Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5102537-20130801124135/@comment-5102537-20130802110152

ReganX wrote:

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

Indeed :-D

I think the question is whether Arthur was meant to unite Albion and allow magic because he was born of magic. It's crazy that his birth caused the Great Purge and ban of magic but at the same time he is the one who was chosen to restore magic and to unite the lands of Albion. It's like "only Nixon could go to China", just that it wasn't Arthur's fault. Well, the Nixon-example would apply more to Uther in a normal sitaution, because Arthur's very existence caused the ban of magic and his existence was meant to be. It's as crazy as, I don't know, purposely writing a book that causes a war but at the same time this very book has to end the war and then is being celebrated as a peacemaker. Doesn't make any sense.

If we look at the example of Jesus' birth, he wasn't born to cause mayhem and injustice but to end it. It all had been going on the whole time, so in a religious sense, Jesus was supposed to end it or at least to release humans from their sins. If his birth had caused the injustice and cruelty in the first place, it would be the same like Arthur's birth.

If we argue that magic had almost destroyed the land long before Arthur's and Uther's birth, the fact that Arthur came into existence shouldn't have carried it to extremes by causing the Great Purge and the complete ban of magic but his birth should have merely caused a slow work on ending the destructive nature of magic.

What you wrote, Regan: "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?"

I would say Yes because according to several characters, Merlin's destiny was to help Arthur uniting the lands of Albion. Merlin came into this world (and his birth was planned since the "dawn of time") to end the ban of magic and to help uniting the lands of Albion. Since Arthur's birth caused the ban of magic, Merlin wouldn't have had anyone he was supposed to help if Arthur had died as an infant, for example. I suppose Uther would have gone nuts if Arthur had died too and maybe things would have gone even worse. So if the prophecy had spoken of Emrys helping anyone, either Arthur or Uther, to unite the lands of Albion, it would have been different. However, it was explicitly said that Merlin's destiny was to help Arthur - which again brings us back to the fact that Merlin's existence was necessary only because Arthur's birth caused the ban of magic and the Great Purge. As we know, Uther already tried to unite the lands of Albion when uniting the Five Kingdoms. If it hadn't been for Igraine's death, he wouldn't have had a problem with sorcerers, at least not to that extent, and a unification would have been possible under his reign since he wanted peace and wasn't a king of war.

So it all points into the direction that the Old Religion istelf destroyed its own agenda by killing Igraine and pushing Uther over the edge. They/it simply could have chosen someone else and not Igraine, and all would have been fine. Uther wouldn't have banned magic but would have remained friends with Nimueh. But since Merlin's future and birth was written since the dawn of time, it was all planned. Why?

Did the Old Religion try to clean itself from all the corrupted magic and misuse by the Great Purge, planning on having a fresh start later when the door for peace is open again? If so, why didn't the gods and goddesses of the Old Religion simply stop their own followers and their own wrongdoings, trying to make peace?

On the other hand, if Uther hadn't banned magic and remained being friends with Nimueh, what kind of magic would he had used in order to reach his goals? Maybe the destruction by magic would have been even worse if all kingdoms had used magic, and Camelot the magic of such a powerful High Priestess like Nimueh. And here, Merlin could have been the one to help. He wouldn't have had a reason to hide from Uther and could have helped him and others in ending the corruption and abuse of magic since Uther was already wary of the destructive nature of magic before Arthur was born. I would say that Merlin and Uther could have been a great team.

I think it all would have been much easier on the show if it hadn't been for the prophecy and the future written since the dawn of time but only for some sorcerers/druids/High Priests who saw some glimpses of the future. It also would have been easier and more logical if Uther had a different reason for starting the Great Purge and if Arthur's birth had nothing to do with it.