#merlin bbc meta

[thenerdyindividual]

So it’s the ten year anniversary of the finale. I’m going to say something that even people who unironically enjoy the show might disagree with.

The finale was amazing and the correct ending for the show.

Don’t get me wrong, it absolutely ripped my heart out. I’ve watched the show like… 7 times? But I’ve only ever watched the finale twice because I was too much of a chicken the first few times I watched, and both times I’ve watched it I have straight up sobbed. Fully ugly cry, had to blow my nose because of all the snot.

But even though it leaves me heartbroken every time, it was a perfect ending for the show. Arthur’s death was foreshadowed all the way back in season one, Kilgharrah warns Merlin that Arthur’s destiny is to bring magic back but also that Mordred is destined to kill Arthur. And the finale plays that out. The implication is that Gwen, who has figured out Merlin is a sorcerer, is the one to complete the mission. However, because Merlin loved Arthur so dearly he used his magic for so much goodness and protection, and that is why Gwen is able to break through her own reservations with magic. So it was Arthur’s destiny to bring magic back because without him, Merlin would have no reason to protect Camelot, and Gwen would have no reason to change the laws.

Merlin as a show is a tragedy (literary sense) and a masterful depiction of how destinies don’t cancel each other out. Destiny is just another word for tragedy. Knowledge of destiny doesn’t allow you to outrun it, and trying to outrun it is often the very thing that causes the noose to tighten. The finale is the perfect culmination of Merlin trying to outrun Arthur’s death at the hands of Mordred. In doing so, Merlin opened the door for magic to still be outlawed and that motivated Kara’s assassination attempt, which led to Mordred’s betrayal, and caused Arthur’s death.

It wraps up the overarching struggle of the narrative so well, and amidst all the tragedy we get a full episode of just Merlin and Arthur. We get to see the culmination of the relationship they have built over ten years together, we get to see Arthur finally let down the last of the emotional barriers he has struggled with and confirm what we all knew, that he cares just as deeply for Merlin as Merlin does him and appreciates Merlin for who he is. Which also perfectly circles back to the desire expressed by Merlin in the early seasons, wanting Arthur to truly know him.

I even like the haunting final image of Merlin wandering past Avalon in 2012. I know people wish there had been some indication of hope for Arthur’s return, but I think that would’ve cheapened the tragedy. Part of the point of a tragedy is to look back on all the things that went wrong to get the characters to this point, knowing that if you could only go back and warn them, but you can’t. They were doomed to this from the beginning. By letting the heartbreak linger in that final shot, Merlin is left in the same position of the audience, looking back at everything that happened and being able to see what went wrong while also knowing that even if he couldn’t change anything, he would go back and do it again because never meeting Arthur or his other friends would be unthinkable.

(If you didn’t like the finale, that’s fine, but please don’t argue with me. We wont agree, and we’ll just have to agree on that.)

[effervescentdragon]

what about Gwen and Morgana

Perfection. They shouldve been girlfriends. They shouldve taken over camelot and kept arthur and merlin and every knight on a leash. They shouldve been allowed to be friends, or in the least, they shouldve been allowed the proper space in the show to show the impact of what a formative toxic homoerotic girl friendship and the dissolution of it does to a girl. I choose to believe half of the reason why morgana did shit she did was because of the ending of her friendship w gwen. Add in the class differences, the differences in sensibility, morganas magic and the betrayals she suffered, and gwen's kindness and suffering... god. We couldve had it all. Ultimate couple. Ever.

[longlivechips]

My favorite Merlin head cannon is that Arthur knew Merlin had a secret that they didn't talk about because it would get him in trouble with the law

but he always just assumed the secret was Merlin that preferred men.

feat: this scene

[regulusrules]

I was minding my own goddamn business only to suddenly remember this scene exists

I don't know how to explain it, but it's addressing something so visceral in me.

Like. Did anyone ever expand on how Arthur literally didn't even blink before getting up to save Merlin from the onslaught he would have faced for his outrage? He just got up immediately and took Merlin away, held and handled his anger, and even gave him the respite (visiting Gaius) that he needed.

Wtf. Like boy no you're not supposed to be this fucking in sync with your manservant's reactions. But it's as if he predicted it even, because he saw in Merlin the exact same reaction he wanted to do, but had the tact not to because he grew up with boundaries. So he goes on to save his boy instead.

Sick of how much these two loved each other

(recs)

[thefabledpheasant]

During this sequence that’s supposed to feel victorious and like, “yeah things aren’t perfect, but the good guys won today!” Merlin watches Guinevere and Arthur hug intimately and you know what? He looks sad.

He looks like he wishes he could touch Arthur so freely and affectionately. He looks like he’s desperate to be seen for everything he is and everything he’s done for him. He looks like he’s accepting he’ll never be with Arthur like that and it’s breaking his heart.

That man is deeply in love and he can’t do anything about it. He is happy for them because he just wants them to be happy, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel like a dagger in his heart.

It reminds me of that quote from Sherlock, “you look sad when you think he can’t see you”

[fanfic-thesis]

Day 2 Fanfic Bachelor's Thesis

Got sidtracked by the sidequest "I already started my master's degree". Cannot recommend.

But got the first participants for my research \o/ (Still need a few more. Feel free to look at my pinned post, if you write fanfics about BBCs Merlin.)

Also lost some sleep because somehow the middle of the night seemed like the best time to start the necessary data analysis for my BA. No better time to get some numbers from AO3 than midnight :)

[queerofthedagger]

the point is that arthur starts out as very potentially similar to uther even though there is already kindness in his heart, and then develops to grow further and further away from him, while morgana starts out as very potentially different from uther even though there is already ruthlessness in her heart, and then develops to grow more and more like him. in this essay i will --

[dandelionjack]

big fan of this shot. merlin lying face down at the centre of a spiral — the spiral of all his responsibilities swirling around him. magic tomes on one side, chores on the other, arthur somewhere in the distance. he’s doing it all. trapped in the labyrinth of fate because the prophecy decreed it. and someday he’ll be Great but it feels so far away

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

Merlin and Arthur must’ve sounded insane to anyone who didn’t know them.

Can you imagine a newly hired servant overhearing the king say “I haven’t seen you smile these past three days” and thinking he’s having a moment with his wife only to turn the corner and see his man servant.

Like. The king actually taking notice and genuinely, sincerely caring about a servant.

Servants were literally unseen and unheard, supposed to only be there when needed or called upon. They weren’t ever noticed, let alone noticed in such a considerate way by someone at the highest end of the status hierarchy.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, I just think it’s amazing that Arthur cares so much about Merlin and that Merlin trusts Arthur enough to not be completely subservient (which easily could’ve landed him in an early grave for acting out) and that they let each other exist without any of the duties or responsibilities their respective roles put onto them.

[quotidian-oblivion]

May I just say... Colin Morgan's background stage business is impeccable. There are so many actors who just stand there watching or aimlessly shuffle around, but I've noticed that when Colin Morgan is in-character, he is in-character.

I haven't watched him in anything other than Merlin, but when he's not the focus of the camera, he's still doing things just as Merlin does. Like, trying not to laugh during the feast when Elena was visiting and displaying poor table manners, actually looking deep in-thought and mouthing the name 'Alice' when Gaius was talking to him about her, glaring at Gwen from the bedpost when she was enchanted and was monologuing about who could have possibly poisoned Arthur, polishing or doing a chore or keeping his head down when Uther's talking to Arthur but still watching them with a keen eye-

and so many more instances! His background stage business is just amazing.

[thenerdyindividual]

I rewatched s5e11 last night and have come to a conclusion that fixes a plot hole people poke at.

Arthur knew Mordred was a druid.

When Mordred reintroduces himself in s5e1, Arthur remembers him by name. Therefore must remember that Mordred was a druid, at least at one time. As to why Arthur never brought it up, its probably due to the fact that its unclear whether Mordred is still a Druid. They didn’t meet him again when he was with a group of them, and most druids seem to stick closely together.

All this is further confirmed by Mordred’s confession in s5e11 when he admits to helping Kara in the woods when she was injured and admits to growing up with her. As Kara is a druid that implies that Mordred was also a druid and at least still has sympathy for them even if he is not actively a druid anymore. Arthur doesn’t react to this admission with surprise, anger, shock, or betrayal. He simply helps Mordred off the floor and explains that Kara is dead set in her ways.

The information does not change his opinion of Mordred in any way, and if Mordred being a druid was news to Arthur he would have had a much stronger reaction. We’ve seen multiple times how he reacts when he thinks someone has lied to or betrayed him. Everything from anger to heartbreak.

So when he says “the druids are a peaceful people” and “I have no quarrel with the druids” he really means it. He doesn’t know that druids are innately sorcerers too. He never saw Mordred use magic as a child or as an adult until he escapes the dungeons. Kara never uses magic against him, though it would’ve benefited her. None of the druids he meets in early seasons use magic against him, even though in those numbers he would have stood no chance against their magic. For Arthur druids are people who worship the Old Religion without necessarily participating in sorcery.

Arthur is at peace with the druids and knew Mordred had ties to them.

[theroundbartable]

Something I really love about Merthur is that Arthur, no matter which season or episode, he's the most comfortable around Merlin. And yet, he always seems a little - tense.

Like, he will confide in Merlin and even though Merlin is the only person he trusts, his reactions around him are always the most extreme, the most emotional.

His father says Gaius has to die? Arthur is repressing his emotions, there is nothing he can do (until Gwen talks to him.).

Several episodes later, Arthur condemns Gaius as a traitor himself. But telling Merlin? Impossible. Merlin's reaction, worse than Arthur anticipated. Arthur gets loud, forbids Merlin to speak.

And it's always like that. Arthur is so resigned with Uther, but with Merlin, he's like - everything he does stands and falls with Merlin's opinion. He gets upset or sad or angry or overjoyed.

Agravaine tells him to kill a guy? Arthur first keeps a mask up. But after everything, Arthur is the most tense around Merlin. The most lost, the most wounded.

Even when they laugh and joke, there seem to be these moments when Arthur just halts and looks at Merlin a second too long, smile glued to his face until reality sets back in and he claps Merlin on the shoulder and leaves. It always feels like there is something between them, something that's always keeping them apart. And they can both feel it. The only difference is that Merlin knows what it is.

Not like a coin, like too magnets whose south poles are directed towards each other.

And it's only in that final episode when that tension finally breaks and Merlin's pole turns upside down. And suddenly, even though it's sort of tense between them, the distance is no longer that untangible weird something that almost feels massive to bridge. It's gone. The distance is a choice, one solidified by Arthur's wish not to see Merlin right away. But now they are slowly glueing together, closer than ever, snapped into place and it's so raw and so new and that weird tension is just gone.

And I just... i just love that.

[itbelikethatsmetimes]

I'll never forgive BBC Merlin for the dragon going "For everything you've worked towards has come to pass" in the last episode. Because it hasn't! Magic is still illegal! The kingdoms are far from united! The glorious age of Albion or whatever was like, a blip in time at most!

I would have vastly preferred it if they'd just leaned into the tragedy of it all. When Merlin asks: "I failed?", I wish the answer was "Yes", because he chose Arthur over magic time and time again, because he was so desperate to keep him alive he brought about his death, because love lead them to ruin!! Give me that sweet sweet tragedy!!

[longlivechips]

Obsessed with Merlin's reputation in Camelot.

This guy just shows up one day and gets handed one of the most sought after jobs in the castle and then proceeds to be absolutely terrible at it for 10 years.

He goes missing for hours and days at a time, he even has a whole ass nother job.

Arthur takes this guy EVERYWHERE and he doesn't even fight anyone. Doesn't even have a helmet on poor sap.

They are marching off to war and the only two people riding horseback besides Arthur are Merlin and Leon!!

We say it a lot but. Merlin gets mistress treatment AF.

[regulusrules]

Welcome to my usual metas where we hyperfixate over Arthur Pendragon’s love for Merlin. Today’s episode features this scene right here:

To remind you of the context, it was s03e12 when Camelot was besieged and Arthur just ordered Gaius, Gwaine, and Elyan to go find shelter in the woods. A second later, he looks at Merlin, diverts his eyes, and tells him, “Merlin, you should go with them.”

Which btw translates, in Arthur Pendragon's dictionary, to: Merlin, I want you safe, I want you away from harm’s way, but Merlin, Oh Merlin, don’t leave me. I really don’t want you to leave me. I sustain my strength from you. You’re the bravest man I have ever met. I keep going because I know you’re there. Don’t go and leave me. I am urging you to go, but please don’t believe me.

I really just can’t. Because you guys, Arthur isn’t scared to go fight an entire army of the dead. He’s not scared that he is limping and injured and definitely won’t make it. He’s just scared to do it without Merlin.

And when Merlin looks at him and says, “Nah, I’ve seen the woods already”, Arthur knows Merlin had heard it all, and chose the kindest response possible that doesn’t spot on his worry and fear.

Those fucking two.

[thefabledpheasant]

These are the tiny moments I love. It’s the way Arthur’s eyes don’t leave Merlin after he looks away. Not only do they not leave him, but you can literally see his eyes flick around Merlin’s face.

It’s a moment just for Arthur. To observe and appreciate his friend up close. He even does a little gulp as he’s taking in his side profile, his cheekbones, his chin. His Merlin.

Arthur loves Merlin. He was destined to.