Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Three/@comment-5102537-20130831114747/@comment-5102537-20130910133834

Areanna123 wrote:

Morgana is a character that is driven by pure emotion. Emotions often do not make sense. I don't think Morgana was enchanted or mentally afflicted, I think she was hurt and confused, so when Morgause gave her a goal she stuck to it. I imagine it would be a relief to have that emotional turmoil removed. She couldn't deal with everything she was feeling, so ignored everything in favor of completing her mission. She reacted like a lot of people do, she stuck her head in the sand. By the end of season five it felt like her goals were the only thing keeping her alive and somewhat sane. Like if she just completed the mission everything would be okay.

First of all I'd like to thank you for your compliment and would like to return it :-)

I agree with what you wrote - but at the same time the above describes a mental affliction, and in the mild form a neurosis. Denying the truth even when someone is fully aware of it, and sticking to the intentional delusion is not the action of a healthy person.

For example, when you (general you, not you in personal) are convinced that a particular person X stole your car and by time you get more and more undoubtful evidence that person X didn't steal it but you keep claiming that they did... and then in the end, the real thief confesses and gives back your car but you still stick to person X despite the one and only truth, you (again, "you" in general, "anyone", not really YOU :-D ) are mentally afflicted.

This happened with Morgana when she got more and more evidence for Uther's love for her but intenionally kept denying it. The moment she should have realised that Uther loved her at the latest, no matter her own emotions, was when he went broken because of her hatred and betrayal - because this was the moment when he knew who she really was but didn't do anything against her in spite of this. That's why he went broken in the first place because he couldn't deal with her hatred.

Do you remember what he said when he was chained up in the season three finale? He asked her "Do you really hate me so much?" If it had been about her being a sorceress, he would have cast a stone at her or maybe asked "Why do you hate me so much?", indicating that only magic could be responsible for it. But he didn't criticise her for having magic but only wanted to know what she feels for him.

This was proof for her that her former secret didn't endanger her and that he didn't try or want to fight her at all but still only cared for her and her feelings for him, disregarding the fact that she was a sorceress... and that she just attacked Camelot, killed countless people, endangered his son, his friends and took away his entire kingdom from him, plus humiliating and tormenting him.

Since she denied this, everything that had happened before and also the very fact that Uther gave up his life because she hated him, she didn't act normally, confused or partly sane but completely insane and delusional. And in case she finally learnt that she was wrong and that he indeed loved her even though she had magic, she simply didn't care and didn't want his love but keep up her hatred and wishing misery upon him. Again, this is the mind of a mentally afflicted person. Or of an enchanted one ;-)

As for grabbing her throat and imprisoning her, he apologised for it in the same episode and promised to change. He kept this promise until he died and never ever hurt her again, no matter what she did, not even when she helped those who directly tried to kill Uther and to attack Camelot. As I said, she denied and disregarded it all.