Fantasy Weekend - Merlin, Season 5 finale

SPOILER ALERT FOR MERLIN, SEASON 5, LAST EPISODE.

I finally watched the last episode of BBC One series Merlin. In the second last episode, we saw Arthur marching with his knights towards Camlann to stop Morgana’s Saxon army from invading Camelot. Camlann is the scene, in the prophecy Merlin saw, where Arthur would supposedly be killed by Mordred. Unfortunately, Mordred has revealed Merlin’s identity as Emrys to Morgana and she planted a magical creature in his room that managed to drain Merlin of all his magic. Now powerless, Merlin travels to the Crystal Cave in hopes of restoring his powers, even though it meant him being away from Arthur during what might be the king’s last battle.

To cut the story short, Merlin succeeded in restoring his powers and rushed to Camlann, disguised as an old man. Once he was there, he turned the tide of the battle and Morgana’s army was defeated. Everyone there saw the sorcerer that helped defeat the Saxons but nobody except for Gaius knew it was Merlin. Nonetheless, Mordred was still around and he managed to injure Arthur using the sword forged by the dragon Aithusa’s fire. Before collapsing, Arthur killed Mordred with Excalibur.

With Arthur seriously injured, Merlin took him away before the remaining Saxons or Morgana could find him. When Arthur regained consciousness, he saw Merlin who was back in his original form, tending to him. He asked where he had been and mentioned the sorcerer that helped them earlier. Merlin finally did what he always wanted to do. He finally told Arthur his true identity.

(The following dialogue has been paraphrased)

Merlin: It was me. I’m the sorcerer.

Arthur (looking at him incredulously): Don’t be ridiculous.

Merlin: It was me.

Arthur looked at him in confusion and when it finally dawned on him, you could see a look of fear and betrayal. Merlin was pretty scary earlier; he used conjured lightning bolts to take down the enemy. It was clear that Arthur was conflicted. One part of him feared magic, a little like how Uther feared magic, and another part of him was hurt that Merlin, whom he had come to eventually see as a friend, didn’t trust him enough to tell him his secret.

Merlin: I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t. You would’ve chopped my head off.

Arthur: I don’t know what I would’ve done.

Merlin: That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. You would’ve been conflicted.

Arthur (looking at him in disbelief): That’s the reason you didn’t tell me?

Next, we see the two of them struggle with the aftermath of Merlin’s revelation. Arthur, alternating between anger and betrayal, told Merlin to leave him be. Merlin clearly couldn’t do that since Arthur was gravely injured and he wanted to do anything he could to stop the prophecy from happening. When Gaius came to bring medicine, he gave a dark prognosis: a piece of Mordred’s sword is embedded in Arthur’s flesh and it was working its way towards Arthur’s heart. Since Mordred’s blade was forged by dragon fire, only the Sidhe’s magic would be strong enough to stop it. Merlin would have to bring Arthur to Avalon, where the Sidhe dwells.

The scene after that was quite tense since you know what would eventually happen but at times, you hoped that the creators of this series would take a different route. After all, everyone seemed hopeful that if anyone could save Arthur, Merlin could. Just as they were about to reach the ancient isle of Avalon, Arthur told Merlin to stop because he wanted to say something.

Merlin: I hope it’s not goodbye.

Arthur (looking at him earnestly): Thank you.

After that, Arthur lost consciousness and in desperation, Merlin summoned the dragon to help transport them to the ancient isle. After dropping the two of them, Merlin said there was no way he would let Arthur die.

Dragon: Some people decide their own destiny but for others, their fate has long been prophesised and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

Merlin: But Arthur is the saviour of Albion!

Dragon: He is the once and future king. When Albion is in need, he will come back.

Merlin then realised the reality of the situation but it did not make Arthur’s passing any easier. That’s when the waterworks came. The ending showed Guinevere continuing Arthur’s work as queen of Camelot, with the support of the knights and Merlin, sending Arthur’s body into the Avalon lake. Merlin also threw Excalibur towards the lake, which was promptly received by a hand that emerged from within the lake.

In the last scene, you see the tower on the ancient isle of Avalon and when the scene pans out, you see a truck zooming past on a tar road. We then see Merlin, as an old man, trundling down the road. Does it mean Merlin is immortal and is well and alive in modern day Britain? Or does it mean that he has been reborn and that Arthur has been reborn as well? I like this last scene because it leaves the interpretation of it entirely up to the viewer.

I thought the series ended well. Season 4 and Season 5 were getting a bit repetitive in terms of the plotlines but I still like the series overall. This series has its flaws but it’s the chemistry between Merlin and Arthur that was the main pillar of the show. I also like the interaction between Arthur and Guinevere and how it eventually blossomed into love.

Post GE13

We went, we voted and then we waited. For many of my friends and I, we were disappointed with the results and disturbed by the many incidents of phantom voters, late ballot boxes and blackouts. Not too mention the supposedly indelible ink that could easily be washed off.

Facebook was on fire with the many GE13-related comments. Around 1am on Sunday, a lot of people started to change their profile pictures to a black square in protest of the results and also a kind of pun to the blackouts that happened at a few counting centres. As I witnessed more and more people on Facebook changing their profile pics to the black square, it kinda reminded me of this scene from the Hunger Games movie:

This scene is where the residents of one of the districts show solidarity against the Capital dictatorship.

I thought we could move on now that the GE13 results are out but irresponsible comments by leaders of the ruling coalition threaten to flame racial tensions. Bringing up the race card is very hypocritical on their part since not too long ago, they were the advocates of the 1Malaysia concept. It's a very simplistic view which shows a lack of thought and maturity.

Thank goodness for the many people who are spreading messages of unity online. I guess at the end of the day, if we want to change something, we need to do it ourselves.

No more judging!

Once again, I've been proven wrong in terms of my judgment of people. I'm really bad at judging people and so I should really stop judging people based on first, second or even third impressions. People are never what they seem.

Poyopoyo - the round cat

I was sick during the weekend, which was quite unfortunate because I had been looking forward to it since Friday! >.<

Anyways, since the best cure to flu is rest, I stayed in my room most of the time. Somehow, I didn't feel like reading so I decided to watch Youtube and other online stuff. I managed to watch a bit of Sket Dance and also this cute anime about a round cat named Poyopoyo (I know the name means something else in BM but I don't care).

Episode 6 was particularly cute because it reminded me of the predicament we had in our house a few months ago.

Of course I'll go for 2nd breakfast :)

Sunday, 3rd March 2013, 8am.

Friend: Good morning girls! Wakey wakey... Rise n shine!! Let's go for breakfast O:)

Me: I've already had breakfast but I could do with a 2nd breakfast!

In the end, we had breakfast at Mukha Cafe in Taman Tun. We had bacon with egg and parmesan sandwhich and another breakfast dish that comprised scrambled eggs, sausages, mushrooms (^-^), grilled tomatoes and toast. Just like a hobbit, I couldn't say no to 2nd breakfast :P

Spillover effect from The Hobbit

After watching Peter Jackson's The Hobbit two months ago, I reread the book to see how much the movie differed. The answer is A LOT. But I won't discuss that here, this is not The Hobbit movie review. This post is about the spillover effect.

Once I had finished reading The Hobbit, I felt like rereading The Silmarillion. Some people say The Silmarillion is harder to read compared to The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings but I liked it the first time I read it many years ago. I always found the story about the Elves and the Men who had dealings with them fascinating. In The Lord of The Rings, Elves are portrayed as wise and perhaps a bit aloof but in The Silmarillion, the book shows that like Men, Elves have their own passion and pride. A perfect book for a movie adaptation but only by a skilled director and storyteller.

I've finished reading The Silmarillion and am now rereading The Lord of The Rings. I want to read it with the happenings of The Silmarillion fresh in my mind for there are many references in The Lord of The Rings referring to doings of the Elves and Men in the First Age. I am also attempting to reread it from beginning till the end in its entirety. Previously, I have often reread The Lord of The Rings but only my favourite parts.

Here's a quote I came across today:

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens," said Gimli.

"Maybe," said Elrond, "but let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen nightfall."

"Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart," said Gimli.

"Or break it," said Elrond. "Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell, and may the blessing of the Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!"

There will be more quotes as I continue my journey through Middle-Earth ^-^

Cat Commentary: It never rains, it pours

There are now 3 cats and 7 kittens staying in and outside my house. After my cat passed away in December 2007, I always wished that I could have cats again. That wish has come true starting last year (although it seems the number keeps increasing at an alarming rate). Last year, Cookies, Cream and Arrow arrived. Cream has since left us but I consider Cookies and Arrow as officially part of the family.

Bow came along later last year. I was a bit annoyed with her at first because I felt two cats were more than enough. A few male cats came and went. Then Bow got pregnant this year. In June, she gave birth to a litter of four: 2 black males and 2 tortoiseshell females. I named them Iskierka, Star, Midnight and Goldie. I wanted to get Bow spayed but I didn’t want to separate her from her kittens. Without her, who would protect the kittens?

I thought I’d get her spayed when her kittens were 6 months old. Little did I know the consequence. In the meantime, an unexpected bundle of surprise arrived in October. A small white kitten actually hid under the bonnet of my younger sis’s car and followed her home. We are so amazed and thankful that she survived the journey. The plan was to foster her until she’s a bit bigger. Max is four months old now and it doesn’t seem like we’ll be putting her up for adoption (despite her fondness for limbs).

In November, Bow got pregnant (again!). She gave birth to another litter of four. Surprisingly, the litter this time consisted of white kittens with brown markings, drastically different from her first litter. Their features singled out the male cat responsible for their being: the Cheshire cat. I don’t know his name but he’s been an on-and-off visitor to my house since last year. I suspect he belongs to one of my neighbours, just don’t know which neighbour. If I knew who he belonged to, I’d ask his owner to neuter him!

Bow’s second batch of kittens are really cute and I managed to get two of them adopted. I am left with two, still waiting for the adopter to come and get them. And that is how I ended with 10 felines...