Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-110.33.239.213-20121226023324/@comment-5102537-20130929170451

'''Ongard Odin wrote: Only Caerleon borders Camelot and even then, it would already be a day behind, which would mean if they were called they would likely be too late to actually help Camelot win the battle. You could argue that they could have been called sooner as the war had been going on for weeks, but at first the threat was only small time raids from the Saxons. Overall I think, given more time, Camelot's closest allies would come to their aid.'''

Multiple quoting is impossible here unless when using a dozen new windows for each respons to a quote, so I'll "quote" your comments in bold letters.

There was time enough to summon some or at least one of the allies because they didn't go to war only from one day to the next. And since nobody knows how long a war will last, the allies could have arrived even later in order to support what's left of Camelot. If Camelot wanted to fight the battle alone for whatever reason, the show could at least have Arthur ask for support on Camelot's borders in case that the Saxons brak through and attack the kingdom. Alas, there wasn't even the mention of an ally. I would say that the show simply completely overlooked this.

'''Also let's look at some of the kingdoms that are not allied with Camelot, kings such as Olaf who are not allied with Camelot but are on good terms with the kingdom might invest in the kingdom, to return it to the prosperous state it was once in. That way, when it does so, Camelot could return the favour in a way that would more benefit Olaf.'''

Wasn't Olaf an ally of Camelot? He was one of the leaders of the Five Kingdoms and signed the peace treaty when Uther united the Five Kingdoms. I'm not sure if he was also an ally... I mean, the Five Kingdoms uunited would indicate that they're also allied.

If he wasnt (and even if he was), I can't see a reason why any king would want to invest in a kingdom that is so weakened that it is an easy target. Conquering it would be much more attractive for any king, not only those who were Camelot's enemies anway. Gwen would have a hard time defending the weakened Camelot against those who seek to conquer it. Camelot's allies would have to think twice if it was worth it to defend a kingdom that can't defend itself anymore and that has lost its king.

'''Next, Gaius isn't just a commoner, he is a member of Arthur's council and also was a member of Uther's council, since Arthur took over a lot has changed but even in Uther's time Gaius was a high up respected man that arguably influenced him more than many nobles did. He was also made a freeman which shows that he is not just some random commoner.'''

'''Now, onto Merlin, Gaius would have told Gwen exactly how much Merlin has done and if the nobility knew this, with the work of Emrys during the Battle of Camlann on top, they would see that Merlin has had numerous opportunities to abuse his power and has never once done so, therefore they wouldn't expect him to do so then. Also, even if they did have issues.'''

Merlin never took Arthur back to Camelot but brought him to the lake of Avalon without Gwen's permission. Gwen didn't even have the chance to say good-bye to her husband when Merlin took the liberty of burying Arthur's corpse in the lake. Alone.

Many people surely would have wanted to say good-bye to their king, yet they didn't get the chance. Also, Merlin obviosuly never returned to Camelot, so Gwen could as well think that all his friends and the kingdom wasn't important to him anymore. This could also make her think that Merlin had only business with Arthur and good reasons to leave Camelot.

After all, Merlin didn't save Gwens father even though he has such great power. We know that  it was not so easy but Gwen didn't see what we as the viewers saw. There were many things that happened in Camelot of Gwen could think that Merlin was behind it, and only Gaius' word, the one who loved Merlin like a son, can't be enough. Gwen trusted Morgana with all her heart but in the end she learnt that magic corrupted her and that Morgana turned evil. Why should she think that Merlin was above that and that he was the good one?

As for Guinevere, she has proven herself a brave and strong woman, taking part in the Battle of Camlann as a medic and also leading Camelot in the aftermath of the Battle during relief efforts and actually driving their victory home.

It wasn't actually Arthur and gwen's victory but Merlin's. All would have been lost if "Dragoon" hadn't killed the soldiers of the saxon's and Morgana.

Gwen was indeed a great person most of the time but that doesn't mean that other nobles/royals would have accepted her. If that was the case, any soldier who achieved great things could have become a noble. Instead, commoners stayed commoners, no matter how good, brave and clever they are. Gaius was made a free citizen by Uther, yet he wasn't made a noble man.

'''Finally, yes there were financial difficulties in Season 2, but these aren't entirely peacetimes, a huge war ended with Bayard only a year ago and theres still the risk of other nations that might attack Camelot, they must keep up a strong military front. Besides, they endured attacks from the Great Dragon which must have damaged the military and citizens of Camelot greatly, arguably this disaster did equal amounts of damage to the Battle of Camlann, and if the kingdom can endure that, then they can endure the Battle.'''

The damage that Kilgharrah caused could never compete with the damage that three wars with Morgana, Cenred and Morgause caused in season three and four, plus the loss of thousands of soldiers during the search for Morgana in season three, plus the battle at Camlann. It's simply impossible to replace the lost soldiers, no matter what the show told us. How many soldiers do they have in stock? A million?

Onto your saying Arthur could have returned during the Crusades, that much is true, but then I refer back to my previous argument that Arthur was destined to return during Albion's time of need, not that of the "Holy Land", yes what happened there was terrible, but it didn't destroy Britain.

The crusaders already caused mayhem in Great Britain before they went to other countries. Those who didn't submit to Christianity were being killed. And if Camelot had fallen, it wouldn't have destroyed Albion/Great Britain either but only the Camelot as we know it. If Morgana or any other king had conquered Camelot and taken over, either them or someone else in the future could have united Great Britain/Albion as well. Uther was already on his way of uniting Albion, so if he could have done it, had he not died, any other could have done it too. It was about legalising magic, so when considering this, Albion has always been in a time of need, especially during the crusades when Christianity took over and when the church forbid and persecuted witchcraft.

'''Also, I only just noticed what Regan put earlier :P Those opening lines that "no man can know his destiny" is true to some extent, but I believe it means, no man can know his destiny word for word. Merlin was told that he must protect Arthur so that he would unite the land of Albion, and as I have already argued, he did in a way. As for uniting the Old Religion and the New, he changed the way people think about Magic, he showed everyone that Magic can be a force for good, and that would influence peoples opinions of Magic, perhaps leading to the unity that was promised.'''

Merlin was most of all told in the fisrt season to protect Arthur until he is king. Then Arthur became king but nothing changed. Merlin protected Arthur way beyond the prophecy he heard the first time, and this should have made him suspicious.

Not nescessarily, assuming you are correct, Albion was for a time prosperous, therefore at least for a time, things did go well for Albion, therefore although Aithusa turned out to be a problem, the Omen of the White Dragon was correct and things did go well for Albion.

We were told that Camelot was prosperous in the time gap between season four and five, but that was rubbish in regard to the previous seasons.

Morgana was imprisoned by Sarrum which was the reason why there wasn't war. There was only war with Camelot in the previous seasons because Morgana attacked Camelot, it wasn't Uther or Arthur's doing. On the contrary, under Uther's reign, Camelot was known as a kingdom of peace and propsperity, as Gaius told Merlin and as could be seen during the seasons. He didn't go to war with other kingdoms but wanted to unite them and succeeded in uniting the Five Kingdoms. Arthur still banned magic and still persecuted sorcerers, so aside from knighting commoners and marrying a serving girl, nothing had changed. There was no real Golden Age.