worlds best tv movie?
tv movies are never good, this was excellent though
shareIt is the best movie I have ever seen, and world's best TV movie or not, I'm sure everyone will agree that it is indeed surprisingly good!
sharethis movie was so good i was surprised it wasn't released for the cinema
shareI saw this when it first came on TV and I loved it.. Nowadays I cant watch the whole thing because its so tragic (even though it had a happy ending).
shareEven the happy ending is arguable, depending from whose perspective you see things.
shareHow do you mean?
shareI mean it's at the very least bittersweet. Merlin's already wasted most of his life and an illusion, however pretty it might be, will still remain an illusion and not really grant him (or Nimue) many more years. Frik might love happy endings, but he did not get one, seeing he ended up wandering the world all alone. And Mab strived so hard to achieve her goal, but wasted everything in the process, culminating with the loss of everything and everyone. What's happy about that?
shareMerlin was convinced Nimue was long gone, but it turns out she wasn't and they were reunited. To me (and I imagine Merlin), the years between didn't matter. They were together. Sometimes that is enough.
Frik was content. Yes, he lost his love, but he was free of Mab and evil. He was at peace with himself.
Why should we care about Mab's happiness? While I understand her aim, her methods were reprehensible. Therefore, she got what she deserved.
There's a lot to be said for stoicism.
LOL, as I said, it depends whose perspective you see things from. But it's not the years between, it's more about the years left that I was referring to. And of course whatever time they did have left was good, but you can't help being a bit disappointed with all the time that was wasted (and for what?). I don't know about Frik - there wasn't very much revealed about what happened to him over the years, so I won't assume anything either way.
But Mab's "methods" were not that different from Merlin's, if you think about it: they both manipulated and used people to achieve their goals, the only difference being that Mab did not deny it, whereas Merlin tried to embellish his actions and totally failed to convince me - whether he did or did not "deserve" a happy ending is not for me to judge. Also, having him be the one to tell the story, you automatically get a subjective portrayal of everything that happened. So I think it's down to what each individual chooses to make out of it. Again, as I said, it's at the very least bittersweet to me (and I do care about Mab's happiness because she stood there and fought till the very end, whatever the cost - you don't really get much of a choice in times of war, and she made - or tried to make - the best of the cards she was dealt. I can but admire that).
Heh, regarding the main topic, I love it how this movie still manages to stir up interesting discussions - yet another point that proves its value.
The story is sad cause Mab just didn't want to be forgotten nor the other creatures to be forgotten either which is why it all started, yes her meathods were harsh but if your facing extinction desparate times call for desparate measures. Merlin was just like her almost and in a way a foil to eachother since Merlin had Uther to counter Mab's Vortagan then Merlin used Lady Igraine to get Arthur. Mab then uses Morgana to get Mordred but in the end it comes down to Merlin vs Mab just like in the begining but this time Mab loses yet both have lost so much.
Mab in a way did get what she wanted for a time as Merlin used his power to fight against her but she still existed cause she was thought about, if Mab had been more caring and let Merlin vist his aunt things would have gone better thought. The whole thing might not have happened if she allowed him more freedom during his studies and asked Ambrosia for more help thous showing she wasn't completly apathetic.
"Always two there , a master and an apprentice"
You've just voiced some of my very thoughts. And speaking of Igraine, she really got the short end of the stick - first Mab causes Uther to lust after her, then Merlin helps Uther seduce her (talk about team work). The really sad part in her case is that neither had anything against her - she just happened to be part of their plans.
Regarding the point you made about Ambrosia, I think Mab wasn't that interested in encouraging Merlin to keep in touch with her mainly because Ambrosia had renounced the Old Ways (even though she hadn't embraced the new religion, it must be said). If anything, perhaps it would have been better for Mab herself to have made some contact with him before he started using his powers - tell him about the Old Ways, give him time to get used to the idea and let everything sink in. Of course, had she done that, he would probably have not gone against her and we might not have got the movie, so go figure...
I think Arthur had the most Tragic life.
shareHmmm... never really thought about that aspect. Can't say I really agree, TBH. The circumstances of Arthur's birth were not pleasant, nor his death, but as far as the time in between goes: he was fostered by Sir Ector, and tutored by Merlin, who he seemed to like a lot for the first 16 or so years of his life, which has to be better than staying with Uther, who was unpleasant to begin with, and then became insane and unpleasant. He became king, and with no blood being spilt, gathered the support of all the knights. He began building a wonderful city. He became known as the once and future king.
I think the main "tragedy" about Arthur was actually, in a way, similar to some aspects of Mab's, surprisingly. Aspects of his life that SHOULD have been good turned sour. Like, his marriage to Guinevere ending in adultery, and an excuse by Mordred to gather more supporters against him. He never found the Holy Grail, despite looking for it. He had a night of great sex that eventually lead to his death at his son's hands. But I have little patience with Arthur because I have to say- yeah, become king, start building a city, get married, and then immediately run off and leave your country for 7 years in the hands of somebody else. I understand his motives were good. But his brain, it seems, was not, LOL.
I do think there are more tragic characters- Mab, for example, spends the whole film knowing that if she doesn't succeed in her quest, all her kind will vanish, and she herself will be sucked into oblivion. Her champions fail her, Merlin turns against her, and Mordred, her last champion, who is devoted to her, and would die for her, goes ahead and ends up doing just that. She dies at her son's hands, watching everyone turn their back on her. Frik loses his lover and his powers, and unlike Merlin, never gets them back. Merlin gets his happy ending, but before that, there is that line after Mab disappears "Everyone I ever loved, and whoever loved me, all gone"- his mother, Ambrosia, Mab, Arthur and Nimue, all are dead or lost to him, supposedly forever.
Try not to panic. Just think of it as landing a little more vertically than usual
And his talking horse. Merlin gets his talking horse back at the end, also.
"...For every man who has ever lived, in this universe, there shines a star."
-Arthur C. Clarke