#merlin analysis

[poisonedfate]

just so we're all aware: this is merlin's facial journey during the scene where arthur outright lies to uther to protect merlin

bbc merlin - 02x11 The Witch's Quickening

of course arthur has protected him before, lied for him - take arthur telling him to run when he was accused for sealing the seal for example. it's happened before. but i think this is the first time merlin so explicitly realises just how much arthur is willing to do, considering that he just hammered the guilt into him only a few moments ago. arthur has pretty much taken the responsibility without merlin asking. i wonder if, for him, it's comparable to everything he does with his magic. all these things arthur has not asked of him, that he does happily anyway. i wonder just how much it really means, how much and how different of a weight it puts on their dynamic.

[flight-of-fantasy]

Ok Merlin fans, are we all aware that “Essetir” is not a canon name?

To start, this is not a complaint. I think it’s a perfectly good name for the kingdom Merlin grew up in, and I will probably continue to use it since there is actually no canon name for the kingdom.

However, I am constantly talking to fans shocked it isn’t a canon name! The wiki page states it is a fan name, and has since been updated to make this more clear. You can check the transcripts and “Essetir” is nowhere to be found. Nowhere in the show is the name “Essetir” mentioned and it isn’t on the maps the show released--it is always referred to simply as “Cenred’s kingdom.” There is no canon name for the kingdom, just like there is no canon name for Olaf’s kingdom or Caerleon’s kingdom. They kept it very vague, probably on purpose. 

There is, however, the “Ridge of Ascetir” in Camelot’s land. There is also the “Forest of Ascetir” in Camelot’s land. Both of these are mentioned in the show and are on the maps released by the show itself. I believe “Ascetir” translates roughly to “high land.” Uther says that Ealdor resides “beyond the Ridge of Ascetir” in The Moment of Truth and on the map the show released, that ridge determines the border between the two kingdoms, as does the Forest of Ascetir. This is, however, not the name of the kingdom, and both the forest and ridge are within Camelot’s territory.  

“Essetir” is a fine name! From what I can tell, it roughly translates to “I Am The Land” using Welsh and Latin. I quite like it. I will continue to use it. However, WHERE ARE YOU, DEAR FAN THAT HAS GASLIT US ALL? I commend thee

That is all lol. Other than don’t necessarily take fan wikis at face value

[inalandofsadclowns]

Aight, who wants to talk about the theoretically most optimal occasion for Merlin to come out about his magic to Arthur?

I'll go first: 1x10, Ealdor.

In the prior episodes Merlin was basically still getting to know Arthur. For eight episodes he was the brave and noble prince that Merlin had grown to respect, because Arthur apparently did not value his own life any higher than that of a servant, but who was also the son of Uther Pendragon. Arthur would save Merlin at any price, he got to learn that multiple times. But would he save a sorcerer? He couldn't know. (This question remained even when Arthur had lifted Merlin's sorcery allegations.)

But in 1x08 Arthur knowingly broke the law saving Mordred, a druid; he was in fact more devoted to the cause than Merlin himself.

For Merlin to reveal his secret he needs three prerequisites to exist:

To trust Arthur

The opportunity

To be prepared to leave Arthur forever

The Moment of Truth might just be the only episode where all these exist?

Let's look through these points one by one.

1.Merlin had been wanting for Arthur to know since forever. There's nothing he wants more desperately than to know if they're really, truly friends. Once he says to Will, he does trust him.

Will: Friends don't lord it over one another.

Merlin: He isn't like that.

Will: Really? Well, let's wait until the fighting begins and see who he sends in to die first. I guarantee you, it won't be him.

Merlin: I trust Arthur with my life.

And this gem here. The first time Merlin doesn't promise Hunith to keep Arthur in the dark.

Hunith: You can't let Arthur know about your gift.

Merlin: Why not? Maybe it's meant to be this way. And if he doesn't accept me for who I really am, then he's not the friend I hoped he was.

2. Opportunity. They have these several times throughout the series: fights for survival, heated arguments, quiet moments of vulnerability. There are several brilliant opportunities in this very episode.

The armor scene:

Merlin: Whatever happens out there today, please don't think any differently of me.

Arthur: I won't. It's alright to be scared, Merlin.

Merlin: That's not what I meant.

Arthur: What is it? If you've got something to say, now's the time to say it.

Oh. He tried. My boy tried, he was so close...My heart bleeds for him here.

Then, obviously, right after the battle.

Arthur: Wind like that doesn't just appear from nowhere. I know magic when I see it. One of you made that happen.

Merlin: Arthur...

Merlin just so manages to exhale Arthur's name with a so-so painful look in his eyes. Arthur knows what Merlin was about to say. Just for a moment, because Will gets shot saving Arthur.

He even tries to stop Will from taking the responsibility on his deathbed, even though Arthur knew, that the windstorm was conjured by one of them; if it wasn't Will, than that leaves only Merlin.

Will: Yeah, it was me. I'm the one that used the magic.

Merlin: Will, don't.

[Arthur looks at Merlin.]

3. The most important part. The greatest issue for Merlin has always been the threat of having to leave Arthur. But in this episode there is a cause just as important to him as Arthur - his village and his mother.

The first Merlin and Arthur exchange of the episode is Merlin saying goodbye to Arthur.

Merlin: It's been an honour serving you.

Arthur: You'll be coming back.

Merlin: Well, she's my mother. I have got to look after her before anyone else. You understand?

Then he was prepared to come clean for Ealdor's sake several times that day. Merlin is going to fight for his village, he's well prepared to use magic if needed - in front of Arthur, if needed, knowing full well that might be the last time they ever speak or meet. Whether Arthur forbids Merlin from returning to Camelot for Camelot's sake or Merlin's own sake, the result would be the same.

At the very end, even with his magic still a secret, he was going to stay in Ealdor with Hunith, had she not sent him after the others, so he really was prepared to part from Arthur.

[Arthur walks over to Morgana and Gwen. Hunith walks over to Merlin.]

Hunith: You better be going.

Merlin: I don't have to go.

Hunith: Yes, you do.

Merlin: If anything were to happen to you...

Hunith: I know where to find you. You have to go, Merlin. You belong at Arthur's side. I've seen how much he needs you. How much you need him. You're like two sides of the same coin.

That whole episode was Merlin attempting and failing to come out to Arthur.

After this, though, Merlin was too close to Arthur to ever consider prerequisite 3., other than in the form of dying for Arthur.

[iris-black13]

In honour of Merlin trending for literally no reason today, I would like to share my theories that I came up with during my recent rewatch. (I'm only up to season 3 right now so there really aren't that many theories yet.)

1. Merlin and Arthur 100% fell in love with each other in season 1, but they aren't aware of it at all.

2. Merlin is so gay. I'm not sure if he knows it or not, but Merlin is not attracted to women. Every time he's seemed interested in a woman, it's because she's been a powerful sorceress or a magical creature. Speaking of Freya; his only real female love interest, what he loves about her is that he sees himself in her. He feels a sense of kinship towards her as someone who is trapped and hunted for something out of her control. I don't think he feels any actual romantic love for her. He loves her, sure. But I think he's confusing romantic love for something else. (But idk I could be wrong.)

3. I don't think the Morgana we got back after her disappearance is the same Morgana we had pre S2E12. I think she probably died and came back wrong. Because otherwise the personality difference is too drastic. Her relationship with Gwen for instance. It makes sense if she didn't forgive Merlin for what he did, but why is she so mean to Gwen?? Gwen was her best friend and maybe even her first love? Morgana was never classist before season 3, but afterwards she acts like Gwen is lesser than and it just doesn't make sense. Anyway that's my in-universe explanation for her terrible shift in character.

4. This is the most important one. Merlin doesn't realize he's in love with Arthur until some time shortly before the season 2 finale. Before the finale, Merlin is happy to cheer on the romance between Arthur and Gwen. Two of his best friends fell in love! Why wouldn't he be happy? Even if they think there's no future for their relationship, he's more than happy to help them get together because Merlin believes in loving who you want to love.

Now, I could go on about how falling in love with Gwen is basically Arthur's way of expressing his repressed feelings for Merlin since Gwen and Merlin are of the same social standing and since Gwen is a woman he can experience the love he could have had with Merlin if it was allowed, but I won't do that. This ain't about him. What's important is that Merlin, in the season 2 finale- knows he's in love with Arthur, and that Arthur can't love him back. After the finale, he's still happy to help his friends in their affections for each other, but his bright goofy smile is gone. It's replaced with this melancholy smile and a hesitant voice.

I'm so serious right now. If you don't believe me, just go rewatch seasons 2 and 3 and see the shift in his demeanor yourself. He actively avoids them when they're interacting in season 3. In- I think it was the changeling episode, at the end, Arthur and Merlin walk into a hallway at the bottom of the staircase. They both see Gwen on the staircase, and when Arthur starts up the stairs, Merlin immediately leaves. It's not a "I'll give them their space" moment. It's a "I can't be here right now" kind of moment. He doesn't even try to stick around to protect Arthur on their date in the episode where Morgana frames Gwen for witchcraft. (and don't even get me started on that episode of my god.) Normally, he would stick around in the shadows to make sure nothing goes wrong and they aren't attacked or anything. It's weird that he doesn't try to stick around!

And oh my God. There are so many moments where Colin Morgan's acting just makes my heart ache. In the crystal caves, Merlin trying to banter with an unconscious Arthur while trying desperately to heal him makes me want to cry. And any time he's encouraging Gwen to follow her heart and be with Arthur just makes me ache. In the "...you still have feelings for him." And the "you like him. He likes you. Isn't that all that really matters?" I just can't.

Honestly, I could go on, but this post is already wordy enough. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[regulusrules]

When I say Merlin is my comfort show, I probably should strictly elaborate that I mean S1 Merlin. Although most of my favourite episodes are not even in that season, but it just brings insane levels of comfort. Really, why the fuck did the writers deviate so much from it? If for the "character development" narrative, there's literally nothing that was not perfect about their characterizations in s1:

Banter boyfriends? Check.

Exponentially affecting each other both positively and (sometimes tinges of) negatively? Check.

“I see your village is raided.. one sec I'll follow you till the end of earth to protect you and all those you care about.” Check.

Able to mentally grow from the restraining mindsets of Uther (and in Merlin's case Kilgharrah) when they consolidated together in letting go of Mordred despite being told the reverse. (Which was one of the reasons for their downfall, being held back by thoughts and actions that were not their own). Check.

Arthur actually saving the day with the assistance of Merlin's magic (ep4) which he does not reject and rather owe his gratitude to? (something that was later on lost as they insisted on fixating on Merlin's solo savings). Check.

“Is that poison? Here. Lemme drink it for you.” Check, check and check.

God we were so robbed of them being them in the most significant aspect. A continuation of s1's characterization should've actually involved Arthur figuring out on his own, them a duo working on bringing magic back to Albion (even if you still want to end it by killing Arthur, at least the whole core of the show wouldn't have been lost), and not the bleeding out of the same tropes and the same villains over and over without ever reaching to a point. I really get the argument of sticking to the legends, and I don't mind it, but they didn't stick to the legends from the beginning which baited us into thinking it will get resolved happily.

But to be fair, Arthur did get a relatively good character development. His transition from prince to prince regent to king was really done well. You see him growing to being more empathetic and more honour-driven. But he still should've been represented as the almighty king he was, not one who didn't have 2 braincells to figure out that his closest human being had been hiding from him for 10 years. And on the other side of the coin, Merlin should've had the chance to be Emrys, by all BAMF meanings of the word, not overshadowed for a whole decade without ever having the love and appreciation he deserved. He shouldn't have needed to turn bitter and obsessed. They shouldn't have resorted to just 48 hrs of Arthur knowing.

Honestly, I love this show as-is with an extent I cannot even describe sometimes, but their character development took a turn different from the one they truly deserved. Instead of filler episodes, they could have focused more on Arthur and Merlin's relationship, Arthur and Merlin growing, Arthur and Merlin succeeding.

[closetsof-backlogged-dreams]

okay, but I feel like we don't talk about how many parallels there are between Merlin's relationship with Arthur and Gwen's relationship with Arthur.

the reason Arthur befriended Merlin and grew to trust him was mostly because he stood up to him. in a place where everyone was afraid of their prince, Merlin actively irritated and annoyed him, just for the fun of it.

but more than that, Merlin helped Arthur become a better version of himself. I believe that Arthur respected that.

Gwen and Merlin, at their heart of hearts, are very similar. they are both kind and sweet. they both ramble when nervous. they are sassy and witty when the time comes. they are responsible and good leaders. but above all, they both stood up to Arthur and worked to make him better.

Arthur noticed Merlin immediately because right at the get-go, he was challenging his authority and forcing him to question his power. they became close companions very quickly despite—or truly, because of—their constant bickering.

Arthur didn't notice Gwen until she did the same thing. she challenged his authority and pointed out his flaws. she worked to make him a better person. canonically, this was why Arthur fell in love with her. she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and call the prince of Camelot out on his bullshit.

but isn't that what Merlin did the whole series? isn't that what Merlin has done from day one? with that logic, Arthur must have been in love with Merlin the whole time.

shouldn't he?

[punkxcalibur]

In “defense” of Kara

A lot of people in the Merlin fandom seem to despise Kara and blame her for Mordred killing Arthur and while I have pretty neutral feelings about her, since she was badly written and barely even a character, rather than a plot device, I’m gonna say it:

Kara is not the murderous, ignorant chick you’re making her out to be. If the show was written from a different perspective, you’d be rooting with her. Kara’s family was most likely killed by knights of Camelot. And while Uther isn’t in reign anymore, Arthur hasn’t done much to bring peace to the kingdom. So, Arthur is Kara’s oppressor. In a lot of media it is portrayed as natural to want to kill your oppressor.

“But Arthur’s a good person!!!”

He may be. But Kara never got to know him personally, not like Merlin or Mordred. Kara only knows that he is king, a king that has done nothing to end the bloodshed caused by his father.

All in all, the real problem is the show’s writing. They needed a motivation for Mordred to turn evil, and what is better than a loved one dying?

So they had Arthur execute her, and Merlin betraying Mordred, in order that he could be mad at them. But of course Arthur is the good guy, so they can’t just make him murder his friend’s gf in cold blood. Ergo, Kara tries to kill him, because anyone who tries to kill Arthur is a bad person, now it is justifiable that Arthur wants to execute her and to show how much of a good person he is, he even gives her a second chance! But Kara is a bad person, like everyone that’s against Arthur, so she chooses to die, despite the king’s incredible generosity.

Now, they can justify Mordred’s 180 turn, after portraying him as a kind and gentle person throughout the whole season. Because there is no better motivation than your girlfriend.

[shut-up-hope]

wanna talk abt that one infamous line in 5x12: “i always thought you were the bravest man ive ever met…”

followed by the heart-wrenching: “…guess i was wrong.”

the last part of this quote is, without a doubt, incredibly manipulative. arthur’s reasoning for saying smth like that was probably to get merlin to beg for forgiveness and to offer to join in the battle.

it’s understandable for arthur to be hurt over merlin not accompanying him to the most important battle of his life, however it certainly doesn’t justify the intent of his harsh words.

merlin has always proven to be a courageous and loyal servant — and obviously, friend — to arthur. merlin has risked his life for him — most cases which arthur was not aware of, however there were times he knew, times in which merlin was close to certain death because he had risked everything for arthur. a prime example is 1x04; merlin drank the cup filled with poison in front of the entire banket. granted, he was forced by uther to do so, but he did not object to drinking from the cup. arthur was there to witness this happening.

merlin has always accompanied arthur to battle or in minor quests. to arthur’s knowledge, merlin is a mere servant who does not possess magic. furthermore, merlin has never asked for nor was he given any weapons to defend himself with in times of danger, thus making him all the more brave — and possibly stupid — in arthur’s eyes.

the fact that arthur claimed to be “wrong” about merlin being “the bravest man [hes] ever met” was a manipulative statement to pressure merlin into joining him to the battle of camlann.

i’d argue that it was incredibly unnecessary of him to add such a thing when he was praising merlin; he undermined merlin’s efforts and loyalty. it’s perfectly understandable for him to be upset in that moment, however there is no excuse for him to have said something so… cruel.

[kassasnek]

A creature of magic, and what that means for merlin: a little short analysis on Merlin's magic I had after watching the witchfinder

I just rewatched "the witchfinder" with my friend (we're doing a season 2 speedrun) and we discussed somethings about Merlins magic that I found interesting

So, We all know that Merlin is a so called "creature of magic". It's a bit hard to understand what they mean by this, but we think that the absolut best way to describe it is by seeing it as a reflex. Merlin isn't fully human, because his reflexes work in a fundamentaly different way than our.

When we see an arrow flying towards someone, our instinct is to push them away from harm.

Merlin instinct is to shield with magic

Now, this would all be completely fine and dandy if it wasn't for the magic ban. But because of it, Merlin is constantly fighting his own natural reflexes.

When Merlin is sent to the dungeons because he's accused of being a sorcerer, he knows that he could break free at any moment. When Gauis is sent to the dungeons to be tortured, Merlin knows that he could take down the whole castle, and damn the consequences. When Arthur drags him down to the dungeons, he knows that he could take him out with "less than one blow". But instead he is binding himself stuck, fighting against his own self, identity and soul, not using magic because of the repercussions.

When we see a ball flying towards our face, we catch it with our hands. That's our instinct.

Merlin has to see the ball coming towards his face, but still not use his hands by complete self restrain, and force himself to get hit with the ball repeatedly. (all the while being told that he's such an idiot for not catching it with his hands)

When Merlin conjures the horse from the smoke in the witchfinder episode, it's because holding your own hands behind your back aches, and sometimes you just have to shake them lose. It's not because he wants to have a bit of fun, it's because holding it back must pulse in the back of his head, until he must let go, if just for a little bit.

Of course all of this is kind of obvious. But it really stood out to me tonight while talking to my friend about it. It's so easy to forget how much Merlin truly has to force himself to be human in everyone else's way. It's something that's there in every episode.

Merlin had to hold his own hands behind his back, constantly. And I think we forget what that means for him as a creature of magic.

[sammypompeius]

Merlin episode 6 sketches part 1

[forlornkiller]

i see a lot of shit on merlin in s5 for not trusting other people enough but i think y’all gotta understand. arthur is such a pure soul and sees goodness in everybody, his best self trusts everyone but so many people around him were greedy and power-hungry without even understanding the responsibility of leadership. merlin is his other half, the one who understands him more than anybody and he knows this truth about arthur. he’s also by his side, building their kingdom together, protecting him and loving him more than he loves himself. that means he has to be doubting everybody, always on watch for something to go wrong or some threat to arthur even if that means being a “worse” person than arthur himself. idk i see how people wanted merlin to trust mordred more but i also think how he ended up being was reasonable. and in the end none of this shit would’ve had to been dealt with if uther hadn’t been such a horrible tyrant father and king sooo 🤷🏽‍♀️

[poisonedfate]

and you know, if you REALLY want to have a rough night, all you have to do is think about how arthur loves. how uther treated him all his life, loving only just enough for him to feel safe, just enough to be protected and not warm. how arthur grew up knowing that, and only that, how it is perfectly clear in the way he treats merlin, because he'll shove him around, yell, and be loud in his words as in his actions, but god will he also go above and beyond to keep him safe, will even lie to uther himself to protect merlin. and truly, that's where his heart really bleeds through, in the veil between how he was taught to love and how he really wants to love, in the moment between, where he's allowed to show he cares, where keeping merlin safe from anyone but him is soaked red with affection, because that's what love is, right?

[its-all-a-little-bit-magical]

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.

[inalandofsadclowns]

I'm not ready to shut up about

Merlin: Well, I think I might be able to help.

Arthur: You, Merlin? You haven't the faintest idea what it takes to become a knight. Courage, fortitude, discipline...

So Arthur mistakenly thought Merlin offered to become his knight and this was his reaction. Once again, the obvious counterargument would've been the First Code of Camelot, according to which only noble families' members could become knights.

I find it fascinating Arthur's first reaction when he thinks Merlin is contemplating knighthood is not the code. The Code! Merlin, you, a peasant, could never-

No. He instead goes on listing all these virtues (some of which Merlin is not lacking and Arthur is aware but not the point). Arthur simply doesn't share Uther's principles! It's episode five and he DOES NOT believe that only nobles are worthy of his trust. And sure, we'd known this since Valiant, but this reaction here – it's proof that his first instinct is to judge a person by their qualities instead of their class. And he's like this even subconsciously. It's like he'd be uncomfortable even to joke at the expense of his people. Like here, he tries making a real argument about Merlin – which is clearly faulty and complete nonsense and comes from a place of gay panic – but you see that he puts in the effort.

And it's not like Arthur is offering to knight peasant. Not even considering it, straight up denying the possibility. But not for the (politically) correct reasons!!

Later he even speaks up on Lancelot's behalf – mind you, soon after the identity fraud – and tries to convince Uther to knight him anyway-

No I can't emphasize enough...he said pardoning Lancelot is not good enough- He directly told Uther that he must restore Lancelot to his rightful place, as a knight of Camelot.

Righful place. You must.

Like- That is bold. Unhinged. Treacherous, even.

HE'S.NOT.LIKE.UTHER.

He never was.

[whenyouhearthedoorcreak]

merlin is the extrovert and arthur is the intro lever what are you guys Talking about???

merlin who makes friends where ever he goes, merlin who was smiling and exited and ready to chat upon entering a bustling city for the first time in his whole life, merlin who was the first to start an actual friendship with arthur, merlin who loves people from the minute he meets them,

merlin loves a party and a crowd, he goes mad sitting alone for too long, he finds a person to talk to the minute he is upset, he literally cannot function without people around him and you have the gaul to call him and Introvert?!?

and seriously? ARTHUR PENDRAGON?!? AN EXTROVERT!?!? literally where?

he has absolutely no real friends before merlin, he can hardly speak at a social gathering, he stumbles his way through every single party they attend. when merlin starts talking to a new person and bringing them along for things arthur is affronted and horrified at the idea

arthur literally pushed his closest friends away every time he is the slightest bit upset, he ends days of meeting and social events exhaustedly sighing and asking merlin to leave early. he literally has no idea how to be normal or calm around a group of people. he just reads out a script he’s learned in his head.

merlin is the only reason arthur had any friends literally at all. he introduces all of them and he keeps in touch with them. if merlin hadn’t shown up i am fully convince arthur would have willing spent his whole life holed up alone in his room

[fanstuff3]

Why The Adventures of Merlin is Loved