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We have threads like this in the Smallville forum and it's a good way of keeping everything together so here goes:
Bradley James
Jenna Busch: Were there any changes in the myth that surprised you?
Bradley James: I think the fact that Uther is still alive was a big one, because it changes the whole dynamic of the story. You've got Guinevere as a servant girl as opposed to...in legends, Guinevere was a beautiful, not quite a princess, but sort of a lady of court, who Arthur and a lot of other people fell instantly in love with. She was just this beautiful sort of image that love-at-first-sight hit quite a few people. We obviously haven't gone down that line. Nobody knows she's alive. Arthur doesn't know she exists. It becomes more about the character that she shows, the person she is inside, I guess, that becomes the attraction. And so that is obviously a huge change from the legend. And also the fact that you've got this Merlin character that is a young guy, a contemporary of Arthur. It's not something that's been done before. It's just our kind of our twist on the show. And it still leaves room for that epitomal telling of the actual legend itself.
Jenna Busch: Speaking of Guinevere and Arthur's relationships...at least as far in as American audiences are, there seems to be a relationship with Uther's ward Morgana (Katie McGrath) as well. And there are definitely links to the legend there. (In most legends, Morgana is Arthur's half-sister, and the mother of his child and future murderer, Mordred.) Are we ultimately going to see Gwen and Arthur together?
Bradley James: This is it. I think everyone knows where the story is going to end up. So there's almost no point in doing the show if you're going to go straight there. There's a bit to go through yet before we really get moving on the Arthur/Guinevere storyline. There's a bit to go before Arthur is even aware of her existence.
Q: Are there any big changes?
Bradley James: From Arthur's point of view the one main difference, having going through the first series not knowing this person Guinevere existed, the second series has the first signs that he's aware of who she is. So that's going to develop and I suppose you'll see when it comes to season two where that goes!
Katie McGrath
Can you talk about Morgana’s relationship with Arthur and how we might see that progress?
Katie: I think the relationship between Morgana and Arthur is very much a sibling relationship. You see them bickering… and they’ve been brought up as brother and sister. And it starts in the first few episodes, where it was more ambiguous about what was going to happen. But the producers, I think, decided that as time wore on that it was far more interesting to have them be played as brother and sister, rather than have there be any sort of tension between them. Because the story for Arthur, love-wise, is definitely Guinevere. That’s the big story. And the Morgana story with him plays secondary to that. So it’s more interesting to do the sort of sibling rivalry between them. She can pull his strings. She knows how to annoy him. She knows how to manipulate him. That’s one of the keys to Morgana. She’s the queen manipulator. She’s smart enough to know people’s weaknesses and pull on those strings to get what she wants. Classic episode is where she gets Arthur to go and to save Mordred… She does it for the right reasons, but if you really think about it, there are seeds about how she’s going to become evil in a later time. It’s for the best of intentions, but not always the best way of doing it.
General
We were told during the London Expo that there would be more Arwen development too.
All in all, I'm very excited by what season two will bring in regards to these two but TBH, I'm a little wary too because I want it done right. I don’t want it to be rushed or fumbled. I want each of their characters developed separately and involved in their own arc especially Gwen who wasn’t really delved into during the first season. I’d like to see more of her, what she thinks, what makes her tick, etc.
I have hopes that the relationship will be done right especially if it will begin with Arthur just beginning to be aware of her.
Bradley James
Jenna Busch: Were there any changes in the myth that surprised you?
Bradley James: I think the fact that Uther is still alive was a big one, because it changes the whole dynamic of the story. You've got Guinevere as a servant girl as opposed to...in legends, Guinevere was a beautiful, not quite a princess, but sort of a lady of court, who Arthur and a lot of other people fell instantly in love with. She was just this beautiful sort of image that love-at-first-sight hit quite a few people. We obviously haven't gone down that line. Nobody knows she's alive. Arthur doesn't know she exists. It becomes more about the character that she shows, the person she is inside, I guess, that becomes the attraction. And so that is obviously a huge change from the legend. And also the fact that you've got this Merlin character that is a young guy, a contemporary of Arthur. It's not something that's been done before. It's just our kind of our twist on the show. And it still leaves room for that epitomal telling of the actual legend itself.
Jenna Busch: Speaking of Guinevere and Arthur's relationships...at least as far in as American audiences are, there seems to be a relationship with Uther's ward Morgana (Katie McGrath) as well. And there are definitely links to the legend there. (In most legends, Morgana is Arthur's half-sister, and the mother of his child and future murderer, Mordred.) Are we ultimately going to see Gwen and Arthur together?
Bradley James: This is it. I think everyone knows where the story is going to end up. So there's almost no point in doing the show if you're going to go straight there. There's a bit to go through yet before we really get moving on the Arthur/Guinevere storyline. There's a bit to go before Arthur is even aware of her existence.
Q: Are there any big changes?
Bradley James: From Arthur's point of view the one main difference, having going through the first series not knowing this person Guinevere existed, the second series has the first signs that he's aware of who she is. So that's going to develop and I suppose you'll see when it comes to season two where that goes!
Katie McGrath
Can you talk about Morgana’s relationship with Arthur and how we might see that progress?
Katie: I think the relationship between Morgana and Arthur is very much a sibling relationship. You see them bickering… and they’ve been brought up as brother and sister. And it starts in the first few episodes, where it was more ambiguous about what was going to happen. But the producers, I think, decided that as time wore on that it was far more interesting to have them be played as brother and sister, rather than have there be any sort of tension between them. Because the story for Arthur, love-wise, is definitely Guinevere. That’s the big story. And the Morgana story with him plays secondary to that. So it’s more interesting to do the sort of sibling rivalry between them. She can pull his strings. She knows how to annoy him. She knows how to manipulate him. That’s one of the keys to Morgana. She’s the queen manipulator. She’s smart enough to know people’s weaknesses and pull on those strings to get what she wants. Classic episode is where she gets Arthur to go and to save Mordred… She does it for the right reasons, but if you really think about it, there are seeds about how she’s going to become evil in a later time. It’s for the best of intentions, but not always the best way of doing it.
General
We were told during the London Expo that there would be more Arwen development too.
All in all, I'm very excited by what season two will bring in regards to these two but TBH, I'm a little wary too because I want it done right. I don’t want it to be rushed or fumbled. I want each of their characters developed separately and involved in their own arc especially Gwen who wasn’t really delved into during the first season. I’d like to see more of her, what she thinks, what makes her tick, etc.
I have hopes that the relationship will be done right especially if it will begin with Arthur just beginning to be aware of her.
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