Last night, I watched the series finale of Camelot on Starz. To be honest, before the season even began, as a fan of BBC‘s Merlin, I was a little than a more cynical, but because I am soo open-minded, and because the writers, from everything I read, claimed Camelot was going to be different, I gave it a shot.
What differentiated Camelot from Merlin was that the producers in the former aimed for a more realistic perspective on the legend of King Arthur. From the story of the Lady in the Lake (I was almost brought to tears at the end of that episode) to the links between Camelot and the Roman Empire, Camelot did an impressive job of conveying its “realist” message. Merlin, geared toward a younger and more family-oriented audience, is filled with a lot more fantasy and magic. Camelot is mostly a 21st century picture of medieval feudal politics.
From this season, my favorite episode was Justice, when Arthur established courts throughout the land, and played a chivalric proto-feminist, saving women from oppression. Speaking of feminists, is Morgan evil because she constantly plots against her brother out of envy, or because she is a brunette haired woman that does not know her place, unlike the blondes Gwen and Igraine? I could see everything that was going to happen in the season finale except for one instance. Was Merlin leaving a foreshadowing of Camelot leaving the airwaves? That question will be with us until Starz makes a decision.
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- ‘Camelot’ Is Starz’ Highest-Rated Original Series Premiere (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
- Review: ‘Camelot’ Tries to Find Magic in Arthurian Tales (tvsquad.com)
