#edwin muirden RIP

[tiodolma]

all those interviews where Colin Morgan said poisoning bbc morgana was bbc merlin's lowest point because merlin had to kill a friend sometimes makes me think that morgana was the first and only friend that merlin killed for camelot.

no.

The first one was Edwin Muirden. He was Merlin's friend too. But Merlin killed him to save Gaius (and Camelot). Merlin did it without remorse.

Edwin's death in 1x06 of paved his way to killing Morgana.

[tiodolma]

Sometimes i end up thinking “why does treason have to be punished with death in camelot?”

And then i jolt myself into realizing “oh they didnt have a prison system.”

Wait so merlin was basically executing everyone for treason??!!!!

He was. Wasn’t he? Bruh.

At least those brought before uther (and arthur) could have a plead for life. At least those brought before uther (and arthur) had a sliver of time left for a chance to be saved. Even Morgana thought twice (usually) before killing those who cross her (she uses death threats tho)

But if someone crosses Merlin, hah. Oh Boy. You got a big storm coming. Goodbye World.

Like i understand that for some of these murders, merlin had been acting in self-defense for the prince as his unofficial bodyguard... but many of them just died coz he willed them to.

Merlin “we cant let the royals know magic had been used to kill them and save them, so its better if the perpetrators just died immediately on the spot” Emrys

No trial. Judge. Executioner. Vigilante. That’s what Merlin was.

[tiodolma]

Merlin killing a fellow magic user in defense of Gaius (and the monarchy) and Merlin using his first healing magic incantation on Uther Pendragon in s1 ep6 really set the tone on how he was gonna handle his destiny tbh.

[tiodolma]

i dont really make a distinction for merlin and emrys because merlin from s1 ep6 already killed a a fellow magic user in cold blood with no remorse and no regrets. Merlin was already on that bloody path so early on.

[tiodolma]

Didn't BBC merlin kill his first magic rebel with an axe too? He hit Edwin Muirden straight on top of the head with one.

...he's Raskolnikov without the guilt.

[tiodolma]

i love that merlin just went on hating morgana for undoing everything he worked for and hurting everyone he loves. i told ya'll hate comes from a place of love.

and morgana just hated him coz he betrayed her and he was that one barrier which kept her from killing uther/arthur. and morgana was just plain terrified of emrys for years.

even when in the past they both supported arthur and each other.

it's honestly so fun and spicy.

[weepingpeachdragon]

Honestly, I see it as the turning point where it all went wrong. Many think the turning point has to do with Morgana or Arthur, but it is this moment the future of the series is set.

Edwin was the first sorcerer who wasn’t a straight up villain. He did purposely make Morgana sick and cured her, but he didn’t kill anyone in his quest for revenge, not even Gaius who he justifiably also had a grudge against. He merely got him fired and out of the way.

In the end, his motives were simple. All he wanted was to kill the man, the monster, who sentenced his parents and so many more to a slow painful death. To stop him for hurting anyone else. For there to never be another child who runs into the fire to save his parents.

And it was all set up beautifully. The way Merlin and him connected, him telling Merlin that a gift like his should be used and nurtured. Merlin saying Gaius doesn’t like him using it. The backstory. The reveal of Gaius dubious past. Underlined by the way Gaius was immediately ready to turn him in when he realized his parents had been sorcerers. It slowly unfolds and you start to question previous events, all the times Gaius stopped Merlin. Even the way he, the court physician, left a sick person to die on the road during the afnac. I mean, is this really the right person to guide Merlin’s morals?

For the first time, the sorcerer of the week doesn’t seem like the villain anymore. It is no longer as simple as “kill the villain and get rid of the threat”. You even start to wonder if he should, or if the right thing to do is to let him do it. For the tyrant to die. Then the conflict of his duty to his kin and his duty to Arthur begins. Can he live with letting his friend’s father die? Can he live with saving a tyrant who will continue to kill his kind?

Then… the writers backed out of it. And what happened next not only set the tone but the future of the series in stone. Because, suddenly Edwin goes Muahaha evil and becomes a power hungry sorcerer who wants the throne, as if his parents were just an excuse (this happens to Morgana later as well). And Gaius is no longer dubious as Edwin’s parents were apparently DARK magic users, so he was not at all at fault for watching his friends burn. And, also, now Edwin knows Merlin is Emrys, though it hasn’t changed his non existent ruler plan in the least. As if that wasn’t enough to force Merlin’s hands, Edwin suddenly goes lethal attack without even trying to reason or even mention his motivations. Nope, no talking, just a villainous line, then ax. You would expect the Edwin from before to, at most, apologetically knock Merlin out if he got in his way. But the narrative needs a justification for his death and Merlin can’t exactly kill him with a stun spell, so ax flung back into the face it is. Talk about gory.

To tie all this mess up, Gaius makes Merlin risk his life and perform magic on the king himself to save him. He doesn’t even give him a chance to object and just says “We don’t have a choice” right to his face when Merlin hesitates and brings up the risks. There is no time for Merlin to even think about if it’s the right thing to do or to process Edwin’s gory gory death. Just “You have to” because I say so.

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Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Gaius character needs to go, but that this was the perfect opportunity to explore it. Both for us and for Merlin. Especially Merlin. He needed to see Gaius’s mistakes and past and be able to take that into account when receiving advice from him. It would stop him from blindly following his words and maybe have some more fate in his own morals and decisions. It would have made him able to reach out to Morgana and help her, I also think the magic reveal would have happened way sooner. Even if he did end up healing Uther this time for Arthur.

Merlin killing a fellow magic user in defense of Gaius (and the monarchy) and Merlin using his first healing magic incantation on Uther Pendragon in s1 ep6 really set the tone on how he was gonna handle his destiny tbh.

[the-king-and-the-druidess]

Alas, not so terrified to step back when she saw him with the sword pointed at her.

i love that merlin just went on hating morgana for undoing everything he worked for and hurting everyone he loves. i told ya'll hate comes from a place of love.

and morgana just hated him coz he betrayed her and he was that one barrier which kept her from killing uther/arthur. and morgana was just plain terrified of emrys for years.

even when in the past they both supported arthur and each other.

it's honestly so fun and spicy.