User blog comment:Fimber/Nine questions about "The Wicked Day"/@comment-5191335-20120716160920

1. No, I expected that Uther would die. My suspicions weren’t based on thoughts of how Arthur could keep his promise. Rather, I guessed as much because it seems that every time it seems Arthur is close to realizing that magic isn’t necessarily evil, something happens to turn him vehemently against it once more. As for whether or not Arthur keeping his promise would end the show, I doubt it would. The show wasn’t nearly to the point it could be concluded succinctly at that moment in the show. For one thing, Morgana was still a big threat (and still is now) and Agravaine was still in Camelot playing double-agent. More importantly, Arthur and Merlin hadn’t completed their destinies. Yes, returning Magic to the land is part of that destiny, but there’s more to it. They must also unite Albion under Arthur as King.

2. I think this can be easily explained with three words: love, grief, and desperation. I know I would make some fairly un-thought-out promises to save somebody I love. I would sell my soul if I thought doing so would keep a loved-one from dying. Now, selling my soul would be a terrible idea, but in my desperation and grief I wouldn’t think things through. No, I’d just sign over soul without really considering the consequence. I’m sure Arthur just made whatever promise he could in exchange for his father’s life. He probably would have agreed to wear a monkey suit and parade around Camelot throwing fecal-matter at the knights and singing a song about being a baboon if that had been the condition of Dragoon healing Uther. I doubt he even thought about the logistics of how he would keep his promise if Uther lived. I do have a question, though. Was the promise to immediately legalize magic or to legalize it someday when he became King? If the agreement was for when he became King, then the question of how to convince Uther to allow Arthur to keep his promise is a moot issue because Uther would most likely have to be dead for Arthur to become King (Arthur once said he wouldn’t overthrow Uther/sit on Uther’s throne while he was still the rightful King & I really don’t see Uther ever just officially stepping down and leaving his son, who he sees as still a boy, in charge of the entire Kingdom.

3. a) I agree with other people who said that Morgana sees Arthur as Uther’s son. She probably believes that he already despises magic as much as Uther did. If this was true, then why would she worry about turning him against magic? b) Yes, the thought of Gwen becoming Queen drives Morgana crazy and, yes, Uther is the only one standing in the way of that happening. But, remember that Uther is also one of the two people who are in Morgana’s way in her quest for the throne. If you want to inherit the throne, every heir in line above you must die. To be sure you get the crown you have to ensure that everyone in your way dies. Morgana was only doing what made sense for her ultimate goal. She simply took the opportunity to kill Uther when the opportunity presented itself. As for the whole thing about her hating the idea of Gwen becoming Queen, I think she despises the idea of anyone sitting on the throne she thinks is rightfully hers. Sure, it especially irks her that her handmaiden might take that throne, but anyone becoming Queen would upset Morgana. Furthermore, a Queen eventually means children, more heirs above her in line to the throne, more people to dispose of.

4. On the surface, this seems like a good plan, but ultimately, it isn’t the wisest plan. The biggest problem with it is that the outcome is unpredictable. When planning a battle or a covert operation, you want to be almost certain that everything will go according to plan and that the outcome will be in your favor. If Morgana had sent Agravaine &/or his men after Arthur &/or Dragoon, things might have worked out for her or the opposite could have happened. The Knights of Camelot, the best knights in the land, would have fought viciously to protect Arthur, the new King. Arthur, the best fighter of all the knights, would have also been a tough match against Agravaine, if they had gone head-to-head. Dragoon has also proven himself to be a powerful sorcerer. Agravaine and his men, who don’t have magic, would be no match for him. If the plan failed, Morgana would have lost her inside-man, either because his identity was revealed or because he had been killed. There is no way to strategically predict how things would’ve worked out had Morgana ordered Agravaine &/or his men to follow Arthur and finally kill him &/or Dragoon. That unpredictability makes it a risky move, too risky to be a good decision.

5. This I have no answer to. I’ve discussed it with a few friends and here’s what they think: a) Maybe they wanted to protect Arthur. Uther had practically gone insane when Morgana betrayed him. Maybe they worried Arthur would do the same. Or, maybe they thought he might do something stupid, like vow revenge and run right into Morgana’s clasp. b) Maybe they thought Gaius could convince Arthur that Uther was so close to death naturally that even magic couldn’t save him and that magic was in no way responsible for his death.

6. It is a common villain phrase. The cliché is used in two types of situations: 1) when a villain plans on causing irreparable harm (emotional, mental, or physical) to a victim (the one named or referred to by the phrase) by torturing them directly (stealing from them) or indirectly (ie: kidnapping somebody close to them), 2) killing a the victim named or referred to by the phrase. This is an example of the 2nd type of situation. In this type, the phrase means that the victim (Arthur) won’t live long enough to forget the event mentioned in the phrase (his birthday).

7. Maybe he rounded?

8. Perhaps he had previously learned how to heal. Maybe he was given more knowledge by Kilgharrah than we realized. After all, in order to teach Merlin the spell that healed Morgana, all Kilgharrah had to do was breathe on him. Maybe that breath contained more knowledge than just that one spell or an new aptitude for healing spells. Maybe he learned and practiced more/better/easier healing spells during the year between Series 3 and Series 4. Maybe he couldn’t heal Arthur because of what kind of injuries Arthur had. Also, healing spells, I believe, take a lot of energy to cast. Maybe sometimes when Merlin can’t heal it is because he doesn’t have enough energy at that time. Maybe it just shows that Merlin is getting stronger. A friend of mine thinks that the aging spell Merlin uses to become Dragoon not only matures his body, but matures the energy/power fueling his magic. She pointed out that for the most part Merlin is more powerful when he is Dragoon (ie: as Merlin his stunning spells usually know people back, but as Dragoon his stunning spells usually know people out). Maybe age strengthens magical energy/power (ie: Merlin couldn’t heal Arthur after he got shot by a poisoned arrow, but Taliesin could).

9. Generally, the price for saving a life (or creating a life) is the sacrifice of another life. However, healing has been done on the show without sacrificing another life. Yes, these instances were often in cases of non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses, but prior to this episode there were also cases of very serious, possibly fatal, conditions (Merlin healed Tom of the Afanc-illness with a magical poultice (The Mark of Nimueh), Gaius used a spell to make an antidote to save Merlin from the Mortaeus Flower poison (The Poisoned Chalice), Edwin Muirden and Merlin used magic to draw out enchanted beetles to heal Morgana and Uther (A Remedy to Cure All Ills), Balinor used magic to heal a wound Arthur had (The Last Dragonlord), Kilgharrah healed Merlin after he got stung by a Serket (The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part Two), Taliesin used his powerful magic to heal Arthur after he got struck with a poisoned arrow (The Crystal Cave), Merlin healed Morgana of her head injury (The Crystal Cave), Alice used magic spells and “Sorcerer’s chimes” to heal her patients (Love in the Time of Dragons), the Druids chanted a spell while healing Sir Leon with the Cup of Life (The Coming of Arthur: Part One), and the Vilia used their magic to heal Merlin after her was injured by the Dorocha (The Darkest Hour: Part Two). Maybe lives are only exchanged in particular instances with certain conditions. What those might be, I have no idea.

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As for the question of whether or not Uther felt remorse in the end for what he did, I think so. Remember when Morgana put that mandrake root under his bed, intending to drive him insane with hallucinations of his worst fears, and he was plagued by visions of the innocents he had caused the death of – his wife, who died in child-birth because he used magic to create a baby with her, and a little boy he had had drowned during the Great Purge. Also, his depression is a sign of self-loathing. The majority of depressed individuals come to blame themselves for many things. Also, he may have become so reclusive in an effort, whether conscious or sub-conscious, to punish himself for things he blames himself for. So, in answer to Broman178’s questions:

1) I think he still loved her. Why else would he have sunk so far into his depression? I, personally, think that when you love somebody, you can forgive them anything. I hope Uther was a big enough man to be forgiving.

2) I think he blamed himself and magic. Morgana told him it was partially his fault how she turned out. ("Yes, magic made me who I am, but so did you Uther Pendragon." – The Coming of Arthur) I think his distrust of magic caused him to blame it for Morgana, but I also think he became so reclusive and taciturn, nearly catatonic, because he felt moroseness and guilt.

3 & 4) I know he did. He admitted to mistakes concerning Gaius’s false conviction and Tom’s execution