jumperkid | (no subject)

It feels like I haven’t posted in eleventy billion years. This is partly due to the fact that my class schedule is different this semester and that has thrown my rest-of-life schedule off kilter in unexpected ways. This is also partly due to the fact that I’ve been 67% more naval-gazy than usual and I really don’t want to put y’all through that. I actually spent like, an hour and half the other day pondering how one would determine how much introspection is TOO much introspection and then my head exploded.

This is still not really a real life post, say sorry. I’m pretty sure most of y’all haven’t been keeping up with the current season of Merlin, but I need to get a few things off my chest so here it is, under the cut. Once again, I’ve got a silly show that I’m taking too seriously. Feel free to move along. If you do bother read, be warned that I make no promises for coherence.

Firstly, I’m not actually OPPOSED to Arthur/Gwen. They’re both adorable and I love them. I think writers are rushing things a bit, but Bradley James has SOLD IT for the lotto. From his slightly flustered I-think-you’re-awesome-and-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-that shyness to his you’ve-really-hurt-my-feelings-here-but-I’m-the-Prince-and-can’t-have-emotions-plus-I-have-no-real-claim-here bitchiness he’s been spot on to how I think Arthur would handle this situation in his emotionally constipated sort of way. Angel Coulby is lovely and delightful and she’s really shown the nuances of Gwen’s admiration as well as her reservations.

It bothers me though that in the course of one and a half seasons Gwen has been interested in Merlin AND Lancelot AND Arthur. We’ve seen her kiss all three of these guys. That’s three more kisses than we’ve seen Morgana have, two more than the title character Merlin and one more than our hero Arthur. I think it makes Gwen seem…fickle and flighty. Which are not words that I usually associate with her. Especially when you compare her to Arthur who (other than when he’s under fairy spells) hasn’t really expressed unmixed feelings for anyone else and Lancelot who is like, the poster child for faithfulness apparently. I will grant that (especially in Lancelot and Guinevere) it seems that Gwen is a little uncertain about her feelings for Arthur, whereas Arthur know EXACTLY how he feels about Gwen. But it seems like Gwen is otherwise so very down to earth and it feels off to me that in this one area she behaves so flightily.

It bothers me that the writers have sort of appropriated aspects that I associate with Merlin’s relationship with Arthur. It makes it seem a little bit like Arthur likes Gwen for how she reminds him of Merlin. Like Arthur is sublimating his completely inappropriate feelings for his male manservant into still sort of inappropriate but better because hey, at least she’s female feelings for Gwen. Which is really unfair for everyone involved.

Hey, speaking of unfair it TOTALLY BUGS THE SHIT OUT OF ME that both Arthur and Lancelot in the name of being chivalrous are going to make the decision for Gwen. Since they both think the other loves her, both are going to back off, without consulting Gwen on what she wants. On IF she even wants either of them. Personally, I almost think she should dump them both and go be happy with Morgana, who at least consults Gwen for her opinion.

The main thing is this: if the writers follow the original legend, and Gwen and Lancelot betray Arthur it’s going to bother me. I can sort of handle it in the original legend. I feel bad for everyone involved and it’s a sucky situation but it’s a little bit more forgivable because in the original legend, Guinevere is the daughter of a lord and it was a political marriage. If Arthur falls in love with her after the fact, that’s not really anyone’s fault. Yeah, that doesn’t make it right that she cheats on him but it at least makes it marginally more understandable and forgivable. By making Gwen a peasant though they’ve completely changed that dynamic. I can only assume or predict at this point that if Arthur DOES marry Gwen it’s going to be because he’s in love with her. If she accepts even though she really loves Lancelot and then after the fact cheats on Arthur with Lancelot that’s a whole other ball game. And one that really, really makes me livid. Because I have a lot of love and respect for this Gwen and I expect more of her than that. And OMG I ADORE THIS ARTHUR. And if you hurt him, I will cut you. No matter how much I want to be able to pull for Arthur/Gwen, I just can’t. I can’t not speculate on where this is going to go and all of this speculation makes it very difficult for me to just enjoy where we are now. I can’t enjoy them together because I’m so afraid that it’s going to go so very bad. Maybe the writers aren’t going to go there. It certainly seems like there’s a lot about the legend that for this version is getting turned on its ear, so who’s to say that this isn’t going to be different too. But I just can’t let go of that little niggle of worry.