Merlin

Remember this episode of Buffy when Giles dressed up as the King of Camelot and yelled at some kid?

Yes, yes, I know. Apparently Merlin is in its fifth season and I there is no reason I should be so shocked to see that Giles, I mean Anthony Head, is allowed to play other characters.

So, how did I end up getting on the Merlin bandwagon five seasons into the series?

My sister gets the credit. I am always looking for a new, good, magical TV series to get lost in. Merlin is a sweet and heartfelt (if a little formulaic) BBC show that streams like butter on netflix.

My sister seems to love the show a lot more than I do so far. Witness our recent text message conversation:

Me: By the way, about to watch Merlin! 

(a couple minutes later) 

Me: Oh my god! Anthony Stewart Head is in it! Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Betsy: Lol, yeah, someone said that the other day. Who is that? Did you  like Merlin?

Me: Still watching. Episode three. It is not bad.

Betsy: It is not bad? It's AMAZING! Lol

Me: hahahaha. It is getting better.

Betsy: I love the whimsical cheesiness. Though it gets more dark in future seasons.

Me: It has some funny lines. I am enjoying it.

Betsy: I really like this concept. Merlin is so powerful and magic and intuitive but he has to pretend to be a fool in order to fulfill his destiny on earth.

Well said, sister. He has to pretend to be a fool in order to fulfill his destiny on earth. I feel that way all the time.

But really, although nothing will ever compare to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it is a nice break from the heart-stopping intensity of Walking Dead, and the kaleidoscopic complexity of Once Upon a Time. Merlin is the sort of show you can have on in the background while you do things like ... write a blog post. You won't miss anything.

Angel Coulby

But lack of complexity aside, the characters Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere, and Morgana, and the old dude really do care about each other. That's something so many shows don't understand how to do. It's a cool re-imagining of Camelot when King Arthur was a teen and Merlin was somehow also a teen. "Camelot High" they could have called it. Plus they have Druids, and Sidhe (fairy folk), and Guinevere is played by this girl, so that is interesting.

Merlin is growing on me. In fact, it is one of my favorite things so that is why I dedicated my first-ever "My Favorite" Monday post to it.

And I have a feeling it will only get better.