I really definitely should be doing other things right now but apparently, I procrastinated so hard that I finished the video that has been sitting for months upon months in my computer 🤷‍♀️
Well. I hope you enjoy it! I always love to dive into the backstory for Merlin, and this is now the video where I have done that the most.
►Song: Run Baby Run by The Rigs
►Relationship: Arthur&Morgana
►Fandom: Merlin
►Programs: Sony Vegas 20, After Effects, Photoshop, FaceApp, DeepfaceLab
►Colouring: mine
#fanvidfeed #ArMor #Merlin #Arthur #ArthurPendragon #MorganaPendragon
The fancasts:
►Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as young Uther;
►Rebecca Ferguson as Igraine Pendragon;
►Jessica Brown Findlay as Vivienne;
►Noah Huntley as Gorlois;
►Eva Green as Nimueh (during Igraine's time);
►Nell Williams as young Morgause;
Here's a more in-depth exposition on the video and the ideas behind it:
We start off with a little back story for Uther. I changed the casting of Vivienne to Jessica Brown Findlay (I used Rachel Weisz before and while I do think she may be a better fancast looks-wise, Jessica had a lot more footage in the necessary time period, so I ended up changing it when I started on this vid).
At 0:15 we see a maid coming in to warn Uther of the complications with Arthur's birth and Nimueh is present. I recast her here as Eva Green because we hear from Gaius that she has changed her appearance since those days -- we were told this was the reason why Uther did not recognize her at first.
At 0:26 there's a little emphasis on the rings. They're not quite like the one we see Arthur wearing in canon, but I thought it was a cool detail that we get to see them both on Uther's hands as he cradles Igraine's head and on Igraine's own hand.
At 0:46 we see Gorlois in the background, with Vivienne and Uther exchanging looks. I place this after Vivienne told Uther she was pregnant with his child. We then get Morgana's birth (I know there are a lot of differing opinions on Morgana's and Arthur's ages but I believe canon meant for Arthur to be older, so that's what I went with).
At 0:54 we get Vivienne's death, which occurred while Morgana was still a newborn baby. At 0:59 Gorlois and Morgause attend her funeral, and we get to hear Morgause's views on her mother's death. What she says isn't necessarily fact, just what she has grown up believing. Whether Uther is responsible or not for Vivienne's death is unknown. We do see that Nimueh has had a big hand in Morgause's upbringing (1:00).
Fast forward ten years and Gorlois dies (again did Uther have a hand in it? who knows).
We see a ceremony honouring his death in Camelot, and a young Morgana clutching Arthur as her adoptive father's cloak and sword are put on a pyre (1:04).
(1:10 I also love how Morgana's "You sent him to his death" line falls with Arthur onscreen here, and how that still fits because in the end you can attribute Arthur's - and Morgana's - downfall to Uther's prejudice and rearing)
Then we have a bit of Arthur and Morgana growing up together. Morgana recalls how they used to play fight (1:15) and she would beat him at horse racing (1:17). There are several scenes showcasing their relationship through the years (their teenagehood and what we see on the show).
Merlin confronts Morgana about her betrayal of Arthur at around (1:54). I've added some extra dialogue here -- stuff I wished Merlin had said. He remarks on how Arthur's always been loyal to Morgana, and we see Arthur choosing to betray his father to help Mordred at her request after saying he would not do so. Morgana replies, and we see that her doubt and insecurity about her own magic have been there from a very early age (2:35). At (2:44) we have an added line from Arthur which to me is pretty important because it feels like the crux of the issue: Morgana turned on him without ever allowing him a defense. She didn't give him a chance to prove himself or change his mind about magic with all the facts, she just decided he was like Uther (when he had already seen he was not through actions taken for Morgana herself). This is the peak of their tragedy, in my opinion, and I chose the scene I thought imparted this point the most (their confrontation in Camelot). For a second at 3:07 we can really see the hurt and regret on Morgana's face, before she closes herself off, probably deciding the damage to their relationship has grown too large to be surmountable and reinforcing her negative views of Arthur to herself.
At 3:24 we reach a parallel that I'm really fond of. I love the play on night and day that I got from the moving pillars between their respective scenes, and the play on words that I get from both their lines in regards to Uther and themselves.
We get some back and forth between their past and present, with the allies/enemies contrast.
At last, Arthur reflects on Morgana and his regret over not being able to overcome their differences and make peace before their own respective ends.