Dragoon the Great

"I know more than you could possibly comprehend."

- Dragoon the Great to Arthur Pendragon

"Dragoon the Great" is a disguise that Merlin uses to mask himself, to prevent his magic from being discovered by others. This disguise is created by an ageing spell that makes him appear about eighty years older. The name, which Merlin thought up on the spot, may be a bastardisation of "The Great Dragon". He is mostly referred to as Emrys by the Druids and also by Morgana. He is the great nemesis of Morgana and is very much feared by her.

Biography
The disguise first appears to Merlin when he is in the Crystal Cave, witnessing future events in the crystals (The Crystal Cave).

When Gwen was accused of enchanting Arthur, though it was actually Morgana's doing, Merlin felt the need to save her from execution. Morgana had planted a poultice in Arthur's chambers so she could use that against Gwen. So, he decided to disguise himself as an old sorcerer, the same one he saw at the Crystal Cave, to lift the sentence off Gwen. Merlin had requested Gaius to make an ageing potion, and upon taking it, he transformed into an older version of himself. He then asked Gaius to make a similar poultice to the one Morgana had used previously. Then, he set off to get caught deliberately. He deliberately allowed Arthur to spot him planting the poultice in his chamber. Arthur immediately drew out his sword. Merlin stopped Arthur by announcing if he were to run him through with the sword then Arthur would never learn of his "plan". Arthur then lowered his sword and looked at the the old warlock, Dragoon, with curiosity, recognizing his eyes. Dragoon cast a spell, temporarily knocking Arthur out with a helmet to his head, and made a run for it. Shortly afterwards, when Merlin tried to use the reversing spell, it had no effect. Arthur and a few guards caught up to Dragoon and Arthur brought him to Uther, to who Merlin, as Dragoon, finally spoke his mind and lifted the blame from Gwen. He took Gwen's place and was taken to execution the next day, despite having tried to distract Arthur with more "confessions". Gaius visited him in the cell and Merlin told him he was unable to turn back. Gaius said he could save him by brewing a potion that reverses the effects. He found time to give it to Merlin, who once again, he tried to escape. He drank the potion, returning to his normal appearance. In the end he saved Gwen, but nearly got himself executed in the process (Queen of Hearts).

When Morgana discovered from The Cailleach that Emrys was her doom, she had a dream of the future which showed her pleading to an old man, whom she called "Emrys", in a battle. However, she didn't know that she was dreaming of Merlin in disguise (The Darkest Hour).

When Uther was dying and Arthur was seeking magic to save him, he and Merlin went to 'Dragoon's hut', but Merlin quickly snuck into a bush because he needed to 'pee'. He instead took the potion that transformed him into 'Dragoon'. Arthur struck a bargain with the old sorcerer. The bargain was that if Dragoon saved Uther with sorcery, Arthur would allow magic to be practiced in Albion. They met up at the lower gate to Camelot and made their way to Uther's chambers. Merlin tried to save Uther but, little did he know, Morgana had had Agravaine put a necklace on Uther that blocked any curing spells and reversed and strengthened their effects. Merlin, in his disguise as Dragoon, managed to save Uther for only a few seconds before Uther finally died. Arthur went on a rage but Merlin (who was possibly even more upset) casted Arthur back so that he could escape. This only increased Arthur's hatred of magic (The Wicked Day). Gaius later mentioned to Arthur that the old man didn't intend to kill Uther, and did all he could in his power to save him but Uther was dying and nothing could be done (The Secret Sharer).

When Merlin needed to destroy the Fomorroh in Morgana's hut, he needed to once again disguise himself as Dragoon. On the way to Morgana's hut, he came across the Knights of the Round Table. They threatened to kill him but Merlin used magic to get himself out of the situation, knocking the knights out and using them as steps to get onto his horse. When he arrived at Morgana's hut, he searched for the Fomorroh, but Morgana returned and he was discovered. She tried to kill him with a knife, so he used a spell to push her back before a magical duel broke out between them. After several close calls, Merlin finally defeated Morgana with a powerful wind spell and killed the Fomorroh in a fire (A Servant of Two Masters).

Merlin appeared as Dragoon in a flashback following Morgana's magical duel with him (The Secret Sharer).

Merlin disguised himself as Dragoon for the fifth time when Morgana crowned herself queen again. He did it to plant a poppet under Morgana's bed, which blocked her magic so she couldn't kill Arthur during his confrontation with her. Merlin intentionally let Morgana spot him while he was disguised as Dragoon in order to lure her to "the safety of her bed", when in fact it was to the endangerment of her magic as Merlin had intended (The Sword in the Stone).

Merlin disguised himself as Dragoon for the sixth time when Gwen and Morgana were hatching a plan to kill Arthur. They had already poisoned him and let Merlin take the fault for it. He was put into the cells under the Queen's orders. He needed to get up to Arthur's bedroom, heal him, and go back to the cell before anyone noticed. Before he reached Arthur's bedroom he had a quick conversation with the cook, Audrey. Calling her food names causing Audrey's face to turn red. Eventually he knocked her out with a pan. After that, he changed back into his real form and climbed up the wall to Arthur's chambers. He succeeded in reviving Arthur and quickly hurried back down to his cell (A Lesson in Vengeance).

Appearances

 * Series 3
 * The Crystal Cave
 * Queen of Hearts


 * Series 4
 * The Darkest Hour: Part One
 * The Wicked Day
 * A Servant of Two Masters
 * The Secret Sharer
 * The Sword in the Stone: Part Two


 * Series 5
 * A Lesson in Vengeance
 * With All My Heart
 * The Diamond of the Day

Trivia

 * A recurring gag over Dragoon is that, when Gaius has to explain Merlin's absence, he would simply answer that he is in the tavern and, as a result, Merlin got the reputation of being a drunk and is severely punished for that each time Gaius uses the excuse, much to Merlin's chagrin. This grows notorious to the point that Merlin asked Gaius to use another place than the Tavern as a excuse for his absence, but, unfortunately, Gaius refused and Merlin was forced to be "trained" by George for a week (A Servant of Two Masters).
 * Another running gag that exists with Dragoon is that he often runs into nobles, namely Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.