Something I only just realized about the Arthur Saga-

[mary_j_59]

This is passed on from eleanor X, who had posted the video to her own livejournal. It really is a terrific song; I can't get it out of my head, and the lyrics (in spite of a couple of infelicitous words like "puppetile" - why not "puppet-like" or simply "puppet's"?) are pretty astonishing. If you watch this, consider the relationship described between Morgana and young Mordred, and then go here:
http://sigune.livejournal.com/93168.html#cutid1

Follow the links for "the Darkest Hour" and read the whole thing - and you will see, quite clearly, what I only just realized. The Arthur legend is, at heart, a revenge tragedy about a seriously disordered family. And young Mordred - if you read him as the instrument of his mother's revenge; there are other ways of reading him - is actually not so much a villain, as the last victim of this family. Why didn't I see this before?

Anyway, the song and the comic are both terrific, and I look forward to reactions to them both. ) BTw, the little fellow who plays Mordred is much, much closer to my idea of young Harry than Dan Radcliffe. For one thing, he is slender and actually has greenish eyes.

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Comments

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Oh, it does sound interesting! If it's still on, I'll have to give it a try. *is curious*

Mind you, if I look at the story I'm not at all sure why the characters are called Arthur, Merlin, Morgana and Mordred. It sounds like a fantasy series that is just about entirely unrelated to anything Arthurian XD. That's not necessarily bad, of course. But my first impression is that the creators are using well-known names purely to draw the audience in...

I am quite in love with an Arthurian television series of which the last season has just been aired in France: Kaamelott. It started out as a very low-budget production, oddly enough formatted in 3-minute episodes of comical Pythonesque sketches, but meanwhile it has turned into a grand and occasionally moving saga (the last three "seasons" are scheduled to be films on the big screen) as the creator, who also plays Arthur, really got into his character. Kaamelott takes quite a few liberties with the Arthurian source material - for example, we haven't seen the faintest hint of Mordred yet, Morgana's role is negligeable (she is certainly not a baddie), and important things happen that I can't mention without giving away major spoilers - but it is much more recognisable than what you describe. Kaamelott is playing very cleverly with Arthurian lore, whereas Merlin seems to be playing cleverly without it :).

[puckling.livejournal.com]

Hello friend of a friend!

Mind you, if I look at the story I'm not at all sure why the characters are called Arthur, Merlin, Morgana and Mordred.

I pipe up because I was actually asked almost this exact same question and this is my response (http://puckling.livejournal.com/24929.html#cutid1). It was written in the middle of season one so somethings have changed since then (I think they've actually moved closer to traditional Arthuriana this season) and kinda rambly, but I thought that maybe it would help you to understand why I at least, think that Merlin is interesting and a valid part of Arthuriana.