The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin

So much for a 'conservative' show.

So I seen several things saying this show is conservative and anti-woke.

It doesn't have the 'modern audience' bs like trannies or gay shit so far.. but it very much has the other thing that has ruined shows and movies for years that seems to be so common now people seem to ignore it, but it's under wokeness (feminism).

Alot of simpery and a couple of cuntish, bitchy women.. of course the main character seems to be falling in love with the bitch with a bad attitude who is disrespectful.

I watched the first episode and won't be going back to it. It could have been good, but those elements give me no desire to keep watching.

If this is a preview of new 'conservative filmmaking' as another site said, they will have to do better than this nonsense.

A rushed adaptation

NOT WOKE.

I watched the first episode twice and didn’t notice any malicious feminism at all. The first time I watched it, I liked it. Sure, it has flaws - the cinematography isn’t perfect, and the pacing is rushed - but to be fair, coming from a production company jumping into a genre where Game of Thrones set the bar pretty damn high, this is not a bad attempt. They deserve some credit for that. And no, nobody’s paying me for this take.

I watched it because it popped up as a new release on a streaming site, not because it came from the right or the left. Who the hell watches things based on that? Seriously. What does left or right even have to do with it? Unfortunately, like 60% of the mainstream industry leans left, and the 30% that’s apolitical is scared to say anything out of fear of getting canceled.

What actually matters is whether it’s good art or not - and on this site in particular, whether it has woke content or not.

I also know there’ll be the ultra-sensitive, anti-everything crowd smashing the NOT HELPFUL button just because they can’t stand seeing a strong female character on screen anymore. And yeah, I get it when it’s forced - but this is NOT the case. Maybe people should do a bit of homework before trying to sound edgy and posting ragebait in a community that’s clearly trying to stay away from that whole rainbow-spiral nonsense.

That said, to be fair, let me add some context to my take.

After watching it the first time, it was immediately clear to me that the women represent gods or humans close to divinity. There’s no girlboss nonsense or anything like that. On the contrary, Charis (Rose Reid) is shown as an Atlantean warrior who saves her people by fighting a massive bull. After that, I came here and saw it labeled as “feminist.” So I started digging to see if I’d misunderstood the episode - and nope, I hadn’t. Nothing felt forced. At least the first episode is a pretty straightforward, faithful adaptation of the books. Honestly, maybe too faithful - I would’ve liked the fantasy elements to be pushed a bit harder.

There are a couple of moments where the practical effects are amazing, and others where the AI stuff makes you want to look away, and my brain just went: bruh 😒

For some background:
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is based on the books by Stephen R. Lawhead, specifically the first two volumes: Taliesin (1987) and Merlin (1988). It’s a reinterpretation of the Arthurian legends, set in post-Roman Britain (4th-5th centuries), with elements of fantasy, Atlantis, and a strong Christian subtext.

The two main characters the first episode focuses on are:

Charis (Rose Reid): An Atlantean princess from the fallen Atlantis. She represents the Lady of the Lake, the mystical figure who gives Excalibur to Arthur and is tied to water magic. In the books, she’s Merlin’s mother and becomes a spiritual, salvific figure.

Taliesin (James Arden): The great Celtic bard and seer. He represents the historical and legendary Taliesin, the most famous bard in Welsh tradition (the mythical author of The Book of Taliesin). He’s Merlin’s father - a prophet who gives up his destiny as a great king to follow a higher calling.

So then I came here and saw it labeled as “feminist.” What?!

They’re two damn goddesses, dude.

What were you expecting?

That they kneel before men while the princess is out there fighting a huge bull in an arena to protect her people? Give me a break. Go complain on Twitter.

Bottom line: I watched it, and I’m here to tell anyone reading this (and thanks for sticking till the end) to judge it for yourself. My girlfriend and I are going to give episode two a shot. Maybe it’ll be good, maybe it won’t - but one thing’s for sure: it’s NOT woke.

One hot chick and one hot bitch. I’m in!
The dude’s kind of a pussy, though

No woke, good watch