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pendragonsclotpole · 2 months

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help, i just got slapped in the face with the existence of WILL. be still my beating heart as i write an essay on this man, will of ealdor

firstly, i adore the silent and implicit trust hidden in the first joke that introduces will’s character. like merlin’s been aware his whole life that if his secret is ever found out, he will be hunted down and persecuted, but here comes will with a jab that they both inherently understand is a joke in the macabre style only true friends can lovingly master. the smile they share almost immediately gives me ned stark and robert baratheon meeting again in the courtyard of winterfell in season one of got. there’s also something so normal in their interaction that speaks of a familiarity borne from their equal status and years of friendship. i know merlin’s friends in camelot tend to skew to the non-royal/non-noble, but when you tally it up, those closest to merlin often hold some title that’s greater than merlin’s role as arthur’s servant. gwaine is a knight implied to be of noble blood; lancelot, percival, and elyan are also knighted and esteemed members of arthur’s court; gwen is the lady morgana’s maid and close companion long before she is ever queen; gaius is a physician and long time member of camelot’s court; morgana before her betrayal is literally uther’s ward. i feel like when placed among them all, merlin has a tendency to fade into the background offscreen. obviously the audience knows how important merlin is to the overall story given how much of the storyline focuses on him, and the characters regularly acknowledge merlin’s importance to them or arthur, but all of them still regard merlin as merlin the servant from camelot and few of them are privy to the plots we as the audience see firsthand. and even when they acknowledge him for his merits, his role as arthur’s close friend and confidante takes precedence. look at leon’s reaction in the later seasons when merlin is bewitched by morgana. merlin literally makes a comment about plotting to kill arthur and leon barely even blinks before quipping back, “driving you mad isn’t he?” or something along those lines. except for a few instances with even fewer characters, they never get a chance to know him as merlin the sorcerer from ealdor.

will does! and more than that, he got to know merlin as he is without arthur. we all hype up their status as magical soulmates but damn if i wasnt living for how jealous of arthur will seemed to be in this episode. call me crazy, but it makes me desperately headcanon a realistic past in ealdor for merlin, full of hardship and strife, but never without it’s moments of happiness. furthermore, will’s lone appearance in season one shines some real light on the unfairness of the fate that has been bestowed on meelin. the moment that will points out why he’s been so obstinate with arthur really strikes a deep chord. sure it could be just jealousy, but more compellingly, i choose to read it as a deep sense of care for merlin. everyone merlin has met within camelot, (or reunited with in the case of his own mother) has continually pushed him closer and closer to arthur. will presents a crucial exception. he knows exactly who merlin was before camelot, and who merlin is completely separate from arthur.

will is staunchly in merlin’s corner, and that position allows him to identify a key characteristic of merlin’s series’ long arc: his complete devotion to arthur. will even points it out himself: merlin could singlehandedly defend their home if he just used the full extent of his power. merlin doesn’t, and actively chooses not to because of his desire to stay close to arthur. it’s such a small moment, but i think it demonstrates how much of merlin’s decisions become motivated by his desire to stay close to arthur and to always put arthur first, even at a detrimental cost to himself. merlin understands and readily accepts arthur as his destiny, but this acceptance does not come about independently, instantly, or of merlin’s own volition. it does so eventually, but initially merlin sticks by arthur’s side because of the encouragement of everyone around him. “arthur needs you, merlin” or “arthur is your destiny, merlin” or “arthur is a good man, merlin. he has the potential to be a great king, he just needs the right people, merlin.” its codependent as hell.

sure, merlin originally does not tell arthur about his magic because they do not know each other and as far as merlin knows revealing his magic would lead to his death, but eventually the reasoning changes and becomes so focused on doing what’s best for arthur. merlin can’t tell arthur because then arthur would have to kill him and then who would look after arthur or ensure his fate? merlin can’t tell arthur because if arthur chooses to defy uther’s law, merlin is then forcing arthur to turn against his father and how could he look after arthur then? merlin can’t tell arthur because another betrayal from magic would ruin everything and truthfully, he wonders how would arthur react? merlin comes to fear what his magic might do to arthur and what it’s reveal might mean for his place in camelot more than the laws of camelot and their verdicts.

by this logic, merlin is a magical solar system orbiting entirely around the celestial body known as arthur pendragon. eventually merlin cared more about his relationship with arthur and what arthur thought about him than his own life. in retrospect, it’s so sad that will died so early on, because it strips merlin of a person solely in his corner. will’s death is the first in the series’ long pattern of loss that merlin endures and that eventually comes to define him because people either find out about his magic and their knowledge is directly tested against his loyalty to arthur, or he cannot allow them to know about his magic because it will unravel his relationship with arthur.

will, freya, balinor, morgana, mordred, arthur.

also the fact that will covered for merlin’s use of magic in his last moments just adds to the tragedy AND the growing pile of moments merlin could have told arthur about his magic but didnt. and also the fact that will literally died to save arthur. like tell me that just doesn’t prove my point. tell me. will never stood a chance. tell me every aspect of merlin’s life does not get consumed by arthur pendragon.

i’m all for merthur being soulmates, but god the original series is rife with the unbalanced mess of merlin being wholeheartedly aware of arthur’s great potential and destiny leading to some intense devotion and faith that yes, arthur earns and pays back in full measure but can never fully reciprocate because he just does not know anything. by the triple goddess, it can get so toxic. i wish will had lived if just for that. and like the jealousy arthur gets whenever merlin has other people. because i 100% live for possessive arthur and protective merlin dynamics.

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the-pen-pot · 4 months

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Gwaine chortled as Percival tucked a silver coin next to his plate. 'Again?'

'Again,' he acknowledged mournfully. 'I thought you were exaggerating.'

'He was.' Leon spoke from where he sat to Gwaine's left, only for a pained expression to twitch across his face. Duty and honour meant the Knight Commander appeared to live in a happy world of denial, but even he could not ignore the evidence playing out at the High Table.

Gwaine ran his gaze along its length, not caring about the visiting nobles or Uther in his finery. Even Morgana, as lovely as ever, could not hold his attention for more than an appreciative moment. He was too busy watching Arthur and Merlin, who in theory were murmuring among themselves, but in practice were sharing some of the most prolonged, intense, indecent eye contact he had ever had the pleasure to witness.

'How have I never noticed?' Lancelot mused from the opposite side of the table. Feasts always started out with everyone facing towards the centre of the room, but it always dissolved into disarray as the evening went on. He and Elyan sat straddling the bench across from Gwaine so that, technically, their backs weren't to the High Table, but it meant they could all cluster together, rather than passing the conversation back and forth along a row.

'Because you're too busy making the same eyes at my sister,' Elyan teased, guffawing when Lancelot gave a quiet, wistful sigh.

'Lancelot's looking respectfully,' Gwaine pointed out with a grin. 'There's nothing respectful about that. They look like they want to –'

'Quiet.' Leon's warning was fond and friendly, but it was one to heed. The court, loud and raucous as they were in that moment, still had ears, and Camelot's rumour mill was vicious. Not that it needed any help from Gwaine. Anyone who cared to look would see their prince staring at his manservant like he was trying to work out the quickest way to get him naked and spread out under him.

'Well, they do.' Gwaine shrugged, grinning into his cup. 'Don't know why they don't put each other out of their misery.'

'How do you know they haven't... you know?' Percival asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

'Too much tension,' he replied. 'It's a miracle they're not setting things on fire, looking at each other like that.

Elyan let out a pained sigh as he rubbed at the bruise on his shoulder from that morning's training. 'Arthur carries a lot of frustration into the duelling ring, if you know what I mean.'

They all winced at that, because he wasn't wrong. Arthur was still the best of them, and he was a punishing taskmaster.

'Maybe one of us should interfere?' Gwaine mused. 'You know, give them a nudge in the right direction?'

'Absolutely not. Leave them alone, all of you.' There was more than courteous respect in Leon's voice. Something thrummed, urgent, beneath his words. He picked up his cup and took a drink. 'They'll get where they're going in their own time. Not before.'

Gwaine sighed, setting his goblet on the table and spreading his hands in surrender. 'If you say so.'

'Some things can't be rushed. Especially not love.'

That made everyone pause, all of them giving Leon a sideways look before, slowly but surely, turning their attention back to Arthur and Merlin.

Leon was a practical man, not often prone to flights of romantic fancy. Maybe that's what made Gwaine search a little deeper and realise that he was right. If it was just about what was in their breeches, Arthur and Merlin would have been at it like rabbits years ago. Instead, their hearts had got involved somewhere along the way.

Maybe it was when Arthur had defied his father to gather his knights to him, indifferent to their lack of so-called nobility. Perhaps it was when the secret of Merlin's magic had come to light, confessed to his closest friends. Or maybe it had always been there, right from the very first day.

Either way, neither one of them would be the man they were today without the other's presence. If not for Merlin, Arthur would still be an arrogant, bratty prince, too wrapped up in himself and the lessons of his father to be the king Camelot needed. Without Arthur, Merlin would never have found his purpose. He'd have been forced to drift through the shadows of a half-life, always hiding, all the power that was his to command and nothing to feed it but his own loneliness.

The gods knew how that might have ended. Arthur would probably have become like his father, harsh and cold. For his part, Merlin may well have ended up as barmy as the other sorcerers they found, drunk on power and lacking in compassion, filled with nothing but hatred for a world that reviled him.

Instead, they brought out the best in each other. Together, they were the fulcrum on which the scales of Camelot's future hung. They were the ones who would tip the balance from greed and corruption. They'd rewrite laws and peel back decades of hardship, not just for the kingdom, but for each other. He was pretty sure they'd lay the whole world at each other's feet, given the chance.

Gwaine picked up his goblet again, letting his gaze sweep around the room as if seeing it for the first time. Already there were subtle changes. Normally the tables would be groaning beneath the burden of their bounty, but for once there were signs of moderation. While some lords were deep in their cups, loud and boisterous, others spoke companionably with each other, their expressions intent and lit with a hope that had not been there a year ago.

Uther may be present – living still – a man made of shadows and resentment, but he was no longer the one to whom the court turned. Gwaine knew how these games were played. He'd been noble once.

Now, people went to Arthur for help. They spoke to him, quietly, of their concerns, and he was not the only one. Maybe Merlin was nothing more than the prince's manservant, but the councillors listened when he spoke. They respected him. Maybe they, too, could see the future that awaited them.

One with two good men ruling side by side, rather than a tyrant standing alone.

'Love?' he asked, his voice little more than a murmur. 'Yeah, I can see that.'

'And so will Uther, if he looks closely,' Lancelot warned, all trace of his amusement fled. He stared at the King like he might an enemy on the battlefield, all anger and dread. 'He'll try and put a stop it.'

'Then we don't give him the chance.' Gwaine shrugged, draining his goblet and setting it aside, feeling his resolve settle in him. 'We keep him busy and let those two get on with it.'

'You think they'll admit how they feel?' Elyan asked.

Gwaine raised an eyebrow as Arthur leaned in to gain his father's attention, no doubt making his excuses for the night. He spoke quickly and respectfully, but Gwaine didn't miss the way that, when Uther nodded, Arthur cast a slow, hot look in Merlin's direction, nor that Merlin returned it, full of promise.

'Maybe sooner than you think.'

They watched them go, and not even Leon bothered to hide his subtle grin. Gwaine returned it with one of his own and wondered if they were all thinking of the future they hoped to one day witness.

He'd lived in bitter, corrupted courts. He'd seen first-hand the hardships that the powerful could rain down on the helpless, and he had promised himself he would never be part of it again. Yet he could see, with a clarity any seer would envy, how the world Arthur and Merlin would build together would be different – better. Not only a powerful citadel and a mighty throne, but a prosperous, peaceful kingdom that anyone could call home.

And Gwaine, who had never stayed in one place for long, would be happy to do just that.

#Merthur #Merlin

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xjulixred45x · 18 days

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I was working on the requests but I remembered a conversation I had with my sister the other day about an interesting topic,

How Nakaba WASTED THE GOLDEN OPORTUNITY of using Morgana Le Fay as the VILLAIN of 4kota(Even if it's cliché)

and it could have been implemented much earlier!! After all, in the Arthurian legends, Morgana is Arthur's half-sister, she could have participated in NNT as an ally who little by little went to the dark side (like Cassandra from Tangled but without a happy ending).

Imagine this, Morgana was just born to Uther Pendragon, having a great ability for magic, but he decided that she could not inherit his throne for x or y reason (being a woman, some profession, being a daughter out of wedlock) and sent her away to Avalon, where She lives her entire life away from her father's influence, but with great resentment towards him for having pushed her away (maybe even killing her mother too?) so she hones her magic with the fairies and wizards of Avalon.

So time passes and Morgana becomes a very strong magician, but she learns from others that her younger half-brother, Arthur, has just pulled the sword from the stone, and that he will be crowned king of Camelot.

NOW, Morgana would like to believe that her hatred is only reserved for Uther, so she goes to Camelot as soon as possible and the whole way she doesn't stop thinking about all this: how long has it been since she went to Camelot? What is her younger brother like? Is he like his-their- father? Although in general I think that Morgana did not want Arthur to be alone running the kingdom, whatever it was, he was her brother after all.

I think Arthur wouldn't even know he had a sister until shortly before Morgana arrived, like "oh by the way, your sister is coming to visit, your half-sister from the king" and Arthur would obviously be nervous about Morgana rejecting him but VERY EXCITED once he hears that she is a powerful mage.

And when do they meet? It's like putting a black cat with an orange cat, but surprisingly they would get along, at first.

Arthur would take Morgana as an advisory figure as she was more in contact with the political environment and helped him adapt to the royal environment, they shared tricks for fights, etc. Everything seems to be going smoothly, they both get along well.

Arthur has a STABLE and loving figure who is willing to teach him and be a family figure at the same time. and Morgana has someone who listens to her and makes her feel important.

but during the series the problems begin.

As the series progresses and Arthur becomes stronger and more mature, Morgana feels that the hatred she had towards Uther is no longer enough, as she begins to doubt whether or not she should love Arthur as HE is her replacement for a "proper heir", yes, she knows that's fucked up to think like that, but on the other hand, is it really wrong if it's your birthright?

and Morgana may have had these moments of weakness where she questioned her recently found platonic love for Arthur and her former bitterness with the Pendragons, having her ups and downs.

She loves Arthur, but she's also very recent about what her father did, and she's trying SO hard not to let it affect him.

But that's not the only thing that pushes her to the limit.

Let's say when the holy war begins, Morgana has a thousand and one doubts about her place in the world and then Arthur DIES.

and what's worse! When he revives, she realizes what Merlin wants to do with him.

(It would be especially horrible if Morgana and Merlin end up having a relationship as friends or as a pupil and teacher themselves).

Morgana pleads, BEGGS, Arthur not to trust what Merlin tells him, that what she wants him to do will not be for the greater good, but for her own benefit and Arthur is confused.

On one hand he wants to believe that after everything he's been through with Morgana she wouldn't lie to him, but Merlin is the closest thing he has to a mother...and the baby is very confused about what to do.

and here two possible endings and how Morgana reappeared in 4Kota:

1- STICKED TO THE CANON:

Arthur ends up bringing chaos, realizing that Morgana was telling the truth, Camelot is destroyed (maybe even Avalon too?) and that makes Morgana lose faith in wanting to help Arthur and the deadly sins, since THEY were the ones who brought that destruction to HIS HOME, and decides to do what has to be done.

which means that a plot begins against the Monarchies, especially against Liones and the Demonic kingdom, seeing them as the main causes of the destruction of Camelot (Meliodas and Zeldris), at the same time that he would try by all means to usurp Arthur's throne. . Even if he tries to make her reconsider.

(good alternative, Sunshine Arthur with wife Guinevere but that has some congruence in the canonical story, but I have a better one:)

2: FUCK THE CANON

Morgana applies a Cassandra from Tangled and obtains chaos instead of Arthur, becoming an antagonist who, although she helps defeat the demon king and so on, at the end of the conflict becomes a full-fledged villain.

having been devalued and pushed aside her entire life NOW even by her brother, and finally having the power to have what rightfully belongs to her makes Morgana very power-hungry. At the same time, Arthur would be having a lot of regret for not having believed his sister at the time and wants to redeem her, but it is difficult when Morgana begins her sale to all those who do not follow her to her "new Camelot."

Arthur here would not have Chaos but he would have Escalibur, which would be his advantage against Morgana in a certain way. although she is working on a "bastard sword" to change that.

Arthur is still a cinnamon roll, only with trauma and above all WITHOUT THE CHAOS, so he thinks things through better and is not corrupted.

Morgana, on the other hand, suffers a great mental decline due to Chaos, but she disguises it under the face of a smiling Queen.

Can you imagine if she created a Mordred from Chaos? ☠️ she says he is her son but trains him so that he can face Arthur and win the crown for her (because Morgana knows she couldn't handle all the allies Arthur has in this reality).

or she just wants to make Mordred do her dirty work because deep down she still loves his little brother...

(it would be especially creepy if said Mordred is similar in appearance to both her and Arthur ☠️ as if she wants a child, but also a version of Arthur that if he had listened to her and joined her...)

anyway...what do you think?

regardless of that, FUCK YOU NAKABAAAAAA!!

#headcanons #morgan le fay #morgana #morgana le fay #i didnt pronunce “morgan” right right?#im sorry in my language its “Morgana” and Morgan is a Males name lol #4kota #four knights of the apocalypse #nnt #nanatsu no taizai #nanatsu no taizai arthur #arthur 4kota #nnt merlin #fuck you nakaba

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merlinemrys · 10 months

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Hello there! I saw you giving some recs for Merlin fics and wanted to ask for some too if you don't mind 👉👈

Do you have any recommendations for Merthur gen angst hurt/comfort? Hell I need more angst in my blood stream

of course!!! idk if u mean merthur w a general rating or just gen fic that's focused on arthur & merlin, but just to play it safe im doing gen fic 💙 if u mean merthur fics that are gen rated then just lmk !

scorch marks and embers by southfarthing (rated t, 93k)

Summary: Everyone he trusted with his secret – Will, Freya, Balinor, Lancelot, and now Gaius – was gone. Arthur would never bring magic back to the land, and he would never let Merlin stand at his side the way Merlin had hoped he would. It was a cold awakening, years of baseless faith dashed against the fraying tapestry that destiny had made Merlin sew into his own skin, but an awakening nonetheless. Merlin is shaken out of his obsession with destiny and his blind faith in Arthur. Arthur just wishes he knew how to get his closest friend back.

New Beginnings by nsowlwrites97 (rated t, 33k)

Summary: Traitor. Merlin. Magic. Merlin. Traitor. Friend. Sorcerer. Merlin. The words seemed to lose their meaning the more Arthur tried to make sense of them, bleeding in and through each other like ink dissolving in water. The only fact he knew to be true – absolutely, permanently, irrevocably true – was that Merlin was dead.

go boldly by CaptainOzone (rated gen, 7k)

Summary: “It is not like you,” Arthur muses suddenly, and very, very quietly, “to lie to me.” Merlin’s lungs freeze in his chest. “What?” he chokes out. Or: yet another 5x05 The Disir AU.

New Duties by s0mmerspr0ssen (rated t, 17k)

Summary: With Uther’s death, Arthur ascends to the throne and officially becomes King of Camelot. Naturally, this means that Merlin is now the King’s manservant, not the Prince’s. What sounds like mere semantics turns out to be much more than that. As Merlin struggles to keep up with the demands of his new job, Arthur finds himself burdened by the realities of kingly responsibilities. Soon, the strain of stress puts their friendship to the test…

Treason by N16 (rated t, 9k)

Summary: Arthur knows four things: Merlin committed treason. Merlin is loyal to him. Merlin wants to tell Arthur the truth. Merlin is scared Arthur will kill him. All he needs to figure out now is what on earth his servant has actually done.

Loyalties by reelin_writer (rated t, 25k)

Summary: “Arthur.” “Merlin?” he said, instantly angry. He shoved himself into a sitting position, fumbling for the candle on the table by the bed, and blustered, “What on earth are you doing? It’s the middle of the night! I don’t know about you, but that’s when I sleep. Don’t you--” Finally managing to get the candle lit, he looked up at Merlin, fully prepared to continue his lecture. But the words died in his throat at the sight of the young servant, and he choked in the rush of panic that assaulted him. “Merlin!”

The Price of Loyalty by Obsessionist (rated t, 18k)

Summary: Uther activates a device that repels magic, but Merlin's loyalty to Arthur knows no bounds.

Loyalty Was Never A Question by ValiantGinger (rated t, 27k)

Summary: Morgana gets her hands on something that puts Merlin in very serious danger. When Arthur's manservant goes missing, he can't help but be worried about him - worry that becomes legitimate when it becomes clear that Merlin is being used as a trap to lure Arthur in. Still, it's Merlin. How can he do anything but go and rescue him?

Between A Rock and A Hard Place by LFB72 (rated t, 30k)

Summary: A visiting noble makes Arthur an offer he can't refuse, putting Merlin's secret in jeopardy. The warlock takes drastic action, risking his health and ability to respond when crisis strikes.

#shows #bbc merlin #merthur #arthur pendragon #arthur #merlin #merlin fic recs #fic recs #je réponds #la poste #ask #anonymous #tais toi lys #*#*frs

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lxvenderjewel · 3 months

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song/ship analyses part 6: merthur and "call it what you want" by taylor swift

this one was inspired by a video i saw on yt: merlin & arthur || call it what you want [CC] go check it out after this!!

“My castle crumbled overnight” i mean in both s4 and s5 arthur loses control of his kingdom so like

“They took the crown, but it's alright” i know arthur’s like. magic-high during the s4 finale but if the shoe fits

“All the liars are calling me one” being a king he’s probably been called a liar a lot, even by his own father he’s been called a liar (which is like. hypocrite much??)

“Nobody's heard from me for months” during the entire s4 finale no one knows where arthur is except merlin

“Walkin' with his head down, I'm the one he's walkin' to” merlin’s arthur’s servant, so of course he’s walking with his head down towards him (well maybe not with his head down he doesn’t have that kind of respect for arthur 💀)

“High above the whole scene, loves me like I'm brand new” merlin never seems to be swayed by public opinion, he always has complete trust in arthur

“So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to” can you imagine how many rumors swirl around merlin and arthur? this lyric is so perfect be real

“Windows boarded up after the storm

He built a fire just to keep me warm” whenever arthur goes through hardship merlin’s always right there. when uther dies merlin sleeps right outside to offer arthur comfort as soon as he needs it

“All the jokers dressin' up as kings” morgana

“They fade to nothin' when I look at him” i think arthur has a lot of faith in merlin. like as in merlin is part of what motivates him to be a better king for his people

“And I know I make the same mistakes every time

Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right” he often fumbles romantically, and when he finally thinks he has gwen, he ultimately loses her to lancelot, but merlin stays with his unwavering loyalty to arthur

“I'm laughin' with my lover, makin' forts under covers

Trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right” arthur and merlin antics, like that one pillow fight scene in an episode i can’t recall, and “trust him like a brother” of course he does. a term that comes to mind for merthur is “t’hy’la” from star trek, which roughly translates to “friend, brother, lover”

“Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night” merlin’s eyes when he does magic

“I want to wear his initial

On a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck” this line reminds me of the deleted scene where arthur gives merlin his sigil (which i think is in the video as well)

“Not because he owns me

But 'cause he really knows me

Which is more than they can say, I” many people look at arthur like a kind of god, considering he’s king, and even his knights, who he’s closest with, still look at him with some sort of reverence, but merlin treats him like just another person, which must be so refreshing, to not have any expectations on your head and to be just known as you are without and preconceived notions

“I recall late November

Holdin' my breath, slowly I said

"You don't need to save me

But would you run away with me?"” he never actually says it to merlin but this line reminds me of when arthur is with gwen and he tells her he dreams of living in some village with merlin and just being a farmer, and living a calm, soft life

once again go watch the video!! it’s very well made and the person who made it is awfully talented

#can you tell i'm a swiftie #merthur #merlin bbc #arthur pendragon #taylor swift #reputation #call it what you want #song/ship analysis

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yoonnamjin25 · 11 months

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Is it really accurate to use the word "selfless" to describe Merlin?

"Selfless" is a word with an undeniable good "white" connotation and when it comes to Merlin, I don't think we can say something is black or white in its entirety. So this question is kind of tricky and, honestly, far too complicated to answer it with a simple and short yes or no.

Let me elaborate.

He was not selfish when it came to himself as a person —that part is right— as he never hesitated in giving his life for others, always helped his friends no matter what, never seeked power nor recognition for himself, etc.

But I do think he was selfish, extremely so at times, when it came to his own self-interests. The main one being Arthur's safety and wellbeing.

And why do I say this? Let's go back to memory lane and remember some of his decisions throughout the show!

1. He condemned (heartbrokenly, I'll give him that) his whole kin to continue living in the shadows and most probably to be executed if they were caught practicing magic in Camelot just so Mordred could die and Arthur could live by extension.

2. Talking about Mordred, he never gave him the chance to prove himself trustworthy and loyal to Arthur, he just decided he was evil since he saw he was destined to kill his friend instead of trying to change that outcome or understand where would that could come from.

3. He lied to Arthur about himself and what he was for the whole decade they knew each other so Arthur wouldn't feel bad for choosing him over his father when he found out about his magic. Or viceversa.

4. He always put Arthur's life before any other's, including his closest friends: remember when he repeatedly tried to talk Arthur out of going to save them from Morgana because he was worried about him as the druid seer showed him he was going to be killed by a man aka Mordred?

5. He lied to Arthur about his mother and what Uther did to conceive him (he also robbed him that unique and beautiful moment he shared with his mom), something he had all the right to know, so Arthur wouldn't kill Uther and hate himself for it for the rest of his life.

6. He took Arthur's free will away from him so he would agree to everything Merlin said and he could take him out of the castle and save his life when Morgana and Agravaine attacked.

And I could go on, honestly, but I won't because I fear some people might take this as a hating post towards Merlin, which it definitely is not lol. Quite the contrary, actually! I understand and, to a certain point even love, all the decisions Merlin took because it just proved the inmensity of his love for Arthur.

So if I mention all this is because, despite having honorable goals —as saving someone's life (Arthur's) or sparing them the possibility of feeling irrevocably guilty for taking a life-altering decision when their heads were clouded by anger, sadness and fear— the means he used to do all that were highly questionable to say the least: lies, deceiving, manipulation, mind-control and so on are, in no way, justifiable.

They are just not.

But we fans decide to brush those aside and accept them because we understand that it all came out from a place of love. Pure, huge, raw and unwavering love. Although, that still doesn't make it right. Not really.

I will dare to say it actually makes it worse.

Love is a complicated and, may I say, dangerous feeling. It can make us feel happier, confident with oursleves, adventurous and giddy. But it can also make us stupid, blind and selfish.

And that's exactly what it did to Merlin.

He came to a point where he stopped caring about his destiny and focused only on saving Arthur's life, others be damned, just because he loved him too much and he couldn't bare to lose him.

And unfortunately at the end, it was that love, and the King's complete and blind trust in Merlin, that got Arthur dead.

To sum it up, I don't think there's a better way to describe Merlin than to say he was a whole spectrum of greys. A constant paradox of selflessness and selfishness. Another victim of love.

Anyway, he was far from perfect but that's exactly why I love him! He could come as the most selfless person at first glance (and to a certain degree, he was; although I think the word sacrificial suits him even better) but if you really look at it, specially from a canon era outsider POV, he could rather come as a selfish, powerful man that wouldn't hesitate in destroying you if it means he can save Arthur's life with that.

He was truly unhinged when it came to his other half and that's exactly why he's my second most favorite fictional character ever created!

**The first one being Dean Winchester, another unhinged man that couldn't live without his baby brother and would burn the whole world willingly only to keep Sammy safe!

Huh.

Now that I think about it.

Maybe I have a type?

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merlin-emrys-wyllt · 1 year

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Merlin King Au

Balinor had died around a year ago, and since then, Merlin had taken over the throne of Ealdor. The kingdom had been doing well for several years anyways since Merlin had been in his late teens. Before then, they had been in constant fear of a war with Camelot. Balinor hated Uther after he had hunted down all of his brethren (the dragons and dragonlords) until he was the only left. Likewise, Uther had hated Balinor with a vengeance. He was the one dragonlord who had managed to escape him. That coupled with the fact that magic was legal in the other man's kingdom made him hate the man even more.

Arthur had been King for two years now, after Uther had died. He was showing himself to be a much more noble and kind king. His people doing well for themselves. Magic was still illegal in his kingdom, though Arthur condemned the killing of anyone simply for having magic. No such act had occured since he had become king.

It came as shock when Merlin received the letter from Arthur, asking if he would consider having talks to build a peace treaty between the two of their kingdoms. Of course, Merlin had heard the prophecies around the man. How he was supposed to unite Albion and bring magic back to the lands. He had lost faith in them quite some years ago, though his people had not. Now, the man was asking him to consider building peace.

He had called a meeting with his closest advisors to discuss it with them. His mother Hunith being amongst them, as well as his gaurds and closest friends Lancelot and Gwaine. A few druids, including one of the leaders of a druid camp Iseldier, were also there.

So now here they were. They had just arrived to camelot after many days of travelling on horseback. Hunith had stayed behind to take over ruling while her son was away. Instead, Gwaine, Lancelot, and Iseldier had gone with the young king to help guide him, along with a few other advisors and knights.

Merlin was wearing the colours of his kingdom, blue and purple. As well as a flower crown upon his head, it had magic woven into it to stop the flowers from ever wilting. He had been advised to keep his magic a secret while in the kingdom. It wouldn't do to disobey the law while there. This was much to Merlin's dismay, but he understood, though he hated having to hide such a large part of himself.

The group made their way into the courtyard and dismouted their horses. They were greeted by a servant and Leon, one of Arthur's most trusted knights, who led them into the castle towards the throne room. Merlin could feel his anxiety building. He wasn't sure what to expect out of these talks, and he had only been king for a short while. It was a lot of pressure on him.

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bitsandbobsofwriting · 2 years

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Hey, so I started thinking of the age gaps the way you thought of them and possible implications and then started thinking: what if when Leon was still relatively young and either a squire accompanying knights or a fresh new knight himself, it’s only been a handful of years since Balinor fled, and Uther is still occasionally sending out hunting parties for him. I just imagined them coming through Ealdor, and Leon is a good knight, a loyal one, but he was also young once, so I started to think of different scenarios: what would happen should he come across little baby/toddler Merlin who just so happened to have magic, Leon potentially sparing him; or they discover someone else with magic and Merlin witnessing that killing blow; or or or, maximum angst— Merlin’s always been immortal and this is the first time it’s proven only to himself because Leon does discover him, and he is a knight that fights for king and country… (and there’s so much guilt, but what else can he do, he needs to extinguish the evil in this land). How does this affect Merlin, his fear of Camelot’s knights, his fear of Leon— does Leon recognize him but doubts himself, starts protecting him when he finds out in an effort to make up for it, is he weirdly subconsciously suspicious of him etc…. sorry was just thinking of your estimated ages, with Leon being maybe max 20 years older and if we lower that a bit, well my head started spinning with possibilities cause I love Merlin & Leon, as friends or more, but sometimes I love angst a little bit more

Ok. Uh.

I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you so hard.

I think this might have to be a two version fic:

1) I LOVE the idea of Leon recognising Merlin when they meet again (like 11/12 years ish later) but Merlin having little to no memory of squire!Leon rescuing him, and taking him back to Ealdor after he got lost in the woods.

So, version one is happy!! Little Merlin is lost in the woods, at like... five or six?? Leon is a squire, maybe sixteen, invited along on one of the now rare Balinor hunts that clandestinely cross the Essetirian border. No one else cares about this kid, they just want to leave him where they found him, but he’s crying and obviously sick and won’t survive what looks like another night in the forest. The captain of the patrol takes pity though and allows Leon (who’d been the only one standing up for this kid) to take a horse and a couple days’ of supplies to take him to the closest village, which is at least a day away. So Leon takes little Merlin, learns his name, learns where he’s from (thank God, because he recognises the name from the maps he’d sneakily looked at, and he’s fairly sure that’s the one he’s heading to), and at night, Merlin has a nightmare, as lost and scared and hungry kids do, and does magic in his sleep. Leon freaks, but calms him down and tells him to be careful and looks after him and learns that one can be born with magic, and becomes a good guy in terms of magic, though secretly. Hunith and Merlin reunite, and Leon makes a low comment about keeping an eye on him, and making sure he’s grows up knowing the importance of secrets, before riding off to find his patrol again.

Fast forward twelve or so years, Merlin has basically no recollection of this, because he was sick and young and terrified and sort of traumatised by it, though his mum did tell him it happened (that he got lost, and a stranger bought him home after a few days. He always sort of thought it was made up though, to scare him into not wondering off/showing strangers his magic) but Leon recognises this teen’s name. Weird, but not too weird. Then the name of the village he’s from. Hmm. Then the name of his mother, when it eventually comes up. That, on top of the dark hair and blue eyes and the timing... Leon goes Oh Shit. When the magic reveal happens, he’s the first to jump to Merlin’s defence and is all “I thought I told you to get better at keeping secrets, kid” and Merlin is all ??? But other shit is happening right now so whatever. Later, Leon is all “You really don’t recognise me, do you?” and reveals all. They becomes bestie-brothers. Cuteness.

2) I ALSO love the idea of it being the opposite. Leon’s patrol coming across Merlin, seeing him do magic, and killing him, with LOTS of angst, and Leon not recognising Merlin, but Merlin recognising, and being terrified of, Leon.

So say after the Now Rare Balinor Hunting Patrol actually sees five or six year old Merlin do magic, Leon is forced, as the squire who needs to get his hands dirty to know what it’s like being a knight, to hold the child down as someone else kills him. Little Merlin is crying and screaming and throwing little golden sparks everywhere, but he’s weak and scared and it doesn’t do any damage (except maybe giving Leon a tiny weeny burn scar on his cheek?? Looks more like a blemish scar than a burn sort of thing?? Oh for sure. Leon subconsciously rubs at it whenever magic is discussed, and Merlin recognises the scar almost before he recognises the man himself) so he dies. Leon like... has to excuse himself to go cry in the woods, and he almost quits training then and there, screw his parents’ expectations, but the older knights are on a spectrum between “I know the first is always difficult, but these creatures are evil and they deserve it” to just straight up laughing at him, and he sticks it out. At first, he tries to convince himself that that little kid deserved it, that he even deserved to just be left in the woods, not burned, not buried, not anything. But he just... can’t. So as he gets stronger and more politically powerful, as a knight and as a Noble, the more secretly pro magic shit he does (sorta like Smuggling Ring but less extreme). He’s literally haunted by what happened to that kid, about what he did to that kid.

BUT THEN!!! Merlin comes to Camelot!! And Leon doesn’t recognise him, because of course he doesn’t, he doesn’t even twig, because in this version he has no clue what the kid’s name was, or where he was from (though he remembers painfully what he looked like, in his last moments). Plus, as far as he’s concerned, that kid is long dead and never coming back. But Merlin recognises him. And it’s just this... deeply ingrained fear response, even if his mind can shallowly recognise that the knight never looks happy when people call magic evil. He can’t be in the same room as him without getting short of breath, he can’t make eye contact without his irises going gold and his hands sparking a little. And it’s fine in the beginning because they have nothing really to do with each other, but later, when the gang more officially forms, it becomes a lot more obvious. Leon corners him one day and Merlin is scared shitless, and failing miserably to hide it. Leon demands to know what the hell is up, and eventually Merlin sort of tells the truth, sort of lies, saying “I saw you. When I was a kid, I saw you killing that boy, in the woods. Just because of his magic. And everyone laughed as it happened. He... was my friend, and I saw what you did. Don’t ask me not to be terrified of you.”

Leon drags him back to his chambers and shuts the door and Merlin is terrified and can’t seem to summon his magic, and Leon just sits on the bed and like... cries. Because he’s seen some shit. He’s battled the dragon, he’s lost countless friends, been injured and almost died so many times, had parents that never showed him the time of day, let alone pride, or love, or protection. And still, he explains, that was the single worst day of his life, and he has never forgiven himself for not demanding that he was killed alongside that boy. He explains all that he’s done, to protect magic users, to protect Druids, to persuade his friends and colleagues and other knights that perhaps magic isn’t that bad, but he’s never thought it was enough, and he still has nightmares almost every night about the look on that child’s face as he’d held him down, as he’d screamed and cried and bled out. And Merlin just loses it. He’s trying so hard to be angry, but ultimately he’s just so godamn traumatised, and so damned scared, and so damn empathetic, that he can’t help but feel sorry for Leon too, even though he’ll never fully forgive him, and will always be a little nervous of him (he can’t stand when Leon touches his shoulders/wrists or is physically above him, Merlin can’t sit down with Leon stood up next to him, etc). He tells the truth, that he was the boy, that that was the day he’d discovered he was immortal. It’s totes emotional and they both sob.

They start getting on a lot better, Leon is protective of Merlin to the EXTREME, and starts, in private at least, calling Merlin Miracle. Because he’s the boy that came back to life, and though Leon sort of... hates that he was lucky enough to get the second chance (because regardless of whether the kid would wake up again, he thought he was killing him. He did kill him. He doesn’t deserve a second chance, not for this), he’s also grateful beyond words that he gets to explain to his Miracle Boy how sorry he is, how much he’s trying to repent.

ANYWAY it’s totes angst, and will be very gory.

I am adding these to The List, and I’m so so so excited :D

This is literally incredible. I really need to think more about “earlier meeting AUs” with the knights because it’s always just fun. Maybe I’ll write a crack fic where all the knights (Leon, Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, Gwaine) have somehow met each other all before, individually. It’s the Spiderman meme but to the extreme lol :P

#bbc merlin #merlin #sir leon #leon #merlin angst #baby merlin #child merlin #immortal merlin #angst #so much angst #but also softenss in version 1 #soft leon #tw #child death #gore #protective leon #magic reveal

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prankprincess123 · 1 year

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Anyone up to ramble about Arthurian mythology, specifically Morgan Le Fay with me? Cause I've been doing research for a paper for my Medieval Literature class, and keep getting sidetracked by this character.

Like even in most modern retellings everyone knows her as this crazy witch whose goal in life is to torment the Knights of the Round Table and make their lives harder. But that characterization didn't start until later medieval legends and retellings! And additionally alot of people get her mixed up with her oldest sister Morgause (who is the mother of Mordred and Gawain and usually 3 other knights but sometimes more or less) and/or don't even realize that the legends have an average of 3 but sometimes upto 9 sisters (though only Morgause and Morgan and their sons are important characters) of whom Morgan is the youngest, which further complicates her character. And though her villianization in later works was totally due to misogynistic writers trying to make Merlin (who's actually super sketchy) look better, it actually kinda works as a story arc, if you ignore some of the more WTH things in certain later retellings.

Listen, Morgan Le Fay was having visions of walking through a battlefield seeing the corpses of her son and nephews, and then finding her little brother and holding him while he's dying, all as a result of her sister-in-law being a slut, from the time she was a child with only older sisters. And then in the span of mere weeks: her father is killed, her mother raped by and forced to marry his killer, her sisters are married off to foreign kings, and she is sent to a nunnery until she's old enough to do the same (which only meant 12yo in the time the story takes place!) And then the setup for her visions starts; her brother is born, and her nephews and son follow suit (including a nephew twice over, and how on earth do you react to that?!?!) And at some point she finds out that her husband cheated on her and named his illegitimate son after theirs so he wouldn't get caught if he mixed them up. And then her brother is king and marrying the girl whose cheating is gonna start a war that will kill 90% of their family, and not listening to her when she's telling him that Guinevere is bad news (and ok fine if you're going to marry her at least dont be best friends with Lancelot too, and keep her away from your accidental incest son who has alot of mommy issues cause that could only end badly even without everything else!) Meanwhile all of her brother’s other friends - including the creepy old wizard that kidnapped him as a baby - are constantly at least hitting on and at worst sexually harassing her. She is definitely totally justified in going a little crazy, making a magical island specially to hide from creepy men, and plotting a couple strategic murders designed to protect or avenge her family.

Like she's a young woman who is very clearly traumatized by alot of things, and has magic powers that few even semi understand. Given that she was married off before Uther died when Arthur was 2, but not immediately like Morgause and Elaine were, we can presume she's about 10y older than Arthur. (And if Uther's death soon after her forced wedding at 12yo was suspicious, would you really blame her?) And based on the fact that most of the Knights of the Round Table are portrayed as peers despite the familial generations between them - and specifically that her son Ywain is closest friends with Gawain who is the oldest of Arthur's nephew-knights - we can presume that she had him VERY young. And given that Arthur takes the throne while still a young boy, and all of his nephew-knights are squires when introduced, she would still only be like mid/late 20's in the earlier parts of the story! And even the end of the story when Mordred is grown, is still only another 20ish years down the line, so she's like 50yo at absolute maximum.

In the earliest recorded/surviving Arthurian legends she's just a healer, not even related to Arthur or the Knights but exasperatedly healing them after every quest nonetheless. Combine that with the familial structure and characterization from about 1100's and on, and earlier legends are basically her sitting there in her 20's & 30's, separated from her husband, constantly patching up her already 'adult' teenage son, brother and nephews after their inane quest of the week, while trying to get/keep cheating SIL out of the picture and avoid over zealous 'sutors', and desperately hoping that this battle isn't the one everyone dies in. She deserves to go a little crazy as she does in the later stories, and do things like her Green Knight 'prank'/attempt at literally scaring Guinevere to death. Heck even her attempted coup against her brother makes sense in the context that he and Lancelot and/or Mordred can't start the war(s) over Guinevere that she knows will kill 90% of her family if they don't have armies anymore! Some of her scemes definitely majorly backfire and speed up exactly what she's trying to prevent, but they make sense! Not always rational rightminded sense but storyline sense at least.

And at the end of the day, her visions come to pass, and she walks the battlefields where her family lays dead and dying. First three nephews Agravain, Gaheris, and Gareth killed by Lancelot and his men for exposing the affair, before the final battle. And then Camlann: Her son Ywain killed by her nephew Mordred, one of the last knights to fall defending his uncle/King, Gawain dead or dying beside him from the same. Mordred dead at Arthur's hand, and Arthur dying beside him of their mutually inflicted wounds. And she sobs, and holds them, and takes her dying brother (and when he's not dead yet, still surviving nephew) with her to the magic relam she created, designed to be a place where nothing can ever hurt them again, to try and use her healing magic to change at least one aspect of the horrible visions that have plagued her entire life.

#im almost thinking that eventually im gonna need to write a retelling of Arthurian lore from her POV #morgan le fay #morgana le fay #arthurian literature #arthuriana #arthurian legend #medieval literature

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greyscale-exe · 1 year

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the magic in bbc merlin is a perfect queer allegory

(this is long but i have so many thoughts about bbc merlin and specifically merlin’s character)

we all know and love bbc merlin as a kinda queerbait-y show about a couple of pals (arthur and merlin) who go on adventures together, but it’s also a great queer allegory (an allegory being a symbolic representation of something else).

throughout the show, magic is presented as an innate part of a person that they are born with that they cannot control, yet they are persecuted for it. some people can hide it and live fulfilling lives in spite of the anti-magic rhetoric in camelot, but others, like morgana, morgause, nimueh, and others cannot live any other way than loudly themselves. now does that sound at all familiar?? if it does, lovely! that’s a queer allegory!

you can also see this in merlin’s journey from s1 to s5 because in the beginning, he is not at all confident in his magic abilities and he’s (mostly) very careful about people finding out because he is terrified of being outed as a wizard in a city of people who would have him killed. gaius is really his only ally there because he understands merlin’s situation and what he’s going though. you might even say he’s a bit of a queer elder.

in s4 and s5, merlin is significantly more confident in his abilities and you see the shift from being a timid little guy early on, to proudly saying “i was born with it” when agravaine said he had magic. hell, he was even able to stand up to uther and show that he had magic during the ghost episode! to me, this feels comparable to when a queer person has fully accepted their queer identity and gotten over a lot of internalized queerphobia to be able to be loudly and proudly themselves. obviously merlin isn’t suddenly flaunting his magical abilities because as dumb as he can be sometimes he’s not a complete idiot, but he has made his magic a central part of his identity and he’s comfortable with that!

for merlin “coming out” as a wizard to uther was a huge turning point in his character arc because he was able to leave some of his anger towards uther behind him and prove to himself that he won. uther was scandalized that he had given merlin such a privileged position and yet that just showed how merlin had won. he had survived right under uther’s nose, becoming arthur’s closest friend and lover and to me, that final scene with uther’s ghost is a massive “fuck you” to uther and everything he stood for, after which merlin is more able to come into his own and be more proud of himself and his magic. s1 merlin would not have been at all able to something like that and it always makes me smile when i watch s5.

tldr: most stories about forbidden magic (including bbc merlin) can be interpreted as queer allegories and merlin’s character development over the show is simply so amazing :)

#bbc merlin #merthur #i love queer allegories so much #if you read into anything long enough you can make it queer #turning the frickin frogs gay one media analysis at a time #fuck uther #all my homies hate uther #theo is being silly about bbc merlin

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like-sands-of-time · 8 months

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I wonder if having the actress who played Morgause look similar to Arthur was an intentional move or not, because she looked more like Arthur's sister than Morgana did 🤔

though I kinda love the idea that all three of them are half siblings through Uther. it seems like the kind of thing that piece of garbage would do to the wife he loved and his closest knight, just absolutely refuse to remain faithful to one he chose because she can't provide children for you, meanwhile you're off "comforting" the wife of your best friend while your own wife is right there, probably struggling through infertility or maybe even early miscarriages if it ever went that far, by herself! Because it's somehow her fault . never mind that he should be comforting that woman instead of going behind her back to magically impregnate her (still unclear how that process unfolds btw)

Not to mention that would mean he produced two children born with magic, and one born of magic. It's like homophobic parents having gay children as a sort of karmic justice from the universe. you wanted heirs so bad, well guess what? Every single one of them is something you hate, and every single one of them is going to work together at some point to attempt your death! :P

#uther pendragon #morgause #arthur pendragon #morgana le fay #bbc merlin

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its-all-a-little-bit-magical · 2 years

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CW: brief mentions of abuse, violence, torture, as they appear in BBC Merlin

So I’m about ten years late on this but I’m really not seeing enough discourse about Morgana from BBC Merlin bc like. She is. Utterly Fascinating. She is a study in how writers at the time were absolutely panicking about how to deal with women activists and shows a really unnerving look at the way that people thought (and continue to think) that left wing activists are constantly on the borderline of falling into violent extremism and it is. Wild. And yet I barely ever seem to see people discussing her in depth?

It’s been mentioned a few times though on the Destiny and Chicken podcast (which if you haven’t listened, go do that immediately, it is a wonderful episode by episode breakdown and discussion and the hosts are brilliant) that Morgana’s obsession with killing Merlin (and kidnapping him, and torturing him, and emotionally wrecking him, etc., etc.) is strange because she doesn’t know about his magic and therefore she shouldn’t know that he is a legitimate threat. I actually completely disagree. I don’t think that it’s actually about his threat level at all. I always read her ‘oh he’s a thorn in my side’ type rhetoric, right from Season 3 and the scene where she says something like that to Morgause, as an excuse, rather than as her legitimate reason. I think that her obsession with hurting Merlin truly stems from his betrayal in the Fires of Idirsholas. I don’t think she ever recovers from it.

Think of it from Morgana’s point of view: she doesn’t know that Merlin was told that she was the vessel for the spell. In fact, she doesn’t even know that she is the vessel. Remember: Morgause enchants her to sleep before she a) consents to participate in the plan, and b) gives her any real detail about the plan. As far as she knows, something terrible is happening and someone is trying to kill Uther. With only that info to go on, she risks her life to help save Uther, despite everything he’s done to her and people like her (see: directly threatening her life, throttling her, locking her up etc.). Remember that she helps Merlin drag Uther out of danger. She has no idea what’s going on and she doesn’t have any expectation of her own safety throughout. When Merlin continues dragging Uther away after Morgana trips and a knight advances on her, she cowers because she’s fully expecting him to strike her.

Given this, when Merlin poisons her, there’s really only one thing that could motivate him, as far as she knows: she has magic. From Morgana’s POV, arguably her closest friend, the person who knows her most private and dangerous secrets and who seemed to accept her, turned on her at the first sign of a magical threat, without trying to speak to her or genuinely considering that she might literally be protected by her magic, but not be causing it. As far as she can see, he simply assumes that it’s her fault because she has magic, and his response is to straight up murder her. That’s intensely personal. She trusted this man with a secret that could kill her and he used that knowledge as justification to poison her.

Also, Merlin’s choice is essentially to kill her on the chance that it saves Arthur. He sees both Arthur and Morgana at risk and he chooses to sacrifice Morgana. There’s a repeating pattern of characters choosing Arthur over Morgana that I’ve always found intensely sad. Gwen falls for him and so Morgana loses her; when she comes back in S3, her best friend has moved on. Merlin chooses Arthur. Gaius chooses literally everyone in damn Camelot except her. Annis chooses Arthur. Uther prioritises Arthur and chooses not to claim Morgana as his family. She’s constantly isolated in favour of Arthur. Merlin might just have been the first and most traumatic loss.

(I will also point out that he used hemlock, a poison that, to this day, has no antidote. Without a ventilator and 21st century medical life-support machines, that girl should be dead. From what she can know, he didn’t want her brought to the point of death but maybe revivable, he wanted her Deceased. I assume Morgause healed her with magic but like, honestly, Merlin could not have expected that to be possible.)

I’ve gone on a bit but basically, I think that Morgana’s specific obsession with Merlin does make sense because it’s not partly political, like with Arthur, it’s primarily personal. I think this also explains why her plans re: Merlin are so centred on personally hurting him, rather than, as you said, simply sending someone in to slit his throat and be done with it. When he’s brought to her in A Servant of Two Masters, she literally stops someone from killing him so that she can hurt him herself. She tortures him physically and then tries to make him do the one thing that would hurt him most: kill Arthur. (This also ties in to Fires of Idirsholas, because in that situation Merlin chose Arthur’s life over hers and now she’s going to make him lose the person he sacrificed her to save.)

When she poisons him in The Hollow Queen, it’s violent and intimate and personal. Firstly, she uses poison, which is a direct callback to what he did to her. She forces it into his mouth and watches him. She barely uses magic at all, except to get him on the ground at first which is fair since she might not be able to do it manually any more since Colin Morgan suddenly grew three inches and got Shoulders. She uses something that will make him suffer for as long as possible. And she pushes his body over that ridge herself, without magic. Even the way in which she tricks him into following her into the woods is a sick recreation of her experience with Merlin and druidboy!Mordred.

Essentially, it comes down to her understanding of Merlin: i.e. she knows that Merlin will drop everything to help this innocent young boy that he’s known for thirty seconds—but not her. He will do anything to help anybody—but not her. It’s really fricking sad to me. She puts herself through watching him help a total stranger, knowing that he deemed her undeserving of his kindness; she forces herself to see, again, that he will help anyone, no matter what, even if they have magic—but, for some reason, not her. It must feel personal to her, which is I think why her attacks on Merlin are so personal in return.

Also, in the Hollow Queen episode, compare Morgana’s plan re: Merlin with her plan re: Sarrum. Sarrum imprisoned her for TWO YEARS in a pit and (it’s implied) physically or sexually abused her, and yet she’s willing to delegate that assassination to Gwen. She looks at her plan for the week, decides to get rid of both Merlin and Sarrum, and goes ‘mm yeah that’s too much, I simply don’t have time for both of those’ and chooses to prioritise killing Merlin herself over assassinating the man who, again, imprisoned and abused her for years. That, to me, really makes it seem like Merlin is still a more personal and important target. Sarrum she wants dead for his actions against her, sure, but she had no love for him beforehand so the trauma isn’t compounded by a previous relationship with the abuser. However, she loved and trusted Merlin before his betrayal and so her vengeance against him simply has to be carried out by her own hand.

#morgana pendragon #merlin season 5 #morgana #merlin #bbc merlin #merlin analysis #abuse

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eggmacguffin · 2 years

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I had been wondering all throughout Season 1 why I had been so harsh on Arthur Pendragon the first time I watched Merlin so many years ago.

He was a little immature, a little wet behind the ears, but nonetheless fundamentally caring and compassionate. Very believably on his way to becoming a great king.

His very worst moments of greed and selfishness and ignorance seldom went unpunished, and it was heavily implied that his blusterous attitude was primarily a learned behavior to please his father.

Then I started season 2.

And they basically rewrote his character to be 5 years younger and actually genuinely just an asshole. All his moments of kindness and self-reflection this season seemed to be focused around his feelings for Guinevere, which is bad writing for a few reasons:

1. Romance is an inherently selfish motivator; having feelings for Gwen and being nice to her as a result doesn't make him secretly noble. Having him be an asshole to everyone else makes him seem like he is faking it to convince her to like him.

2. This premise requires him to be mean to Gwen where he NEVER was in the first season. Literally they broke him so she would have to fix him.

3. Where I believe Gwen could have eventually caught feelings for S1 Arthur (noble, humble, caring) the idea that she would even consider S2 Arthur as an option considering how he treats both her and Merlin (one of her closest friends) should absolutely rule him out.

4. I can't stress enough that his new personality should be more of a dealbreaker than the fact that he inadvertently got her father killed at the end of season 1.

The writing for every character is generally worse tbh. Merlin is significantly dumbed-down, Gaius is inexplicably callus, Uther's motivations make even less sense than before, and Gwen's characterization is a leaf on the wind as she flutters between her established love interests with ZERO of the chemistry from S1.

But Arthur definitely got hit the worst.

#merlin rewatch my beloved #i just finished 2x04

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heldtogetherwithstring · 1 year

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Merlin Spotify Playlist

I've had a Merlin Spotify Playlist for a while, so I figured I would post some of the songs and their explanations here! There are currently 124 songs, so I won't be doing all of them unless someone requests some more. Hope you enjoy!

I'll Never Forget The Time I Spent With You - The Lathums

A lot comes to mind with this song. Of course, the finale is the most obvious one in terms of the lyrics of this song, but I imagine Merlin feels this a lot. With all the friends he has lost along the way and all the ones he outlived, Merlin likely spends a lot of time lost in the memories he has of those he couldn't save. But there is one line here that reminds me of the theories around The Once and Future King, with Arthur recognising Merlin's eyes and saying a variation of "Do I know you?" every time he meets Merlin or one of his aliases. "I won't forget the time I spent with you. Before we'd even met, I've spent a lifetime with you."

Burn the Witch - Shawn James

This song reminds me a lot of Morgana, for obvious reasons. But it also reflects what some of the magic-users during Uther's reign would have felt as they were tied to the stake. Despite the burning being a horrifically negative thing, there is something profound that must be respected in the way that the artist sings of not giving them the satisfaction of hearing him scream as the fire is lit.

Battlefield - SVRCINA

This song reflects both Merlin and the Knights. Arthur spends a great deal of time in the series fighting in battles and later on planning and leading them. As the Crown Prince and a respected Knight, Arthur has a great deal of pressure on his shoulder, especially with Uther as his father. Like when Arthur half-heartedly expressed the wish to go off and be a farmer leading a simple life, Arthur wants to get rid of the pressure and responsibility sometimes. But since he could never give up Camelot because of his love for the kingdom and its people, he continues on despite the pain. As for Merlin, though he is not a Knight and the majority of the characters would not recognise him as a warrior, spends a lot of time with life and death in his hands, forced to play a godlike role in his responsibility as Emrys.

Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

This is the second song on my playlist. It's on a lot of my other playlists since my parents listened to it, and the lyrics fit Merlin perfectly. We all love some Merlin angst, and the lyrics of this song can be interpreted many different ways.

And I'd give up forever to touch you 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't want to go home right now

This makes me think of Arthur in Avalon, and Merlin's immortality. Arthur is the closest Merlin will ever get to heaven, and I imagine in the present day he longs for the 'horseplay' and causal affection Arthur gave him.

And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am

The chorus is just so Merlin. He tells Gaius he thinks he is a monster, and he is terrified of his friends finding out he has magic and condemning him for it.

Liar - The Arcadian Wild

I sense there’s trouble ahead. It’s clear by the signs and warnings that should tell where all blame is due. So why are they pointing at my head?

There are a lot of plotlines that involve Merlin being under suspicion for things he didn't do, the most obvious one I can think of being when Gwen in the later seasons accused Merlin of poisoning Arthur. Merlin was arrested and all of his friends, the people he guarded with his life, believed he had tried to kill the one he loved.

‘Cause I’m not in a right state of mind. I just wish I had strength to admit it. My stubbornness will put up a fight, but I don’t deserve to win it. I’m left in the dark pondering my mistakes, but in the light I swear I will deny it all.

Merlin pushes himself to do better all of the time, and especially in the later seasons he tears himself apart mentally, on top of the trauma he has lived through.

#merlin #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #emrys #camelot #knights of camelot #king arthur #spotify #spotify playlist #music #song analysis

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weakforarwen · 2 years

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The Beginning of the End

There’s a lot to unpack in this episode. I’ll do it character by character because it’s easier.

Arthur: Perhaps I didn’t give Arthur enough credit in my review of A Herald of the New Age, when I said Arthur’s regret for killing the druids seemed insincere. Perhaps it wasn’t, because Arthur argued against the execution of the druid man and pleaded with Uther to spare Mordred many times, going so far as to call him out for forgiving Morgana when she had “betrayed” him too. Of course, talk was all Arthur was willing to do. He wouldn’t betray his father and personally carried out Uthers’ orders, so he was essentially an accomplice to his crimes.

Furthermore, Arthur raided a druid camp in The Nightmare Begins, when Uther believed Morgana had been kidnapped, and told his men to “Remember the King's orders! No prisoners!”. Did he believe killing an entire group of people, children included, was fair because Morgana had been kidnapped? My point stands: Arthur’s tears in A Herald of the New Age may have been more for Elyan and himself than for the boy he killed - he was terrified of dying or losing Elyan to the boy’s spirit. Or, perhaps, he had been crying for the boy, but only because it’s easy to mourn children. I’m sure he regretted his actions but clearly not enough to change. Arthur may have believed the druids were a peaceful people, but he would only disobey his father if talked into it. In this case, Morgana appealed to his sense of honor and shamed him into doing the right thing:

M: I can't believe you'd let an innocent child die! A: It's too late. He's been caught. I have no choice. M: And is this how you will rule when you are King? You're not like your father. A:I will not betray him. M: If I know you at all, you won't stand by and let this happen. Please. If you won't do this for the boy, then do it for me.

I wonder what held more weight in Arthur’s decision: his desire to prove that he was indeed different from his father - back when his father was still alive and the urge to please him was perfectly counterbalanced by the urge to dissociate his identity from Uther’s - or, if he just couldn’t bear to see Morgana’s judgement and disapproval.

This scene reminded me of a similar scene in The Witchfinder, where Gwen shamed Arthur into doing the right thing and not letting Gaius die like Tom had. She told Arthur he was the Prince, so he should start acting like one.

In both cases, Arthur’s sense of duty and pride, and perhaps the fear of being looked down on by those he cared for, were the only things powerful enough to motivate him to act against his father - pure empathy or kindness alone weren’t enough, doing the right thing wasn’t enough.

However, Morgana flattered Arthur a bit more than Gwen did - she straight up judged him - and that’s a difference between the two of them. Gwen was always more honest and Morgana more cunning.

But after Arthur chose to help Mordred, he committed to it. He’s competent when they let him be. Even when he believed they’d been found, he shielded the boy’s body with his own and drew his sword out, ready to attack his own men.

This episode also showed that Arthur cared a lot about Morgana, which I found a bit surprising. I only remembered him truly caring about Morgana in season 3. They bickered like siblings here, which was cute.

Morgana: Gwen said Morgana had never shown such concern for another, and even questioned if it was wise to risk so much for a boy and betray Uther. But was Morgana supposed to let a little boy die? Obviously, Gwen’s role was to bring to our attention how strong Morgana’s connection to Mordred appeared to be, strong enough that it shocked even her closest friend. Morgana likened saving Mordred to her “destiny”. I don’t quite understand Morgana’s mostly one-sided connection to Mordred, but I think she saw herself in him: someone who was scared, helpless, innocent, and being hunted for something they couldn’t control. Deep down, Morgana was aware she had magic, and I think she sensed Mordred’s magic too, and perhaps their magics were compatible or similar?

Morgana’s hatred of Uther was evident even in this episode, and his treatment of her was appalling. He let her know, under no uncertain terms, that she was not his daughter and he wouldn’t hesitate to execute her should she betray him. Morgana really only became Uther’s daughter in season 3. Literally.

Morgana’s a really good actress though - played Uther well. Foreshadowing something?

Lastly, I want to call out the irony of this scene:

M: I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to either of you.

And, yet, Morgana was more vicious in her attacks against Gwen and Merlin than she was against Arthur. She tried to kill Arthur by any means necessary, but she didn’t try to torture him or draw it out. With Gwen and Merlin, though, she robbed them of their agency, imprisoned them, humiliated them, made them powerless, and tried to kill them slowly and painfully.

Gwen: Shout-out to Gwen for getting caught up in the Mordred situation and bravely facing the threat of execution for Mordred and Morgana. No one gave her much of a choice, and she was only a servant unlike Merlin, Morgana, and Arthur, but yeah, Gwen’s brave.

Mordred: I find it curious that Mordred didn’t talk to Morgana much. He spoke mostly to Merlin. Was it because the druids had told them Emrys was good? Did he know of Morgana? If he knew of Morgana being evil, wouldn’t he know of his destiny to kill Arthur? Was he aware when he spoke to Arthur that he’d one day kill him? If so, he would’ve know Emrys was no friend of his, yet he asked for his help... What did the druids think of Mordred? He was prophesied to kill Arthur, and the druids didn’t necessarily want that, because Arthur was prophesied to “save” them. Did they protect Mordred because he was just a boy and because they were supposed to remain neutral and not interfere with the future? Or perhaps knowing such things was above their pay grade, and they only knew of Emrys as he was the most powerful sorcerer to ever live?

Merlin: Oh Merlin, you blew it again. I can’t understand why Merlin was so distrustful of Mordred from the beginning. He was reluctant to help Mordred escape even before talking to Kilgharrah. He was just a boy with magic and he wouldn’t have hesitated to help any other stranger. It’s like Merlin was picking up weird vibes from Mordred, who was just a child, and I found that gross. He never gave Mordred a chance. When Kilgharrah told Merlin to not protect Mordred, he immediately listened though Kilgharrah for some reason didn’t reveal why. Before choosing to let Mordred die, though, he did ask Kilgharrah for a reason, and guessed that Mordred would kill Arthur.

In the end, though, Merlin didn’t have it in him to ignore a boy’s cries for help. That really was the beginning of the end for Arthur, because Merlin refused to kill Mordred many times and things unfolded the way they did...

I didn’t know anything about King Arthur when I first watched this episode, so I missed its significance. Now I know it’s a meaningful episode, I can appreciate it more. However, looking at it objectively, it’s good, but average.

#bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #mordred #morgana #gwen pendragon #the beginning of the end commentary #the beginning of the end

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