Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-173.168.115.243-20171129163314/@comment-37017073-20190425213708

'''Whomerpotterlock wrote: As Merlin ended with season five I have many questions just like everyone else... I wonder if Guinevere ever found out that Merlin had magic, and if she did find out, was there freedom for magic people? Did she continue to use Merlin to assist them in battles?'''

It was kind of implied that Gwen figured out Merlin's secret in 5x13, specifically in the scene where she questions Gaius about the old sorcerer from the battle and whether or not she knew him, but I don't think it was ever out-and-out confirmed.

If she did figure it out, then I think it's possible that Gwen did change Camelot's magical policies after she ascended the throne. She's always been sensible, perceptive, and the moral compass of the Main 4, so I could easily see her coming to realize and acknowledge that not all sorcerers were evil and that they deserved respect.

'''Did Merlin ever go back to Camelot? Or stay where Arthur's body is?'''

Well, he's not present at Gwen's coronation, but I doubt he just hung out at the lake for the next 1500 years.

Maybe he went back, maybe he became a wanderer and dropped in on Camelot every now and then, maybe he never returned. There's nothing in the final episode that indicates one way or another.

'''Will Arthur come back to life in modern day and return for season 6, or a movie? Will there be a spinoff? I feel as though the end of season 5 was very open-ended, and allowed for more to happen.'''

Alice Troughton and Bradley James stated in The Hollow Queen's audio commentary that series 5 was always intended to be the last season.

From 5x08's audio commentary:

AT: "BBC News said, "Merlin has been axed."

BJ: "That's quite a brutal way of putting it, isn't it?"

AT: "It's also completely wrong, is't it? Because actually, we started this series knowing, probably, that we, kind of, y'know, knew that it was going to..."

BJ: "Yeah. If anything, the BBC wanted more. We were asked if we wanted... for more."

AT: "Yeah, and everybody said, "No, this has been our plan." The kind of arc of it. So it wasn't that it was axed in the slightest, Merlin fans."

Basically, the show-runners were offered a sixth series but turned it down because they'd always planned for five seasons and felt they'd accomplished what they set out to do. So no, there's not (and was never going to be) a Series 6, spinoff, or movie.

'''When will Arthur come back? Was the end a foreshadowing for more of the show, or was it open-ended to say that Emrys is still waiting for Arthur today?'''

The ending is open-ended because the legend itself is open-ended. In most legends, Arthur is sent off to Avalon to recover from Camlann and will supposedly return one day, and that's where it ends. As far as I know, his return is never shown in the legends.

What happened with Kilgarrah?

Well, he hinted in 5x10 that he would likely die soon (and didn't answer when Merlin asked if he'd see him again, which is probably why Merlin waited until the last minute to call him for help in 5x13). And he basically said his final goodbye to Merlin after taking him and Arthur to the lake, so I would assume that he died not long afterward.

'''The sword that was forged in a dragon's breath is at the bottom of the lake. Will that be used to help Albion when Arthur rises again?'''

Probably. I always assumed that that's why Merlin threw it back in: to keep it safe for Arthur's return, and to keep his promise to Kilgharrah that if the sword wasn't in Arthur's hands, he would place it somewhere no mortal man could wield it.

'''Merlin/Emrys was to be the greatest wizard of all time. When Arthur died, and Camelot won the war against Morgana and her army, Merlin was the reason that they succeeded. Was this the reason he was considered "the greatest" or is that still yet to come when Albion needs him the most (When Arthur rises again).'''

I'm pretty sure Merlin is considered the greatest sorcerer because he is (according to Balinor) Magic Itself. Literally magic personified.

'''How old does Merlin live on to be? At the end of series 5, it is modern day, and Merlin is very old. It can be assumed that everyone he knew from Camelot is dead by now. Where has Merlin been living all this time? Has Camelot fallen? Why is Merlin still alive? How much longer until the prophecy can be fulfilled, and he can finally die? Just as the fisher king was alive till he could give something to Merlin to fulfill a prophecy, is Merlin stuck, waiting for Arthur to rise?'''

The show generally sticks to a medieval theme, but doesn't appear to be set in any specific period. It's not historically accurate and has never pretended to be (talking dragon, anyone?). Legend-wise, however, most historians place Arthur's supposed reign at around 500 AD. This would make Merlin around 1500 years old by modern-day.

I would assume that yes, at some point Camelot came to an end. It's nowhere to be seen in modern England, after all.

There's nothing to indicate where Merlin's been living, if he has a permanent home somewhere or just wanders the UK and/or the world and makes an occasional stop at the lake to see if Arthur's turned up.

Merlin's likely still alive because of his magic. Balinor tells him in 5x13 that he's "magic itself", and that "he's always been, and always will be", which I've always taken to mean that as long as magic exists, so will Merlin in some way, shape, or form.

'''Where does Aithusa end up? Aithusa stuck by Morgana's side. After Morgana's fateful end, where does Aithusa end up? Will Aithusa reappear in modern day when Albion needs it most?'''

Aithusa might have been friends with Morgana, but it never seemed to bear Merlin personally any ill will. It outright refused to leave him when they were reunited in 5x02 and Merlin had to order it away in Dragon-speak to avoid Arthur finding it. And even when it attacked him it never hesitated to back off when he said to except at Camlann, where its leaving would almost certainly have risked Morgana's death. Even then, it seemed more sad to be ordered away than mad.

So I would imagine that Merlin and Aithusa would work out any differences they had between them and keep in touch. Maybe Merlin would find a way to help it, or heal it of its injuries. He's got a lot of time to kill and not much else to do with it.

'''When Guinevere eventually dies, who assumes the throne? Arthur and Gwen never had a child, so who would take the throne?''' Option 1: Gwen remarries and has a child which becomes heir to the throne.

Option 2: Gwen never remarries or has a child, in which case one of Camelot's lords or some other member of the nobility would ascend the throne after her death. Presumably, she would choose one of them for her heir beforehand, in order to avoid the nobles squabbling over who was most entitled to the throne and possibly starting a civil war over it.