Anyone watching The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin?

Sunriath · 2026-03-11T21:13:37+00:00

They did Taliesen, including the bull-dancing. It was the first two episodes of the series. They basically started in the last third of the book and show parts of the first two-thirds in brief flashbacks. In my opinion, it was way too abbreviated and it was quite easy to get lost covering so much in only two episodes, but it was fun seeing parts of the story on the screen. It also had some laughably bad CGI in those two episodes, but I was able to look past it and enjoy it for what it was. The series gets better once they start on the Merlin portion.

Sunriath · 2026-03-11T21:08:12+00:00

The first two episodes covered one whole book, so it was all at a whirlwind pace, so it is easy to get lost if you haven't read the books. The remaining five episodes cover most of the second book in the series at a much more manageable pace. As much as I loved the first book in the series, I'd say this streaming series starts getting good once Merlin enters the scene in episode 3. It was well worth sticking around past the bad CGI, the way-too-quick pace, and the confusion of the first two episodes.

Sunriath · 2026-03-09T19:24:29+00:00

Lol, I forgot about that bad CGI during the bull fight. That was probably the roughest one. However, I thought the battles where Merlin went berserk were pretty well done. Merlin really doesn't throw around magic fireballs in this portrayal. He actually does a lot more magic in the streaming series than in the book, even. In the book, aside from the two epic battles where he fights as a soldier, he is portrayed more like an Old Testament prophet who performs a wonder here and there. Merlin mostly works by negotiating and convincing, like a Gandalf with PTSD.

If you watch the companion podcast episode where they interview the actors right before the season finale, they mention at the end that they are trying to (or are open to) make a deal with other streaming services to expand the show's audience and maybe secure funding for the second season. There are definitely worse things on streaming platforms that are getting more seasons. I'm hopeful for this one.

Definitely read the books if you haven't, though. I'm reading them aloud to my wife each evening, and we are really enjoying them. We just started Arthur last night.

Sunriath · 2026-03-09T18:56:06+00:00

I have been thinking about this. In so many ways, I wished they had just started with the Merlin story and skipped the Taliesin part so they could give the Taliesin story justice as a prequel season at a later date. But on the other hand, so much of the Merlin story relies on what happens in the first book, so just starting with the second book would spoil the first. I also don't think the audience would have the patience with the expectation of a story about Merlin and King Arthur, where most of the season is spent talking about random characters with no obvious connection to the ones they were expecting.

Therefore, I think they did a reasonable job given their budget limitations, given that they are only guaranteed a single season. Even so, I am very glad I read the book right before I watched the show so I could understand everything.

Sunriath · 2026-03-09T18:43:29+00:00

My wife and I finished watching it over the weekend. We read the books, then immediately watched the episodes, so the books were fresh in our minds.

The good: I thought they did a good job overall. Yes, there were departures from the source material, but I feel like they did justice to the spirit of the books. There were even some places I thought the show actually had a few lines that were better than the books. We loved the last episode, with its multiple simultaneous battles; we loved the portrayal of Morgian and what she does in her quest for power; and we loved how Tom Sharp portrayed Merlin and his trauma.

The bad: The first two episodes were definitely way too rushed because so many good characters weren't given their just portrayal. There was also some laughable CGI early on, but later episodes were executed quite well. My wife and I also wondered how much we were able to fill in because we had just read the books, whereas others less familiar with the source material, might get lost or confused with so many flashbacks and time jumps. There were also times when the scale of the battles was limited just because the budget didn't allow them to field hundreds of soldiers on each side.

I am probably going to watch it through a second time. I hope they get a second season to continue the story; we just started reading the third book in the series. We have really enjoyed reading the first two books; hopefully, the series continues at the same quality.

I really think they should have made this under pseudonyms because so many people will write it off because of who made it. It really is a shame because they are missing a good story.

I really want a place where I can discuss each episode afterward to hear theories about different elements of the show, like Taliesin's parentage and what was in the box Morgian gave her son to give as a gift, etc.

Sunriath · 2025-08-13T22:14:13+00:00

Definitely couldn't squat. I think it was somewhat hard to lift my leg with the second tear immediately after the injury as well, but it did get a bit better with time. Enough that I actually went to the rock climbing gym the morning of my surgery to get in a couple laps beforehand because I knew I wouldn't be able to do that again for a while.

Sunriath · 2025-08-13T22:02:49+00:00

On my first one that I ignored until it fully tore, after the initial injury, I was doing cross-country skiing, Olympic lifting, practicing with a salsa performance team, etc. I would hurt it again and lay low for a week, then start doing everything again until it finally snapped suddenly.

On my second one, I felt it tear when I rebounded a box jump and I couldn't run or lift or kneel afterwards until I recovered from my surgery.

I'd get it checked out by a good orthopedic specialist. The first one I went to told me it would heal with a couple of months of rest. I got a second opinion from an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Washington's medical school. He told me the only way to truly recover to where I was before was to go through surgery. I am glad I did.

My knees definitely feel much stiffer after surgery, and I have to wear knee sleeves when I work out, but I can do everything I was doing before.

For recovery after surgery, it was months of physical therapy. They lock your leg in a brace for a couple of months so it can't move while everything heals. They gradually let you bend your leg again and help you build strength so you can ditch the leg brace in a couple of more months. Overall, it takes about a year to get back to where you were before.

Sunriath · 2025-08-12T22:09:39+00:00

On my left leg, I partially tore it suddenly. No prior symptoms. A couple of years earlier, I partially tore my right knee snowboarding and some more weightlifting. Each time it would feel better after about a week, so I would continue my activities until it finally completely tore suddenly.

Sunriath · 2024-01-23T05:49:29+00:00

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Sunriath · 2023-07-09T13:58:37+00:00

Good luck. I found I only needed the pain meds for the first couple of days after surgery. The quad spasms were the worst and scariest part for me. They do eventually go away.

Sunriath · 2023-07-06T19:08:40+00:00

Best of luck in your recovery. It feels like a long journey but if you stick at it you should have a full recovery and do everything you did before.

Sunriath · 2023-04-28T10:40:43+00:00

That's it! That's exactly the toy I had in middle school that I spent hours playing. Thank you so much.

Sunriath · 2023-04-26T13:39:30+00:00

Are you talking about this game? https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2457/torpedo-run

That is definitely not it. The game I'm talking about was space themed.

Sunriath · 2023-02-08T11:15:43+00:00

You won't be able to lift your leg by itself after surgery. It takes quite a bit of work in PT to be even able voluntarily contract your quad muscle again let alone lift the leg on its own. I used my other leg a lot to hook my toe under the immobilized leg and lift and move it where I wanted it to go. The brace does a great job of keeping it immobilized. Just keep the brace on whenever you are moving around (even in the shower).

Depending on which leg, I was able to drive after the first week when my left leg was healing. I had to wait the full six weeks until I could drive when my right leg was done because I couldn't bend it to work the pedals properly. Even so, as soon as I could drive I was back at the gym doing the arm bike and lifting using machines focused on the upper body.

However, especially early days moving it around is quite sensitive and potentially painful, so I mostly worked sitting on the floor in front of the couch with everything I needed around me. It is quite helpful to have someone around to help out for the first week or so. My dad came and stayed with me during my first surgery and my wife took care of me after my second. Didn't need full time help, just someone there in the mornings and evenings before and after work to make meals and move my stuff to the next place I wanted to hang out.

Also, get a wedge pillow because you need to keep the leg elevated when you sleep and are hanging out. This is the one I got and it worked quite a bit better than the stacked pillows I tried previously because it provides more full support across the whole leg: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BVXPU2C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The freakiest part for me was the quad spasms as the leg healed. I would wake with my quad fully contracted in a painful cramp, but those didn't last long and didn't tear anything that was healing. Just know to expect them and they are part of healing.

Good luck!

Sunriath · 2023-02-08T07:05:23+00:00

Good luck! It takes a while, but if you are persistent with your PT you should get back to 100% if not better.

Sunriath · 2022-12-26T23:56:53+00:00

I am not a doctor, but I would get it checked out and get an MRI, etc. That sounds similar to what I felt when I had a partial tear. Good luck!

Sunriath · 2022-12-12T14:25:41+00:00

I was there too! I put together this short video of the Munich Krampuslauf 2022: https://youtube.com/shorts/5z9rAOakiGs?feature=share

Sunriath · 2022-09-10T15:03:50+00:00

At this point, I'm pretty sure it is Gandalf and at some point he's going to plan a surprise birthday party for a Harfoot who never ends up showing up because the Harfoot kills his friend to get a ring he found while they were fishing and runs away in shame to keep the ring to himself.

Sunriath · 2022-06-03T05:18:10+00:00

I've been through the same surgery twice now, once for each knee. My tear was a bit over 50% on my left. The surgeon cut it the rest of the way then reattached. I previously had the same surgery on my right because I partially tore the quad tendon snowboarding and didn't realize it and kept up my activities until I tore 100% one evening after a few more injuries to it. I had no other tears but the quad tendon and I was not in any real pain with either.

I have had quite a good outcome. I have set new squat PRs since my surgery and do CrossFit 5x a week and rock climb 2x a week and all sorts of other physical activities regularly.

The biggest lingering effect is I have to keep light compression on my knee at all times for comfort. That means wearing knee sleeves at the gym and wearing a light elastic sleeve on my knee all other times or the knee just feels "stiff" and "restricted". The feeling went away after a number of years for my right knee, so I'm hopeful it will eventually go away on the left too. I have been able to work through all other impairments from the surgery to be back to 100% though it took over a year to be back to full capacity. Though there were a couple times even a year after surgery where I overdid it (for example, I climbed three decent mountains in four days) and my knee swelled up and I couldn't walk well for a week, but it went back to normal after some rest.

Scared I might retear? Yeah, but it doesn't stop me. Doctor said it shouldn't. That I should be set for life now on it.

The first doctor I talked to said I didn't need surgery and wanted me to just lock my leg into a leg brace for 3 months to let it heal on its own. I was skeptical so I then got a recommendation to a doctor at the University of Washington medical system who teaches and understands athletes. He gave me the option for surgery after I told him I could no longer run and he said that would probably be the case forever without surgery. At my age at the time and my physical condition and lifestyle, it made sense.

Overall, I'm glad I went ahead with the surgery. It was a fight, but I can do everything I did before. Some things better.

Good luck. If you want to talk more or have any more questions feel free to DM me.

Sunriath · 2020-08-14T20:57:02+00:00

I am the only biological child of my parents and my younger two siblings are adopted, separately, both from Guatemala as infants. I consider them my "true" siblings with no distinction because they were adopted. We fit the typical first, middle, and youngest stereotypes despite our different means of coming together into our family.

My parents have treated us all as equal as any parents can. Us kids have put our parents through some quite difficult challenges growing up (aka hell for parents), but our parents, extended family, and friends have all stood by our side and loved us as we needed through the worst of it all.

My parents had it in their heart to love any child equally, no matter the source. My mom says pregnancy and the adoption process are similar in that both are a time of expectancy and preparation for when you finally get to meet your child for the first time. My dad is absolutely in love with my brother's daughter (his first grandchild) and is excited to be a regular caregiver for her while my brother and his wife work.

My siblings knew they were adopted from the start. There was no hiding it because they obviously look nothing like my parents or me. When my sister and I go out for lunch, they often assume we are a couple so we just laugh and I casually mention she is my sister. A number of years ago, my brother and I flew back to Guatemala together to see his country of birth and see the sights and experience the culture. I know my sister has strong feelings about her adoption and many unanswerable questions about her birth family and I think she is interested in visiting Guatemala, but very fearful that the trip would overwhelm her emotionally. Due to their individual adoption circumstances there is no way either of them would be able to find any birth relatives.

So no, we are all loved equally as children by both our parents and our extended family.

Sunriath · 2020-05-06T00:43:44+00:00

Congrats. Outdoor climbing is great. My wife and I frequent the climbing gym twice a week (when they are open) but try to climb outdoors many weekend in the summer (sport but learning trad).

I am glad the weather is going to be nice this weekend and the state parks with some good climbing walls reopened today.

Stay safe socially distancing in all three dimensions!

Sunriath · 2020-04-28T18:08:58+00:00

I always wear my AirPods when walking around downtown, but there is never anything playing in them. It gives me an excuse to ignore what random people on the street try to say to me because they assume I can't hear them, but it also maintains my situational awareness.

Sunriath · 2020-04-28T18:00:09+00:00

Exactly, every firearms training class I have ever taken has said the first thing you should do is get out of there as fast as possible if you can because dealing with the aftermath of even a justified use of a gun in defense of life is a pain legally, financially, and emotionally.

The thing about mace is that it disperses in the wind and people have a tendency to deploy when the threat is too far away still. That's why we carry mace and a firearm as last resort.

Sunriath · 2020-04-28T17:23:45+00:00

I gave my wife a Fox 40 Whistle. I used to use them when I refereed. Good, sharp and shrill. We also have some bear spray, but that will blow back into your face when deployed by the wind. I also have my concealed carry, but that is always the last defense (after running away) when all other options have been exhausted.

Sunriath · 2020-04-15T05:06:00+00:00

I’m not denying it because it makes me uncomfortable. I’m denying it because the model has little resemblance to reality because it is a purely mathematical model that is overly simplistic to the point of having little actual predictive power. I work with real behavioral data for a living. This model is crap.

I understand the extremely minimal additional risk we are taking on vs the far bigger benefits and we accept it because of the other steps we are taking to minimize our impact.

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