Board Thread:What If?/@comment-173.245.80.12-20140903054558/@comment-37017073-20190525231551

Brutegwaine wrote: I's concede that they were mostly going by suspicions, but Agravaine wasn't exactly subtle about manipulating Arthur and isolating him from those he loved and trusted. Gwaine had also seen him trying to kill Gaius.

He didn't really have to be subtle, though. He always waited to advise Arthur when they were alone or in private, and he was always careful to frame his advice as being best for the kingdom (it wasn't) and what Uther would do if he were in Arthur's place (it often was). While manipulative, this wasn't illegal, and more importantly it was always within Arthur's power to refuse his advice if he disagreed with it.

Arthur's tendency to disregard his own judgment in favor of his uncle's mainly stemmed from his desires for family connection and to make his father proud (both of which he craved in the wake of Uther's death) and was something that he ultimately grew out of over the course of s4, with 4x07 being a critical turning point. Following this episode, Agravaine's hold on Arthur slips considerably, though interestingly this does not lead Arthur to reject him in favor of following Merlin's lead. Instead, he starts listening to both Merlin and Agravaine, weighing their points and options, and making his own decisions, which is at it should be.

He got angry and even threw a punch at Arthur and called him dumb in the episode with Cornelius Sigan. The way to expose everyone else was to reveal himself and force Arthur to see the contrast.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Merlin can’t force Arthur to see anything he doesn’t want to see, and considering Arthur's reactions to other apparent betrayals by loved ones, he almost certainly wouldn’t want to. When Gaius appeared to have turned traitor in 4x07, Arthur chose not to search for him because he was hurt and betrayed and didn’t want to hear Gaius’s side of the story, and he banished Gwen in 4x09 because he couldn’t bear to see her every day knowing what she’d done. (His actions and conversation with Merlin in that episode also make it clear that at this point in the series Arthur believes that a breach of trust cannot be repaired, and even when it concerns a relationship he’s fought for and supported for over two seasons he isn’t willing to try. This attitude in particular had to change before the reveal could benefit anyone, and Arthur doesn’t come to terms with this particular lesson until the finale, which had enough going on it as it is.)

Based on these examples, if Merlin revealed his magic Arthur wouldn’t want to hear what he has to say. He wouldn’t want to see Merlin every day knowing that yet another person he trusted and cared for has lied to him. And as the King, it would be entirely within his power to ensure that he wouldn’t have to, whether by banishment, arrest, allowing him to "escape", or ordering the hundreds of guards at his disposal to forcibly remove Merlin from his presence.

Moreover, even if Arthur were willing to hear him out, the fact that Merlin has magic is not proof of Agravaine’s guilt. It gives him a basis to know the things he claims to know, but it’s still his word against Agravaine’s and that’s not enough. (The same would go for Gwaine if he were to step forward about the knife incident, as there’s no way that he could prove that Agravaine was about to kill Gaius and not just checking to see if he was still breathing like he claimed. Not unless he were a mindreader, which he’s not.) Arthur could investigate, but as long Agravaine kept his nose clean, such an investigation would ultimately prove fruitless. Ironically, at this point in the series it wouldn't be too difficult for Agravaine to stay out of trouble, either.

In 4x08, his only villainous act is to create a false trail during the search. It’s a purely spur-of-the-moment decision he makes because he can and probably not something he’d risk if he were under investigation. (And this is assuming that the events of this episode even happen with Merlin potentially banished and not around to act as Gaius’s stand-in physician.)

In 4x09, his only contributions are to inform Morgana about to upcoming marriage and to deliver the bracelet and suicide orders to Lancelot. Morgana could easily accomplish the latter two herself by sending the Shade to Camelot with the bracelet and instructing him to kill himself ahead of time. And a king getting married is hardly a state secret (plus it probably took a few days to organize the wedding and jousting tournament and to set up decorations), so that’s not much of a handicap, either.

He has nothing to do with Elyan’s possession in 4x10 and his only evil act is to advocate for Elyan’s execution. Considering Elyan is apparently attempting to assassinate Arthur, most of his council are probably advising the same thing, so that doesn't exactly scream that he's in league with Morgana, either.

4x11 is trickier, since Agravaine is ultimately the one who has to steal the maps of the siege tunnels. However, Morgana could also accomplish this herself by enchanting the map maker's apprentice into handing them over instead of having Agravaine try to blackmail him (which fails miserably anyway), or by having Helios's men break in and steal them. It's risky whatever they do, but then having Agravaine steal them personally was a pretty big risk as well, so it could probably be done.

Which brings us to the finale. Morgana's invasion is still in place and Agravaine hasn't had to step a toe out of line. (And all this is assuming that Morgana would bother to keep him as an ally in the first place, as she made it pretty clear throughout s4 that she'd drop him like a hot potato if he ever got to be more trouble than he was worth.)