RE: Merlin, yeah, WHATEV. I do think they realised that the MxA side had gotten a bit too, um, obvious in S1, because they really seemed to dial it back in S2. But that it's not there at all? That's like AWZ telling us that no, we've never seen this character before, she really wasn't the lynchpin of a big plot just six weeks ago, you must be imagining things...
Again, WHATEV!
As for lurking: Youtube really isn't structured to support a community; the comment limits, the minimal (now non-existent) threading, and the general poor spelling all work against it. That the Eskimos have pulled a genuine community out of that -- and one of the sparkliest fandom communities that I've ever seen! -- is remarkable. But I think (hope) that you'll see more chances to participate here. For me, the journal formats allow better conversations and you can really get to know people if you want. And hopefully we'll have some discussions and stuff here in the asylum that you'll want to engage in. But feel free to start discussions too -- really, we want to encourage everybody to play!