Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season One/@comment-5102537-20130223112431/@comment-5674726-20130227000852

Hmm, true, if he had killed Arthur, Uther surely wouldn't have approved of him and promised him a place in Camelot.

I'd say that, had Valiant used his shield to kill Arthur in the finale, Uther would have taken the word of a servant about him using magic once Gaius could show the snake bites. The characters were acting as though Arthur was going to die in the fight but it wasn't a fight to the death and anything Valiant might have hoped to gain from the tournament, be it the cash prize or an honoured place in Camelot, would only be his if he defeated Arthur without killing him or causing serious harm.