#merlin hot take

[celery-the-stick]

Okay I have an extremely hot take on Uther. A boiling hot take if you will. The depths of hell hot take.

I don't think Uther was as bad a guy as we all generalize him to be.

YES THE MAN'S AN ASSHOLE I am not disagreeing with that. He's committed genocide and cheated on his wife, neither of which are excusable.

HOWEVER (welcome to my Ted Talk), it's really important to think about his character from its roots.

Uther grew up with magic. Until Arthur's birth, magic was a normal part of life in Camelot and surrounding kingdoms. When he realized Ygraine couldn't bear a child, he asked Nimueh if magic could help and she said yes. It's kind of unclear if Uther knew it would take another life to give him a son but it's really clear that he didn't know it would be Ygraine. (Excalibur has an interaction between Nimueh and Uther that shows this; Uther says "you knew it would kill her" and later, "Nimueh told me there would be a price to pay".)

Based off of this, it's safe to say that if Uther didn't know about the life for a life rule – after experiencing it firsthand – he could be reluctant to save someone on the verge of death, especially with magic involved

THIS IS WHY in episode 4, the poisoned chalice, I believe Uther crushes the flower and throws it on the floor. His son, his only son might I add, risked his life for a servant. He must have sensed something magical, even before Gaius tells him Nimueh was there. He didn't want Arthur to give Merlin the flower because he was scared it would work the same as the trade.

My next point is that I don't think Uther would be homophobic. (I promise it's connected lol).

Many people think Uther had traditional values, but his values about magic changed in an instant when Arthur was born.

In the 6th century, (the time when the Arthurian legend is kind of told to take place), the Bible was just coming out. Because it wasn't super out there yet, not even translated into most languages, there's no misinterpretation of the "boy shall not lie with man" line. This means a modern version of homophobia isn't possible.

Because Arthur was royalty, I think Uther would probably care about extending the bloodline, as one at this time would do with their only son. I think Uther would actually be okay with Arthur fooling around with whoever he wanted as long as he had a wife or someone to continue the bloodline with (sounds really really strange I know, stay with me here lol)

The only thing Uther would have a traditional value on in this sense is the servant-royalty dynamic, as seen with Arthur and Gwen.

ON TOP OF THAT I think Uther actually really likes Merlin!!!!!!!!!!!!

He would 100% have the authority to say "I hired this boy and now I'm firing him" no matter what anyone says, (hell, he even tried to fire Gaius). But he DOESNT!!! It's shown in Excalibur that he actually really appreciates Merlin being around for Arthur and recognizes how devoted he is to him.

All in all, it's really really important to cross reference with the time period, references, and behavior to see where a character is coming from. Uther doesn't just do these things because "OOPS, accidentally killed my wife!! I'm blaming it on you!!", he does it out of fear and love for his child(ren).

Being a parent is hard. You only have one chance to turn this baby into a functioning adult and Uther didn't really do a good job, but he tried. Even if "trying" means committing genocide because he doesn't want his son to go through the same pain he did.

I could go into how Morgana was exactly the same as Uther but on the other side of the scale, but I'll leave that for another essay.

If you read this far please feel free to critique!!! I've been building this thought in my head for months and new stuff just keeps coming to me lol

[mythmerth]

the way it actually gets on my nerves when people don’t take into account the canon love embedded between Arthur and merlin or have takes about the show that completely disregard it. like how the fuck do you even interpret the show then??? does it just not make sense to you??? none of the main plot points?? did we not watch the same things??? what do you even think the whole main prophecy meant?? no matter if you interpret it as romantic, sexual, platonic, what have you, imho you cannot deny the pure yet twisted and very intense love between them. they are BONDED that’s the premise of the whole SHOW are you CRAZY (I say, being actually crazy bc of them)

[dollopheadedmerlin]

Another hot take: Lancelot is the best person for Merlin. Much as I love Merthur and Merwaine, Lancelot is perfect for him

I was about to disagree . . . but no, you're right.

I like some other ships more, but that's probably because Merlin/Lancelot would be too easy! Because he's such a good fit!! The only other contender might be Gwen? But that's also probably why Gwen and Lancelot didn't end up together in canon - too easy! (Also the legends but they could have done whatever they wanted).

Lancelot is the perfect amount of loyal, understanding, and chaotic for Merlin. He is more reeled in than Gwaine, but still down for some crimes or missions. He lets Merlin keep his secret and never pushes him to reveal himself but also constantly reminds him that he thinks Merlin deserves recognition.

Man, they'd be so healthy.

Well, it is Lancelot. He might just throw Merlin at someone else the moment he thinks Merlin might have a crush on more than one person because he is so Woe is Me, I must give up the ones I love most so that everyone else is as happy as possible. Because Lancelot is only ever satisfied if he is the saddest of the bunch lol

[achillesuwu]

I always thought that a good conflict idea with a character and Merlin could arise if said character doesn't have magic 👀 like Merlin is magic so, obviously the people he loves deeply must be able to use it right ? And the people who use it must love him deeply in return right ? Or even if it isn’t love, these people have his favor, you know.

Like I think that kind of argument could be awesome to add in a Post magic reveal AU where some knights decide to try to learn magic. Arthur is bad bad BAD at it. However, twisting the knife on the wound, Lancelot is damn good at it. Like no high priest(ess) level but ‘I don’t need to spend years studying like you (Arthur) to light up one candle, in one or two month I can learn some useful move’, which isn’t a lot but it’s what most low level magic user can do.

Or if Merthur (or any ship tbh !) get some kid and the kid doesn’t have magic you know while their sibling do 👀

[feral-and-chaotic]

Merlin rewatch:

So I know the general take people have is that the reason Merlin isn't affected by Lamia is something something gay.

However this does contradict the Freya episode.

So my hot take is: Lamia only affects men (as stated in the episode) therefore. Merlin is not a man. But infact a nonbinary icon. In this essay I will-

[shyjusticewarrior]

My Merlin polycule

Arthur's partners: Merlin, Gwen

Merlin's partners: Arthur, Lancelot, Gwaine

Gwen's partners: Arthur, Lancelot

Lancelot's partners: Merlin, Gwen

[merlins-strawberriesandroses]

No one asked but my hot take(?) is that arthur and guinevere’s courting period was mergwen by proxy

[just-honey-dewd]

Tiny Toons Looniversity is a goldmine for me, Buster’s so googoo! Here’s an art dump!

So I hc him to be a casual glasses wearer cuz it’d be ironic for a rabbit toon (known for their massive intake on carrots) to have mid eyesight. He experiences eyestrain frequently cuz he does most of his notetaking on his laptop, and it took him till the gossip/Merlin episode for him to be revealed to wear glasses. Now he wears them casually.

Evil Buster retaining Buster’s illusion abilities woulda been chaos btw, I wish continuity was more a thing. He coulda gone “got your nose” at Plucky and then the beak is stolen, and they brawl. Evil Buster left too soon…

Anyways, I got more ideas to illustrate, so expect more before the end of the month maybe!!

[fanficwritinggremlin]

MERCELOT/MERLANCE LINE ANALYSIS

"Your destinies were Entwined/Intertwined (not much difference)" -> Canon statement from Gaius

Meaning: When two people get entwined, they see every aspect of each other. Which makes sense because Lancelot and Merlin knew EVERYTHING about each other. They saw each other's true selves and loved each other regardless.

"Bregdan Anweald"

Meaning : "Bregdan Anweald" is equivalent to "to make more powerful" or "to draw power". Lancelot's is Merlin's POWER! He is the one that encourages Merlin to be more confident and himself. He is the one who found out about Merlin and accepted him without question (even if he could have gained Uther's trust by outing him). He is Merlin's pillar/support/source for solace. And these are things that give Merlin strength/power.

"Your secret is safe with me" -> Canon statement from Lancelot

Meaning: Lancelot wanted to be a knight of Camelot. That was his ambition. Once he found out about Merlin's magic, he could have told Uther and be a full knight, since Uther would appreciate a knight against magic. But he CHOOSES NOT TO! He chooses Merlin OVER pleasing the king! Let's also not forget that this is Season 1. Merlin and Lancelot knew each other for about a week, yet Lancelot chooses to keep Merlin's magic a secret. This is the start of a true friendship.

"Lancelot needed you and you needed Lancelot" -> Canon statement from Gaius

Meaning: They needed each other. Lancelot became a Knight/fulfilled his dream thanks to Merlin and Merlin could be himself with Lancelot. Also, had Lancelot lived in season 5, Merlin wouldn't have been so paranoid and magic would have been legalized earlier. And more trouble would have been solved.

Tag List: @aaand-read-all-over @nie-narzekam @comma-souptra @cursedmerlinedits @lancelotdeservedbetter @little-ligi @lit-in-thy-heart @lanccelot @legowolas @sapphickittykatherine @fratricideknight @gwen-cheers-me-up @observaureium @owlswithfins @rainbowvamp @toocool2btrue @twosidesofthesameidiot @that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction @taxicabinmemphis @kairennart @in-love-with-morgana-pendragon @eruthiawenluin @eowynlyra @wlwlancelot @queer-ragnelle @bbcdumbsterfire

[in-the-tavern]

tbh bradley getting his teeth straightened sometime before season 5 is the biggest downgrade in television history

[dollopheadedmerlin]

MERLIN HOT TAKE: Merlin is NOT magic itself. Not more than anyone or anything else is. Magic is a part of everything in the world and Merlin just has a stronger connection to it

Mmmmmm

I dislike this, BUT I can see how the show definitely underutilized Merlin's role as "magic itself" making it not seem as literal. The show was pretty inconsistent with what Merlin could and couldn't do and, whilst I have my own headcanons to explain why his abilities fluctuate like that, it definitely muddies the whole "most powerful sorcerer" role that he plays.

I like Merlin being magic itself, or at least for magic itself to be possessed by Merlin, if that makes sense. I feel like he really has that Chosen One's burden and just having him be more connected to magic than everyone else kinda makes that not make as much sense.

I like to think that stopping time and seeing Avalon are some of the abilities that Merlin is only able to do because he is magic itself. He is privy to these things. And I like to think that him being taught as though he were just any other sorcerer, actually hindered him in some ways. There was no spell for stopping time. He always just Did It. But once Gaius started his teachings and he got good at spells . . . He stopped stopping time. I feel like that kind of magic required a deeper connection than just understanding an incantation. Filing his magic into neat little spells constrained it in some way. Or at least that's what I like to think to explain why he isn't seemingly as powerful as they claim him to be.

[kateis-cakeis]

rewatching bbc merlin really has me like buzzing in my mind with so many thoughts. Like I'm kinda watching it backwards atm going from S5 to S4, I think I will jump around 3, 2, and 1 but just,,,, there is so much especially in S5 that makes me !!!!!!!

Honestly, I feel like this fandom has to give the writers more credit. Like they did a damn good job, and to me, it's such a good tragedy. Especially how S5 plays out, it takes everything and just tears you down, and down, and down. It's perfect, perfect with flaws! But still perfect

[godmerlin]

Why do so many people call Merlin a kids show? I always saw it as a family show. Which is different. A kids show to me is like, The Wiggles. Drives me nuts.

[epsilonwolf1983]

Hot take:

Merlin's love language is committing crimes together

Proof:

The scene in 1×02 where merlin's just sitting on the steps with gwen and out of the blue is like “help me steal this dog statue”

Merlin three seconds after meeting Lancelot: You seem nice, let's commit identity fraud

[gaygnomegirl]

re that poll about fics and cheating the only thing I don't like is when the author feels the need to make the cheating sympathetic by making the persons partner borderline if not outright abusive. not that that can't be an interesting story but most often it feels like the cheated on partner is a villian with no depth so we the audience don't have to reckon with being on the bad cheating couples side bc its hot. this is playing with barbies there doesn't need to be a moral lesson here. that's not the objective. the objective is blasting lips of an angel by hinder

[oldtvandcomics]

The thing is, the person who put the sword in that stone is, depending on the version, most likely either Merlin or God himself.

I don't think that we want either of those two to be the King of Britain.

if you ask me, the guy who put the sword INTO the stone should be king, not the chucklefuck who got it out.