What I learned from “Merlin”

Merlin. A five season show following a loose adaption of the legendary characters King Arthur, the Lady Guinevere, and the great magician Merlin… only before Arthur was king,  before Gwen was a lady and when Merlin was just Prince Arthur’s man servant. Well, Merlin was already a magician, he just had to hid it so he wouldn’t be killed. While being Prince Arthur’s manservant. Tricky, tricky. How he lasted five seasons without being detected is worth a round of applause.

I recently finished the fifth and final season of BBC’s Merlin and I gotta tell you; wow. What a good show. The finale was a punch in the gut, I even teared up near the end (didn’t actually cry, just teared up). And it’s left me a lot to appreciate.

The two character I liked the most were both Merlin and Arthur. Not just because they’re hilarious together but because they were realistic characters. The two start off disliking each other very much but over time they build a solid friendship with plenty of banter between them that made me laugh. But the two of them individuality go through excellent character growth that I greatly appreciated.

We’ll start with Merlin, because he’s my ultimate favorite.

Merlin is an extremely likable character; he’s funny, he’s way smarter then everyone thinks he is, he’s quick to learn, yet he can be clumsy and is not a good liar. He learns to accept his destiny as the the protector of Arthur and uses the magic within him to preserve his master and the kingdom he loves; Camelot. But he’s not perfect, and that’s what makes him a fully rounded, balanced, realistic character.

You know how in most movies, there’s always the cliched young protagonist who ends up going against what some figure of authority or elder has said, to do things his own way and it ends up alright in the end? Well, Merlin is imperfect in that against warnings from his mentor, the court physician Gaius, and the great imprisoned Dragon, he often does things his own way. The awesome thing about this, though, is that writers of this show make Merlin suffer the consequences of his choices.

Merlin, especially through out the first few seasons, does things his way but then later on, whether in a different episode or different season, the consequences of his bad choices come to threaten everything that he’s worked for or holds dear and he regrets going against the wise counsel given him. You don’t see this in most films, do you?

Merlin makes mistakes but he’s also wise and discerning, this baffling Arthur and the other knights who view him as just a clumsy friend to tease. Merlin has a soft heart, he’s kind to all. He becomes very loyal to Arthur and puts his life on the line for him an awful lot, saving his life, or the lives of the noble family many times; often without anyone’s knowledge except Gaius’. He does great things and learns to love doing those things without any self gain or reward. He’s a great title character and we could stand to learn a lot from him.

And Arthur, too; shall we talk about Arthur, now? Lets, because Arthur almost has more character growth then Merlin does.

We meet Arthur as spoiled, very prideful prince. That’s a long ways off from even being similar to legendary character who’s goodness and nobleness of heart made him one of the greatest kings ever. But that’s part of the beauty of this show, in meeting Arthur before he was a great king. We get to see him grow from being selfish and prideful into an extremely self-sacrificing and noble man who puts his kingdom before his pride. He learns to live out excellent skills in leadership and humility. And that was how I learned to love Arthur.

It’s also why I think most men today could stand to watch this show and learn from his example; that the greatest of men are the most humble and self-sacrificing. It was amazing to watch throughout the five seasons as Arthur learned to stand up for what was right, even against his own father the King; to see him humble himself before those he had wronged, including those who were enemies, and literally say, “It was wrong of me.” He made things right, often saving the spilling of blood.

One of the things I like most about Arthur was that when he knew something was wrong but his father, King Uther, was going to do them anyway simply out of pride, he would often stand up and say, “No, this is wrong and I can not do what you ask.” It takes a lot of guts to stand up like that, even to your own father who happens to be the king of Camelot. But Arthur learned to stand up and do the right thing. And I raise my hat to that.

The other thing that I really, really appreciated was that Arthur always kept his word. If he promised someone he would do something, he would do it, even if it was extremely dangerous. This was a great breath of fresh air for me to see someone follow through with his commitments.

By the end of Season Five, Arthur really was the noblest King Camelot would ever see.

There are a lot of other things that I could try to cover but there really is too much to discuss, so I’ll keep this shorter then longer. A few of these will quickly sum up a few things that I just love about the show; besides, I need my moment to share some fangirly stuff, I haven’t really talked about this show on here like I have Sherlock or even Dr Who, and I’ve only seen the first season of the latter.

I need this…

…. I laughed a lot watching this show, it really did help relieve some stress even though it wasn’t supposed to be a comedy.

So, what did I learn from Merlin? You don’t need recognition to do the right thing. The best men are the humblest men. Great leaders are those who put their people ahead of themselves. Give ear to those around you, especially great Dragons who can see the future, they might have some good counsel for you. Always stand up for what is right. You never know what the future holds. Your friends will tease you a lot because they are just that comfortable around you to do so; that’s how you know you are good friends. Never judge a person by their cover, your man servant could be the most powerful sorcerer in existence.  True love always prevails. And embrace your destiny, it was given to you for a reason….

Thank you, Merlin, for finding me when you did. Thanks for being there for me and for setting some noble examples. I greatly appreciated it.

~Jamie

Iron Man 3

I saw Iron Man 3 last night and it was a-maaa-zing! A lot better then I was expecting and I was kinda expecting a lot; but it was an excellent sequel and they didn’t screw anything up in my opinion. I didn’t cry! I actually didn’t cry but that didn’t bum me out either. Also, I am keeping this spoiler free!

It was great seeing Tony again, especially since he’s my second favorite Avenger. Everything going on with him was very realistic behaviors after he what he went through during the alien attack  in The Avengers, it was good finally seeing how he was doing after the whole ordeal.  Although shaken up a bit, he still had his same good ol’ sense of humor that was fun to hear!

I LOVED seeing Pepper again, she’s always been my favorite Marvel woman. She was wonderful; she even had a few kickbutt moments of her own which was amazingly awesome. I’ve always loved her and Tony as a couple so I was inwardly squealing through many of their scenes; Tony was actually not so much of a jerk towards her and apologized several times and reassured her of his feelings for her. That’s  just swoon worthy because guys never apologize or take responsibility for their screw ups anymore, so for a guy like Tony Stark to do that to Pepper was just awesome to see. They’re still one of my most favorite films couples ever.

All of Tony’s suits were really awesome to see; I’ve always loved the scenes where’s he’s building or experimenting with his suits, so I was happy to see he had been doing more experimenting. I certainly loved his new suit capabilities; they just get better and better with each movie that comes out!

Keeping this short and neat, I’m going to finish off by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this next addition to the Marvel series, it was a blast to watch, it had some great lines and some surprising twists and turns. I highly recommend viewing in theaters! Oh, and also the end scene after the credits was brilliantly amazing and I was grinning SO. DANG. HARD! Do not miss that scene!

~Jamie

11 Tag: Shortened Version

So, Solace Utara tagged me in her 11 Tag; considering I’m feeling rather lazy, I’ll only be answering the questions she asked this time around instead of also coming up 11 facts and then 11 questions and then 11 different people to tag. I also couldn’t get the questions to copy over right the first few times (wordpress, although efficient, can be frustrating every blue moon) but I think it was worth it in the end because I had a lot of fun answering these!

What movie are you looking forward to the most this year? Well, that would be a toss up between Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, at least for the most. Other movies I had on my want to watch list like Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, The Lone Ranger, Catching Fire, Oz: The Great and Powerful and Warm Bodies; those last two there I’ve already seen.

Opinion of Maroon 5, One Direction, Fun., and Taylor Swift? Well I’m afraid I have no opinion of Maroon 5 and Fun. because I live undera rock and haven’t heard them before. One Direction is overrated but I have nothing agianst them personally. Taylor Swift is a good artist although I’m not a country music fan; she seems like a sweet person. A few of my favorites include Our Song, Mine, 22 and Picture to Burn.

Describe your best friend. Wow, okay, I’d descibe Kayla but she says siblings don’t have to ‘count’ as bestfriends and she doesn’t count me as her best friend even though I am, so… I’ll describe The Doctor instead since he’s my other best friend. He’s pretty much Victorian nobility coping with the twentyfirst century and it’s deteriorated English language and dress style; he’s very observant, he can both tease and be considerate at the same, he’s really funny, he’s a good storyteller, he’s smart and supportive and kind and a pretty good dancer. I also do not mind saying that his hair is awesomeness itself and I don’t think he would mind me saying that. I really miss him and our weekly talks of Sherlock Holmes and just life in general.

What did you think/what are you expecting of Iron Man 3? Expecting to cry at least once, I will be surprised if I don’t tear up. I am expecting to be wowed and I hope it’s as good as everyone has made it sound!

Harry Potter or Hunger Games or Percy Jackson? Hunger Games; I’m afraid it’s not really fair for me though because I’ve not seen Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. But I do like The Hunger Games; that was a good movie.

How long have you been blogging? Two years and almsot five months. I can be that exact because I began blog on New Years Eve of 2010/opening of 2011 (same day I saw A New Hope for the first time). It’s been such a fun journey; I’ve learned a lot about myself, my writing style has gone through some growth of its own and it’s made for a great tool to speak my mind and meet other people who think or have similar interests to me.

Five main fandoms? OH MY GOSH HOW DO YOU JUST PICK FIVE MAIN FANDOMS I LOVE SO MANY NOW THEY’RE ALL PART OF MY LIFE GAH. Okay, seriously, I can give you four for sure: Star Wars, The Avengers, Sherlock and Dr Who. The fifth would be, I suppose, a toss up between Grimm, Warehouse 13, The Office and Merlin. Because those are all special to me in different ways; only some of you will really understand what I mean because we all have those special fandoms that mean something to us.

Last thing that made you smile. Mmmm, not sure; I’ll say finding some new clothes at Savers for 25 percent off the other day, that made me very happy. I’m mean, these were super cute tops, people, and putting on something new and fresh for only a few dollars really made me feel brand new. I felt cute and attractive and I could tell that my personality really came through. I’ll have to get some pictures sometime, I suppose. I just felt really good…

What do you want be when you grow up? Well, what I would really like to be is a stay at home mother but that’s all really out of my control and I don’t see it happening anytime soon, so I’m trying keep my mind ground in reality right now. If my head and emotions ever settle down, I would like to put more engery into writing fiction but for now, blogging consistantly again will be probably be all I’ll be capable of doing right now. Now, when I was little, I used to want to be a vet or a paramedic. Go figure; at least about the paramedic thing; that is not my thing now. I understand the vet part though, I love animals.

What is the object left of you? Uhh, a scented candle and my bedroom wall. Wow. Really amazing, I know.

Well, I believe that was all! Thanks for tagging me, Solace Utara, I had a lot of fun coming up with answers for these! Have a good Sunday, everybody!

~Jamie

May the 4th Be With You

It is Star Wars Day already; this is the third Star Wars Day I’ve celebrated on my blog!

I haven’t talked about Star Wars in a while but today would be a good day to tip my hat to the saga once again, as being that first big fandom that grabbed my heart and admiration by the first movie. Star Wars is what helped connect me to many of my long time internet friends and it was there for me during family difficulties and a transition of churches and friends. It helped bring me and Kayla together to bond over something special and fun and put me on the road of loving sci-fi and fantasy.

What I love about Star Wars:

“Do or do not, there is no try.”

Darth Vader.

The Millennium Falcon.

“I love you.” “I know.”

Chewbacca.

“Who’s scruffy looking?”

Imperial March

Lightsabers

Princess Leia

“Would it help if I got out and pushed?” “It might!”

Jedi Knights

Carbonite.

“Either shut him up or shut him down!”

Han Solo.

Jedi tricks.

Rebels.

I’m not sure what we’ll be doing to celebrate other then maybe listen to the soundtracks and walk around wearing our helmets.  Maybe I’ll dress up as Vader for a little while and hopefully we’ll watch one of the movies, but nothing is concrete. Any of you have plans to enjoy some Star Wars today?

Anyway; may the Force be with you! Fly your X-wings safe and don’t stick anyone with your lightsabers today.

….I have a house to go decorate.

~Jamie

cold body. warm heart.

I saw my first zombie movie about a few weeks ago; Warm Bodies, a pleasing twist to the classic Romeo and Juliet tale told in a dark but comedic way from the zombie’s point of view. Yeah, I know, sounds bizarre but when I first saw the trailer last year I knew I would want to see this movie. It looked clever, funny, dark, sweet and something new. Seriously, it’s a good trailer, watch it here if you want. (It’s also going to be the only place you’ll get from me on a plot summary; so if you want actual plot summary, go find your friend Wiki…)

Well, I went and saw it at a local cheap theater by myself (yes, my Mom knows I went and saw this, she dropped me off, lol) and I loved every minute of it. I’m pretty sure I was the only girl in there, too. lol.

For a film about zombies, who obviously eat people, there was little gore, which I appreciated. There was less language then I expected, only a few s words and one f that slipped in. The romance was not annoying and moved at a realistic pace, which always makes it way more enjoyable to watch. And it was humorous; I was smiling throughout most of the film from R’s commentary. I would agree with the rating of PG-13 for viewer recommendation.

R is my new favorite character right now, besides Merlin and Nick Burkhardt. He was protective of Julie, kept her safe and provided for her. For a zombie, he was quite the gentleman; reassuring, kind, knew when to give her space and time to herself, was never angry at her when she did things her own way and ended up putting herself in danger. And he loved her, and it was this love that began to cure his deadness. But more on him later.

Julie is the link between the zombies and the last of the human race. She is decent character in my opinion because she’s balanced. In a lot of movies, females are often portrayed as two extremities; their either completely dependent on the male hero in that she can’t even stand up on either of her feet and her complete happiness rests on someone else and she’s just useless. Or their completely independent, extremely able to kick-butt while in their high heels and their don’t need anybody for anything. Julie hits the healthy center between these two (both of which are unhealthy for anyone in existence ever.) She’s strong, she’s daring, she can shoot, she’s brave. She also is human. She’s fearfully like anyone else; while she can stand on her own two feet, she learns to except the help R is offering to her. And that’s not a sign of weakness.

The romance was good and pretty clean.  A lot of romances especially based after the Romeo and Juliet structure often have outrageously unrealistic relationships where both sides instantly fall in love and it’s just not believable at all*islookingatWestSideStory* (“instantly falling in love” is often confused with “instantly feeling your chemistry” in a lot of movies; learn to tell the difference between human chemistry and real ‘love’.) While R was instantly attracted to Julie and it’s not really explained how (considering he first sees her during a battle), it still works. Okay, just believe me, it works. However, Julie has a realistic amount of time for her feelings to grow from absolute fear, to curiosity, to being just friends to having real feelings. And R is patient with her; he doesn’t rush things, he waits for her to feel comfortable around him. And the longer they were together, the more human he became.

What was so interesting about this movie was that it wasn’t just one genre. The romance didn’t control the story but it was a large part of the plot. R’s commentary was funny and clever but the film wasn’t a comedy. And it wasn’t a zombie-gore-o-rama blood and guts film; there was little gore but there was some actual plot structure and character growth to it as well. I’m pretty sure that’s missing from a lot of zombie movies.

And the parallels to Romeo and Juliet were fun and different; instead of two warring families, it was humans against zombies. There was even a balcony scene that wasn’t cheesy. There was more at stake for R and Julie then just ‘their feelings’ for each other; there was the recently discovered ‘cure’ for turning the zombies back to humans and that was human love and interaction. Julie ultimately had to make her father (who was the leader of the human resistance) realize that many of them were changing because of what they saw in her and R; it reminded them of something they once had as humans. So, their relationship was actually important and influential; more then just selfish ‘but we’re in love and we want to be together’ crap.

So, that was very appreciated.

Ultimately, the message of the movie was that being alive, being human; life in general, is precious. R, a zombie, knew he was missing something and as he became more alive began to actually feel things that we feel everyday. So, you end up leaving the movie feeling grateful for things that you never thought about before; the fact that you can feel cold, the fact that you can sleep at night and dream your own dreams, that you have memories, and that you can interact and connect with others. That you can feel emotion.

This was excellent for me, because when you’ve gone through very hurtful situations where you feel rejected by those you need the most, the heart ache and hollowness can make you wish that you simply couldn’t feel things anymore. You start wishing that you didn’t have to care about anybody ever again because caring means you will eventually get hurt. And you start to close yourself off from everyone because that’s the only way you can think of to keep from being hurt. Again.

I’ve felt like an emotionally and mentally dead zombie for a while now because I’ve been so hurt but not given a chance to properly heal before getting hurt again. So I just started to feel dull and closed off. Yeah, I’m standing up and eating and moving through the day but the ‘you’ is dead. Like a zombie.

But R helped me appreciate my feelings in general. Life will always hurt, emotions will always be there to confuse me and people will always let me down. But being hurt means being human and being human is one of best things in the world. Because while love can really suck and it can also really heal. Like R, I’m want to start healing, to start changing, to start feeling again. Because being a zombie is both really inconvenient and no fun. If you stay that way, you eventually loose anything that was human about you and become something bitter and twisted, like the Bonies from the film. And there was absolutely nothing redeemable about them.

I know this movie probably wouldn’t appeal to a lot of you, but it means something to me. It’s helped face me towards a road of healing because I emotionally and mentally related to R in many ways. That might sound weird, but I’ve found over the last few years that hope and help come from the strangest places.

So, I highly recommend this film to the appropriate age group. It’s not a film for everyone, but it strangely helped and comforted me. I can’t wait to add it to my DVD collection.

Zombies. Whodathunk?

~Jamie