Merlin: Complete Series 3 [DVD]

Since I don't like giving spoilers, I'll first make a short list of what I liked and disliked this season. The second part of my review will go into more detail and will contain some spoilers so be warned.Likes:-Shirtless Arthur & Gwaine scenes-Colin Morgan finally has a great haircut and looks delicious-Anthony Head's amazing acting-Merlin/Gwaine bromanceDislikes:-Katie McGrath's "acting"-Lack of good screenwriting-Arthur and Merlin bromance was cooled down-Plotholes and logical fallacies-Lack of DVD extrasIn depth review:When I first started watching Merlin I was so hooked I stayed up all night to watch the whole season because it was so good. The comedy and great chemistry between the actors made up for the mediocre plot and the rather weak action. I had high hopes for season 2, but was ultimately let down because of some rather harsh changes to the series.No doubt the creators of Merlin were aware of the huge slash-fiction following that Merlin had created because of the great chemistry between Colin Morgan and Bradley James. They started to heavily play down on the Merlin/Arthur relationship by reducing the amount of endearing moments between them and having Arthur fall head-over-heals in love with Gwen. Arthur basically became insufferable overnight it seemed, and as much as I love Angel Coulby she has no chemistry with Bradley. They're not a believable couple, if you didn't already know from the Arthur mythology that Arthur and Gwen end up together, you'd probably find the whole thing difficult to swallow. For me personally the series lost a lot of its charm when this happened, the show is already ridiculously PG, was it really necessary to ruin the Merlin/Arthur relationship in order to appease the main-steam sensibilities of the British audience?Season three started with some solid episodes, Anthony Head's performance was absolutely flawless and I take my hat off to him for his consistently good work. In contrast, Katie McGrath's portrayal of Morganna was incredibly disappointing. The constant evil smirking at the camera that she seems so fond of makes Morganna seem like a comic book villain, she really needs to tone it down because her righteous fury and angry faces in season one were actually really believable and made me love her character. Colin, Bradley, Angel and the rest of the regular crew are consistently great and the guest actors for this season were excellent.As with season one and two of Merlin there are plenty of plotholes and logical fallacies that can be irritating to the shows adult audience. I know it's a BBC series and they need to keep it child friendly but I sometimes can't help but be frustrated by the shows directors. It's ridiculous that Arthur is still clueless about Merlin's powers since he's using them every few minutes. Arthur is supposed to be this legendary wise and just King, it's unrealistic for him to be so blind to everything that's going around him with Merlin and Morganna's magic use. Too many times there are plot points where Merlin saves the day with magic when Arthur just seems to accept that things have "magically" turned out the way it should have without wondering how Merlin was involved. Merlin never gets credit for anything, which gets a little old after thirty-something episodes. It's time Arthur takes a little more interest in Merlin's contributions, I mean the show is called "Merlin" not "Arthur". And while I'm on the subject of Merlin-appreciation, I think it's time that Arthur gives Merlin a hug or something. Seriously, how has this not happened yet? They've been through so much together and yet their relationship is still rather superficial at times, in contrast Merlin and Gwaine's friendship seems to be moving along pretty fast, which is odd since he was a new character this season.Thankfully it's not all bad. Season three has plenty of eye candy, Colin is looking much better with his shorter haircut and Bradley seems to be shirtless at least once per episode. It's extremely mild compared to what you see on American cable TV, but it's still something I enjoy. Eoin Macken who plays Gwaine is absolutely gorgeous and is bound to be a fan favorite. There are some really funny episodes and plenty of decent action filled ones, some of the plots seem to be copies of Season One/Two plots, but thankfully this season has a satisfying ending. The production value seems to have gone up, the action scenes are getting bigger and better which makes it feel more epic.The DVD set for season three is comparable in quality to the previous seasons' DVDs. Sadly there are only a handful of extras that come with it. There's commentary for four episodes I think, however unlike the Season One commentaries they're not really very interesting or funny. If you've seen the episodes on TV or streamed them online I'd say save your money unless you're a big fan of the series.

As i have said before in my reviews of the previous MERLIN box sets, it is one of my favorite programs. Full of romance, action and magic, how can anyone not like it?SPOILER ALERT-Morgana is now evil!Episode 1-The Tears Of Uther Pendragon part 1: a terrific first episode with one fantastic jump scene. My sister even screamed! The plot is that Morgana and Morgause are now plotting to kill Uther (kind of Camelot) and let another king called Cenred's men invade so that Morgana can be crowned queen. 9/10Episode 2-The Tears Of Uther Pendragon part 2: the second part of the smashing first episode. Not quite as good as i expected but still well acted with a dark and awesome battle at the end. 8.5/10Episode 3-Goblin's Gold: truly hilarious. Gaius is a goblin, Uther is now hairless and Uther, Gwen and Morgana are now polluting Camelot with mefane. Hilarious! 10/10Episode 4-Gwain: a boring but still understated episode that introduces a character who later turns into a true hero and becomes a main character. 8/10Episode 5-The Crystal Cave: a great episode that i consider as one of the best episodes of the series. Morgana is now on the march. With Morgause along side her, she decides that she would stop at nothing to kill her protector. 10/10Episode 6-The Changeling: a dull but nevertheless well written and funny comedy episode that we rarely see in MERLIN. I was impressed. 7.5/10Episode 7-The Castle Of Fyrien: a scary, intense and generally well acted episode that just proves how much Morgana has changed since the first series. Ace! 10/10Episode 8-The Eye Of The Phoenix: a tight plotted, cleverly acted MERLIN episode. The Return Of The Good Music, would have been a good title, as the good MERLIN music returned! Plus, Gwen now knows that Morgana does not care for her, or for anyone in Camelot for that matter. 10/10Episode 9-Love In The Time Of Dragons: a funny but sad episode that tells the story of Gaius and Alice, who love each other. They both love to help people with medicines. But it is sad because a monster is forcing Alice to be evil and ruthless. Even though Alice does not want Gauis or Merlin to be harmed, will she stand up to the vicious manticore or will she give up and attack Camelot? 10/10Episode 10-Queen Of Hearts: a breathtakingly sad, epic, funny and gripping episode that tells the tale of Gwen and Arthur, with Morgana wickedly tricking them into kissing before letting Uther see. With Gwen all but dead and Arthur in distress, how is Merlin going to stop Morgana in time to save Gwen? 10/10Episode 11-The Sorcerer's Shadow: a pointless episode. Are they ever going to stop this constant tornament episodes? better have a series shorter but better. But still good acting and the story, though very strongly flawed, still manages to tell a good gtale. 5/10Episode 12-The Coming Of Arthur part 1: brilliant. Cant describe it. So detailed and well acted that i have to give this 10/10Episode 13-The Coming Of Arthur part 2: a thrilling finale with Morgana queen and Merlin in hiding, can Gwen, Gwain, Merlin, Aelian, Sir Leon, Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot and Gauis save Camelot? 10/10i have to say that my favorite series so far is series 2, but i still love this series and the 1st with all my heart. Cant wait for series 4! make sure you read my review!