User blog comment:Fimber/When family is what destroys you/@comment-4640114-20121125233511/@comment-5102537-20121128235050

No Emily, your arguments aren't weak. It's the way you see it. However, and please take no offence in it, it's actually what I meant - people are defending the questionable actions or behaviours of their favourite characters. This is because of lack of criticism and dealing with those questionable things within the show.

I don't expect the protagonists to be perfect. On the contrary, the more multifaced and questionable characters are the most interesting ones. However, helping a person who suffers and who is dying, no matter who, has nothing to do with being perfect but it's the natural thing to try to help them, even those we don't like. If it was about Merlin being conflicted and doing the wrong thing, the epsiode/the show would have referred to it again, yet it was all shown as being totally understandable and alright. That's the point. Whenever Uther did bad or questionable things, it was dealt with to show us all that he was wrong or that at least there are doubts. With Merlin and Arthur, it's different. They are the supposed heroes, so what they do isn't questionable, and if it is, well, then it's not so bad because they have reasons and they are not perfect. You see what I mean?

Imagine Uther would have done that, if he had let someone die only to reach his own goal even though he had the power to help. Everyone would have called him names again and thought that he was just an evil badass. And it would be right to complain about that. Yet with Merlin, nobody even wonders about it and most people didn't even realise that he really wanted someone who was suffering to die instead of helping him and also helping his best friend.

When Gwen left Camelot, Merlin just stood and watched her leave. He could have helped her with cart, he could have asked her where she's going and he could have visited her later, helping her with her new life. Instead he told Arthur that someday he might find it in his heart to forgive her and life went on as if nothing had ever happened. Gwen was left alone and her best friend didn't even help her. He also didn't even try to investigate even though he knew that Lancelot was a shade and that Morgana had sent him to seperate Gwen from Arthur. Yet he didn't do anything to clarify the situation. And people think that it's okay. It's not. Arthur not only banished her but also threatened to kill her if she returns to Camelot. Alright, in those times people were quite weird with very weird ethics but it should have been stated out in the show that it's not alright to threaten the own girlfriend and to banish her.

Arthur didn't have to know much about souls, it would have been okay if he had at least wondered what's going on with his father and he could have asked Gaius for advice and help. None of them even cared. And Gaius didn't even care about his old friend returning. The only important thing in this episode was Arthur's and Merlin's banter and that Arthur tells his father that he is different. For what? Arthur has changed nothing ever since then. I don't buy that Arthur didn't care about his father's soul well-being but the producerss made him being indifferent and hurt by Uthers harsh words, being sensitive towards hisself but indifferent about his father's soul. And it was done delibaretly that way to give the average viewer the sactisfaction of getting rid of Uther, of Merlin telling him off and of seeing poor Arthur crying. Nothing else mattered. And the result was that a lot of fans either were annoyed and diappointed and that others said that Uther deserved to die and to suffer eternally because he was so mean. What kind of lesson was this supposed to be?

What you wrote about when Merlin said he grew up and that it's something that should be resolved, I would holeheartedly agree with you if Gaius had objected, if he had told Merlin that growing up doesn't mean to kill others - or if Merlin himself had this moment of clarity in the end instead of being scared that his plan had failed and that the Disir had fooled him.

Speaking of failed plans, well, when Merlin sat outside the throne room, Arthur didn't even know that Merlin was there. I'd say it was actually obvious that Merlin didn't want to be alone and that he had a bad conscience and that he was disappointed because his plan to restore magic had failed. There was no compassion for Uther and no regret that he hadn't acted earlier. It was all about himself. As the hero and the protagonist of the show, his more questionable or even brutal or mean actions should be questioned and not be shown as something that was totally alright.