Concise and accurate review - S5 

Thanks to pwsm88 for sending me this!

For casual fans of "Merlin", the fifth and final season may feel like a rousing send-off, with fine performances from its four leads, a host of returning characters, and a "full circle" quality to its finale that certainly doesn't pull any punches. For long-time fans that have gotten invested in the characters and storylines, it's an immensely frustrating experience, simply because said characters and storylines have been sacrificed for a tired old formula. With only two exceptions (Mordred and Queen Guinevere) there is nothing in this this season - NOTHING - that the audience has not seen a million times before.

"Merlin" began as a prequel, intending to explore the lives of Arthur, Merlin, Morgana and Guinevere before they became their famous legendary selves. Essentially, it was to Arthurian legend what Smallville was to the Superman mythos. Yet by this point, the show is not a prequel anymore, but a retelling: Arthur is king, Guinevere is queen, Morgana is their enemy and the Knights of the Round Table have been established. The prequel aspect of the show is over, yet despite all this, nothing has changed for our main character.

The unique idea that these particular writers brought to the Arthurian source material is that Merlin has to keep his powers a secret due to a law banning magic throughout the kingdom, resulting in him protecting Arthur whilst pretending to be a lowly manservant. It worked well enough for the first two or so seasons, but by this point, it's been TEN in-show years since Merlin first came to Camelot, and Merlin is still not any closer to revealing his secret than he was at the very start of the show. The writers/producers' point-blank refusal to go ahead with this revelation and capitalize on all the character development and exciting new storylines that could have emerged from it is enough to make you tear your hair out in frustration.

As it is, every single episode has only three variations. 1. A good character is kidnapped or injured, requiring Arthur, Merlin and the knights to ride out and rescue them. 2. An assassin infiltrates Camelot and tries to kill Arthur. 3. Morgana comes up with an evil plan (invariably based on either #1 or #2) only to be thwarted by Merlin's magic. I defy anyone to name me an episode this season that does not fall under one of these three categories. The plots are all EXACTLY THE SAME, and the only thing that changes are which parts the characters play (for instance, this season the role of the "traitor in our midst" goes to a brainwashed Guinevere - the year before it was Agravaine, and before that, Morgana).

As well as being repetitive, the stagnant plots completely decimate any intelligence or momentum that these characters ever had. It's hard to see how somehow as foolish and oblivious as Arthur could ever be considered the greatest king of all time (especially since the show has spent the last five years demonstrating that it was Merlin - not Arthur - who was the real power behind the throne) or why we should consider Morgana any sort of dangerous adversary when her plans are so ridiculously convoluted and her motivation so obscure. Equally confusing is how Merlin is renowned as a great wizard. He spends a lot of his time saving Arthur's life and waiting on him hand-and-foot, but he does very little (virtually nothing in fact) to guide Arthur toward being a wise, just, tolerant king. In fact...

SPOILERS

...he ends up completely failing in what he initially set out to do. From the very start of this show it was stated repeatedly that several things were destined to happen: that Arthur would lift the ban on magic, that he would unite the kingdoms of Albion, and that he would rule over the Golden Age of Camelot with Merlin by his side as his wizardly advisor. Well...none of that ever happens. I repeat: IT NEVER HAPPENS. Arthur is killed by Mordred at the tender age of twenty-nine after reigning as king for only five short years, and without doing anything in that time that justifies his status as the Once and Future King. By the finale, all the prophecies, visions, symbols, and Arthurian references that promised Arthur and Merlin would build a better world together were summarily destroyed.

Frankly, it's bizarre. How could the writers actually forget about their own central premise? What exactly has Merlin been striving for all these years? What was the point of any of it? It's hard not to end this show thinking that Merlin didn't just waste ten years of his life on a man who never treated him with much respect for the sake of a destiny that never actually came to fruition. Perhaps Merlin should have been focusing on Guinevere all this time, for if anyone is going to legalize magic, unite the realm and reign over a peaceful kingdom, it's her.

As it is, Arthur *does* eventually find out that Merlin has magic - but by the time the confession is made, it's too late to do anything about it.

END SPOILERS

It's not all bad, I suppose. Even though the actors are clearly ready to move on to greener pastures, they're still charismatic and likable enough to make you care about their characters. The casting agent knows what he/she is doing, as the addition of Alexander Vhalos to the ensemble was a master-stroke, taking over from Asa Butterfield as a now-teenaged Mordred. An ambiguous figure who sends Merlin into a paranoid frenzy over his supposed destiny to kill Arthur, this blue-eyed youth keeps the audience wondering as to his true loyalties and what - if anything - could induce him to kill a king he is seemingly in awe of.

Several popular guest-stars return (Annis, Mithian, Balinor, Alator, Uther) for memorable reappearances, and though the other three leads (plus a now utterly superfluous Gaius) are caught in a state of never-ending inertia, Guinevere manages to step up in order to demonstrate how effective she is as Camelot's reigning Queen. The visual and technical aspects of the show (costuming, locations, set-design, special effects) are always beautifully rendered, and there are several highly emotional scenes, especially as the show begins to head toward its grand finale.

Still, it's difficult not to get depressed by the possibilities that were squandered. Just imagine if Arthur had discovered Merlin's powers back in season three. There could have been a period of disbelief and recrimination, perhaps even exile. They could have reconciled in a time of trouble, and finally worked openly together as king and wizard. Merlin could have taken his well-earned place at the Round Table. The difficult task of reintegrating magic into the kingdom could have begun, with Morgana attempting to sabotage their efforts by aligning herself with those either skeptical of Arthur's intentions or unwilling to submit to his rule. There could have been a better exploration of Morgana's reasons for turning on Camelot (for some inexplicable reason, her abrupt switch from a compassionate young woman to a one-dimensional evil witch happens entirely off-screen) and more of Guinevere displaying her common sense and political savviness in uniting the kingdoms. The backgrounds of the knights could have been explored (I'm still astonished that they never capitalized on the story of Gwaine and the Loathly Lady), Arthur could have discovered the truth about his mother's death, and there could have been a complex and sophisticated conflict between sympathetic villains and morally ambiguous heroes, each portrayed in varying degrees of grey.

Perhaps it still could have ended with tragedy - but at least we would have felt that Arthur and Merlin actually achieved something in their lifetimes instead of just treading water for ten years.

Spot on and it's still hard for me to look back and re-watch the show knowing how majorly they messed it up.

Quite frankly that crap ass ending to the series just made it easier for me to move from the show. It just made the whole show feel like meh to me. Way better things to watch/rewatch.

Well I'm finding it hard to let go of A/G mainly because when they captured me, they did it whole-heartening. So yeah, while overall the show was disappointing, it still did give me great moments I will always enjoy. That and there is still wonderful Arwen/Merlin fics out there that are worth reading. Although, I imagine my participatin in the fandom may die down eventually I still have fond memories. So my love for Merlin the shoe may have died down, my love for Arwen will live on for a while yet...

Well I agree it was a very disappointing ending and I well never understand why they chosen to go that way its just sad because it had so much potential to be an epic show.

I agree, the show had so much potential, I felt so disappointed that after watching a show for 5 yrs I have not watched the final episode and probably never will. I still feel this whole catastrophe of an ending was a spiteful backlash to get back at the actors. The change started in season 4, the silliness and humiliation especially to the Arthur character, was all meant to humiliate the actor playing Arthur. Whatever their issue was with him TPTB made sure that Bradley's talent never shined threw, he was never allowed to be all that he could be. My sympathy lies mostly with him and Angel, they were victimized. Bradley for speaking his mind and Angel for just being a woman. Although she was picked for the part but when they decided to go with a gay theme in season 4 the Guinevere character became a joke, Julian Murphy made no secret of it.

I knew posting this would bring out old hurts, but it was too good (accurate) not to share.

this reviewer is more angrier than me. after season 5 i consider myself as the most angry fan in the whole merlin fanclub lol. how many fan's expectation was failed was lost in count, not to mention a character we had love for years was killed only to completed some old dusty , grandma style legend's destiny! the only thing the fucking writer can't take away from us is our love for arwen. ( and brangel)

I do agree with Kim, the entire season five was crap and yes they forgot the Arthurian legend , but then again they had been giving us crap since season 4.

This is most likely the best article I have ever read!!!
And it makes me truly sad! Just to think what could have been, what should have been! When I think about the ending, I just cannot accept that that is how it all ended, I cannot bear it.
And yes, it is disappointing, the whole series that is, but I still think of it as my favorite. The actors gave so much in their acting and that matters. Not to mention Bradley and Angel's chemistry. So no, I am still not ready to move away. And I don't want to. When you ignore the ending, there is still so much to tell, and it's fun.