Merlin Episode 6: (Death Is) A Remedy to Cure All Ills.

[crabby_lioness]

A clever plot disguises a massive exposition dump, but has a weak ending.

 

Let's break it down:

The Clever Plot:  An extremely clever and very slick evil physician-sorcerer cons his way into the castle to discredit Gaius and kill Uther.  This guy didn't miss a beat the whole episode.  I was impressed.

The Massive Exposition Dump:  We get a dump-truckload of back-story about what was going on around the time Arthur was born.  Which, it turns out, was about 25 years ago, the same time as the Great Purge when Uther killed all the magic users.  Except for Gaius his court physician, who at least stood back and watched as his colleagues were massacred, if not collaborated in it.  The records from that period were sealed by Uther.  Gaius knows the Great Dragon, who is looking forward to Uther's death with great anticipation.

The Weak Ending:  Merlin as deus ex machina.  Meh.  The awesome bad guy deserved better.

If I were watching a Who affiliate, I would bet this was the double-banked title-character-light episode.  Since BBC Wales made it, it's probably a safe bet.

In the end it's a character study of Gaius, but what does it tell us?  That 25 years ago he stood back and let all the other magic-users be killed.  Even now, when push comes to shove he always sides with Uther, even if it means endangering Merlin.  Why?  We are left with no idea.

 A character study is supposed to illuminate a character.  Interesting word that, it can mean both "clarify" and "lighten".  We get a clearer picture of Gaius, but not by much.  And instead of being lightened, he's become a much darker character.

All this back-story better be going somewhere before the end of S1.

Episodes 1 - 3

Episode 4 Review: Innocence at Camelot

Episode 5: (The Once and Future) Lancelot

Episode 7:  Deception for Dummies

Episode 8:  Deception for Non-Dummies 

Episode 9:  What Color is Your Fairy Tale?

Episode 10:  The Practical Exam
 
Episode 11:  Today is a Good Day to Die

 

Comments

[firthgal.livejournal.com]

Hey, I've been reading your reviews and just wanted to let you know that I've really been enjoying them. It's great seeing the eps through new eyes. As for this one, I really hated it on the first watch. I enjoyed staring at Uther, and the Uther/Morgana was wonderful, but the stuff with Edwin and Gaius bugged me to no end for the exact same reason that you mentioned. Gaius sticks by Uther's side, he chose Uther over his friends, he's chosen Uther over Merlin before, he does whatever Uther personally wishes of him, he even leaves so that the truth never comes out about the purges, but why? Why does he care so intensely about Uther? Why is he so loyal to a man that he doesn't even agree with most of the time? A man who so readily stopped believing in his abilities? What the heck is Gaius's motivation? This is NEVER answered, and it's what bugs me most about the character. I cannot figure him out one bit. His inaction makes him appear terribly weak, and in the finale they kind of try to rectify this, but they still fail in showing us why Gaius is who he is and why Uther has such a hold over him. They build on Uther/Gaius in episode 9, but at the end of the day, I still feel like Gaius only supports Uther because he's afraid to do anything else. It's all he knows, and it's the safe route.

What I did love about this episode was that it managed to show that Uther truly cares about the people he loves. He was pretty much unable to make any decisions of his own when Morgana was near death and Arthur had to take over, and Uther was so lost that he just went along with anything. He was so blinded by his worry that he couldn't see the threat that Edwin posed and his usual paranoia was missing. And then when he got Morgana back, he was so relieved, and the thought of ever losing her again hurt him so much that he was easily led astray by Edwin and ended up getting rid of Gaius since it appeared that Gaius was the one who almost took Morgana away from him. This ep really set up Morgana being one of his greatest weaknesses. But in the end it also solidified the Uther/Gaius bond, and it showed that Gaius is his only true friend. But why? Man, it frustrates me to no end that they never show us why Gaius and Uther are so close. I guess we're just supposed to assume that they are an older, darker version of Arthur/Merlin.

[crabby-lioness.livejournal.com]

It was really Gaius' and Uther's episode.