Ah. Now I see what might have prompted this post that I commented on yesterday, when it got linked in the SV newsletter. :p But in response to the original post itself, the examples she raised to make a point about Merlin being a misogynistic show are inaccurate at best. I mean, Uther is just as unhinged as Nimueh is when it comes to magic. Merlin is just as dark and morally ambiguous as Morgana is. Gaius can be very apathetic and disregarding of his culpability. Arthur is very much a strong character, but at certain times still needs someone to give him that final push to do the right thing, which is Morgana herself for most of the time. And it's Gwen who has been unequivocally portrayed as the moral touchstone of story so far.
There's quite enough complexity for all of Merlin's characters to appreciate their motivations and course of actions, whether we agree with the show's execution or not. Sometimes I think the cry fouls at a show being misogynistic is just a little too often that I can't seem to take the arguments without thinking there's another whole agenda behind them, like in the post I've referred to in my previous response.
Yeah, Smallville can be crazy painful and not in a good way too. S3 is probably the only season I'd never watch again. They went way overboard with trying to woobify Lex, and it ended up serving no one. But in the later seasons, I think they've gotten their act together somewhat -- making him completely cold, competent and leaving no room for doubt that he's in full control of his faculties and conscience at the same time. And I can appreciate that.
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Date: 2009-01-11 07:46 am (UTC)There's quite enough complexity for all of Merlin's characters to appreciate their motivations and course of actions, whether we agree with the show's execution or not. Sometimes I think the cry fouls at a show being misogynistic is just a little too often that I can't seem to take the arguments without thinking there's another whole agenda behind them, like in the post I've referred to in my previous response.
Yeah, Smallville can be crazy painful and not in a good way too. S3 is probably the only season I'd never watch again. They went way overboard with trying to woobify Lex, and it ended up serving no one. But in the later seasons, I think they've gotten their act together somewhat -- making him completely cold, competent and leaving no room for doubt that he's in full control of his faculties and conscience at the same time. And I can appreciate that.