“Fetch me some herbs, sticklewort, flax wort borage”
“A woman of that power would not waste her time on your friends”
“We are allies you and I”
“Don’t worry old friend, we’ll save your bacon”
“You’re right to fear the queen, she’s dangerous indeed. But Pasiphae stands unabashed in the light”
“Even as a baby I strangled a snake with my bare hands”
“You must give her your most precious possession”
“Think before you use it Hercules, such magic is powerful indeed”
“You must come with me now, the Oracle demands it”
“How could you be lonely?”
Apologises for being late with these this week, my personal life has kind of taken over and as I am a bit down healthwise at present I may not be very upbeat about this episode.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what to think of this episode, it felt very flat in places but that could be done to an unfinished cut that I’ve seen. I hope that more incidental music is added along with the CGI being completed, when it was in the background it really helped to lift scenes but others were very stilted and needed a boost.
I liked Circe the witch played by Lucy Cohu a lot; you may recognise her from Torchwood or Ripper Street, she’s another great guest actor for the show. I hope that she is seen again later in the series, even though I can see Merlin fans comparing her to dark Morgana I think that she could be an asset to the story.
For me Mark Addy yet again shines in his scenes, especially during most of the first half of the episode. He gets to flesh out his
character more both with a range of emotions and background to his childhood being brought up a number of times. But I do have to say that I really don’t get his overt attraction to Medusa over any of the other women we know that he has dated. If anything, I find it a little odd that a man in his 50’s is pining after a young woman in her 20’s, and using magic to gain her heart is just plain creepy…though it does seem that most shows with magic has to include a’ love spell episode’ these days.
It was good to see Pythagoras using his intellect to try and solve problems this week, although I’m not so sure what medical knowledge has to do with the mathematics and religion that he is renowned for. I think I was expecting cleverer escapes from dangerous situations with him as part of the main cast, and this could be part of my overall disappointment with the show thus far. It’s safe, and plods along at its own pace; which I guess is perfect for the intended audience who don’t want to tune into X-Factor. I
guess I’m just not really a part of that target demographic, though I wish I was enjoying this more than I am.
I'm sorry to hear that, I really hope you get well soon!
ReplyDeleteUgh...I dunno...I'm in danger of losing all interest in this show, I'm trying so hard to give it chance until the season finale because I'm still holding on to its potential but GOSH! The writing is just bland and lazy most of the time, I need something big to root for in this story but for the life of me I just cannot find it. I mean the episodes are entertaining at parts and I enjoy them, but the storytelling doesn't grab your attention and makes you look forward eagerly to the next episode.
I have serious problem with love spells and it's already been done so many times in Merlin and in many other fantasy shows. And Hercules's feelings towards Medusa is turning into an unhealthy obsession. But I guess I can look forward to Mark Addy's performance and learn something about Hercules' background.
I'm glad Pythagoras uses his brains to solve issues in this episode, so I guess I'll be looking forward to that too. So far, his mathematical skills and intellect are massively underused, which is a shame. I think they added some medical skills to his knowledge because this can be convenient during their adventures together, and also it's easy to believe that an intelligent man such as him would know something about basic remedies and stuff like that I guess.
Thank for the good wishes, MS seems like more than an up hill struggle at times :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you on losing interest in the show all together, it really isn't what I was expecting from Overman as one of his biggest fans! Like you I kind of enjoy parts of each episode, but as a whole there really does seem to be spark missing that makes me want to tune in every week too either. I can't quite put my finger on what I would prefer to happen, although cast chemistry would help solve some of it I feel.
Ooh, tell me about it! :p
ReplyDeleteYeah, I haven't seen Misfits but Howard Overman wrote great episodes in Merlin (Valiant, The Beginning of The End, The Sins of The Father, A Herald of The New Age...etc) and IMO the storytelling in all of these had so much depth and heart. I really miss that in Atlantis.
And the chemistry between the cast doesn't seem to be working most of the time, it's an on/off thing for me during the past 5 episodes. Perhaps it's all due to the - so far - weak script + poor characterization.
Really sorry to hear you are not well ,Sandi, and hope that you'll take time to get better very soon!
ReplyDeleteI have been away the last three days, so I am just catching up on the news.
Have had no time to read through properly but if I get the gist of all this correctly, hope for a glorious future of Atlantis is fading!!!
You are always very fair to any show so if you are saying that you are starting to lose interest then they are simply doing something wrong! From your review of tonight's episode I detect that it does not sound gripping even if there are some nice moments in it.
Bought season 5 of Dr.Who btw and watched the first 2 eps so far. LIKED it. :)
I cannot believe they are using a love spell on Atlantis. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteSo agree with your thoughts!
I think that your second comment pinpoints exactly why Atlantis has bee a bot bland so far - there is no or very little chemistry between the cast. They are all nice, but ..... there is a huge different between 'nice' and chemistry!
ReplyDeleteMisfits is great, but a polar opposite kind of show, it's a lot darker and plays on shock value becoming the norm in the characters lives...for example they seem to kill at least one person each episode either in, only sometimes in self defence and quite often by accident, and they come out with the most inventive swear words. It's actually pretty genius that something so dark and unsavoury can be so god damn funny and cause you to still love the cast.
ReplyDeleteSo if Overman can do the above with people who should be completely unlikeable, why the heck don't these guys gel together?? Why would Hercules put up with constant fat/you're pathetic jokes from mates?? And why would the other 2 stay friends with someone who lets them down, steal their gold that's hidden away?? OK, this episode does kind of deal with a part of this, but apart from one other character apparently does take umbrage with him at the end of it, being Atlantis I can only imagine that things will be sort of next week (much like Gwen was ok with all she did after Morgana controlled her in S5). :s
Thanks Nimueh, much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, they do seem to be moving the show forward with more back story to characters which is something I really wanted to happen, but it seems clunky imo. This was only a rough cut I saw so hopefully once it's finished off it will improve, music and great CGI can completely change the look and feel of it. I really do want to love this show, Overman is brilliant imo so I'm not sure what the problem is, maybe too much time is being spent on the last season of Misfits which has been really improved on from last year.
OT: Glad you are enjoying Who...Who's the man!!
Also OT: I'm seeing Mojo in January, so god damn excited!!!!! Hehe.
That is exactly where I was the last 3 days!! Went to London andsSaw Mojo on Thursday. *big grin* Ben Wishaw, Daniel Mays and Colin are ALL totally amazing.
ReplyDeleteOnly disappointment - Colin did not come out to sign that day. :(
I thought it might have been why you were away. So glad you enjoyed it, I'm super excited to be going with my Merlin buddy I met at Soccer Six a couple of years ago. I'm also a big Wishaw fan so as am excited to see him perform on stage as I am Colin. Shame you didn't get to see Colin, he only apparently came out every few days at the Globe too :(
ReplyDeleteBen was absolutely spellbinding. Baby is psychotic and really scary. There were quite a few moments of *gasp*....
ReplyDelete