Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1916997-20151225192609/@comment-25926288-20151225235114

CoolDudeAl wrote: Eskaver wrote: CoolDudeAl wrote: Eskaver wrote: CoolDudeAl wrote: Farerb wrote:

2. The mysterious hat, which would eventualy lead to the Sorcerer, which would eventualy lead to nothing. This isn't really true though, the Sorcerer is Merlin, and is the thing that ties all of 4 to 5A and the Camelot arc. If anything, this should be the one thing you should be happy about, because it shows quite a bit of forethought by the writers, including it in 401, and not having the payout of Merlin being until 5A. As a clue, it is. As a macguffin, it was the non-Chekov's gun. It didn't help get brought back up to Merlin. We didn't get it shown made or even with the Apprentice. Even Farerb's words say that it leads to Merlin, but it didn't actually get used successfully ever. Unlike the Pandora's box and Crimson Crown and even the Gauntlet which did. Well, yes, but I didn't feel we needed to see the hat do anything. Not every magical item must be used. Chekov's gun logic is if you are going to introduce something earlier on, then it must be used or it's a waste of space.

So, the Gauntlet was introduce so that it could be used later on in that episode successfully. Same with the Crimson Crown during 5a. The hat was sort of that, but the problem is that it has backstory of it we didn't see. So thus far, it wasn't used properly. Well, this show further complicates things, because it is not all original material, so while things like the hat may have been useless in grand scheme of the show's original plot, the hat is a reference to The Sorcerer's Apprentice story (and Fantasia segment), and also led me to the (correct) assumption that the Sorcerer would be Merlin. It's about balance and such. If you bring in the Golden fleece, that's perfect for a hint at Greek Myth. But if you bring in the Hat, give it a makeover, use it in a major plot point, have the Apprentice, and then not really mention it again is a disservice. Likewise, the Apprentice was disrespected as a characters by the writers when they never mentioned to Merlin his Apprentice's death. The heroes are quite rude at an old man dying and they pretty much ignore that and take his wand and vamoose. No mentions to him. As mean as Hook was to the Apprentice, he at least showed human concern.