Meeeerrrrliiiin

*happy sigh*

Another solid if unremarkable episode this week. Though for me the main thing was suddenly realising that our Merlin and Arthur are most definitely all grown-up now. Something about the way some of the shots were framed made them finally really look their age, i.e. adults rather than very young men.

I approve of this look. It may continue. Ahem.

Teen Wolf

Fine, yes, OK OK I do finally 'get it' about this show.

So at Horbling I watched about 1.5 of Teen Wolf's 2 seasons. My conclusion then (apart from 'OMG for the love of sanity how have these people survived') was that it was a fun show but nothing remarkable.

Then today I watched the final few eps of season 2 and all of a sudden there was my pay-off. Roll on S3.

So from the end of S1, I knew I had my 'favourite' characters. In no particular order:

x. Uncle Peter - slightly unhinged, enough sass to float a tanker, yep, I liked him and was sad to see him go.
x. Alison's dad - I do love my grey characters. A hunter who for all his brutality does actually stick by his morals and this apparent 'code'. I enjoyed seeing him become more and more ambiguous as the episodes rolled by.
x. Jackson - yet again they played to my adoption Achilles heels. The character may be a bit of a dick, but there was something going on there. I suppose given my soft spot for Loki I shouldn't be surprised that I also wound up kinda rooting for another troubled, scarred soul.
x. Stiles - well, obviously. In terms of the youngsters, the only one who apparently has a brain. None of them deserve him, bless.

And then onwards! To S2. And those last few eps were where my heart grew several sizes too big for my chest.

x. ISAAC - oh this one stole my heart in literally the last 2 episodes where he chose to stay, and also his reaction to realising he could use his powers to help.
x. PETER - He returns, thank the lord. Please do not leave us again any time soon.
x. Lydia and Jackson - again, I had no real thoughts about them until the last couple of eps but then out of nowhere I was totally smitten with them. I might have had a tear in my eye during their final scene. Shame that Jackson's not returning for S3 as I would have loved to have seen how the pair of them evolved from here on out.
x. THE ALLIANCE OF AWESOME - I might have cheered slightly and flailed when Chris finally broke ranks and stood against Gerard and Allisson. Those brief few moments where we had Peter, Derek, Isaac, Scott and Chris (with Stiles in the landrover) were awesome. Please, show, let us have this alliance again, I loved it.
x. Victoria - Ah, Allisson's mum. The woman we loved to hate/fear. Hats off to the actor, this character could be genuinely and convincingly terrifying when she wanted to be. BUT I loved how in her final hours we saw her remain strong and true to herself whilst softening just a little. The little smile as she watched her daughter be just a normal teenager enjoying looking at dresses was a wonderful, subtle touch.

So, what happens next? I would have liked to have found out the significance of Jackson's blue werewolf eyes, but ah well. Maybe they'll get him back for S4. In the meantime, I am looking forward to (hopefully) seeing Derek, Peter and Isaac finally form some kind of semi-competent pack. Part of me wonders if in the long run we will see Isaac becoming the leader, given he has 'heart' which as Peter's pointed out, is not necessarily a weakness.

In conclusion, bring it on :)