#ifyouwereawriterofmerlin

[merlinmagicmania]

I love Morgana, and often I like reading stories where she doesn’t turn evil, but I think if I was writing for the show I would have written her as a more ambiguous villain with a proper character transformation rather than a quick 180 away from her s1 self. I would include scenes after the poisoning where Morgause nurses her back to health and trains her to establish more of a connection between the two characters, interspersed with snippets of debates or conversations between the two as Morgause slowly turns Morgana away from her friends (and maybe a few dramatic flash-backs to the poisoning incident and times where Arthur refused to stand up for magic users). I would show her isolated and in doubt, but recovering under the support and tutelage of Morgause in a way that properly explains why she’d choose the sister she met late in life over camelot, especially because she was once an advocate for the people. Then when she returns, I’d have a few scenes showing her doubt over betraying Arthur and Gwen, and maybe even a few conversations where she tries to feel out their opinion on magic and they react in a way that would discourage Morgana from trusting them (likely Arthur repeating his father’s words and Gwen displaying fear and concern regarding the topic). I’d also throw in some wistful looks at Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin to show that she misses when times were simpler. Then, after the first plot she’s part of that results in civilian casualties, I’d show her in doubt again, maybe even observing the person’s funeral from afar. From there, it would be a slow but steady build-up, as she starts sacrificing more and more to see Uther dead, the same way Merlin sacrifices more and more of himself to keep Arthur alive. In this way, they’d become true mirrors of each other, both equally losing touch with themselves in service of the “greater good”. I think I’d also want her to find out about Merlin’s magic sooner, but instead of taking his magic away, they become true opponents, battling each other in the shadows, with no secrets and no words barred.

It would all come to a head when they’re fighting and someone else gets hurt due to their actions, maybe Arthur, maybe Gwen, maybe Mordred or a child with magic. It becomes a moment where they take in the destruction around them and what they’ve become, the way they got lost in their power and took things too far. This would even be a good time for a magic reveal.

The idea gets a little murkier further out because I think it would spiral into a full re-write of the later seasons, but I think the end goal is to get to a point where Merlin and Morgana both learn to grow out of their toxic patterns. I think ideally Arthur and Gwen would be clued in to how terrible things have gotten and the way the law has driven Merlin and Morgana to both do horrible things in the shadows. Arthur would also have to confront Uther’s legacy while he’s still alive and would need to make a hard decision. I could see them devising a plan to send Uther into a sleep and wake him somewhere in secret, where maybe his memory has been tampered with to keep him peaceful. Arthur would of course finally confront the real truth behind the magic ban.

As for Gwen and Morgana, I think there was a lot of potential there. Thematically I think it would have been interesting to explore how their friendship deteriorated and the lack of communication and trust that caused said deterioration. While ultimately I would love to see Morgana on good terms with everyone again, I think it would take a lot of work to get there.

I do think eventually they could all get to a point where Morgana acts as a balance against Merlin when he starts to prioritize Arthur too highly over the magical community; Likewise, Merlin would serve as the balance against Morgana acting too rashly and damaging the future of the prophecy.

I kind of love the idea of keeping the core 4 together after all the strife, of a future where they work together and bring about the age of prophecy, but where everything still goes wrong, Camlan still happens, and Arthur still dies. Especially if indirectly Morgana and Mordred still have a role to play in his demise. It would keep the original tragedy of the show and really drive home the idea that the prophecy was always an inevitability. I think it would also work to show how maybe the end isn’t the part that really matters; if the story was always going to end in tragedy, then isn’t it better to have had a happy middle? To have tried and loved and learned?

Okay if you guys were writers of Merlin what storyline you would have written other than what the fandom wishes it would have happened in the show?