#merlin s1

[merlinemrys]

it always gets to me how powerful merlin is because if nimueh, one of the last high priestesses of the old religion, has to say a spell aloud to just unlock a door while merlin in the first five minutes just stops TIME for funsies then it's honestly a miracle that the whole of camelot doesn't just blow up if merlin sneezes too hard

[lesbicosmos]

gio's merlin reactions!! @giolovesyousm

s1 ep4 : the poisoned chalice (aka my second favourite episode ever)

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[none-ofthisnonsense]

Rewatching Merlin S1E2 "Valiant": "I wouldn't lie to you." (Merlin @ Arthur)

BAHAHA and shall we talk about the biggest secret you're keeping from him?? huh??

[ramblings-of-lola]

Thoughts on Season 1 of Merlin

I really liked the first season! The characters are definitely the highlight for me. I love Merlin's selflessness, Morgana's fierceness, Arthur's strength, and Gwen's gentleness

The dragon was also an interesting character too. He's this guiding figure in Merlin's life in Camelot and then in the end, it turns out he was using Merlin just to let him free

I honestly thought that Uther was going to be killed at the end of the season (kinda wish he was honestly)

Gaius is good character too; he's very sassy and caring. I like his dynamic with Merlin

I'm really excited to start the next season 😁

[marandina-001]

if the merlin fandom did the "selfcare" tiktok trend (the one that u close the laptop before a bad/sad scene) they'd just watch the first episode and leave

[xviruserrorx]

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[mainlysarcastic]

Arthur 100000% has a degradation kink

DID YOU SEE THE WAY HE SMIRKS WHEN MERLIN CALLS HIM A PRAT AND SHIT TALKS HIM RIGHT WHEN THEY MEET

Holy hell these two are ridiculous 

[buckbeforeyou]

Arthur being willing to die for Merlin while Anhora says “he has proved what’s in his heart” SIR WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!?

That scene was so romance coded

[horselovingbookworm]

Hi!

So, I'm rewatching Merlin, and this is the first time I noticed this dragon-scale wristband/bracelet he's wearing in the pilot episode. Am I the only one who noticed this??? And is it me or do we just never see it again after this???

I just felt the need to point this out because it's irking me that we seemingly never see it again!

[squorttle-pox]

for your consideration: s1 arthur + s5 merlin

[gaiusbunnymask]

rewatch commentary: the dragon's call

(look at this shot! I looks like a Renaissance painting)

"If I can't use magic, what have I got?"

Merlin arrives at Camelot feeling lost, inadequate and purposeless and I think that's what makes him vulnerable to Gaius and Kilgahrrah's ideas of destiny. EVEN if what the dragon is saying it's true, the timing is really suspicious.

He used to want recognition too, wanted to be someone. He thinks that his magic is the only thing that makes him special, that gives him power over bullies like Arthur, but since the world sees him as something strange and dangerous and rejects his existence, he wonders if he's a monster that shouldn't exist.

That's why it's so easy for him to believe everything the dragon tells him, because he wanted to have some higher purpose. He wanted someone to tell him he was born like that for a reason. It's the beginning of his tragedy.

"I saw how you saved Arthur's life. Perhaps that's his purpose."

Gaius' dubious beliefs/morality about purpose, destiny, and the purpose of Merlin's magic. He was on board with Merlin using his magic to protect Arthur even though he had reprimanded Merlin for using magic recklessly before, and that Arthur is the son of the man that started the Purge. He equals using magic for good to supporting the royal family, which is... not good actually.

My headcanon is that Gaius was/is against dark magic and the abuse of it, but the Purge did more than just condemn dark sorcerers and destroy objects with dark magic, and it turned into something he didn't expect and didn't fully support. Not saying he supported the Purge but he wasn't as pro-magic as Nimueh, for example. He may have helped others escape but he stayed in Camelot and served Uther for 20 years so that says a lot about him.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son!"

It seems to me that Mary Collins was a dark witch?? I'm guessing that practicing dark magic is what gave her that ghastly appearance (yes they also needed the audience to differentiate her from lady Helen because it was the same actress) but it says something about the state of magic in Camelot that most of the sorcerers we'll find later show the same signs of corruption.

Not saying Uther was right to attack all magic and all sorcerers for that, of course not, but Gaius did say that dark magic was running rampant before the purge, and honestly? It's not a surprise. If magic is a tool then people can use it to do bad things. This was probably what gave Uther leverage to carry on with the purge. Obviously the solution to that would be to have laws that condemn acts of dark magic that hurt people. But instead most dark sorcerers probably were able to lay low and hide whereas people like the druids and less powerful sorcerers where easy to capture and execute.

"When I came to this land this kingdom was mired in chaos."

Uther is a very very smart politician, at least on this episode. He beheads a sorcerer/the son of a witch, and right after the fact the announces a festival. This is a show of his power. It reinforces his authority and the idea that the persecution of magic is a good thing, that he's the savior of the land, the protector of the realm, for ridding it from the evil of sorcery. And since it's the anniversary of the capture of the great dragon, it also serves a a reminder.

"No, I'm his son, Arthur."

Arthur was not present at the execution of Mary Collins' son, nor is he there to welcome "lady Helen". Uther forced Morgana to attend but it seems that Arthur can skip it if he wants. I wonder why Uther allowed it? "Lady Helen" doesn't meet Arthur until the night of the banquet where she tries to kill him. I'm just wondering about Arthur, making it his mission to be absent from as many official occasions as possible.

It seems that he used to spend all his time training and bullying helpless servants. No wonder Merlin didn't recognized him as royalty the first time they met.

"He needed to be taught a lesson."

Merlin is very very impulsive. He falls for Arthur's taunts really easy, and he just got out of the dungeons! I think this is not the first time he put a bully in his place/taught them a lesson. He was at odds with the people in Ealdor, where it seems he used his magic more freely. If he was going around "taking bullies apart with one blow", no wonder Hunith was worried.

"The more brutal you are the more enemies you'll create."

Morgana's conversation with Uther was another scene I liked. It established the foundation of her character quite well. Her standing by the window staring at the chopping block for who knows how long it's a thought that haunts me.

It seems she copes by wearing pretty and scandalous dresses that make her look stunning.

Final thoughts:

I was surprised by how much I liked the episode. This is the third time I watched it and I didn't know I would find it enjoyable, but I did! the music, the cinematography, the script (its lovely plotholes ♥) the acting! (Eve Myles' performance was superb) the peak comedy! There was a lot of foreshadowing too. Merlin and Gaius, Merlin and Gwen, and of course Merlin and Arthur are great comedic duos. overall the first episode it's really fun.

[merlinemrys]

s1 arthur's early moments of his fondness for merlin is so endearing bc merlin would just be like "oh valiant's a creep" and arthur gives him the tiniest smile before you see his walls come back up... god this show makes me feel every emotion possible

[lesbicosmos]

first watch: ew, pompous egotist

second watch, after you know his mother died in childbirth and he thinks it was his fault:

[none-ofthisnonsense]

It's 3.35 am and all I think of is Merlin's "I'm psychic" to Gwen. Help.

[purpleplaid17]

#what if… what if instead of pushing her away Merlin actually helped Morgana with magic stuff and like confided in her and they bonded over it?

#what if they actually allowed them to fight together against Uther in a way that didn’t cause Morgana to feel like she HAD to go a darker and more twisted route to bring magic to Camelot?

#what if they built off this specific scene and allowed them to be friends? what would the show be then?? #I think it would have been better. a show where Morgana and Merlin were able to work with Arthur to make a Camelot that was better for everyone. (via @wtungsten)

I wouldn’t see an innocent child executed. What harm has he ever done anyone?

MERLIN – Season 1; Episode 8; The Beginning of the End

[xviruserrorx]

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