#(omitting Gaius his father figure bc he’s a very old man and I’m talking peers)

[fluffypotatey]

YES WE HAVE OUR ROUND TABLE KNIGHTS (that don’t get that actual title until s3 finale) AND THEY ARE MY BELOVEDS

warning: i forgot myself and could not stop talking

first up: Lancelot

beautiful little man 😍 he first appears in s1 wishing to join the Camelot knights but unfortunately that role is only allowed for nobles, so Merlin vomits identity fraud to help Lancelot fulfill his dream despite the man’s wishes to earn his knightly title by merit HOWEVER! Arthur is a harsh and strict teacher with his knights only wanting the best (don’t..don’t look at the ways they get easily bamboozled by magic…that’s tv logic just-just know they are the best in the land!) so Lancelot DOES earn his place with the knights through merit but his ruse is discovered! (bc King Uther is a dick <-separate 101 later) thus he is banished from Camelot but later pardoned for helping aid Arthur in freeing Camelot from Morgana and Morgause (I’ll talk about her later)’s occupation in s3 finale.

next guy! Sir Leon :D

He is one of the only round table knights that served both King Uther and Kung Arthur, making his first appearance in s2 while Arthur was still a prince. Also, according to bbc Merlin fandom lore, Sir Leon has a miraculous way of coming back from harrowing events either unscathed or still alive even though that shouldn’t be possible (which is absolutely a little hole in production’s foresight bc they used Leon a lot to provide info about villains’ whereabouts and how evil they are, but we took it and ran) THUS: Sir Leon is now known as Sir Leon the Immortal bc a Druid gave the guy a sip from the Cup of Life and now there’s tons of headcanons of Merlin and Leon being immortal buddies

then we have Gwaine <3

. . . tits

i mean—uh, what was i walking about?

sO the legendary Sir Gwaine (not Gawain, that’s his medieval counterpart and bbc changed it to this for reasons idk by Bradley, Arthur’s actor will still pronounce it that way just for kicks and i love him)…what could i possibly say about Sir Gwaine?

he grew up a noble with his father being a knight but because of some battle his father died and memory is escaping me by the king Gwaine’s father swore fealty to did not honor his end of their devotional knightly relationship (this implies something…didn’t mean to but it’s funny so i’m keeping it) and abandoned Gwaine and his mother, leaving them in debt

thus leading to Gwaine’s personal and moral dislike to nobility and their corruption. he leaves his home to make a name for himself that isn’t the noble kid he grew up as and becomes some kind of drunkard tavern swordsman that impresses both Arthur and Merlin (and i WILL imply many things here :) bc this show’s main core theme is love of all kinds)

unfortunately he also gets banished bc he attacked two noblemen (who tried to attack Merlin so it was in defense but Uther, as stated above, is a dick)

next up is

who is this man?????

Elyan my hoodie king!!!! 😍😍😍😍

1st appears in s3 and is established as Gwen, aka Guinevere’s, brother! (older brother? younger brother? it’s never specified so you’ll see some smith sibling headcanons that don’t align in terms of age lol (also they don’t have a last name but most have come to call them smith bc they come from a blacksmith uh family)) this man deserved sO much development than he got in the show bc he is the literal brother of Gwen (who is a part of the core 4) but i digress :(

he is hoodie king bc we meet him and he’s wearing a hood and looks so hot in it—i mean, very distinguished and very snazzy and bbc why couldn’t he have kept this outfit all the other seasons THIS ISNT FAIR!

so Elyan actually ran away from home bc he didn’t want to succeed his father and his blacksmithing and dreamed of becoming a knight but Camelot only allowed those of noble blood (huh this sounds familiar); therfore, Elyan, vbelievibg he deserved better, left to better his craft (sword fighting) and make a name for himself that is worthy of knighthood (damn….this sounds sO familiar…..no wonder Lancelot was Gwen’s type—whaaaa who said that???)

we meet Elyan when he gets himself kidnapped by our trusty villains of s3 Morgause and King Cenred (I know i am just throwing names but just trust me <3) as collateral against Gwen for reasons i cannot remember correctly (i am basing this entirely on memory and don’t want to say something wrong bc i know one reason but am not sure if that was a later s3 issue)

anyway, with the help of Arthur and Merlin (and Morgana but she actually there to sabotage them) they free Elyan and reunite the smith siblings and Arthur promises to knight Elyan when he becomes king (and he does! while regant same dif)

and now we turn to Percival!

precious gentle giant (to me!)

unfortunately, Percival gets the short end of the stick with development but bbc provides us with the facts that he is a strong but very gentle man who has a high moral compass and Lancelot ran into him during his mercenary days (this was off screen)

his first appearance is also in s3 but at the very last episode T^T (he never stood a chance) and to show just how big and strong Percival is bbc decided the best way was to show Arthur’s reaction to his handshake which was

it is one of my favorite scenes ever just because of Arthur’s face 😂 someone made a meme of it and i will find it for you

but yeah Percival is best buds with Lancelot in the beginning of s4 but we see him have a lot of good chemistry with Gwaine and Elyan (the people he is shipped with the most) as we see them play pranks throughout the castle and banter (it’s so cute 🥰)

BUT YEAH THERE YA GO!! The BBC Round Table Knights 101 *finger guns you*

all screencaps and is photons were brought to you by farfarawaysite

HOW THE TURN TABLES IT IS 101 TIME WITH FLUFFY :D

ok so

bbc merlin is actually called “The Adventures of Merlin” but everyone just calls the show bbc merlin bc it was aired on bbc and the protag is Merlin (also the intro to the show says Merlin name every episode so we all just agreed that the show was called Merlin and forgot the real title)

anyway

you know Merlin? great, powerful wizard Merlin? the old dude with the felt robes and pointy hat that’s in Arthurian legends?

so imagine that guy is young, a brunet, and the personal manservant to a Prince Arthur and now must keep this suicidal/sword-ho blondie alive in order to fulfill his destiny as the Once and Future King because a dragon under the castle told him

through the eyes of this younger and adorable and smashable Merlin, we get to watch as Arthur grows from a selfish and lonely prince to an honorable and compassionate king (no longer living his father’s legacy but his own), AND we get to watch Merlin’s friend Gwen grow to become a confident and powerful queen of Camelot. AND!!! AND!!!! we get to watch Morgana become the nemesis she is in the legends (I have my own transgressions on certain decisions made for her corruption arc but this is not the 101 for that)

long story short: Merlin and Arthur begin the show as reluctant not-so-friends and end the show the closest of friends and Merlin still never told Arthur his magic until his dying breath and we celebrate this end every Christmas (bc that’s when the series finale ended)

annnnnnd scene

oooooooo

are any of the other knights of the round table there or is it just arthur merlin and gwen? (i mean merlin and gwen aren’t knights either but i just woke up so)

and merlin really never told arthur about his magic? damn