User blog comment:Fimber/Why I understand Uther's reasons for banning magic - and why no one is a saint on "Merlin"/@comment-5102537-20120530135416

Firt of all, thank you very much for commenting and especially for reading this... ehr... BOOK... :D (and thanks for ignoring some typos and surely some mistakes in style, I will correct them later)

As funny as it sounds, I made it short because I could have written even twice as much because with Uther, they have created a brilliant character who actually deserved a series of his own.

I'm a big fan of season one to three but season four has disappointed me with everything. I wouldn't even know where to start when pointing out what I found so disappointing. The brilliance they provided in the first three season has gone and at first I even stopped watching in the middle of season four but later continued watching to see if there is something that still interests me. It didn't work.

Anyway, there are three things that fascinated me and captured my heart from the beginning of the show. It was the positive atmosphere, the magic and Uther (though I liked every character).

As for Nimueh and her claim that she didn't know about Igraine. I don't believe that she was honest when she told Uther that she hadn't forseen Igraine's death. Of course, she couldn't admit to him that she either knew or even chose her intentionally since she complained about his hunt on magical people. Telling him that she was the one who started it all while blaming him at the same time wouldn't have worked. The idea that she knew and could do much more than she admitted came to me when Merlin accused her and most of all when Gaius said in regard to Igraine's death "that this time you take a just price". Also, Nimueh didn't tell Merlin that someone close to him and maybe even his mother could be the one who has to die in exchange for Arthur's life. Therefore I am convinced that she didnt tell Uther that it could be Igraine because Uther would have never risked her life, according to what happened after Igraine died and how much he loved her. Even if Nimueh didn't choose Igraine, which I doubt, she could have told Uther that it will be someone very close to him and maybe even Igraine, because that was something that she knew. Moreover, when Igraine (or the illusion of Igraine) talked to Arthur, she didn't say that Uther knew that someone close to him will have to die but only that a life will be taken in exchange for another. So everything points into the direction that Nimueh did not tell him everything and didn't give him the chance to think twice with all the information he should have received from her. Why she either chose Igraine or at least didn't tell Uther everything? - Well, maybe because it was all planned, given that Merlin's fate and destiny was planned centuries or even aeons before he or anyone else was born. I have no idea why it may have all been planned, I fail to see the logic in it. But Nimueh wasn't a kind person, that's for sure.

Yes, it's a miracle that Uther didn't kill Nimueh but banned her from Camelot instead. I wish we would have gotten an answer to that. Maybe it is indeed the case that he wanted to spare those he used to like and maybe he grew more determined with age and later regretted that he hadn't killed her when he had the chance.

Sparing Gaius makes total sense to me because he was friends with him and he was a brother in arms before Igraine died. Gaius went to Nimueh by order of Uther, obviously, and he practised magic when Uther didn't have a problem with it, and supposingly Uther benefited from it. It wasn't Gaius' fault that Igraine died after all and Uther trusted Gaius. Gaius had only done what Uther had asked of him but probably (seemingly) instantly changed his mind about magic when he saw Uther developing such a hatred for it. I would assume that Gaius even pretended to be fully on Uther's side when the Great Purge started and offered his help in order to be able to save at least a few people who were hunted. That's also why I assume that in the beginning he spared those who respected the law but later realised that most of them didn't and therefore everyone had to be eliminated.

Morgana has become a real ridiculous and unreal character, which isn't her fault. The writers made her so tremendously inhumane and didn't offer a valid reason for it. Every possible reason for her becoming bitter and a "bad ass" could never explain or justify her insane actions. To get so incredibly nuts and to really enjoy the torment and misery of others, most of all of those who have never been her enemies, is absolutely not the reaction of a scared and misunderstood person. Sadly she is meanwhile described as a real psychopath with a serious mental illness. I'm sure Uther would have never killed her and Morgana should have known when Uther even asked for magical help in order to heal her. She overheard the conversation with Gaius, so she should have given Uther the benefit of a doubt. When he asked Gaius to use magic, he did it out of desperation because his daughter was much more important to him than his principles and most of all than his fears. He faced his biggest fear that constantly caused him pure panic, only to save Morgana. Why did she ignore that? He also risked his kingdom when he was looking for a her the year she was "lost". There weren't more important things to him than his children and Morgana knew that. Moreover, if Morgana and Morgause inherited their magical powers from their mother Vivienne, Uther must have suspected Morgana of having magical powers too. That's also something that was completely ignored by Morgana. And obviously also by the writers. I suppose they just forgot about such things and overlooked them, which is another reason why I'm so disappointed about season four, because I had hoped for some answers.

I don't know why he didn't turn to magic when Arthur was about to die. Perhaps it was just a goof that he later did when Morgana's life was at stake. The writers might have changed their mind about Uther's character and made him turning to magic again to point out how much he loved her and how desperate he was. Or maybe, Uther would have turned to magic to heal Arthur if Merlin and Gaius hadn't healed him in time. Perhaps they were just faster, we will never know. Or... maybe Uther grew a little softer with age, with extremely small steps and healing Morgana with magic was the first one.

Morganaforever, what you wrote about Uther killing babies. I can't remember that he ever did this. Are you referring to Morgause? If so, it was never said that he wanted her dead but only that he was lead to believe that the child had died. Since Morgause is much older than Morgana and Arthur, Uther wouldn't have had any reason to kill her because at that point of time, he had no problem with magic at all. So even if he had known that Morgause had magical powers even as a baby already, why would he want to have her dead? Shame they didn't explain the whole Morgause/Morgana situation. Why did Morgause know Igraine very well? Who was Morgause's father and why was she smuggled out of Camelot when magic was allowed back then?

I think Merlin is better than Morgana is - actually, in my opinion, everyone is better than Morgana - because Merlin doesn't enjoy the torment of others and still wants to do the right thing. His actions are meanwhile very questionable and he grows selfish, but still he is not evil and delusional. But yes, maybe he is starting to corrupt too.

As for Uther and Vivienne, I don't think that he was with Igraine already when he had the brief relationship with Vivienne. Morgana is older than Arthur and I would think probably two or three years. Yes, it's possible that he and Igraine were a couple at that time already but it would contradict his love for Igraine and the fact that he hadn't even been with another woman after Igraine died. By that he was described as an extremely faithful man/husband. He told Kathrina that he had no relationship after Igraine, so why would he have cheated on her while she was still alive and he so much in love with her? Especially in the beginning of a relationship when the world is still pink and full of fluffy dancing clouds while being so much in love, there is no reason to cheat on the partner, unlike maybe later when the first infatuation is gone and replaced by day-to-day things. I don't think that he cheated on her. But, again, we will never know.

What do you think made no sense in "The Beginning of the End"? Are you refering to Uther saying that the druids are planning his downfall? If so, it shows, at least in my opinion, that he thought that even the good magic would corrupt everyone sooner or later. Like it did when creating a life (Arthur) and the terrible consequences. Moreover, he could never be sure for what purpose the druids used their magic, which is indeed a very powerful magic.

Merlinfan, I agree with you on the magic up to a certain point. The magic on the show was one of the things that has fascinated me. However, although Uther could have never won the war against magic, he had some very valid points and reasons for banning and fighting it, wether it was used by commoners or the most powerful sorcerers like the High Priests and Priestessess of the Old Religion. There is a reason why Merlin appeared, and obviously it was because he is destined to keep the balance and to stop others from misusing and abusing it while making it leagal again at the same time. Not to mention that what he said about magic, he said it from his point of view. Wether he is right or wrong about it, he never really questioned the mighty and unbelievable powers of magic and the dangers it has brought. Of course, his point of view was/is a total different one from Uther's. I can see sense and logic in both points of view, and that is what makes the situation so difficult, in my opinion. There is not just one right or wrong and not just one solution to it all.