User blog comment:Fimber/Things that went wrong in "The Death Song of Uther Pendragon"/@comment-7285162-20130415005522/@comment-5674726-20130429184607

''@ReganX, I agree with you about Nimueh. It would have been interesting so see that the whole thing was based on a misunderstanding with horrible consequences. It would have made way for redemption for both characters. Nimueh and Uther's actions could have opened each other's eyes when realising that they both were dragging innocents into their need for revenge. On the other hand, it woudn't have suddenly changed magic and the Old Religion into something good and harmless but it would still be a threat and something unpredictable with ctruel and terrible rules and dogmas that nobody could control or deal with. But at least Nimueh and Uther coud have come to terms with each other somehow.''

They'd also have been able to have Uther end the cycle of revenge because of Morgana. His grief for his wife, and his guilt over her death, led him to start the Great Purge. His love for his daughter could have led him to a change of heart, since his laws against magic dictated that she should be executed.

Nimueh's grief for her loved ones and guilt because of the consequences of the mistake she made in using magic to bring a life into the world that wasn't meant to be there led her to exact her revenge against the people of Camelot instead of just their King - though she is more likely than not to lay at least some of the blame on them for standing by while people with magic were killed, and the system was basically asking for Salem Witch Trials-style accusations. If Uther was willing to meet her half way, would she have relented?

Magic would still be a very dangerous force in the wrong hands, and Merlin would serve as an example of this. He was born with great power but he is also ignorant, which is an incredibly dangerous combination even before you throw in that he's being fed a prophecy and believes that he has the right to shape the future of Albion in the manner he sees fit.

To me, the story around Morgause/Morgana/Vivienne/Gorlos/Uther/Arthur was a thousand times more interesting and fascinating that the mere bromance between Merlin and Arthur.

I agree. They had so much scope for a storyline with the Pendragons, House of Gorlois and whoever Morgause is supposed to be.

I found Merlin to be a character that I just couldn't root for. When they start off trumpeting him as the most powerful warlock ever, there was never any hint of suspense about whether or not he is going to defeat his foes. At best, all I ever felt was very mild curiousity about how he was going to use magic under Arthur's nose without being discovered this time, and that got old, fast. The other thing that really bothered me was that the show made things too easy for Merlin in the sense that it was very black and white, so there's no question about whether Merlin should be devoting himself to protecting Arthur on the strength of a prophecy from a dragon whose track record is spotty at best.

I think it would have made things much more interesting if, instead of super gluing a Villain Ball to Morgana's hand and making her a tyrant, she was a grey character and that her reign was (a) longer, if they had to use time jumps, I'd have loved to see them use one of them to the benefit of the other side, instead of as a way to tell us that Arthur was a great ruler and that Camelot was more prosperous than ever rather than showing it, and (b) reasonably successful. If she's slaughtering innocent people in the square, burning the crops, etc, then it's easy for Merlin, and the viewers, to decide that he needs to defeat her and put Arthur on the throne.

However, if you have a situation where her rule led to the restoration of magic and significant improvements to the lives of the people of Camelot - an immortal army is much cheaper to run than an army that needs to be fed, paid and supplied with top of the range armour, not to mention an army that leaves widows and orphans to be provided for, so she could slash taxes - and she's not killing people left, right and centre when they disagree with her, she could amass quite a bit of support. There could still be downsides, given that there'd be tensions between those with magic and those who felt safer with the ban in place, and even if nobody is executed for enforcing the laws against magic, Arthur could be banished for his crimes against magic users, while Uther is held under house arrest. Knights could be offered a choice between pledging allegiance to Morgana, swearing a magical oath that, while the won't fight for her, they won't fight against her, and being banished.

The year long time jump between Seasons Three and Four could have had Morgana ruling Camelot reasonably well, while an exiled Arthur musters support to reclaim the throne, Uther is given serious food for thought about both magic and his daughter's potential as a ruler, and Merlin has to deal with the fact that the majority of those who support Arthur are people whose main beef against Morgana is that she has legalised magic, and who expect the ban to be reinstated once the throne is back in the hands of one or another of the Pendragon men. A step towards his goal of seeing Arthur as King means three steps back in terms of the position of magic users. Once Morgana is dethroned, Arthur would have to have a major tax hike since her tax levels wouldn't be enough to support a mortal army.

What if, instead of Merlin having the support of the majority of magic users he encountered, who believed in the prophecy about Albion, a very significant proportion of the magical community viewed him as a traitor to their kind for ousting Morgana in favour of Arthur?

He believes that Arthur will be the greatest King ever but what if others, who didn't have a dragon feeding them a prophecy about a golden age, were quite happy with Queen Morgana, and have serious doubts about whether or not her successor will be an improvement?