Rewatching red shoes on the 7 Dwarfs. Wait, he actually makes a heart!
Oh mygodohmygodohmygod. OH MY GOD! The inscription on the stone doesn't say 'pea' it says 'yea'. Like "Ye shall be vanquished". The confusion is caused by the font and a spelling error.
Merlin is such a smug little shit. He'd fit right in with my family.
Hang on. Where did the extra stone come from?! How is that statue still the same size!?
Oooh, the song choice in this scene is really telling... it's about the singer wanting to be taken seriously as herself; meanwhile, Snow is only getting help as Red Shoes.
Interestingly enough, even as Red Shoes, Snow isn't actually being taken seriously by anyone? The only people to take her seriously so far are the woman whose boyfriend(?) was giving her flowers and Merlin. Everyone else just straight-up ignored what she was saying. Even among the rest of the F7 Pino, Noki, and Kio are the only ones to stay on task with finding her father. (They're also the only ones not trying to woo her)
Also, Arthur convincing the rest of the F7 to side with his plan to get with Red Shoes is wild to me considering he just killed his chances with her with that stunt he pulled.
[Merlin has joined the chat. Smug-Little-Shit-Mode: Activated]
Merlin: I'm just walking the bunny.
Snow really said ACAB and Girl Power and then gave herself a head injury. Like a true Queen™️.
ARTHUR NEVER STOOD A CHANCE IN HELL!!! HE IGNORED HER WHEN SHE WAS IN NEED OF HELP WHILE SHE LOOKED LIKE HERSELF!!! But Merlin didn't. Merlin went back. Because, behind his vanity, he is a genuinely good person. Who helps just because he can. This is the moment Snow starts falling for him. This moment. Right here.
Okay, but... the way Merlin looks at her? As Snow? That is attraction right there. Not that fawning like he was doing over Red Shoes. That is the start of a puppy crush right there. Also, the way he clocks that he should know her? They're meant to be. The universe is conspiring to make these two happen.
Goddammit ARTHUR!!! You've got a woman looking for her missing father!!! It's a situation dire enough for her to need the F7, and you're just screaming her name at the top of your lungs!!! No wonder Merlin doesn't want you in charge!!! You're an idiot!!!
"I know they're fabulous." Merlin really is out here giving Danny "Clueless-#1" Fenton a run for his money, isn't he?
"Red Shoes! Are you a criminal?" Artie Boi asks of the woman whose primary concern is FINDING HER FATHER!!!
Just when I think Artie Boi can't sink any deeper he proves me wrong. You've already killed your chances, my guy. Put down the shovel.
Okay, but the way he looks so dazed!!! She didn't even kiss him, but he didn't care!!! Thats adorable!!! Artie Boi is out here threatening to keep an eye on him and Merlin is completely oblivious.
*le gasp* My children!!! Look at the babies!!! They're such cuties!!! Look at them!!! Talking in circles.
Merlin clocking Artie Boi's plan to have someone pull the sword out for him on accident is funny as hell. Up to this point, only Danny Fenton was doing it like him.
YAAASSS!!! CLOCK HIS ASS SNOW!!!!
This fight scene is amazing. You can see the way isolating themselves affects their fighting abilities. Barring the triplets, none of them fight very well.
But, then it also shows Merlin's adaptability quite well. As soon as he realizes his usual methods aren't working he switches tactics and starts looking for better solutions. It's pretty cool.
Snow immediately hugs Merlin like it's second nature. Ugh, My Heart! She's so cute! The other dwarfs are making it awkward, tho. It does make me wonder when was the last time they were genuinely hugged like Snow does with Merlin?
Merlin's insecurities rearing their ugly head so much that what Snow's trying to say goes right over his head, hurts. Like, I've been on both sides of this convo. And not gonna lie. It sucks.
"You're a gift. A gift that will transform me into someone amazing." Well, he's not wrong but he's not right either.
Ooof. Poor Snow, Merlin's thought process about his own appearance has clearly affected Snow enough that the shoes are responding to it, and it's not even a tangible thought for her yet.
Hang on, everyone. Regina's up to some shit. BRB.
AVERAGE!!! SHE JUST TELEPORTED!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN"!!! COME ON NO ONE'S THIS STUPID!!!
Oh my God, he's this stupid. HIS GUARDS ARE STUPID, TOO!!!
They're fixing the house and it's so great.
Merlin, dial the fawning back a bit, please. At this point, it's just ridiculous.
Merlin gets jealous and then immediately solves his problem.
That flying scene is so great. Also, Red Shoes' appearance, matched with Snow's voice, is kind of jarring. It's almost like her voice is the one thing the shoes couldn't change about her. Her own voice feels right when it's with her real self, but with the shoes, it's almost like she is fighting to be heard, and the shoes can't stop her.
Merlin daydreaming while flying and then crashing is such a Danny Fenton thing to do. He really is out here just doing the most, ain't he?
They're discussing the shoes' magic.
Oh-
He's getting there. It's slow going but he's getting there.
I love how Snow's personality is so obvious in the little things that she does. That good luck charm is everything.
He's adorable. He legit thought kissing the good luck charm would work. C'mon Merlin, you know how this magic works.
Oh. Oh fuck. Merlin not getting that his dorky charm is what she likes about him is painful.
I love how his knee-jerk response is to reassure her and then his insecurities bleed into it.
No, you ain't. This next bit is gonna be painful isn't it?
WAIT- HE HESITATED!!! HE HESITATED BEFORE KISSING RED SHOES!!! THIS IS HUGE!!! HE!!! HESITATED!!! HE'S NOT SURE!!! HE'S GETTING IT!!! IT'S SLOW GOING BUT IT'S SINKING IN!!!
The way he immediately covers her eyes again. I think he knows the curse didn't break and he doesn't want to admit it to himself. Poor baby. Give it time, you'll get there.
The levels of denial of the boi are so painful. He knows, but he doesn't want to.
He's such a dumbass! Someone hug him!!!
Oh- fight scene. Brb.
Ok. Ok. Ok. So. Thoughts.
First thing. The way Merlin begs Snow to look away and then stops her from looking at him. The way you can tell he's used to fighting like this. And then the banter. If you want proof that Merlin's been absorbing Snow's values, look no further. In the previous fight scene, his insults were all about the appearance. But here's he's just sassing them and keeping them distracted. And when Merlin does resort to insulting cursed!Average it's an insult about his intelligence. It's also maybe a pun?
Just like Merlin's views about himself and his appearance have started affecting Snow negatively, Snow's views about herself have started affecting Merlin positively. It's not one-sided. The parallels, my god!
The shoes coming off in this moment are so telling of Snow's mindset. Ooh. I love it~ Go, bad bitch. Go, bad bitch, go.
*le gasp* The babies!!! They find herrr!!!
In Odysseus: What?
C'mon Regina. I know you're a little stupid but, you know how the shoes work.
Honestly? I Love Magichard's attitude. It's so fun.
Aww. Look at the babies sleeping~ they're so cute! I wanna hug'em.
I love Snow thinking Merlin's disappointed meanwhile, Merlin is just putting together the pieces of where he's seen her before. They are on two completely different wavelengths.
But, it also lends credence to my previous point about Snow and Merlin being affected by each other's perspectives. Snow is worried about Merlin's reaction to her appearance (not something she's ever cared about before) while Merlin cares more about why he recognized her. Very nice.
The way he immediately knows who she is when she corrects him on her name. "Princess Snow White." And he says it with such respect too. And no doubt whatsoever.
I love Snow not really understanding why Regina is so obsessed with being beautiful. Like, me too, girl. I don't get it either.
Something really interesting. I've noticed a lot of people think Snow's comment to Merlin about her getting no help without the shoes is about him. But, I don't think that's the case. Remember, we've seen Merlin help Snow when she's not wearing the shoes, and she has as well. I think she's using the general you to refer to the F7 as a whole. And Merlin knows that. He can defend himself from that observation but, he can't do the same for his team.
"Listen. I can't give you all the details but, I'm under a curse, too." I love how he's still trying to connect with her. He's not gotten it quite yet, of course, but he's trying.
"You don't get it, Merlin. I'm not talking about our curses. I'm talking about the kind of spell, you never want to break." The way he looks at her after that. He wants to reassure her, but he can't. Because she's right. He doesn't get it. Oh, but he wants to.
The way he was sitting there for what was likely hours in that thinking pose. OH. OH. OH. DO YOU THINK HE WAS WAITING UNTIL SHE FELL ASLEEP TO WORK THIS OUT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT HER TO THINK THAT HE LEFT!!!!!!! That makes what happens to her next hurt more.
THAT'S NOT TRUE SNOW!!!! HE'S JUST STUPID!!!
Look at him!!! He's working it out!!! Love the part of him that's a genuinely good person arguing with his vanity. Also, the fact that it's his insecurities about himself that prove the point as opposed to it being about Snow.
Merlin would be a great teacher. That tactic that he uses to put the pieces together is such a great way to teach self-reflection. I also love that everything he's been learning and thinking since he met Snow is finally putting itself together in this moment.
AND HE GETS IT!!! HOUSTON, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!!!
The way he looks so stunned!!! He's gone for her!!! There's no coming back from this!!! And he don't want to!!! Good for him!!! WOOHOOOO!!!
Love King Walter(?) "Long-Ears" White looking like, "Fucking finally."
Nooo. She's so sad. Hang on. I'm crying.
Oh. The babies trying to check on her. The fact that "in the right days, at the time" plays on the part when he saves while she's not wearing the shoes. Hurts me.
And I am once again reminded that he hesitated before kissing her. UGH! THIS WHOLE SCENE HURTS!!! SOMEBODY KILL ME!!!
I know somebody on here said that they didn't feel Snow was very smart (I, personally, disagree), and they used this scene as one of the examples, which I don't think is very fair to her. Snow is feeling incredibly insecure, right now, and that makes her easy to take advantage of. Also, up to this point, Regina has only had others do the work for her. This is the first time she's stepped out to do it herself. And Snow doesn't know Regina can shapeshift. That's information we, the audience, have that she doesn't.
I love that Snow, even in this vulnerable state, is still asking questions.
"What terrible timing you have." I kind of wish Merlin's voice would have morphed back to Regina's as she spoke. I think it would have been really creepy.
I love that Regina sounds so derisive when she says that bit about "a tender family reunion." It just adds a certain something to it.
I know someone mentioned that they wished he'd called her Snow White in this scene, but I think it makes sense that he didn't.
For one, he hasn't had the time to wrap his head around her real identity. And two, up to this point, he's only called her Red Shoes because that's the only name he knew her by. He calls her that at this moment, out of habit.
Merlin immediately giving the children a way to help without endangering them is so, great. Love that.
"We can do this." "Yeah." I love them. They're the best part of this movie.
Magichard is out here making the real points.
They don't hesitate. Merlin needs help. End of story.
Hans' preferred weapon being a frying pan(?) is honestly great. Love it.
ITS NOSE IS A CANNON?!
I love that the babies got to use the copier. The dwarfs heard the kids say that Merlin told them to make copies and were like, "OK. Have at it tiny bears."
Arthur's failure to get the sword out of the stone needs no words from me.
I Love Merlin not knowing how to talk to Long-Ears now that he knows they're a person under a curse.
I wish we'd gotten to see how Merlin was captured.
"Save my papa for me." God, she's just gonna die for him, ain't she? And he's gonna fight for her. I love these two so much. Kill me now.
Okay, but the way she can STILL BREATH!!! Like its clearly a struggle. But the fact that it starts from the outside before moving inwards. She could feel every minute of that, couldn't she? Damn.
Magichard's out here doing the mostest.
"What did you do to her? Did you cast a spell?" Merlin's face here says so much. He knows exactly why she could take the shoes off. And it kills him.
I Love Merlin returning his attention back to what's happening to Snow White. I do wish his voice actor put more panic and desperation into his previous questions. It would make his "NOOOOOO!!!!" less jarring.
Oh. Fight scene. Brb.
Ok. Ok. Ok. Oook. So thoughts, I like how Merlin's fighting in this scene shows he's out of his depth. He makes use of the things he learned to do in his dwarf form, but he's also clearly never gone up against an opponent like Magichard. And his failure can mostly be attributed to the fact he's used to working with a team.
Case in point, he's mostly successful in getting through Magichard to the door until he takes his eyes off the magic mirror. Once he does that Magichard grabs him. And it's not because Merlin's stupid. He's not. It's because Merlin's used to having his team there to watch his back. But then... his team pulled through. They freed him. And a good thing, too, cause I've never seen anyone talk about it, but Magichard is legitimately scary. He was going to rip Merlin's limbs off.
Also... WHY DID THE REST OF THE F7 BRING THE BABIES TO A FIGHT!!?? AGAINST!!?? THE!!?? DEMON!!?? MIRROR!!?? TREE!!??
Anyways... back to the fight scene.
Alright. Jack breaking the mirror? Phenomenal. No notes. The mirror thinks it can beat the F7, but, actually, they're keeping him distracted so Merlin can get to the door? Beautiful. Merlin barely making the jump? Awesome. It's been forever since I've seen a kids' movie that makes me legitimately worry that the heroes aren't gonna make it. Normally, in most kids' movies I've seen lately, the writers make it obvious that the heroes are going to win. And that's not the case here.
Back to the fight scene.
OHMYGOD HE BLEW HIMSELF UP!!! I KNEW IT WAS COMING(obviously. This is a rewatch. But still...). No, but the way he apologized. I'm in tears 😢. He really said, "I'm going down and I'm taking you with me." Oohh, poor Snow, she's gonna be devastated.
"No more carrots for me." Y'know what? I can get behind that. Also, my babies 😍. They're so cute. Look at 'em🥺.
Snow being barefoot after Merlin kills Regina is so cool to me. Like, the shoes losing their power when she died shows just how obsessed she was with beauty.
Also, thank fuck. Snow sounds so much less constrained without the shoes. Like she's not fighting to be heard. Huh. It makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Someone mentioned that the reunion with Snow and her father could've been longer, and while I don't completely disagree I do think it makes sense that Snow would cut the reunion short when she realizes he's not there. After all, Merlin is the reason they're free, so why wouldn't he be there?
Hang on, I need to talk about the magic. I love how you can see the difference between the fairy princess' magic and Regina's. And in no scene is the juxtaposition more clear than it is here. Regina's magic is a dark, smoky cloud, and regardless of the color, it always looks a little sickly. It completely obscures the people it's done to as well, which is later reflected in what they look like after she's cursed them.
Then, you have the fairy princess's magic. It's this beautiful sparkling golden color and it almost looks like it's made of pure sunlight. It also doesn't completely obscure the people she curses either. When we see her curse the F7, we see it build up around them in a swirly pattern, but it doesn't obscure them in any way. It also changes their clothes with them, so you know she's not doing this just to be cruel. It's discipline, not torture.
Remember how he hesitated to kiss Red Shoes? There is none of that here. He just goes for it. WOOOOOOO!!!!!
