#the secret sharer

[arcanespillo]

"The Secret Sharer"

Merlin, S4E07

[centurieslove]

rewatched 4x07 and this line left me dead in the street

[uwmspeccoll]

It’s Fine Press Friday!

This week we bring you The Secret Sharer: An Episode from the Coast by Polish-British author, Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), with three etchings by Bruce Chandler (b. 1945), published by The Limited Editions Club, New York City,1985.

This short story was first published in two parts in the August and September 1910 issues of Harper’s Magazine. It was published in a collection of short stories called Twixt Land and Sea in 1912. 

Bruce Chandler is a printer, publisher and the proprietor of Heron Press in Boston, Massachusetts. He printed his two color etching at his own Heron Press for this publication. The second etching was printed at Water Street Press, and the last print, a dry-point print, was printed by R.E. Townsend.

The book was designed by Ben Shiff and Bruce Chandler. The papers were made at Cartiere Enrico Magnani. The text was set in Monotype Van Dijck at Mackenzie and Harris, Inc. This edition of 1500 copies was printed by Darrell Hyder. The book was bound by Dennis Gouey. 

View more Fine Press Friday posts. 

-- Teddy, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[none-ofthisnonsense]

Merlin S4E7, “The Secret Sharer”

Morgana’s hovel, she’s being taken care of by Agravaine. Get away from her you twat!

Morgana is paranoid, huh…

The domesticity between Merlin and Arthur is so cute!

Purple shirt reappearance!

Where is that?

A market town! Reminds me of Akhaten (DW) a bit.

You can’t just catch Gaius like that.

Oh come on Agravaine, we all know you’d plant some regardless of its true belonging there.

Is Merlin getting questioned too?

We still don’t know who they’re looking to abduct.

GAIUS??!

Agravaine is a good manipulator but a too obvious one.

I think you’ve already lost that other friend. The only person Merlin is more loyal to than Arthur is Gaius. Actually, I don’t fully agree with all that I’ve just said.

Gwaine!

NO

Gaius’ absolute faith in Merlin.

Gwaine you better not believe Agravaine. You better prioritise Merlin over Agravaine.

(How did Merlin get so far without a torch?)

Third or fourth Merlin/Morgana duel? They are the best pair ever. Their interactions are MWAH. From S1 to S4 where it’s completely flipped. There is SO MUCH TO DISSECT. They are foils to each other in every way.

Alator you better not tell Morgana.

I did not expect him to pledge allegiance to Merlin.

[thefrankshow]

The Secret Sharer

[beljar]

Let them think what they liked, but I didn't mean to drown myself. I meant to swim till I sank -- but that's not the same thing.

Joseph Conrad, The Secret Sharer and other stories, 1910

[searching-for-her-lost-mind]

“Heart Of Darkness and The Secret Sharer” Another philosophical classic with Illuminati undertones. A piece of literature known to be of the dark genre. Anyone read this before?📖

**Anyone have any interesting feedback on this one?*

[forlornkiller]

from the secret sharer to lamia….. im sorry but that episode felt so useless to the plot and right after the secret sharer likeeee that was some good shit! wtf weak ass trash is this after 🫤

i feel like Merlin could’ve been the perfect show if they had six seasons and put in more albion episodes likeee where was the peace i wanted to see it!!!!

[arcanespillo]

"The Secret Sharer"

Merlin, S4E07

[weakforarwen]

The Secret Sharer

Contained within this great kingdom is a rich variety of people with a range of different beliefs. I'm not the only one seeking to protect you. There are many more who believe in the world you are trying to create. One day you will learn, Arthur. One day you will understand... just how much they've done for you.

The tragedy of this scene made me cry. One day Arthur will learn... when he dies... And even then he never learns the whole truth, and never gets to build the world so many gave their lives for. In fact, what world was Arthur trying to build? Maybe a more compassionate and fair Camelot, but not one where magic is legal. Merlin, Gaius, the Catha, all believed in a world that was beyond Arthur’s imagination, one Arthur was far from ready to embrace.

If anything, this episode proved, once again, that Arthur’s still like Uther in so many ways. In the Witchfinder, Aredian interrogated, tortured, and tricked Gaius into confessing to practice magic as a way to protect Merlin. Gaius was Uther’s loyal advisor, like he is Arthur’s, and Arthur himself tried to stand up to Uther and argue they didn’t have enough facts to sentence Gaius. Yet, seeing as Arthur still watched Gaius be taken to pyre and, if not for Gwen, would’ve let him die, I guess the events of this episode are not that surprising after all.

History repeats itself. Arthur never learns his lesson. He lets Agravaine question Gaius even though he feels it is wrong. When Arthur suspected Agravaine of being a traitor, he went to his uncle and allowed him to defend himself; but he didn’t allow Gaius the same courtesy. He was cowardly. He let Agravaine do the dirty work while he watched. He couldn’t even look Gaius in the eye. I commend Gaius for trying not to flat out condemn magic in the beginning.

I guess it’s a good thing that Arthur let Gaius “flee”- But he also told Merlin to watch his words when he accused Agravaine. “I don’t want to lose another friend”, he said. He really values Merlin that little? I guess Gaius’s lifetime of loyalty, or the many times Merlin almost died for Arthur, mean nothing, because they’re not family. 

Sadly, Arthur gets away with his cowardly and disloyal behavior so easily, as always. All he had to do was apologize and look contrite, which he was. Merlin will never stay mad at Arthur for long. He can’t, when he needs to believe in Arthur; otherwise, his work, his destiny, mean nothing. But maybe Arthur would think twice in the future about accusing his friends of betrayal if he had to suffer the consequences, like Gaius had to. 

I was surprised that Gwen was in the episode. I couldn’t remember her. She visited Merlin because Arthur told her about Gaius and about Merlin accusing Agravaine of framing him. He really does tell her everything. She agrees with Merlin that Agravaine’s shady, but thinks she can’t do anything because Arthur trusts him “more than anyone”. That may be true about matters of the state, and I believe that Arthur would pass off any accusation toward Agravaine as Gwen simply defending Gaius and trying to help Merlin, but the only person Arthur trusted more than Agravaine was Gwen.

In all honestly, it feels like Arthur doesn’t truly trust anyone and is capable of turning on anyone. He’s on edge, thinking he must rule alone and never give anyone his full trust, while also feeling strongly that he’s wrong to do so. But Agravaine knows this, and as such is able to manipulate Arthur easily. Unlike his friends, who care for him, Agravaine doesn’t mind playing Arthur like a fiddle and exploring his insecurities. He tells Arthur exactly what he wants to hear - that he’s weak and needs to be cautious at all times. 

Arthur doesn’t want to trust anyone. Sometimes I’m not even sure he truly trusts Gwen or Merlin. But I have to believe he does, as much as this Arthur almost feels like a stranger. But, regardless of trust, Gwen has always had the power to make Arthur listen to her. Even if it’s hard for Arthur to trust anyone at the moment, Arthur needs Gwen more than he needs Agravaine, so he’ll always choose her in the end. If Gwen hadn’t been doing her best to be neither seen nor heard (blame the writers), perhaps she would’ve talked to Arthur. The writers never capitalized on Gwen’s influence over Arthur; she never tried to influence him in any matter, she only encouraged him, which I find a pity. They knew she was too influential. She had the power to manipulate Arthur very easily. 

I noticed that when Arthur is alone with Agravaine in the throne room, waiting for Gaius to be escorted in for questioning, he’s fiddling with the ring in his hands - the same ring Arthur intended for Merlin to give to Gwen in case he died in His Father’s Son. After Gaius is questioned, Arthur remains alone in the room, seated at head of the table; in the next episode, Lamia, he decides to propose to Gwen (imo), and in the one after that, Lancelot Du Lac, he proposes. Arthur wishes to share the burdens of the crown with someone, which means he trusts Gwen with his life and Camelot. 

Anyway, poor Merlin. Apart from Gwen, Gwaine also checked in on Merlin. I’m always happy when the writers remember that Gwaine was loyal to Merlin first, before he became Arthur’s knight. Merlin didn’t want Gwaine’s help initially, but, unlike Arthur, he knows when to ask for it. Gwaine helped Merlin find Gaius, and he even caught Agravaine with a knife to Gaius’s throat. Somehow, though, Agravaine weaseled his way out of it. I guess no one would want to assume Agravaine was the traitor, right? Gwaine’s concern for Merlin was cute though. He wanted to go look for him, but Agravaine convinced him he was okay.

Also, how is it that no one ever finds it suspicious when the person they are fighting suddenly flies across the air or trips for no reason?

I don’t quite understand why the Catha saved Merlin. Just from Gaius’s words alone he believed in Merlin’s destiny and pledged his allegiance to him? He must’ve been tired of people like Morgana. He wanted hope, not hatred. I liked his character, though, and I felt for pain. His story deeply touched Merlin.

I understand the burden you carry. I have lived with it all my life. I have been shunned, persecuted, and sometimes even hunted in every corner of the five kingdoms. I understand what that feels like. You're not alone. From what Gaius told me, I do not have your great powers, Merlin, but I share your hopes. For I, and others like me, have dreamt of the world you seek to build. And we would gladly give our lives to help you do it.

I liked that scene a lot. 

Merlin’s facial expressions were so good. He looked so angry and disgusted by Agravaine. He must’ve felt such a sense of injustice that Arthur would do that to him. It’s hard to understand why Merlin puts his life and the lives of his kind in the hands of someone who doesn’t value him. What did Arthur tell Merlin? That “Gaius condemned himself”. Right. Actually, Gaius did condemn himself, when he decided to serve and protect those who would hurt people like him, thinking he was the exception to their rules. 

Poor Gaius, though. It devastated him to think he had betrayed Merlin, but there was nothing he could’ve done. His bond with Merlin is so beautiful and touching.

M: He would not leave without saying goodbye to me.

G: I worry that one day I'll let you down.

Play on my emotions, will you.

This episode made me rethink every nice thing I’ve ever said about Arthur. It was also painfully dull at first, but improved considerably after Gaius was kidnapped. I really did cry in that last scene. Arthur and Gaius’s conversation was truly touching. 

I've looked after you since you were a nurseling, Arthur. You should've known I love you far too much ever to betray you.

Arthur looked ready to cry at Gaius’s forgiveness and easy admission of love. He isn’t used to people loving him so openly. 

Gaius also told Arthur the truth about Dragoon, which sadly had no effect whatsoever on Arthur. Far be it for Arthur to grow as a person. It’s much funner to make him Uther 2.0 but with a good dose of guilt. 

Anyway... it was still a good episode. But I have a final question: if Merlin is a thorn on Agravaine and Morgana’s side, why not just kill him? It’s not that hard. I think Merlin would actually die before revealing he has magic. 

[pbaintthetb]

Ok so I'm watching "Gwaine" and like season 4, (and 5) I will never forgive you for the crimes you committed against him

"Not Arthur"- what happened to that Gwaine?

[etourdit]

Silence is closer

So, there's this podcast I listen to, about literary analysis, and recently they analysed Melville's "Benito Cereno", and I thought to myself: this story is SO lacanian, with all the ideologically-induced blindness, Babo and Benito falling equally silent after the climax, even the veil hiding the Real that can't be faced is there.

So I started looking for some lacanian interpretations of the text and I found one, not so lacanian after all, entitled "Ships Passing: Encounters with Strangers in Melville's 'Benito Cereno' and Conrad's 'Secret Sharer'" and the moment I read the title I heard in my head the words "silence is closer, we're passing ships in the night" and just like that, I'm now stuck with ...Like Clockwork, which is, after all, not the worst thing that could happen.

Queens of the Stone Age - I Sat By The Ocean (Official Audio) (youtube.com)

[ohmyoverland]

what did they put in bbc merlin that made it so good despite being so fucking bad. what did they do to us that we (me) are still blogging about it ten years after the most depressing CHRISTMAS EVE finale premiere of all time

[canis-dies]

nice being still somewhat in-tune with the rest