How many times can I watch this before it would be considered obsessive?
Gifs really DO NOT do it justice. I can’t imagine that I have anything to say about this scene that hasn’t been said much better by many others over the past decade, but I’m going to go through it line by line for my own amusement.
1. The mere fact that Arthur notices Merlin and decides to interact with him again. I mean, Arthur is a *prince*, and he’s already exerted his dominance over Merlin once. Really, he has no reason to think he *needs* to do it again. Sure, there’s the fun he might have in bullying him, but the next part betrays his true motives.
2. When Arthur say “uh, thank god” there is legitimate relief on his face. He was taunting Merlin again because, even if he doesn’t consciously realize it, he’s been *waiting* for someone brave enough not to bow and scrape to him. He knows that in their first interaction, Merlin had assumed he was simply a noble, not the crown prince. That interaction already makes Merlin remarkable enough. But Arthur still has to go back and test Merlin to see if he would act the same knowing who Arthur is. Arthur assumes that he won’t, and when he’s proven wrong, it’s a pleasant surprise (despite the fact that it’s still grating against his entitled sensibilities).
3. When Merlin calls him a royal ass, Arthur’s eyebrows just shoot up, he’s incredulous. And I personally think that he doesn’t quite know how to respond. I think he turns to his men because he wants to make it seem like his response is “take a look at this idiot” when in really it’s “who *is* this guy?”
4. Merlin’s tone and his little lean back on “do” in “what are you going to do, get your daddy’s men to protect you?” is super cocky and super fucking sexy. And I believe with my whole heart that Arthur thinks so too.
5. Arthur’s laugh is genuine here. Not mocking, still just incredulous. When he says “I could take you apart with one blow” I don’t think he’s entirely bragging as much as he is simply stating a fact, with the added subtext of that’s so *obvious*, why are you still messing with me?
6. At “I could take you apart with less than that”, Arthur is legitimately curious. He doesn’t *believe* it, but the sheer fact that Merlin said it, and seems to believe it, would have to be *massively* intriguing to Arthur. When Merlin takes his coat off, I think Arthur goes back a bit to his superiority and *is* laughing *at* Merlin, but just for a moment.
7. I love how Merlin manages to seem completely un-phased and un-embarrassed after he completely flubs catching the mace. His expression doesn’t falter, and only a little fear shows in his eyes when Arthur starts coming toward him.
8. When Arthur tells Merlin he’s been “trained to kill since birth” I think it’s a warning and a question. He can see clearly now that his assumptions were correct, Merlin didn’t catch the mace and clearly has no idea how to hold it, but he isn’t blinking. Arthur even stops, eyebrow raised, to see what Merlin does. If Merlin had backed out, I think Arthur would have let him go with just a taunt.
9. Arthur is clearly absolutely amused by Merlin’s response. Again, he looks around because he’s aware that they are being watched, and that he, as the crown prince, is expected to act in a certain way. When he tells Merlin that he “can’t address [him] like that” it’s a direct statement to Merlin, almost conversational. Not a threat, but more of a warning. He looks around as he says it. And I think he means to indicate to Merlin that it’s the situation they’re in that won’t allow that kind of comment to pass, not necessarily Arthur himself.
10. Arthur may appear to swing suddenly at Merlin, but really, he quite obviously telegraphs his movement, giving Merlin enough time to duck. This indicates both Arthur’s honor (he wouldn’t *really* take a pot shot that would literally *kill* someone) and/or his intent to keep this a game and not a real fight. (This might also just be that Bradley James, the actor, is not *actually* a trained fighter, and the fact that he needed to give Colin Morgan, the actor, time to duck, but I’m more of a Watsonian by nature.)
Note: I give Arthur a lot of credit here for being interested in Merlin and not actually angry. But I absolute think that Arthur is truly and *deeply* annoyed and disturbed by Merlin. He’s a spoilt brat at this point and he legitimately does not like being treated this way by a commoner. I just think it’s important to point out the ways in which, *already*, he is being charmed by Merlin, even at the same moment that he is rankled by him. Which pretty much sets up their relationship perfectly.
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