A/N: I'm early again! Alrighty, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! :D Please enjoy and review this last part of 'The Crystal Cave'!
Oh, and I've started a new story called "As Luck Would Have It." Just thought I'd throw that out there. *wink wink* XD
Enjoy!
Reflections
Chapter Fourteen: The Crystal Cave Part 3 of 3
Not only does Merlin have to witness Uther's breakdown (*sob, I hate that I felt sorry for him*) at Morgana's imminent death, but he watches Arthur suffer as well. I think that seeing Arthur hurt is what really makes up his mind about what he must do. Merlin walks out into the rain to see Arthur beating the crap out of a practice dummy on the training field. And, as we learned from a previous Arthur and Morgana interaction in season one, The Gates of Avalon:
MORGANA: And… killing things mends a broken heart?
ARTHUR: No, but it's great fun.
So apparently Arthur's trying to kill this practice dummy to relieve some of his depression, anxiety, worry, fear…
Maybe I should try to take out my anger on my grandmother's scarecrow, Jimmy. I'm sure she wouldn't mind; he doesn't do a very good job of keeping the crows away anyway.
I know, I know. *holds hands up in surrender* Not the time for jokes. I'm just trying to lighten the mood because this part makes me so freaking sad – and the fact that I'm sad makes me mad because I cannot celebrate the end of the evil lying she-witch of doom properly.
Nah, as I said earlier, although I detest Morgana after how much she's changed, a part of me (a teeny, weeny, itty bitty, microscopic part of me) is still clinging on to what she once was. I think about how much she cared about people in season one and a big part of season two and I want the old Morgana back… although we know it is never to be…
Sorry if this episode turned out to be a bit more depressing than most; I'll do my best to strategically place random jokes at the most inappropriate intervals to give you a little bit of giggles during the emotional end of this episode.
What do you get when you cross a rooster and a small dog?
Cocka-poodle-doo!
Okay, so the rest of it isn't going to be that depressing. I just really wanted to tell that joke! Hee hee. Anyway…
After watching Arthur grieving, Merlin returns to Gaius's chambers and hears Morgana struggling to breathe. Gwen's sitting by her side, the ever-loyal servant (although we've seen the way she grieves – clinging on to Arthur and touching his face), about to fall to pieces. Gaius says her breath is leaving (Morgana's obviously, not Gwen's) and that she will be gone by morning.
What does Merlin do?
Does he do a happy dance, relieved that the evil lying she-witch of doom will no longer be trying to kill him and his BFF? Does he say, "Aw, man, what a shame – who's up for pizza?" Does he even solemnly but wisely accept her fate and the part he inadvertently played in it, and the agonizing grief Camelot will go through because of this blessing in disguise?
Nope.
He summons the Awkward Yet Still Totally Loveable Dragon – who we haven't seen since episode two. Hey Dragon! Dragon, guess what? We're having an Awesome People Party of Doom! You're not invited though. Don't be sad, though, it's not because we don't like you or anything – we think dragons are the bees knees, which really doesn't make much sense since bees don't have knees as far as we know) – but it is an Awesome People Party of Doom, and you're not a people – at least, I don't think you are. Are dragons people? Didn't think so. Anyway, I don't think you'd fit in my house, and I might get in trouble if you smash our new Wii – by accident of course.
So Merlin calls on The Existential Dragon, and Kilgharra shows up and gives him the low-down. "Yo, D-man, Morgana is dying and I did it. I feel guilty and junk because Uther's crying, Arthur's killing inanimate objects, and Gwen is touching Arthur's face. Oh yeah, and Morgana's his kid because Uther slept with her mom because he's a jerkwad of doom… Yep. That's wazzup."
Don't know why Merlin went gangsta or whatever that was, but the point still remains – he feels so guilty about accidentally almost killing the evil lying she-witch of DOOM that he wants Bob to save her. And may I just say, Bob's not too happy about this development. The Dragonator is content to sit back, munch on some house-sized popcorn, and watch her die slowly and painfully…
Wow, I'm making the Existential Dragon sound like a big jerk. *singsong voice* But if the giant dragon-shoe fi-its…"
Nah, I sort of like Bob. Actually I do like him, even though he attacked Camelot and tricked Merlin into trading his mummy's life for Arthur's… He's a dragon, and dragons are cool, plus he's saved Merlin and Arthur's butts many times before. It's just… he can be a bit callous sometimes, you know what I mean?
Not that I'm saying I'm not – I don't know how many times this story I've wished for Morgana's death (Example #1 – bomb in underwear drawer). But I wasn't being serious. Well, completely serious anyway. I loved Morgana in the first two seasons, and she's annoying in this season, but maybe (hopefully, *crosses fingers and does the ancient and powerful anti-smirk of DOOM dance* – similar to the rain-dance but involves much more pirouetting) she'll actually morph into a good (and by good I mean bad) and believable villain in series four. Which, by the way, is being cut down to ten episodes. Not. Cool. (Not that I'm going to complain, at least we're getting another season, hopefully another two…)
Erm, anyway. Merlin and Bob have a pretty intense conversation, which I have preserved on this screen page thing for you, combined with my awesome sarcastic powers of DOOM!
THE EXISTENTIAL DRAGON: You summoned me, young warlock. (Noooo… really? Yeah, I totally summoned you so you could tell me I summoned you… Wooow…) And to what do I owe the pleasure… this time? (What? Merlin always has to have a reason to come and visit? He can't just come and chat, shoot the breeze, invite you to play a round of mini-golf…? Oh right. Merlin does only come when he needs/wants/demands something but it's not his fault that you're crabby, only talk in riddles, and are WAY too big to fit into the pixie pink castle on hole nine of the putt putt course!)
MERLIN: I've been to the Crystal Cave. I saw Morgana making an attempt on Uther's life.
THE DRAGONATOR: It does not surprise me. (Gee, what a surprise. Nothing ever surprises you, does it, Bob? I bet I could tell you that "braccas meas vescimini" means 'eat my pants' in Greek – which it does – and you would say. "That does not surprise me." Or "That's not very nice." Or "No way I'm eating your pants, that's nasty!" Or maybe even, "Okay, yummy!" Er…anyway.)
MERLIN: Well I stopped her. (Durn right he did. And now he's wanting to un-stop her.)
DRAGON ALMIGHTY: To change the future is no simple matter, Merlin. (Nooo, really?) To do so is fraught with danger. (You don't say… *rolls eyes, why do you think I'm here, Kilgharra? To play chess? Because I'm not…uuunless it's Wizard's Chess. Then I'm all for it. Hee hee…)
MERLIN: I know, and as a result of my actions Morgana is dying. (And Gwen's touching Arthur's face!)
THE AWKWARD YET STILL TOTALLY LOVEABLE DRAGON: Then you should rejoice. (How RUDE! Telling Merlin what to do… Oh, and I guess it was a teensy bit rude to tell Merlin he should frolic in the daisy's that Morgana's about to be pushing up, but she's an evil lying she-witch of doom, so I'm not going to scold him for that.)
MERLIN: (smiles and nods) I want you to help me to save her. (There we go again with the determination to see good in others! Merlin, it will be your undoing, remember? Or maybe you just want to save her to make your friends feel better? Well, she's a murderous evil lying she witch of apocalyptic proportions, and she HATES all your friends, so how exactly are dead friends better than sad friends? Please, tell me. I'm intrigued.)
BOB: Merlin, have you learned nothing?
MERLIN: I did not mean to kill her. All I wanted was to avoid the future that would have unfolded. (Well, it looks like it was a twofer, eh, Merlin ole pal?) To prevent Uther's death, to prevent Camelot from being torn apart.
KILGHARRA: I will not cure her! (Rawr. Touchy.)
MERLIN: She is Uther's daughter.
THE D-MAN: Yes. (Okay, here we go with the no surprises thing! Isn't it annoying when you try to catch someone off guard and they never act surprised? Hmm… Hey Kilgharra did you know that the actual definition of 'dude' is an infected hair on an elephant's posterior? "Yees… I'm not surprised…" *harrumphs* Know it all.)
So anyway, Merlin's none too pleased that Bob didn't ever tell him. He tries to persuade him again to help Morgana but the D-Man says, "The witch must die, as she should have long ago." Wow. Kilgharra really seems to have it out for Morgana. I know he knows her future and all, but seriously? That sounds like something more personal than anything. Maybe they had something going on at one point and she left him for someone else? Or she told him his snout's too long and hurt his ickle feelings? Or she went ahead and told him the ending of the seventh Harry Potter book before he had a chance to read it (that's something I'd kill over, hee hee…)?
So anyway, The Awkward Yet Still Totally Loveable Dragon flat out refuses to save her. So Merlin, being a Dragonlord and all, commands him to, which doesn't set well with Mr. Grumpy Scales. I can understand that to an extent, though. Merlin just sort of lorded over the dragon (well, he is a dragonlord, but still...) and didn't pay heed to the warning that the evil that will follow is all Merlin's fault. I think Merlin could've been a little nicer about the whole thing if you ask me…
But we all make mistakes, eh? And now, we've got drama going on between Bob and Merlin. Makes for even more… well… drama. Ahem.
So Kilgharra zooms off, mad, and Merlin hurries back to Camelot, where he uses the spell the dragon breathed into him to cure Morgana. Great. And she's back. Can we go hide from her wrath now?
It's kind of funny, though, after he heals her, Merlin gets this look on his face like, "Oh, no… what have I done…?"
So Gaius apparently doesn't know about Merlin's little adventure and is shocked when he comes back into his chambers to see Morgana awake and Uther holding her in his arms. Morgana looks all sappy and relieved to be back with her "guardian" but we know she hates him anyway, and since she obviously heard that he's her father… well, it's painfully obvious to everyone not in the TV that it's all LIES! (Thus, evil LYING she-witch of doom.)
A little later, Uther thanks Gaius, who – quite honestly – says that he didn't do anything. Uther's like, "Oh, no, of course you didn't, I understand, my lips are sealed…" Obviously Uther thinks that Gaius used magic to cure Morgana, but because Uther's a hypocrite, he doesn't even bat an eyelid. Yeah, totally disregard the episode in season two, The Witchfinder, when Uther came within inches of burning poor Gaius at the stake for finding a glowing amulet in his chambers…
Uther's a loser.
But as usual, the one who actually did the saving of Morgana, the one who always saves the day, gets no acknowledgement. But I have to wonder how Uther would react if he found out that it was Merlin that saved Morgana. Would he be grateful that Morgana was alive and then execute Merlin for being a sorcerer in Camelot all this time? Probably. Why? Because Uther's a dwonk and Arthur's a prat and because if you blow bubbles in your milk it makes a funny noise.
So afterwards, Gaius finds Merlin, who is beating himself up over the whole thing. They talk about what's been going on, but I'm not going into that, you can watch the episode for yourself, because I want to get to the good stuff.
Hee hee.
Morgana and Uther are talking, and Morgana's pushing Uther about their relationship now that she knows who her daddy really is. He's all like, "You're like my daughter…"
And Morgana's like, "But no one knows that. Everyone thinks I'm just your ward…"
And then Uther says, "It doesn't matter what they think. They can jump in the lake. All that matters are our feelings…"
Okay, first off, that's a paraphrase. Secondly, that sounds a little too much like something Edward would say to Bella or vice versa for it to be a father/daughter moment. Thirdly, I'm pretty sure Morgana feels like she's going to kill you soon, Uther, judging by the angry, depressed face she pulls behind your back when you leave. I kind of feel bad for her here. Almost. But she and Uther are both such jerks, they kind of cancel each other out in my feeling bad for them and all.
Morgause knocks out a servant and sneaks in to visit Morgana because she's worried about her sister. Awww… the bonds between evil lying she witches. Blech. Quick, Merlin, while they're in one place – kill them both! *laughs like a crazed, psycho maniac* MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA – HA – HA - *cough* Ooh. Hairball. I don't even want to know how that got there…
Anyway, Morgause is thrilled when Morgana tells her that she's Uther's daughter because she now has a "legitimate claim to the throne," never mind the mental agony little sis is going through at finding out her own father cared more about keeping his reputation clean (HA! Clean reputation after murdering a bunch of people for having magic? Yeah right.) than claiming his own flesh and blood. This is just one of the reasons I believe that Morgause, loving sister as she may seem to be, would probably drop Morgana in a heartbeat if it was beneficial to her. I could be wrong, but I have NO respect for Morgause. She's one character in Merlin that I cannot stand, even if she is a great (and by great I mean bad) villain.
Morgana doesn't care about the fact that she is one of Uther's heirs any more than she does about why cheese turns green when left out in the sun or why the square root of pi isn't apple (haha, get it? Apple? Erch…) and wants Uther to pay. Morgause suddenly acts like she cares and doesn't want to leave Morgana in this emotional state, but she has to when the warning bells go off.
Morgause sneaks by them all and gets away without incident. Darn. I was hoping for a rousing game of sword tag or Dagger May I.
When Gaius is checking over the servant that was knocked out, Merlin sees something that makes him freak out again like he did at the cave. A goblet of wine had spilled beside the servant, and when Gaius lifts the dude's (and no, he's not an infected hair on an elephant's posterior, 'dude' is also a slang word that means 'man') limp arm, the wine drips off his fingers. The second image he saw in the crystals. He figures out what it means – he didn't stop anything. He caused it by interfering.
Dear Merlin, dear Merlin. Told you not to try to change the future. Unless the future says I don't exist or we don't get married. Then fiddle around with it all you want, by all means. Hee hee. Seriously, Merlin should watch Doctor Who. He'd probably learn a thing or two.
So he hurries off to try and stop Morgana, who is sulking (and plotting) in her room. Merlin races down the hall and barges into Morgana's room right as she sheathes her knife. YAY, more Morgana and Merlin interactions! My favorite!
MORGANA: What are you doing here?
MERLIN: Asking you out on a date to go see the new Narnia movie. I hear Aslan is pretty epic in it… What do you THINK I'm doing, she-witch? I'm saving Uther and you from your own hatred because I'm (thunder rolls) Merlin! (That was my fantasy, by the way. Didn't actually happen that way. This is the real deal:) Arthur sent me to look after you. He's worried about the intruder.
MORGANA: I don't need you. (walks toward the door)
MERLIN: (intercepts her) He was quite insistent.
MORGANA: (tries to hit him, Merlin grabs her wrist…AW, they do love each other! *sigh* That deep, dark, secret part of my mind wishes that were true… Curse Mergana for being so appealing to me! She panics.) GET OUT OF MY WAY! (her eyes turn gold because of her emotions and she throws Merlin against the wall, where he gets knocked out. Whoo! A tiny little Merlin-whump! It's better than nothing, I'd say! And then it knocked over a candle, which catches the curtain near Merlin on fire… She looks at the death trap Merlin seems to be in… and smirks, and then walks away, ready to kill Uther…)
Oh, and we get a really gorgeous close up of Merlin's face after he gets knocked out! Just sayin'.
What follows is a dramatic montage of shots (set to totally dramatic music) alternating between scenes of Morgana walking toward Uther's chambers, guards running, and Merlin's prone figure huddled unconscious in a ring of fire in Morgana's room.
And then…his eyes open. He… well, he roars. He dashes to Uther's chambers, where Morgana is about to plunge her dagger into her father… and he uses his awesome magic of doom to make his window shatter, causing her to drop and hide the knife and Uther to wake up. Strangely, neither of them even take a second glance at the magically shattered window as Morgana lies and said she was scared and wanted to see him… they hug and Merlin gazes at them like, "Oh geez."
WHEN WILL THE LIES END?
Sorry, just wanted to say that.
The episode ends with another Dora moment – We did it, we did it, we did it, yay! Bravicimo, we did it! Morgana nearly died and it's all my fault, yeah we did it! I abused my powers and she's plotting our doom, yeah we did it! Yay!"
Uh, all that to say, Gaius and Merlin discuss the events of the episode and it ends with Gaius telling Merlin that he's going to really have to look out for Arthur now (as if Merlin's not already got his back, eh?) because now that Morgana knows the truth, he is the only thing that stands between her and the throne if Uther dies.
DUN DUN DUN!
And… fin!
Stats:
Burn Meter 5000:
Part 3: Arthur 0, Merlin 0 (NONE? HOW SAD…)
This Episode so Far: Arthur 4, Merlin 9
Total: Arthur 28, Merlin 30
Shirtless Arthur Scenes:
Part 3 : 0
This Episode so Far: 0
Total: 3
Smirk-O-Meter
Part 3: 6
This Episode so far: 8
Total: 31
Okay, that's it for this week. Please REVIEW and then tune in next week for part 1 of "The Changeling"… hee hee. Until then, stay away from roasted cabbage, don't eat earwax, and try to avoid licking frozen flag poles!
~Emachinescat ^..^