This is Why I Hate Finales
Okay, so I finally finished Merlin after starting it more than a year ago. The reason it took me so long to finish Merlin wasn't that I couldn't get into, but rather I wanted to prolong the inevitable. As soon as I started watching Merlin I fell in love with the show, the characters, the magical premise and the amazing acting; I was totally infatuated with the show that I forgot about one key aspect: the ending. Despite having read many Arthurian legend re-tellings it wasn't until after the fourth season that I was struck with the realization that all the re-tellings have one thing in common: King Arthur's tragic end. I halted my viewing process immediately, yeah I know it seems a little silly, but I hate finales, especially sad finales. So began my long avoidance/denial stage. Finally, this summer I forced myself to sit down and finish the series. One episode away from the end, I was about to close the TV, but it was 2:30 in the morning and I was way too caught up in the action, and the nerve-wracking need to know how everything was going to go down, so I watched on. The lack of sleep and the heightened emotions (I'm not going to clarify whether I'm talking about the character's heightened emotions or my own) were making me a little crazy, which is probably the only reason I continued watching.
I'm having watcher's remorse right now (If there's no such thing as that, there should be). The first part deals with Morgana sending a creature after Merlin to take away his magic now that Mordred has told her about Merlin being Emrys. Morgana succeeds, Merlin is magic-less and totally help-less. When Arthur declares he is going to Camlann (where he is prophesied to die) to meet Morgana's army, Merlin makes up an excuse of needing to gather medical supplies for Gaius. Arthur disappointed, turns away and prepares to head out, meanwhile Merlin enlists Gwaine's help to travel to The Crystal Cave in an attempt to regain his magic. Fast-forward: Merlin gets his magic back after talking to his father's ghost while Morgana is planning an ambush on Arthur's camp at Camlann. Merlin uses his regained magic skills to communicate telepathically to Arthur and warn him of Morgana. Arthur heeds Merlin's warning. He readies his men with a inspiring speech and the battle begins.
The second part, shows Merlin in the guise of the old sorcerer joining in the battle. With impressive lightening bolts, Merlin takes out Morgana's army, but not before Mordred stabs Arthur with his very own dragon's-breath-forged sword. Arthur quickly retaliates by delivering a fatal blow with Excalibur before collapsing. Merlin comes upon the injured Arthur and takes him away from the battlefield to heal him. When Arthur comes to, Merlin, in his own form reveals that "I am a sorcerer, I have magic". The rest of the episode deals with Merlin and Arthur traveling to the Lake of Avalon to cure Arthur, while Arthur deals with Merlin's reveal. Gwaine and Percival on the other hand are trying to kill Morgana and Leon steps up to be Gwen's right-hand man. I love the realizations Arthur experiences when he witnesses Merlin's magic in action; Arthur finally understands just how many times Merlin has saved his life without him ever knowing. Gwaine and Percival's plan backfires on them as Morgana uses a Nathair on Gwaine to find out Arthur's location. Gwaine is left to die in Percival's arms as Morgana sets out to kill Arthur. I hated Gwaine's death so much. It was so unnecessary, like this episode wasn't sad enough already, but no they just had to kill the most sunny-dispositioned knight, just because. Morgana catches up with Merlin and Arthur, but is dispatched quickly when Merlin runs her through with Excalibur. Arthur is fading away quickly when he tells Merlin to stop. He utters "thank you" before slipping away. Okay, this next part is so annoying, Merlin finally calls on the dragon to transport them to the Lake of Avalon. WHY THE HELL DOES HE WAIT SO LONG TO CALL THE DRAGON? Okay, that's out of my system ( I'm still feeling a little bit of the crazy symptoms). They get to Avalon, but it's too late. Merlin sets Arthur adrift on a boat on the Lake of Avalon with the dragon claiming that Arthur will rise again when Albion needs him. The series ends with Gwen being crowned ruling queen and old-Merlin walking the streets of modern-day England, waiting for Arthur to return one day.
The end was just as sad as I thought it would be: Arthur dies and Merlin spends the rest of his life waiting for him to come back. *Sigh* I thought since the creators of the show mixed things up from the original legend the ending might also be changed, but no such luck. I mean, Gwaine was supposed to be Arthur's nephew, Uther was supposed to die when Arthur was a baby, Lancelot doesn't die...I could go on. Anyway, I thought this was a tragic but fitting end to an amazing story about friendship and loyalty. Merlin and Arthur are definitely among my top bromances.
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