Board Thread:What If?/@comment-5674726-20130722102922/@comment-5102537-20130731083251

ReganX wrote:

What if Nimueh had known that Ygraine's life would be the price demanded for Arthur's birth, and told Uther in advance? Do you mean "what if Nimueh had known..." or do you mean "what if she had told Uther since she knew..."?

I know that in "Excalibur" she pretends that she didn't know about Igraine being the price but, as you know, both Gaius and Merlin blamed Nimueh for being the one responsible and she didn't object. I think that Nimueh pretended to not know in order to let Uther believe that it was his own fault and that no one else is to blame. To blame a thing is much harder than to blame a person, so Nimueh tries to burden Uther's conscience by pretending that he is killing people only by fighting a thing that can't be catched and has no conscious (the magic).

Nimueh had numerous attempts to kill Arthur, yet on two occasions she emphasises that it's not Arthur's destiny to die at her hands. Since the prophecy is older than mankind or even life itself (according to the Vilia), Arthur's birth was predetermined and Nimueh obviously knew of the prophecy/destiny which also shows that Merlin's birth was only necessary because Arthur's birth causes Igraine's death which then causes the Great Purge and so on...