#and therefore Kilgharrah

[gd-dollopole]

We deserved more of just Merlin

The little head tilt, the sweet voice and the tiny smile, the moment he asked Arthur:

“Don’t you?”

To Merlin, magic had always been there for everyone to see, to feel.

He is magic, after all.

For all those years, Merlin had believed what he felt was obvious, and that everyone else felt the same way. It was strange to Merlin that Arthur couldn’t understand that the forest, the animals, even the smallest, living in it, were sacred. Because life is sacred. He couldn’t grasp the reason why the knights couldn’t feel that the old Druids’ camp was haunted, and therefore didn’t believe him. He had literally heard death, and cried because of it.

“As if everything is much more than itself.”

The phrase could refer to him too. Merlin is much more than… Him.

That’s what brought his doom. He had never had the chance to truly know himself. He was either a servant, or the sorcerer of a prophecy, or a Dragonlord.

Never just him.

And in this moment we see he had missed being one with nature, breathing in the animals’ lives. He was himself again.

He was vibrating, much like anything else there living with him.

They never went deep into Merlin’s powers, they were just there for Arthur. Merlin had lost sight of what he wanted to do with them, he even forgot he was so powerful he could have overthrown Arthur himself, if he really wished to.

Merlin was the only man alive able to see Avalon.

During the knights and the king’s quest to save Gwen, Merlin met the Queen of a Queendom no one had ever even seen.

He could have killed Morgana (and did try) multiple times, although she was an High Priestess, and simply decided not to, but he had more than just the power to do so.

The Catha, the Druids bowed to him, met him in the woods, called to him.

Merlin created a telepathic connection with Arthur the first days he was in Camelot.

He survived death multiple times.

His immortality forbid him to die.

Merlin hated hunting because he could feel the animals being scared, followed; he had recognised Gwen when Morgana transformed her into a deer; he could hear the magic around him, inside objects and inside people, like a whisper, as if it was nothing; he could call lightning from the sky.

He could stop the time, or at least slow it down.

Every magical being knew him by name only. But he was not a leader, he was just different.

“Is she like me?” “No one is like you, Merlin.”

After everything he had witnessed, even Gaius knew Merlin was special and did nothing to help him understand why he was.

Merlin was the reason Aithusa was born, why Kilgharrah was free, and we were robbed of him getting to really know his powers, both as a Dragonlord and as the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth.

He literally deleted himself just to be at Arthur’ side, and it hurt him. We saw it constantly. He was sad not only because everyone and everything was against him, or because he couldn’t use magic for simple tricks, but because he couldn’t really know what he could do, both as a magical being and as just Merlin.

To study his powers meant treason and death, and Merlin forbid himself to go beyond what he already knew.

His incapacity to understand, his lack of will to know, and his indecision about who he was, literally helped the fall of the great destiny he was a part of.

Merlin’s decisions, whatever he wanted them to happen or not, helped Arthur die.

Merlin’s real enemy was himself.

[tiodolma]

MORGANA'S POISONING

Merlin Secrets and Magic Ep. 12 The Dragon’s Den

Colin Morgan: You see Morgana become so impassioned and ehm, so against Uther that it’s actually becoming quite dangerous and very worrying.

Katie Mcgrath: She becomes a vessel for a spell that is cast over all of Camelot.

(scene shows Kilgharrah saying. “The source of this pestilence is The Witch, the Lady Morgana”)

Colin Morgan: He is put into a position where he has to make a decision which is …very out of character.

(scene shows Merlin offering Morgana the poisoned water bag)

Colin Morgan: He has to uhm, literally poison a friend, you know, kill a friend, ehm, but for the greater good. It’s… (Smiles) It’s not an easy decision.

Katie Mcgrath: He can either save Camelot or let me live. So in order to save Camelot and Arthur and the Once and Future King, he has to kill Morgana.

Johnny Caps: Does he poison somebody that he, in a way, cares about but is suspicious of or does he let her live and therefore let the rest of Camelot die? Either decision is really difficult for Merlin.

Katie Mcgrath: He kills her because he believes he had to and he kills her because Morgana’s magic has taken her somewhere that his magic never would and Merlin and Morgana can’t be friends because of that. They started all from the same place but they’ve gone completely opposite directions and their friendship isn’t going to come back from that.

Johnny Caps: And we liked that because, you know, let’s push Merlin into uh, making a very very difficult decision and it is an awful decision that he has to make but there is hope there for Morgana because Morgause takes her away and there absolutely a sense that Morgause will save Morgana. And that creates for us a delicious dilemma because when Merlin gets to meet Morgana again, what would her attitude be towards Merlin, what would her attitude be towards Camelot, and what has Morgause been telling her?

Colin Morgan: It was important to get that right and uhm Jeremy Webb and director was great because he uh completely pushed us and spent the time on it.

Katie Mcgrath: I hope I never have to do it again. It was horrible. I made Colin cry, well I made Merlin cry but it’s the same thing.

[ellllsia]

My take on the last episode of Merlin

Here's my take on the last moments between Merlin and Arthur after the battle of Camlann because I am seemingly too obssessed and I need someone to hear me out/ discuss this with. Sadly my entourage is not very familiar with the show 😔. So here it is for whoever is willing to read this.

"Why did you never tell me ?"

"I didn't want to put you in that position"

"That's what worried you ?"

This conversation was so hard to watch, Arthur asking that question means that he still sees him as a friend even though by this point he's still confused about the whole situation. But he cares to know why his best friend of 10 years never told him such an important truth about who he is. He cares to understand. He's been mostly silent and withdrawn and I like to think he wasn't afraid for long, but rather hurt obvisously and overly very sad and betrayed. But mostly he cared to know why Merlin thought he couldn't or even shouldn't tell Arthur about his magic. And once Merlin tells him he didn't want him to be put in that position, Arthur probably is generally going 'this idiot always putting others first to the point he denies who he is for the sake to not put his friend in a position where he will be hurt and confused to the point he doesn't know what to do'. And the he asks the question that haunts me at night, Merlin gives him the speech and the whole "I was born to serve you" .That's when it has finally dawned on him that this man hovering over him right now is no powerful sorcerer, no evil martermind who snuck into the castle, no traitor, it's just... Merlin. His idiotic, self sacrificial, beyond loyal friend.

"I'm not going to change now."

"I don't want you to change. I want you…to always…be you"

This right here altered my brain chemistry forever. But i specifically want to focus on the way Arthur says it: "I want you to all ways be you". Again, might just be me reading too much into it, I mean poor man was on the verge of dying, he can't be speaking properly but it is how I hear it. Therefore, I can"t help but think that it is just his own way of reassuring Merlin that even if he know the truth now, nothing changes for him, he still sees him as his dearest friend. The only friend he has and can't bare to lose him. It was maybe also more for him to vocalise his acceptance out loud. In the end It feels amazing to give in to his hopes, his doubts, his sentiments about magic. It's not evil, because if Merlin is born of it, it can only be wonderful. So yes, Arthur accepts Merlin fully with all his jokes, his clumsiness, his kind heart and his mighty powers.

"Everything you've done. I know now."

All i want to say is Athur, my dear you don't know half of it; and it's cruel because even if Merlin doesn't seek any credit, he deserved to be able to tell those tails of how he singlehandedly saved all the knights all of Camelot and Arthur numerous times. He was captured, stabbed, poisoned, punched, left to die alone in the middle of the forest. He could have told how he watched his father die right in front of him and couldn't even grieve properly, because he couldn't be revealed to even know the man let alone be his son. He watched his lover die in his arms and again couldn't speak of her because he would be beheaded if anyone came to know he had just laid eyes one her. He could have told Arthur about how he poisoned Morgana, freed Kilgharrah, caused his father's death, and manipulated him into thinking that he was the cause of his mother's death even after he learnt the truth. Merlin deserved to tell him all this and let him process it on his own to be freed from the weight of the lies and the guilt and the secrecy. And Arthur deserved to know.

"I want to say something I've never said to you before. "

"Thank you"

Now this is self explanatory, but it brought me some joy, like very little, but it also broke me because for all those years, Arthur thought his friendship with Merlin was quite equal in a sense. As in Arthur is the prince who lets his manservant do whatever he wants, say whatever he wants, and be however he would like. Merlin did protect him, help him, serve him but first and formeost he was his friend. And Arthur treated him as more than he ever was, protecting him, sending out search parties for him, a servant. He always thought they managed to trespass and see past the power imbalance in their relationship. But here he is, realising he actually never treated Merlin, his closest friend, the way he deserved, never properly thanked him for the sacrifice, for the life he had to lead whilst in Camelot, for everything he has endured and more. But he felt helpless, he was dying and there wasn't much he could do, so he opted to try and express his gratitude. Though words could never amount to truly convey hiw sentiments but he still managed to say it with assurance; Thank you.

And thanks for reading this, I know it's probably very silly but it has been torturing me for years and I just wanted to talk about this with someone and I finally got the courage to just do it so here it is 😊.

[nonsensical-gashi]

Merlin season 3, part 1! :v

• There's a 1 year breach between season 2 and season 3

• Merlin was way more insolent that any servant should be allowed, obviously, but he was open when being like that. He can throw a comeback to Arthur with many soldiers around. That didn't stop him

• Since season 2 Merlin is being more intelligent about the use of magic.

What I mean is that, if he wants to fight against a knight in a horse, he would use a spell to break one of the belts of the saddle. Also, he would magnetize the opponent sword so he can't use it. It is creative, and even if the effects are weird it is kinda subtle, at least more subtle that a fire ball where you can pin point the caster and everyone would be distracted by it.

• Morgana is back in the freaking episode 1. (⁠╯⁠°⁠□⁠°⁠）⁠╯⁠︵⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

• Season 3 is more serious, and with less vivid colors. It start with the return of Morgana in a double episode. It follows up more events, and connects more situations, and therefore the consequences felt heavier.

• "She's the darkness of your light, the hate of your love" Kilgharrah talking about Morgana

• Also, some reference of the size of Kilgharrah.

• Kilgharrah has to obey the dragon lord. He has no choice. But Merlin seems to be more grateful and respectful towards him and his advice. Until he doesn't...

• Chp 5 note, Merlin still imposes his moral over Kilgharrah's wisdom, and orders him if he doesn't agree. It seems that he never understood the pov of Kilgharrah, and how he felt. "Saving x live is more important, even of previous or future crimes", it doesn't matter that x is Uther, the responsible for the extinction of the dragons and magic. It doesn't matter if it's Morgana, the one destined to destroy the Kingdom. Kilgharrah is really mad he can't say no.

• There's a sword next to Arthur's bed

• There's an odd placing of comedy chapters in this series. Those felt so out of place in the series. Specially when there's a comedy chapter that ignores morgana because she's the main problem of this season and "you shouldn't take this chapter so serious!"

• Merlin told Gwaine that he met his father almost a year ago, before he died. As far as Arthur knows Merlin never met his father. This could lead to an interesting discussion, especially because Arthur and Merlin were together all that time, and he never mentioned anything, not about meeting him less his father dying.

• In the first season Merlin was excited to see Arthur fight in the tournament (chap 2). In season 3 Merlin is already sick of those kinds of competitions and is not happy that he has to be there (mostly to protect Arthur).

• Cenred attack towards Camelot's Castle, and their loss in battle (when Uther wasn't available due to the Mandragora), can be an important moment for the people of Camelot. Arthur proved that was ready to be a King.

• Uther was open to magic if that meant saving Morgana

• Uther had an affair with Vivian, Gorlois's wife, went he went to battle (final battle?). "Vivian was alone".

I don't feel this was planned since season 1.

• Arthur called Morgana her sister in chapter 5.

• The "I have to do something because I have the power to do it" is powerful on Merlin. He's too good for his own sake.

• "Morgana should have died a long time ago" Kilgharrah. It seems that everyone survived season 1 thanks to Merlin. Uther, Morgana and Moldred should be dead by now.

• Merlin can talk about a vision that he saw in the crystal cave (the bloody origin of magic), and say how it's going to be true soon, and Gaius is "Don't think about it". He still prefers that Merlin does nothing related to magic to avoid risky situations (even if that is screaming imminent danger).

• Arthur throws stuff to Merlin with more frequency.

• Arthur "I used to fear the forest when I was a child" Uther led Arthur to the forest when he was younger. "It seemed that every falling leaf was a bandit or a ghost"

• Merlin is able to enchant animals to do simple commands. He enchanted a snake to attack Morgana.

I was one week without internet, and before that the place where I watched the series crashed..... That's why it took too long for this entry.

See more!

Season 1 part 1 part 2 part 3

Season 2 part 1 part 2

Season 3 u're here part 2

Season 4 part 1

Season 5 part 1

[sneakyboymerlin]

if gwaine found out about merlin's magic, destiny, and the reason for his behavior towards mordred, what do you think he would do, regarding merlin and merlin's relationship with him? would he meddle at all? would he try to get merlin to realize that he (merlin) has more to life than what his 'destiny' is. and therefore mordred probably does too?

i read a fic recently where it was like. "merlin realizes he has failed at his destiny and so reconciles w/mordred because he figured mordred too can fail at his destiny" but i dont know if the whole "merlin failed at his destiny" thing sits right with me. so much of it was on him, by the dragon and the fandom, but its supposed to be "two halves of the same coin" for a reason--they are supposed to be equals yet everyone is content to keep merlin delegated to the role of serving arthur and only arthur, rather than valuing himself as well, and arthur is just as much as fault for magic not coming to camelot because arthur is king and is very much still prejudiced against magic for the most part. thats not on merlin. at a certain point you have to realize that arthur is a grown man he cannot be coddled forever, especially as a king?

if gwaine found out about merlin's magic, destiny, and the reason for his behavior towards mordred, what do you think he would do, regarding merlin and merlin's relationship with him? would he meddle at all? would he try to get merlin to realize that he (merlin) has more to life than what his 'destiny' is. and therefore mordred probably does too?

Easy answer: he’d fuck Merlin against a wall.

Complex answer: I think for Merlin, he already knew that it was possible for Mordred to fail in his destiny… if Mordred died, at least. As far as he was concerned, only one of them could fail/succeed, because just as Merlin was destined to protect Arthur even though he hated him at first, Mordred was destined to kill Arthur even if he did seem to like him. Merlin’s goal is essentially to make sure Mordred fails in his destiny so that he can succeed in his own. Kilgharrah warns Merlin from the start that the only way to ensure this is to kill him, or so Kilgharrah thinks.

I believe that both of their destinies were going to inevitably be fulfilled at some point. If Mordred died, he could still be Arthur’s Bane because we’ve seen a Druid ghost come back to seek revenge against Arthur. And even at his most accepting, Arthur was still pretty lukewarm towards magic, seeing “good magic” as an exception to its default “evil” state (as expressed in 5x05 and 5x09). Therefore, everything with Kara could still happen even if Arthur welcomed the Old Religion back to Camelot, since he doesn’t understand the true extent of his bias.

If Gwaine found out about Merlin’s magic, I think he would have some divided reactions. For one thing, he is pretty much unquestioningly loyal to Merlin and would most certainly accept Merlin as “one of the good ones” among sorcerers. The problem with this: he may believe that sorcerers are bad by default, much like Arthur does. He would probably not question Merlin’s judgment of Mordred much, though we never see Gwaine’s stance on prophecy/destiny, but he would notice the toll that this prophecy is taking on Merlin, as he’s shown to worry over Merlin when he’s aware of his distress (see: seasons 3-5). His prioritization of Merlin could lead to him minimizing the importance or overall possibility of the prophecy. However, he doesn’t take threats to Arthur’s life lightly, either, so it’s kind of hit or miss there.

Ultimately, for all that Merlin can try to advise him, it’s up to Arthur to fix his own biases. Merlin can’t do it for him. If Merlin stood by and did nothing, the end results would be more or less the same as when he tries everything—though maybe Arthur dies a decade or so earlier. Whereas if Arthur accepts magic, then maybe something changes. But the prophecy implies that the perfect balance comes from some equivalent effort between both Merlin and Arthur… which doesn’t happen, because Merlin is putting in all of the effort, and Arthur isn’t pulling his own weight.

On the bright side, if Gwaine knows about Merlin’s magic, maybe he gets to stick by Merlin’s side through the whole finale?

[casualbluebirdmentality]

Leon's immortality predates the Cup of Life, y'all. he's just Like That

I'm assuming people have probably talked abt this already but if they have, I haven't seen it (i'm relatively new here), so I'm bringing it up myself lol.

(It's important to note here that in the end credits starting from s2e2, Rupert Young has always been referred to as playing Sir Leon, so it is the same character.)

Remember s2e13 The Last Dragonlord, when Arthur asks his knights who among them are willing to ride out with him to fight this big-ass dragon, and Leon is the first to volunteer? And they then show Leon, with Arthur and the others, as they ride out to fight Kilgharrah in that weird-ass square field?

...And then Kilgharrah one-shots literally everyone except for Arthur & Merlin???? And when the two return, they're just like, "yeah all the other knights died valiantly defending the kingdom, very sad" ???????

Personally, I believe this only leaves us with two (2) options:

The writers just straight up Forgot (or maybe ignored) that Leon was one of the knights that died, and just kept writing him in bc he was a well-liked character,

Or,

2. They're therefore implying that, canonically, when Arthur&Merlin got back to Camelot and said that all the knights were dead, they were just straight-up wrong. Which means that Leon had to just... find his own way home, I guess, after having been freshly charbroiled by a fucking dragon.

Merthur: None of the other knights made it, even Leon :(

Leon, covered in burns, wheezing on the ground in that big-ass field: QUIT TELLING PEOPLE I'M DEAD

Merthur: sometimes we can still hear his voice :(

The wiki says that "many believed he'd been killed" when he "was injured by the great dragon," but that "this was ultimately disproven by his return in Series 3"...

...which I believe falls squarely into #2 listed above lmao. He wasn't dead, just injured. They just fucking left him there.

TL;DR: yes, he's immortal, but it's not even from the cup. he's just Built Different

[theroundbartable]

Random ask, if Klance, Gajevy, and Merthur are going to Hogwarts, what houses do you think that will fit them (in your opinions)? Why?

Hmmm.... That's a very good question too.

1. Gajevy

Levy would definitely be a Ravenclaw. She's academic smart and solves riddles. She's pretty clearly a Ravenclaw.

Gajeel would, I think, be a Slytherin. Once he's decided on a family, he sticks to them. This has a little to do with my definition of Slytherins but I think Gajeel would be really family and blood oriented. If he can't have that, then he's going to stick to the group of people he accepts as family and goes way too far for them. It's what he did when we first see him. (I watched the show 10 years ago, I can't remember the guild name) but I remember that his entire life revolved around them and he simply accepted their guild rules as law.

My house definition on that note:

Hufflepuffs don't focus so much on blood/family relations and more on found family. Their friendship bonds are self made and soft.

Ravenclaws are study groups that help each other become smarter.

Gryffindors are friends who are willing to fight each other for their believes if necessary.

Slytherins stick to blood relations and accept tradition as law and would never stand up to one another. Nor are their relationships necessarily emotional or have specific goals. They stick together in order to stick together. That's why they are easier to manipulate.

2. Klance

Lance: Gryffindor. The reason for that is not necessarily that it's the house that fits him best but Lance would have chosen it. He has as much Hufflepuff energy as he is brave but he wants to be brave, wants to be a hero. So, naturally, the hat let him choose the house. And he grows really into that role.

Keith: Gryffindor. He's reckless, he's couragous and gets himself in trouble. He's always been a Gryffindor. And Lance hates to know that the hat didn't hesitate to put Keith there. That Keith is more of a Gryffindor than him. Keith doesn't really believe that he fits though.

However, I believe that both of them would be able to pull the sword from the hat. I might even argue that Lance would do it first.

3. Merthur

Oh.... Boy. This one is difficult, I swear.

Arthur is easily a Gryffindor. He's courage incarnate, whereelse would HE go? He's pulled the sword from the stone, he's a Pendragon, gold on red. That's a Gryffindor alright. (Although I would find it funny if he chose family over himself at the age of 11 and therefore lands in Slytherin on accident.)

Merlin, however.... Merlin could go anywhere.

Merlin is the bravest man Arthur has ever known. Merlin is smart (a physician). Merlin is accepting and trusting and he's also cunning and far too tied to his friends. The hat never needed longer to decide where to put him.

I have a few theories where Merlin would go, possibly.

A) if he knows Arthur is his destiny, he will follow him to Gryffindor.

B) if it's purely based on his characteristics and the hat gets to decide, he'd be a Slytherin. (Unless the hat has Kilgharrahs voice, then he'll be in Gryffindor again)

C) if Merlin chooses his own future, decides to focus on studying his magic, he'd go to Ravenclaw.

D) if Merlin can't decide, if the hat can't decide and Merlin doesn't want to give up on either of his characteristics, then the hat will put him in Hufflepuff to become an Allrounder.

That's my thoughts on this :) feel free to share yours as well ^^

[merlincersei]

Merlin BBC UK TV Show - Opinion Piece Part 3 - Deciphering The Ages Of Merlin, Arthur and Morgana and It’s Possible Implication To Their Character Arc

I have used a quite modern interpretation of their ages, but it’s not like this show was ever particularly historically correct.

Arthur’s Age:

The Great Purge started directly after Arthur’s birth as confirmed by Uther in the very first episode of Season 1 when they celebrated the capture of the Great Dragon “20 years ago”.

In Season 1 Episode 9 Arthur is named as the crown prince in the coming of age ceremony.. So we can assume he turned 21.

Therefore Arthur’s age could be:

Season 1 - Age 21

A Year Passes

Season 2 - Age 22

Another year, We know it’s been a year because Uther says, “it’s been a year since Morgana’s been missing”.

Season 3 - Age 23

About 2 more years pass. Arthur says something about 2 years of peace before Morgana shows up again.

Season 4 - Age 25

Two more years pass. Morgana states that she was trapped in a hole for 2 years.

Season 5 - Age 27

Merlin’s Age:

GIF by aclanswoman

Merlin is described as a “young boy” in Series 1-3 and as a “young man” in Series 4-5 by Kilgharrah.

So it is safe to assume that Merlin is less than 18 in Series 1-3 and at least 18 in Series 4-5.

Therefore Merlin’s age could be:

Season 1 - Age 15

Season 2 - Age 16

Season 3 - Age 17

Season 4 - Age 19

Season 5 - Age 21

Morgana’s Age:

GIF by emryslastbraincell

Here is a leaked image from the script from the first episode that describes Morgana thus:

Therefore Morgana’s age should be the same as Merlin:

Season 1 - Age 15

Season 2 - Age 16

Season 3 - Age 17

Season 4 - Age 19

Season 5 - Age 21

So if my deduction is correct then, it clarifies certain plot points in the series:

1) Uther did not cheat on Igraine. Igraine died birthing Arthur. Morgana being younger than Arthur means Uther’s affair with Morgana’s mother Vivenne happened after Igraine’s death.

2) The young ages of Merlin and Morgana help us understand the huge number of mistakes they both made. Nobody that young can cope with the huge responsibilities and turmoil these two faced.

3) Arthur being condescending to Merlin to a certain extent now makes more sense as he is that much older than him, instead of Arthur just being a CLOTPOLE.

[wumiings]

You ever start making a post and then realize you need to be making a completely different post? Well this is that.

I know that many many people have already discussed the ways in which the lessons Merlin is taught by both Gaius and Kilgharrah (that [1] it’s his job to prove there can be Good Wizards and [2] a Good Wizard is defined by their willingness to maintain the status quo) fuck him up badly and lead to him preaching those same lessons at other righteously angry magic users

But I just get angrier and angrier the more I think about it because I’ve seen what that rhetoric does to people!! I’ve lived it!!

I remember the quiet shame my father (a black man) expressed when we talked about Will Smith hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars last year - the look on his face as he guiltily explained, “It’s not that I think it’s his responsibility to represent us all in front of the white folks exactly… it’s just that I wish that the first time someone struck someone else at this awards show, it hadn’t been a black man who did it.”

He knew on a logical level that a man’s actions (whatever you think of them) couldn’t be weighed morally on the basis of ‘how it makes us look,’ but he was raised to keep that idea constantly in mind: “Every time you step out of the house, you are representing your race to the world, so don’t do anything that reinforces negative stereotypes,” is one of the first lessons he remembers learning as a child.

And I do it too! Two years ago, my dad and I got pulled over while driving my (white) mom’s car downtown- one of her taillights was out or something idk- and for some reason her vehicle registration papers weren’t in the glove box that day. Naturally, dad and I were both freaking the fuck out, so I did exactly what all logic suggested was the safest thing to do:

[1] Emphasize that it was my mother’s car (hoping the clearly-skeptical cop would extrapolate her whiteness from the difference in my and my dad’s skin tones), [2] mention that my mom works at the local hospital, while my dad was out of town and would be Leaving Soon, [3] specifically refer to the fact that I’m a college student (educated and therefore Civilized according to the standards of the dominant class)

So, yeah, basically the message was “It’s okay, we are Assimilated! We have connections to Whiteness! And if you still don’t trust us, don’t worry, because we don’t intend to overstay our welcome in your community!”

And it fucking worked. We got out of there with a ticket and matching anxiety attacks, and my dad refused to drive my mom’s car again for the rest of his visit, and we were fine.

But we weren’t fine because we’d somehow- by playing the game- convinced the cop that black people weren’t as untrustworthy as he had been assuming. We did not leave him just a little less racist than he had been before. We were just (very tentatively) stamped “some of the good ones”.

That is what Gaius and (increasingly over time) Merlin spend the whole show doing. That is what Merlin tries to teach Gilli to do in “The Sorcerer’s Shadow”. And, hey, it’s a survival strategy! It isn’t unreasonable as a member of a minority group to try and keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

But what it isn’t is an action plan for systemic change. You cannot “one of the good ones” your way into a more equal world. It isn’t about getting enough cops knights to like you personally that they willingly abandon their prejudices and convince the head of government to change the laws.

“Maybe it’s your destiny to change that” my ass, Kilgharrah. It was a bullshit plan. It was always a bullshit plan, and Merlin’s initial instincts (seek out allies in similarly disadvantaged positions and then break the shit out of the law for them) were much more in line with the ‘Emrys, liberator of magic’ persona than any of the shit you and Gaius told him to do.

[the-king-and-the-druidess]

Prophecies and destiny they were talking about are the Arthurian legends and a reference for us, modern viewers; and these new characters were so desperately trying to fit in these old narrow boxes.

But in fact there has never been real stormless happiness and a golden age in the legends. There have always been enemies and those who interfered and those who suffered and wars and betrayals. Therefore, Kilgharrah correctly said that those three years of Arthur's reign(those we have never seen) actually were what Merlin so wanted to build, and there will be no other kingdom to come.

"No, young warlock, for all that you've been dreamt of building, has come to pass."

Albion has always been right here.

So they, and especially Merlin, didn't have to wait for some new epoch and dream about the future by selling the present, the reality, the true happiness for a legend, for a promise, but they had to appreciate what they have now. But they failed and thus repeated the legendary ways.

[evil-walks]

At some point in the show I’m pretty sure someone (kilgharrah?) says Merlin and Arthur are ‘two sides of the same coin’. In current times that can mean best friends or that they’re really similar but back in the medieval(? maybe) times, when this show is most likely set, when poor people got married and they couldn’t afford a ring they would break a coin in half and take one half each, thus ‘two sides of the same coin’

The writers may have thought nothing of this phrase but when you know the context and the context comes from the time the show is set, Someone (kilgharrah?) told Merlin to his face that him and Arthur were a married couple and therefore, soulmates.

Officially because of that one phrase it stops being romantic subtext :)

bbc merlin writers trying so hard fighting for their life not to say the word soulmate because if they did the romantic subtext between merlin and arthur would stop being a subtext will always be soooo funny to me. they were constantly making the characters say shit like “he is my destiny” “i was born to be at arthur’s side” “merlin needs to be with arthur forever or camelot will burn down” “if you two are ever apart from each other arthur is going to explode into a million little pieces” like okay bro

[tiodolma]

Hello. I have seen your Merlin crit posts and they seemed to be really interesting. However, I wanted to ask your opinion about something in the show (not anything political or such)

What is your opinion on the fact that in s5, the friendships Merlin had in the previous seasons with Gwen and the Knights are non - existent? Who do you think would be capable of helping Merlin during the season, apart from Gaius and Killgarah (he was mostly useless but still)?

What is your opinion on the episode "Lesson in Vengeance"?

@fanficwritinggremlin

At s5x07, merlin is running on fumes and is directionless.

See s5x05: The Disir MERLIN It won't always be like this. One day we will live in freedom again. MORDRED (looks up hopefully) You really believe that? MERLIN I do.

He has A Political Goal which is "one day we will live in freedom again" but still has no idea of the following:

(1) how to get there:

(2) what it actually looks like.

-->By s5 Merlin still has no concrete plans nor timeline and no step-by-step agenda to achieve his Political Goal™

And due to various previous circumstances, he had been cut off socially (or by rank/class), emotionally, psychologically and physically from everyone who used to genuinely care about him or want to see him at his best.

Now... how is someone else supposed to help the dude:

who have been conditioned in the past 8 to 10 years that he alone could fix thirty years of worth of genocide, the propaganda surrounding the genocide and its far-reaching side-effects?

who've had everyone he loved dead because they protected him or he have had to sacrifice them (without their knowledge) for the greater good?

who even now, never tries to negotiate properly with his opponents on equal and honest terms?

who has lied to the state repeatedly and thus destabilized it from the inside because of his withholding of important state secrets?

..........................

The only thing Merlin had left was a real show/display of his own power in public. A magic reveal.

why?

because Merlin does not have any real court power. He was never advanced socially in rank by his sovereign bosses. He has no true allies who can actually help him get near his Political Goal.

Merlin really really needs to have political power if he wanted his Political Goal to be achieved. Since his sovereign king and queen never gave that to him, at season 5, then he needed to show why he deserves some.

Therefore at s5x07 the only one who can actually and efficiently help him is himself.

.....................

Consider his narrative equal and foil, Morgana.

What they both have in s5x07

advanced use of magic

dragons

fortified kingdoms under their control

justification

What Morgana had that Merlin didn't have

name, reknown, fame, a political kind of "brand"

support of almost all armed non-magic and magic factions and entities that want to destroy camelot

legitimate claim to the throne

money, machinery and people after 1-2 years of regaining everything from scratch

What Merlin had that Morgana did not have

just some vital pieces of information.

support of a dwindling indigenous faction who will never take up arms

You see what I mean? Morgana had allies, strong allies, who helped her plan her strategies and support these plans at every aspect. This is because they knew her and they trusted what she could do. And she got to trust them too.

Morgana did her best to gain as many allies as she could through any means, because Morgana knew she could never overthrow Camelot on her own.

Merlin had none. Even in his relatively safe location inside Camelot, he never built a network of other entities who can actually support him. Gaius kept forbidding him to reach out to others. Kilgharrah advised against it many times. Merlin was made to believe that fixing everything thru only his own power and alone was the best way to do things.

That's why Morgana was perfect foil to him. She had huge political influence and power. Moreover, she was systematic and delegated a lot of revolutionary/rebellion tasks and activities to her allies. They were empowered and did well because she rewarded them too.

Merlin had a lot of advantages as her but Merlin's indoctrination and training did not allow for him branch out and step into a prime political position just like Morgana did. He took the lone wolf path too far and was surprised when over time, nobody in Camelot was truly left in total support for him.

......................

The bottomline is... Merlin reveals himself -> he gains much needed political power and court influence -> he is closer to his Political Goal.

............

addendum you might ask: what if arthur executes him??

-> that's merlin's problem for being so treasonous in the first place. if he's really destined to become the most powerful warlock kingmaker and advisor, then he can talk and live through any threat arthur would give him.

[and-damntheconsequences]

So after going on a ramble about Uther I accidentally plotted out like the first half on an AU

Which I would write if I didn't have so many other plots going.... maybe I'll write it at some point or if I bully myself into it but until then, here's the idea...

Ygraine Lives.

I don't know who Nimueh sacrifices instead, but as I said before, I think Ygraine only died in canon because Uther refused to offer a sacrifice. When none was designated, the magic Nimueh was using (no I don't think the actual cup of life demanded a sacrifice, but Nimueh as a priestess of a magical religion would likely use magic that cared a lot about balance because that's important to her and that religion) chose another sacrifice. In canon, it was Ygraine. But if Nimueh had offered someone else, I don't know who yet, she wouldn't have. They would have died, but Ygraine would not and Arthur would have been born.

As I said before, Uther already hated magic because it was a power that HE didn't have but others did. He fought for the throne, his claim might not have been so solid. He was afraid to have a power wielded against him that he couldn't use or combat, and while most sorcerors were weak, there was some who used magic so strong it threatened him. It wasn't Ygraine's death that turned him on it so strongly. He'd been planting the seeds of the purge for many years, grief just triggered it sooner. He'd already removed most of the noble magical families from their power in a set of replacements, by incriminating them or claiming they conspired against him, as was his right as King to do so.

With a son born, that fear was perhaps worse. Something else triggered it. The purge happened anyway, and it was just as terrible.

Ygraine of course, was far kinder than Uther. She was from a noble family too, and likely knew many others, many of which had magic in their blood and were now being sentenced and slaughtered — all of them. Ygraine watched them burn noble houses to the ground, imprison families for execution, send hunting dogs after their children. And she didn't like it. She fought with Uther, she was angry. She had thought, even after she'd known her husband had an affair, that perhaps he still loved her and thought he meant the best. Now he was murdering her friends. There was no love in his heart now.

Uther can't have his Queen speaking against him. The purge is a dangerous move, politically, and to avoid an uprising he has to play his cards carefully. With a Queen proving that there is no unity within his household, he stands to lose everything. So what does he do...?

He tells the kingdom she is gravely ill, barely fit to leave her chambers, much less join him on the throne. And it hurts him, genuinely it does, because he did love her, but he can't risk a kingdom for her sake. She remains in her chambers, silent on all matters of state, unable to leave. And she can't fight against Uther. Not while so many of her friends are still fleeing Camelot. Not with so much on the line. Not while her son is in the castle. To anger Uther, he makes it very clear, would be a dangerous move.

As soon as Arthur can walk and talk, he sees his mother far less. She is too ill, seeing him too often will only weaken her. Sometimes he visits with Gaius in the evenings, and he tells her the stories his father told him, about how the knights bravely slayed the evil dragons. He doesn't understand the tears in her eyes. Uther tells her she is just sick. In time, Uther tells him she has worsened. Now he barely sees her at all.

Morgana comes to them at 10 years old and almost never sees the Queen. It is a true tragedy for the kingdom, she was once so loved.

When Merlin comes to Camelot, it's to a kingdom much the same as before. Arthur is perhaps a little kinder, but his mother's influence is still barely there. They meet similarly to before, and then Gaius asks Merlin to take a potion to the Queen. He steps into her room and she is startled a little, until he tells his story, and she seems almost to recognise him. And she speaks with him a little, not daring too much, and asks him to bring him the same the next day. And so it continues, Merlin becoming Ygraine's helper, less so her servant, because she is always so gentle. Until one day she asks him to fetch her son, and he does. And she tells Arthur that Merlins family were once friends of hers, and that she wishes for Merlin to be Arthur's servant. Merlin can't say no, she's the Queen, and neither can Arthur, because while he thinks that she must be mistaken due to her sickness, she's he's mother; he wouldn't want to risk upsetting her.

So Merlin becomes Arthur's servant like before, visiting Ygraine in the evening hours like before. And slowly, despite Uther's orders for her, she begins to "recover", to join the family at meals, to speak again. To become a mother to Arthur and a friend to Morgana (and they do become friendly, Morgana realises that Ygraine was never really sick, and Ygraine realises that Morgana is magical. She doesn't fault Morgana for Uther's sins, and becomes a protector of her when she most feels she needs it).

And eventually, Arthur realises that his mother isn't ill too. That her bitterness at his father is genuine, not the fault of some mental affliction. He comes to see her more often, against his father's wishes, and Uther feels everything start to crumble around him.

If one day Uther's wine is poisoned and he dies in his sleep, then, for all his grief and despite the rumours that spread through the kingdom, Arthur vouches on his crown it could never have been the Queen who did it. She was with Morgana that night.

Arthur himself was seen with his father extensively that evening, but a crown prince of Arthurs goodness would never do such a thing to his dad. Only a tyrant would deserve such a fate.

[camelotsheart]

Someone stop me from jumping back and forth in my position regarding whether Arthur will return or not

[lovebotomy]

tbh how I feel at his confrontation with nimueh. she killed him but he's immortal and doesn't even need to cup of life to use the balance to kill her isn't he so smart and cool for killing the old mean witch who actually did as he asked her to do (save arthur) (same as uther hmmm)

but also did he doom himself then? kilgharrah is seen raging and i believe if he wasn't such op male on powertrip and accepted her help and let gaius die he would become a lot more powerful and not such a cowardly mess

his ending isn't a happy one, it might be even worse than deaths of the women he killed as he doesn't get such a release from his pain

like his actions are misogynistic but he isn't a hero he lives a pathetic life with indoctrination slowly eating his brain away he was never given a grain of the respect his female counterparts had at at least one point in their lives. literally such interesting character.

he's the most powerful person in the world but he genuinely doesn't know how to use his powers and his personality actively works against him. his fear causes him to never learn beyond what he has to and therefore the priestesses can best him with a sliver of his power due to their intricate knowledge and actual hard work they put in their craft.

he gets bested by these women over and over again until he snaps gets god-like defeats them and then.... it's all over again he never gets a happy end never gets anything he wished for his life is a lie. his lie gaius' lie kilgarrahs lie despite how powerful he is he's still barely a real person by the end, no better than morgana

and the show both shows this and doesn't show it. the material is all there. what WAS their point with all this because merlin sure as hell wasn't a hero by the end but has him being an unreliable narrator since s1 always been the plan? so many questions for the writing team

Not that Merlin being ridiculously OP and akin to a god isn’t fun bc it is but also every time they harp on it in particular in comparing him to other sorcerers (hint: it’s women they’re all women) my eyes start to roll soooo far back in my head like ohhhh he’s sooo powerful he’s just sooo much more powerful than these extremely experienced priestesses full of ancient magic and it’s not our fault guys he just IS magic ok. We didn’t decide that until we were several years in but LISTEN there’s nothing to be done about it he’s just soooo special!! Here’s several scenes of him viciously striking down our most interesting female characters. Isn’t this fun it’s so fun right

[wumiings]

Personal favorite headcanon/AU is that the dragonlord gift is generally passed down to the eldest child (I know Balinor says “father to son” but I refuse to believe it’s actually gendered).

Maybe there are some exceptions, hence the comment about how you can’t be sure until you attempt to command a dragon, but it’s generally assumed that the eldest will inherit. Therefore it’s common practice in dragonlord lineages to send the second child to the Isle of the Blessed at a young age to be trained for the high priesthood or similar.

Anyway long story short: what if Balinor and Vivienne were siblings or at least cousins?? Like:

It would add another fucked up layer to the Uther situation: he sleeps with a married woman and has a child with her, then later turns around and slaughters half her kin in the name of another woman and her child (no disrespect to Ygraine of course)

Explains/reinforces Morgana’s bond with Aithusa - obv. being captives together is what makes them inseparable, but I mean like why Aithusa healed her in the first place

Highlights the parallel between Gaius helping Balinor escape to Ealdor and him sending Morgause to the Isle as a small child

AU where Merlin finds out at some point during or shortly after 2x13 and goes tf off at Kilgharrah because “I have living kin goddamn it!! and I’m throwing them under the bus for what?? destiny???”

I just think Merlin, Morgana, and Morgause as allies representing like,, a spectrum of feral-ness would be so much fun. Put that man on cousin-wrangling duty because they Are going to take over the kingdom but “no we don’t need to set the towns on fire to prove a point Morgause put that torch down—”