#otp: kingmaker x govt destabilizer

[tiodolma]

Morgana "watch me set up this elaborate scheme to trap arthur. he'll come to us on his own volition lol" Pendragon

vs.

Merlin "okay i'll just take away arthur's agency for a moment so that he'll listen to me. yes this absolutely will not backfire on me" Emrys

who would win between these two assholes lmao

merlin is a puppetmaster while morgana is like that scientist who lay complicated mazes and traps for rats

match made in hell

[tiodolma]

morgana: I'm going to destabilize the throne. So I will kill uther, arthur. then sully gwen using shade!lancelot, then harm sir gwaine, then have gaius tortured...

merlin: I FCKN HATE YOU

morgana: i just want to take over the government? what is it to you?? ur just a servant?? also you betrayed me first??

merlin: GRRR GRRR GRRRR

morgana: my personal beef isn't with you, bitch. i should have beef with you with the poisoning and hurting morgause and all but taking over the crown is priority. I still need to find Emrys too.

merlin: STOP HURTING ALL MY BEST FRIENDS!

morgana: what.

morgana: (checks notes)

morgana: IS THAT WHY YOU ARE EVERYWHERE??

morgana: your best friend is the government???

mordred: btw EMRYS is Merlin

morgana: oh for fuck's sake.

[tiodolma]

I just realized that if Morgana kept trying to assasinate Uther and Arthur, then Merlin kept trying to assasinate Morgana to protect Uther/Arthur.

“Royalty” vs “Royalty” is one thing.

“Agent with an Agenda” vs “Royalty” is another.

[tiodolma]

sometimes i think about what if morgana had agravaine manipulate arthur into doing good for the magic folk? that would serve magic-folk's purpose right? but that will make the magic-folk love arthur and not her. So i think that by making arthur embittered to magic, morgana made sure that the magic-folk would have no choice but to turn to her alone and join her cause. She would be the symbol of their oppression and become their champion. Not only magicfolk but also other marginalized groups or outcast such as bandits or rival kingdoms.

She unknowingly killed two birds with one stone there, because by doing so, she was working against merlin, who had no grand plan other than to "slightly nudge arthur to be nicer to people and hopefully magic."

ngl that's such a good destabilization tactic by morgana. It’s pretty smart too. the viability and the logistics of it all is actually astounding. and she always succeeded, because her message had been accepted by many of her people long before she executed the big takeovers.

This is why Merlin needed to step up his game against well trained , well-educated, well-connected destabilizers like her lol. He can't just act like a dumb shield wall all the freakin time. (by dumb im not meaning "not smart" more like "taking the hurt on his own stoically without question").

That's why Merlin needed more allies, more propaganda, and just more political and societal maneuvering to further his own message and causes. Government change isn't a one-man act gdi. Morgana understood this very very well, but Merlin was too idealistic/ill-prepared/overworked/isolated to even consider it.

Merlin was trained to believe that he can do everything on his own, while his rival is out there, who from nothing but sheer will, drive and honesty, was already amassing an army, forging powerful alliances, a complicated intelligence network, and loyal followers.

And look he still ended up the loser even when he killed her eventually.

[tiodolma]

morgana’s terrorism and targetting cityfolk to force the nobles into submission and merlin's vigilanteism under the guise of self-defense are all justified in their own heads. seriously. that's the whole show. they're both fighting different wars. they both think they are in the right. they're both bending the law into their own hands and keep getting away with it. they're both egotistical assholes who only think of their mission and not much about everyone else. To me merlin is just as awful as she is coz he had been doing it for over 8 years (since s1) without regret and remorse. Morgana's the actual newbie here (s3.)

just leave me alone to marvel at the war crimes of these two beautiful fictional bastards.

[tiodolma]

Thing is why are people so scared of morgana turning “evil?” As if Merlin was doing any better himself. He was secretly protecting his friends and family that were running an oppressive system of government. That’s awful too! Merlin who has all the power in the world is “helping” by lying and gaslighting his way thru life, thru his friends, thru his enemies, all for the sake of his “cause.” His inaction, duplicity and passivity were also getting a lot of innocent people arrested and killed. State secrets that shouldve been made public were deliberately hidden by Merlin and co. in order to protect Arthur/Camelot’s perfect image. Too many war crimes get hidden in that way. Jfc that’s not good too!

No guys... you hate that Morgana has turned to terrorism and destabilization of the oppressive government that is run by her friends and family. You hate that she has become a tyrannical warlord and a conqueror and using every tactic that she could in order to get the "justice" she wants.

Put a name to it i beg you.

Just dont brand it recklessly as "evil” or "bad” or "good”. In nation building, such things aren't that certain and clear-cut. I know the show leads its viewers to think that way. Please don't fall for it. Using those terminologies are propaganda tactics, divisive ways to turn people against each other. Neighbor to foe, brother against brother, friend against friend.

“It’s not that serious” “BBC Merlin is just a fictional world.” And yet! And yet! The fandom reacts in the same way as my countrymen do when another person suspected of involvement in illegal drugs gets murdered in broad daylight. You act the same when politicians and celebrities, teachers and instructors were red-tagged and branded "communists" by the anti-terrorism commission in my country. “They are evil” “all of them should just die” “it’s for the good of all” “those who are against the state are traitors” “history is fake” “hes just doing it for the people he loves” “they deserve all those atrocities coz they were against the government and were making a fuss” “That kill was in self-defense because the criminal fought back!” “No need for trial all of them are evil” “As if having a trial will make things better, killing the guilty is more efficient!”

Over and over again, I heard the same whistles and hoots that have plagued me while watching the national news for the past two years. I hear it in most of this fandom's staunch defense of the atrocities commited in the show in the name of "Good.”

Check yourselves my darlings. BBCM may be funny homophobia allegory to most of you all but to us, to me, you’re all sounding fascist as hell too.

..................

This is actually why Adventures of Merlin is so fascinating and enjoyable to me. It’s so good at portraying a pro royalist/fascist/authoritarian way of thinking and it delivered that story so goddamn well.

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You, me, are not immune to propaganda.