Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5102537-20130801124135/@comment-5674726-20130801180922

It’s a real puzzler.

The show treats destiny as though it is set in stone but then it doesn’t happen, which means that it can’t possibly have been a destiny set in stone.

Genetically, Arthur and Merlin would have had to be conceived at the precise instant they were conceived or else they would be different people but, on a spiritual level, their souls could have potentially been born under other circumstances, had different choices been made – in this case, had Nimueh given Uther a heads-up about the exact price that would be paid for the life of his son, since I can’t see him deliberately sacrificing Ygraine. In that case, Arthur and Merlin would have looked different, and could very well have answered to different names, but the souls that were meant to be Emrys and the Once and Future King would be the same.

If the purpose of Arthur’s birth was to cause Merlin’s birth, did it matter what became of Arthur once that happened? Was his “destiny” as the Once and Future King truly his destiny, or was it just that there was an 18,569/1 chance that he would achieve the great things that Kilgharrah claimed that he would achieve? Once the chain of events that brought about Merlin’s birth was set into motion, would it have made a difference in the grand scheme of things if Baby Arthur hadn’t lived to cut his first tooth?

Was Arthur a necessary component at all, or would the effect have been the same had Ygraine died in another way that was blamed on magic? Would Balinor and Hunith have found their way to one another by some other means in a world without the Great Purge, or would the soul we know as Merlin have been born to others, when the time was right?

Perhaps, as in legend, Merlin was meant to be an old man when Arthur was born, at a time when magic was more or less accepted, so he could openly guide and protect him as he grew into the great King that he had the potential to be but just wasn’t ready to be when Nimueh forced him into the world.

As of the last scene in the series, Arthur and Merlin failed to achieve their alleged destiny.

Albion has been through terrible times since the Battle of Camlann. Merlin is still waiting and, if the expression on his face is any indication, he’s none too happy with the way things have played out in the past and isn’t especially optimistic about the future. He’s waiting because I don’t think that he is capable of walking away but we only have Kilgharrah’s word for it that Arthur is going to come back, and I wouldn’t consider him to be trustworthy.

We're all going to have terrible headaches by the time we're finished with this one. :-)