By ElaineB
Merlin has just about everything going for it: An incredibly handsome Arthur (expect him to be Hollywood’s next Brad or Johnny). A perfectly geekish Merlin. A smartly revised legend (Camelot did not exist before Arthur in any of the legends, and in them Merlin was an old man by the time Arthur was born). A charming Gwen and a seductive Morgana (Katie McGrath is almost a dead ringer for the famous Burne-Jones and Aubrey Beardsley imaginings of the sorceress). But a drama needs a good antagonist, and while the series has presented Nimeuh as the enemy of King Uther, she could do very little harm if it were not for the dense and stubborn nature of Uther himself.
I adore Anthony Head (best known for his role as Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but on this series the writers have given him nothing to work with. He walks around with a crown on his head issuing incredibly stupid proclamations that everyone heeds simply because he is the king (perhaps this can be viewed as political satire). The worst moment came when Merlin warned Arthur not to drink the wine because it was poisoned, Uther then ordered Merlin to prove it by drinking the wine. When Merlin fell deathly ill, Uther would not allow Arthur to go and find the antidote. To his credit, Arthur defied his father and went anyway, a good sign of the growing bond between the king and the advisor who will be his strongest ally.
Perhaps, if the writers presented Uther with a larger problem than he’s faced so far, he’d come into his own. Also, the cast of this series is very small. With so few characters, there can be no intrigues. Of course, this family friendly fantasy cannot rise to, say, even a third of the backstabbing that goes on at The Tudors court, but an evil adviser who hates Merlin could add much to the story. Still, Merlin offers some good fun for the younger set but, if it comes back for a second season, the writers would do well to dispose of Uther and put Arthur on the throne as quickly as possible so the real saga can begin.
