of something his father has hated and despised and told him to think of alike since birth.

As for how Merlin figures into this I think the key factor in the trailer is that he seems very reluctant to go on this mission with Arthur and indeed nervous when they appear on the isle of the blessed to meet up with Morgause and the scene of where Merlin had suddenly realised the full state of his power and what he could do when pushed. I understand what this story will mean for Arthur, but I am equally curious as to what Morgause wants with Merlin and what she wants Merlin to get out of this as well, being as they are both magical and she must know on some level what happened on the isle of the blessed and why Merlin would be so nervous to go back there with Arthur.

From:

tigger-01.livejournal.com

I pretty much agree with everything you just wrote.
I think this will be one of the biggest character development moments for Arthur, on so many different levels... on a magic level (as someone mentioned - being what he has been taught to despise), and on an emotional level as well. After all, he is "responsible", in some sense, for the death of his mother - he's always known that his father misses her very much and sees his mother in him... but perhaps now he'll realise why it's always felt like his father has put so much pressure and "blamed" him.

I have a feeling Morgause will be Arthur's aunt - she doesn't look VERY young, and she does have Arthur's blonde hair. (tenuous link, I know. :D)

From:

zahrawithaz.livejournal.com

I like your write-up. I am really hoping that Arthur trying to kill Uther at the end will be a real emotional outburst, but I'm really afraid that it will just be Arthur under a spell AGAIN, and that once again a woman will be the fall guy for the father/son trauma.

I am also worried that Morgause will turn out to be evil, as most recent versions of the legend make her a villain (often the Big Bad), and it would be fully consistent with the genderfail on the show.

From:

foxie-trot.livejournal.com

I like your speculation, but I'm honestly trying to avoid thinking what the writers will do next. It'll be like with the Arthur/Gwen kiss (thinking it would be later in the series, Morgana would predict it first, etc) and I'll be disappointed that it's different to how I want it to be. Or I'll just give myself a headache with my brain going overtime to try and understand what the hell the writers are doing.

BUT I didn't know who 'Morgause' was at all, so I'm really glad to learn this. VERY interesting indeed. Makes me want to see the episode even more, because I can't wait to see what they do with it. I'm kind of hoping for a family connection, because that would be brilliant. And a magical one too, because then we would have Arthur potentially protecting magic and attacking his father - something he definitely hasn't done before!!

From:

tjammy2nd

When I saw the original preview for this episode at the end of 2x01 it seemed to me like Uther and Arthut fighting to the death was caused by a spell. That doesn't seem to make sense anymore, but it felt obvious to me back then.

From:

byatt-lover.livejournal.com

Spoiler Comment:
In an interview on making this series, a few of the actors (I think maybe Bradley) and writer talked about how Arthur finds out about his birth. So I think it's highly likely that Arthur knows magic brought him into the world, hence why he thinks his father is a hypocrite in his war against magic.

I don't know if they'll make Morgause a relation. Uther didn't seem to know who she was, since if she was Ingraine's relation then of course Morgause would know everything and in the preview Uther only fears that Morgause knows things. And he doesn't seem to know why Morgause would know things.

This version of the legend has really changed this around, because in some legends Nimueh is the Lady of the Lake and well she's a bit fried at the moment....SPOILER...but I do believe she's coming back in an episode later on (whether it's a flashback I don't know)

I'm really excited for this episode though, since it looks like a great one for Arthur. I feel that all the "kids" are orphans and Arthur has a chance to see his mom for the first time...which will probably make me cry.

I do wonder though what Morgause's motive is though for coming after 21 years to tell Arthur of his birth. Why now?