Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-4623180-20120919141837/@comment-37017073-20180925214953

I don’t think that knowing about Merlin’s magic would have prevented Morgana’s downfall. From the very beginning she tended to be manipulative, often needlessly so; to take things personally and make them personal as a result; to ignore any evidence that didn’t support her chosen viewpoint; and to disregard the effects that her actions had on others. She also displayed a rather disturbing penchant for treachery. In 1x12 Morgana purposely allied herself with a sorcerer that she knew to have sacrificed Tom’s life and threatened Gwen’s in order to assassinate Uther. Then, when Uther promised to listen to her more and it suddenly became in her better interests to keep him alive, she betrayed and killed her magical ally without a second thought. Morgana continued this self-serving behavior throughout series 2. In 2x03 she willfully sacrificed the lives of dozens of accused magic users so that she could stay with the Druids. Then, when she found herself back in Camelot anyway, she let Uther continue to believe that the Druids had kidnapped her without one word of protest in order to preserve her status and good standing.

Morgana’s treatment of the Druids in particular is one of the main reasons that I don’t think Merlin should have trusted her with his secret. The Druids showed her nothing but kindness and sympathy, made a point of telling her that magic wasn’t evil and could be used for good (basically all the things that everyone whines that Merlin didn’t do for her), and respected her wishes to stay with them to the very end, a move which ultimately cost Aglain his life, yet she didn’t even try to defend them. If Morgana wasn’t willing to remain loyal to the Druids after all that they’d tried to do for her, why on earth should it be assumed that she would treat Merlin any differently? Because he was her friend? Gwen and Arthur were her friends too, but that didn’t afford them (or Merlin) any consideration in either 2x11 or 2x12. (Yes, in 2x11 she clearly admitted that Alvarr’s plan troubled her, but she also clearly chose to remain allied with him anyway.)

All in all, Morgana was consistently shown to be more concerned with furthering her vendetta against Uther than she was with the fate of anyone, friend or otherwise, who got caught in the crossfire. And I just don’t see how knowing about Merlin’s magic would have changed that. It might have lessened her feelings of isolation, sure, but it wouldn’t have made her any freer to practice magic, satisfied her desire for vengeance, fixed her broken relationship with Uther, or soothed her insecurities about her place in his inner circle and family, all of which contributed far more to her growing bitterness than loneliness ever did.

Moreover, even if Merlin had told Morgana about his magic, there’s very little to suggest that she would have agreed with his longterm, wait-and-work-with-destiny approach to bringing back magic, or to dealing with Uther. She typically preferred much more direct, high-handed, and often violent strategies that guaranteed immediate results. This is partly because she (unlike Merlin) actually had some semblance of a personal relationship with Uther (and an increasingly volatile one at that), but also because as a Lady of nobility Morgana had a much stronger sense that she had the right to forcibly change things to the way that she wanted them to be, and that the people around her (including Merlin) should bend to her will.

So when it comes down to it, I think that Merlin had good reason not to tell Morgana about his magic. She might have been an okay ally in the beginning, when he was the only other person of magic around for her to talk to. But once Mordred, Morgause, and Alvarr came along - two of whom she was shown to form instant and intense connections with because of their shared destiny, one of whom she was inspired by and romantically attracted to, and all three of whom shared her personal opposition to Uther and willingness to directly plot against him - it’s difficult to believe that she wouldn’t choose them over Merlin in the long run. (To be fair, Morgana would probably try to persuade Merlin to join their cause at least once, but she’s always had a bit of a sanctimonious streak, so I can easily see her adopting a betrayed, if-you’re-not-with-me-you’re-against-me attitude towards him if he refused, which he probably would.) So ultimately Merlin would end up just as much her enemy as he would have been anyway, but with the added disadvantage of his magic not being a secret.