Merlin: "A Lesson in Vengeance" should have ended differently

I don't like complaining about Merlin, but it's one thing when the show doesn't progress (where it could) and another when things that should have logically happened, don't.

I liked tonight's episode but the ending should have been different. Spoilers below for 5.07 "A Lesson in Vengeance."

An Open Letter to Charlie McDonnell

In response to his video, I'm Scared.

Dear Charlie,

Lately I haven't been on YouTube much so I just watched your video last night. More on that in a moment, but first I want to say I think the way you're feeling is completely normal.

I don't have a million people seeing what I post online, but I can relate to how you're feeling because everyone has a version of that same fear. Everyone wants to be loved, and everyone is afraid of disappointing others. The straight-A student worries about getting a B on her next test. The star quarterback worries about missing a catch in the playoffs. I'm using high school stereotypes, but you get the idea.

Like many others have said, I think the most important thing to do is keep going. If you like making videos, keep making videos. All creative people have duds in their work, something that didn't come out the way they expected or didn't get the reaction they were hoping for. But the more you do something, the more you improve. Those duds are experiences you can learn from, and that's better than not making anything in the first place.

I started watching your videos when I was in college. I had spare time between classes or I'd take a break from studying and hop onto YouTube. Many of your videos are funny and creative, but that's not why I subscribed to your channel. From the first video I watched (it was Blink), I could tell that you liked making videos. Your personality comes through and even though making videos is a lot of work, you make it look easy. There's the camera and there's Charlie.

I don't know of many people who can make a living doing the thing they love, but you're one of them, and that has always been an inspiration to me. When I was having a bad day or frustrated with whatever I was working on, I could watch your videos and know that over in England, there's this young man whose job is making videos and he loves it. And that gives me hope.

So back to last night. I have a job right now but it's not what I'd like to do for a living. I don't know what I'd like to do long-term, actually, and I've been frustrated with myself for not figuring it out. So I went onto YouTube. And I checked if you've posted any new videos because I know you love what you do, and it's a joy seeing that.

I didn't expect to see a video like "I'm Scared" on your channel, but I'm glad you uploaded it. It's easy for viewers to forget that vloggers are real people with lives outside the internet. It's easy to forget that the Charlie we see on screen is only a part of you. And it's easy to forget that you can be good at something and still doubt your ability to do it.

I hope you continue making videos. You've inspired me to keep going, and I hope the video responses, comments, and messages you've been receiving will help you feel that you aren't alone in your fear (because you aren't) and that we look forward to your videos, whatever their content, (because we do).

Take care,
Kali

I have a writing exercise for the writers of Merlin

It goes like this.

Part 1: Ask yourself “Does this scene add something important to the story?” If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, get rid of it and write something better in its place.

Part 2: When a character reaches a turning point in the story, ask yourself “Is this decision consistent with what the character has done so far?” If the answer is yes, keep writing. If the answer is no, revise.

Part 3: When reviewing a script ask yourself “Would this episode be better if Merlin could openly use magic?” The answer is yes and you should have revealed his magic last season.

Cloud Atlas: Watch for Themes

I usually don't read much about movies before I see them, so going into Cloud Atlas I knew that 1) Tom Hanks and Halle Berry were the leads 2) scenes mixed from periods in the past, present, and future and 3) it was based on a book but I haven't read it.

I walked in to the movie expecting that it would be one story that jumped around, but about 45 minutes in, I realized that the best way to watch it was by themes and not try to think too much about the stories. The scenes jump around and the character introductions are too fast to keep track of everything in that way.

So instead, I looked for ways to connect the segments according to common themes and that worked pretty well.

Spoilers under the cut.