#morgana deserved better?

[thenightshadowqueen]

Anyone else ever notice how Uther is willing to use magic to save Morgana—begs Gaius to do it, even—but never once considers it for Arthur? Like, we knew he had a favourite, but fucking hell.

[baltharino]

[gldnstrngs]

i will never not be angry with the way morgana’s character was developed

there are so many layers to her character that could’ve been utilized but was instead boiled down to her “losing her mind” and only wanting power

it starts with merlin poisoning morgana in s2. this may be a very unpopular opinion, but i dont think that being the trigger of morgana actually turning evil was enough…

merlin was wrong to poison her, but he was also put in an impossible position and his only guidance in that moment was a dragon who was desperate for freedom. he didn’t do it because he wanted to, but because he felt like he didn’t have a choice

and, yes, he could’ve talked to morgana, but they were in a high stakes situation where im not sure merlin could actually rationalize with her

people love to solely put the blame on merlin, but its not like morgana was completely innocent either. she may not known at first how morgause was using her as a tool to make all of camelot unconscious, but we could literally see her piecing things together the way merlin was

also, she was working with morgause and i know it was because she wanted uther dead (literally who doesn’t?), but it came with the risk of hurting camelot’s people and also betraying arthur’s trust

in s3 when morgana returns, merlin feels a lot of remorse and that is something that morgana can see. she confronts him and pretends she didn’t become evil, and literally says “you were just trying to protect your friends. i would’ve done the same” which she WOULDVE. morgana was known to be passionate and kindhearted and would’ve done anything to protect her friends (and actively did so), and maybe she wouldn’t have went about it the same way merlin did, but she would’ve eventually come to understand his actions, especially because she allied with darker forces

with that being said, if the writers wanted to make morgana mad at merlin then that’s fine because she has the right to (to an extent), but why take it out on arthur and gwen, who hadn’t done her any harm (before she found out she’s arthur’s half-sister and that arwen was a thing)?

she was raised with arthur and literally said in s1 that he’s a better man than his father. she had faith in him, which was shown when he helped the people of ealdor and when he went to get the mortaeus flower so he could save merlin

and we know that gwen was her maid for several years at that point, and they were literally best friends! so why turn on her, especially when she didn’t do anything to morgana? it can be argued that morgana was frustrated with arthur’s complacency, but there wasn’t any actual reason for her to turn on gwen, especially knowing how she lost her father not too long ago because of uther’s actions

another thing that really upsets me is how morgana uses her class against merlin, so he won’t expose her??? she was literally opposed to classism and did her best to help camelot’s people, but now she was using her standing against merlin

and she uses it when she exposes arthur and gwen for dating. morgana was completely aware that uther wouldnt be happy to find out that arthur was with a maid of all people, so she used that against them

these are all things that were exceptionally out of character for morgana. i know she was under the influence of morgause for roughly a year, but she went from being on the fence about which side to take to immediately going against the people who knew and loved her for years

it’s not like they had to keep morgana’s character completely good the whole time, but she is very nuanced. instead of making her outright evil, the writers should’ve done more to have her juggle with what side she wants to be on. realistically, she wouldn’t just pick morgause, who she really barely knows, over arthur and gwen, who have been her friends for years, without hesitation

and maybe morgana could’ve still ended up being an antagonist, but instead of making her completely bloodthirsty, she could’ve continued to struggle with her feelings towards arthur and gwen and even merlin. in the end, her anger was towards uther because he was the one to persecute magical people, not the others. we could’ve seen her deal with the guilt of inherently going against arthur because she wanted to kill uther (and, no matter how much she hated uther, she was raised by him and clearly showed love for him)

morgana wasn’t just some absolutely unhinged villain. its not like it would be impossible for her to lose sight of what she wanted, but there was no actual transition to get to that point. by the end of the show, she still wanted arthur dead, but i dont think that would’ve actually been the case if she didn’t deal with character assassination

even in the legend (based on which interpretation), morgana is the one to send off arthur’s dead body. i don’t think she wouldve actually wanted arthur to die, especially because arthur didn’t want to see her dead, but it wouldve inevitably happened and that would be when she fully realized everything she did wrong

idk i just have so many thoughts about morgana’s character like she actually deserved so much better 😭 if they were going to make her a villain then they should’ve written that storyline better

[feelyoubehindmyeyes]

“You're not going to die, Arthur. I'm telling you. Because I know that one day you will be King. A greater king than you father could ever be. It's what keeps me going. You are going to live to be the man I've seen inside you, Arthur. I can see a Camelot that is fair and just. I can see a king that the people will love and be proud to call their sovereign. For the love of Camelot, you have to live”

this quote from gwen in 1x13 makes no sense? sure in s2 or onwards it would somewhat reflect their growing relationship, but in s1 gwen and arthur barely interacted. yes gwen probably thought arthur was a good man at heart but how intimately did she actually know him

it would make way more sense for morgana to be at his bedside with this kind of plea. she was the one who foresaw his death and came running barefoot to warn him in front of his knights. she saw him grow from a motherless boy into the man he became and how he increasingly clashed with his father. throughout s1 we see time and time again how arthur confided his anxieties to morgana and how she was often the push he needed to confirm his instinctive righteousness.

heck even merlin saying this would make more sense. i don’t ship merthur but with the whole platonic soulmates, two sides of a coin thing it would work. i love gwen but (to me) the writers made arthur x gwen so contrived through moments like this

[emrys-merlin]

As many things in this show, Aithusa was another wasted character. Great introduction, super promising, and as always, Kilgharrah giving some lines to make us all excited for it. And then they randomly gave her to Morgana, didn't even bother showing how or why, just "oh yeah btw they were captured together". And then neither Merlin nor Kilgharrah really cares about her fate, she gets send away in battle and that's literally the final scene.

You wanted a pay off? Nah, they turned her into a plot device because Morgana needed a dragon and Excalibur v2.

Just remember that Aithusa didn't want to leave Merlin

She knew that Merlin was her Dragonlord. She recognized him.

w h y

[karistiltskin]

imagine ever since you’re little you’re the personal maidservant to the king’s ward and you grow up to be best friends only for her to turn evil, betray you and your kingdom, bring back your dead ex-love (which ends up with you being banned from your home and heartbroken), try and kill you in a sword fight, kidnap and torture you, kill your brother, enchant you into being under her control, and then kill your husband who also happens to be her brother lol

[illhaveyouforbreakfast]

Morgana confronts Arthur's army, saying they have no hope of defeating her.

"I am a high priestess of the old religion!" She snarls, casting a spell that sends a wave of destruction at the knights. It's stopped in its tracks against a shimmering wall of energy. Merlin steps forward, eyes glowing gold, hands raised.

"And I am your god."

[longlivechips]

Every time I rewatch Merlin I hate Gaius a little bit more

[chazza678]

THE PENDRAGON SIBLINGS DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER SO I DREW THEM!

[tuppaware-art]

i love her okay

[communitypoolswimlessons]

I wholeheartedly believe that Morgana never wanted the throne!!!

She wanted to be seen, she wanted to be loved, and at that point (after suffering so much and gaining so little) a throne was the only way she felt she could attain it.

[safirefire]

rip Nesta Archeron you would’ve loved Morgana Pendragon

[summertimemusician]

*downs coffee like a shot* Before we go back to our regularly scheduled Linktober/Linktober Shadow (because I don't leave things unfinished if I can help it), I gotta get the idea of Revenant First out of my system and y'all get to suffer with me until it eventually ceases being an idea and it turns into an actual story. For some reason we talk a lot about First already being alive or already a ghost by the time the Chain meets him, but I don't think I've ever heard someone talk about him actually coming back to life and so y'all get to suffer with my insane ramblings like I'm an 1800's psychic ward patient who believes themselves to be a witch.

Can be x Reader or not idk just an idea that won't leave my mind.

Might expand on this later so Part out of I/?

Revenant First, who died for his people and in the name of his Goddess. All alone on the surface, fighting, fighting, fighting, always fighting. Just to make the land a little safer before the next hero arrives, just to contain the Imprisoned for a little while longer with likely nothing than a ordinary, common sword to his name and a slowly rusting armor.

Always giving so so so much for his people, always doing his best to protect them, though they scorned him, loathed him, didn't believe or support him, rejected him.

With a spirit so strong and lovely that a Goddess fell for him, hated herself for having to manipulate and put him through such horrid experiences just to save the many, just to turn the diamond of his soul into an unbreakable lonsdaleite blade agaisnt a mad deity.

Someone whose will would be enough to keep him going, just one more fight right? Just one more kill right? Forward, forward, ever onward, it doesn't matter if the flesh decays, if the blood drips drips drips until he is dry of it, if the liver doesn't process nutrients, if the lungs don't draw air, if the nerves feel nothing but the cold cold numbness of the winter of his final years, if the heart doesn't beat. If the armor rusts or the sword breaks. He must keep going, he must keep fighting.

To keep them safe he must have faith, faith that he can keep going, to grasp onto that one.single.thread of purpose until the day that fiery, indomitable, determined will finally burns out. Even if his Goddess may have forsaken him knowingly or unknowingly, even if his people have rejected him to the point he isn't even human anymore, even though they reviled him, even if that rejection should by all intents and purposes chained his spirit to the land or ground the jewel of his unbreakable soul into dust, he still loves them, still adores them, still wants to protect them.

No matter how long he must keep going for it. He wishes to see those he holds dear happy, though they cursed and imprisoned him once.

The Chain getting dropped into a completely empty, desolated and undeniably dead version of Sky's Hyrule, only to find the only living thing besides monster is a single man, with rusted gold armor and an old sword, a faded tunic of green with a long, crimson scarf like a bloody banner. With hair and eyes like theirs, undeniably a Link. But so very frigid, so very silent they almost didn't notice him, that they can't help but wonder just how many years he has spent there, eroding away, ruined but still kind, kind, so very gentle. A shadow of his former self, yes, but still himself, still so so so good, doing all he can until Sky's Era comes and maybe, just maybe, he can finally rest.

Or maybe not, after all, someone has to keep the land safe until the Hero after Sky comes around, no?

Just Revenant First in general.

Or maybe we give him the House in Fata Morgana treatment, the House in Fata Hylia Au if you will- *collapses from sleep deprivation*

[mylifeiskindacrazy]

might not be everyone's but my lesbian experience is falling in love with female side characters that get either killed off, forgotten or villanized

[emlynphoenix]

It’s Women’s Day.

In response I chose to present these strong women. I chose Hunith, Kara, Princess Mithian, Morgause, Nimueh and Morgana to celebrate. Each one of these women stuck to their beliefs. They are strong minded people. Nimueh will always have a special place in my heart. The true High Priestess

[fluffypotatey]

Yeah tbh, everything with Season 5 is ://///// Everyone and everything is so off and all they care about is arriving at Camlann and none of it feels authentic or earned to me. Like never mind the fact that this show was supposed to be a prequel to the legendary King Arthur days, everyone has these moments of acting so OOC just to push this weird unearned plot line. I have issues with Season 4 but I prefer to think the show ended with 4x13 and just ignore everything with Season 5 lol.

And about Gwen - nah it’s still a shit show I’ve been around since 2008 and this fandom has never talked about or treated her properly. They never will apparently but at least Angel doesn’t have to cop the vitriol directly to her face anymore.

yeah it really was just a push to DOTD and on one hand that finale has been the plan since s1 and i actually like DOTD because of past set-ups from previous seasons

however, all of it comes at a cost of some solid character building in s5

s4 ends with the sword in the stone legend and a (sort of) repeat “take back the castle” from s3’s finale that cements Arthur as King Arthur. so, i totally get your thoughts of “yeah, bbc merlin ends here for me” because it completes the build up to King Arthur and leaves the rest of his reign up to our interpretation

but then s5 comes around and where we are supposed to see how the Once and Future King’s reign’s been going, it sort of shows us that “yeah, sure, Arthur’s made some changes and allies but also not much has changed from s4 and magic is still presented as the evil antagonist and now we are one a faster countdown bc Camlann soooooooooo”

idk man :/ like i want to like s5 bc DOTD was so good (bc of how much had been built up all 5 seasons) but also i have so many “what if” scenarios that are for changing a lot of s5’s plot lmao

like the ending was inevitable and they could have still reached it without making those narrative choices for s5. in my humble opinion of course