Talk:The Disir (episode)/@comment-5995315-20130129233031/@comment-5102537-20130131214143

I see your dilemma and I believe that it has to do with the definition of the term "creature". For example, if someone doesn't want to have anything to do with their family, they're still a member of the family in question. They were born into it as a part of them, whether they want it or not. Or take a look at Hercules, for example. Though being born as a human and a half-god, he was a member of the Greek Gods and Goddesses.

Merlin is human but also a sorcerer, meaning, he was born as a sorcerer, as a creature of the Old Religion. The power of magic binds those who were born with it together, no matter of what race. Dragons, humans, sidhe, pixies... and so on. They are all members of the Old Religion by nature because they were born with the powers. Then are those who choose to become members of the Old Religion, like Gaius used to be when he practiced magic. He studied magic and learnt how to use it, yet wasn't born with it. Gaius and others who choose/chose to become members of the Old Religion could be compared to those who choose a religion in our times. Maybe it would be more accurate to call them followers of the Old Religion.

I believe that Nimueh was human too. However, it was never clarified. I also would like to know if the euchdag/Dimair (?) was also a creature/member of the Old Religion....

The part you asked me about was about the plot dealing with Merlin and Arthur uniting the lands of Albion. It was also said that Morgana was destined to bring back the Old Ways. Neither of them succeeded in doing so. It was Merlin's fate and future to help Arthur re-establishing magic and uniting the lands of Albion, yet he failed, and so did Arthur and Morgana. No prophecy came true, so it wasn't fate but in the end only a destiny that someone "above" had wished for. This made a mockery of the plot concerning Merlin's and Arthur's fate and future that has been written since the dawn of time. And considering what we think, which is that Merlin probably didn't think so well of the Old Religion, they had golden opportunities at their hands to deal with this subject, but instead (and I think because it got too complicated and contradictory) they simply turned everything into a platonic/brotherly love story only.

When Merlin told Arthur that magic has no place in Camelot, he was visibly devastated. But... was he devastated because

a) he let go of a chance to finally reveal himself and live freely in Camelot or

b) he felt bad for all the sorcerers/witches/magic-users out there who will still be opressed or

c) because he had a bad conscience because of Mordred or

d) all of this together?

No matter how much we speculate - and I'm sure we would even agree on most things here - we will never get an answer. But an answer to this would have been important because of the very fact that it was Merlin's fate (not only destiny but fate) to bring back magic and to help Arthur uniting the lands of Albion. Moreover, we saw Merlin fighting for his kind for at least three seasons and this all was the essence of the entire show. So in case that Merlin finally saw that maybe magic wasn't such a good idea and/or that the Triple Goddess wasn't someone to submit to but instead he had other things in mind in order to unite magic-users and non magic-users, the show should have dealt with it instead of ignoring it. It would have been so fascinating to see that even the greatest sorcerer of all time had doubts about the Old Ways but another idea instead... to see him struggling with it all, with what he is and what he thinks was right or wrong and then fighting for it, looking at magic and the Old Religion from different points of view.

Alas, they ignored this totally. And then the simple and soap-opera-like lovestory took place.