I'd heard that the merlin-has-magic-reveal took far too long. I didn't realise until I read the recap it doesn't happen until the very last episode. Why did anyone even watch this show?
Not me, because apparently this video is better than any of it (it's quite good)
edited 8th Sep '13 3:18:04 AM by Laura
He's the Doctor. He could be anywhere in time and space.
As I said, because it had potential...in the first three seasons the dished out some really good episode which made you hope for more (like the Last Dragonlord or the Eye of the Phoenix). The fourth season was a crushing disappointment which made it pretty clear that the writers would never move forward. I guess most of us only watched the fifth because we knew that it would be the last one, and after all we had gone through, we at least wanted to see how it ended. Not that it was really that surprising.
Actual Wrestling Legend
Having watched a bit of Merlin, I distinctly remember thinking, "boy this would be badass if it weren't called Merlin." Like with Robin Hood, having a famous name and a logical 'endpoint' just became baggage.
edited 8th Sep '13 11:24:46 AM by johnnyfog
I'm a skeptical squirrel
I guess the show had potential in the first season - sadly it stayed a show with potential and what was worse, it refused to move forward. In my eyes the show runners could have done two things: Either ending it with Merlin's magic being revealed and the start of a golden era for Camelot - or they could have gone with the ending they picked but then they had to show at least one season in which we see Arthur as the great king he is supposed to be and Merlin at his site. Not to mention all the story treats which either lead to nowhere (the white dragon, Tristan) or came out of nowhere (where the hell came Aggravaine from?). If they had buckled up after the first three season and actually developed the stories they had, perhaps with a nice redemption arc for Morgana, this could have been a really satisfying show.