#i think i remember having decided on a name for her which i uh

[quondam-et-futurus]

bbc merlin writers hate parents (transcript below the cut)

[Video Description: four characters, all played by the same person in different outfits, are having a conversation.

Writer 1: Okay so here are our four protagonists. They’re young, they’re hot, we’re putting a twist on the tradition, telling a different version of the story, cornering the youth market. Which means we gotta figure out what’s up with their parents. First up, Arthur, ideas. Hit me.

Writer 2: Well obviously we gotta have Uther there--

Writer 3: Obviously.

Writer 4: Obviously

Writer 2: But what about his mom? 'Cause in the legends she was married to another man…

Writer 3: *sucks in through teeth*

Writer 4: Mm. Can’t have that.

Writer 1: no, no, this is a family show!

Writer 2: Soooo… dead?

Writers 3 and 4: (crosstalk) Dead, yeah, dead.

Writer 1: Right. So. What about Merlin?

Writer 3: Well. If Arthur’s mom is dead he should definitely have a mom, right?

Writer 4: Yeah, makes sense

Writer 2: Yeah, like a mom we like, but we basically never see 'cause she’s in a different town.

Writer 4: Yeah, exactly!

Writer 3: Buuut I’m thinking for his dad that maybe he’s just sort of gone? Like not dead, but....

Writer 2 (offscreen): Basically dead.

Writer 3: Basically dead, yeah, exactly. Then if we need to kill him off later we can just have him show up.

Writer 1: Love it. Who’s next?

Writer 2: Morgana.

Writer 1: Right... right. And she’s gonna be Uther’s ward... So obviously both of her parents gotta be dead.

Writer 3: Oh yeah, super dead.

Writer 2: In the ground for years.

Writer 1: Great, I love it.

Writer 4: Uh By the way, have decided if she’s gonna be Arthur’s sister? Or if there's gonna be kind of a flirty vibe between them. Because I don't remember where we landed on that.

Writer 2: Eh, don’t worry about it, we’ll figure it out if we get a season two.

Writer 1: okay, nice, so that just leaves us with Gwen, right?

Writer 4: Yeah, and I mean, I don’t see any reason why she can’t have just two totally normal, perfectly alive parents, both present and named and everything.

Writer 1: Huh.

Writer 4: Just... You know, all our protagonists are kind of… lacking relevant parents, and we want to feel very, like, realistic to how it feels to be a young person in the world, like really connect to our audience on that level. And we’ve got some great variety, like, being out on your own for the first time, or living up to family expectations... But I just think it would be really nice to just show another side of that that's just a family with two nice, supportive parents caring about their daughter and being there for her as she starts a career.

Writer 3: ...

Writer 1: ...

Writer 2: ... Dead mom.

Writer 3: Dead mom!

Writer 2: (pointing at each of the other writers in turn) Dead mom? Dead mom? Dead mommm?

Writer 4: (crosstalk) You know, now that I’m hearing you say it, it actually sounds so much better.

Writer 2: And we kill off her dad at the end of season one.

Writer 1: Yes, yes.

Writer 4: Yeah, no one wants parents in the story it ruins all the adventure!

Writer 3: Uther should definitely live for, like, way too long though, right?

Writer 1: oh yeah, are you kidding me, with Anthony head on board? He’s in it for the long haul no doubt.

[cepheusgalaxy]

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