User blog comment:123Action/A Year/@comment-4814726-20131107051411/@comment-5674726-20131109092002

''However, I think it's safe to say that quite some things were changed along the way. For example making Arthur king so soon. Uther was supposed to stay much longer on the show according to the staments of some officials, plus the dragon telling Merlin that he was destined to protect Arthur until he is king and that once he is, magic-users will be free and Albion united. As we know, Merlin protected Arthur far beyond his coronation and nothing changed.''

That's interesting.

I wonder if Merlin helped screw up destiny by sticking by Arthur longer than he was meant to. As long as he was around to solve problems, even in secret, Arthur didn't get the chance to come up with solutions for himself. Who can say what Arthur might have done, had he had to fend for himself without a secret magical protector?

In one Arthurian novel I read, Merlin leaves the court and it is speculated that he did so because he wanted to show that Arthur was a great King in his own right, without needing a wizard to fight his battles for him or to hold his hand and guide his decisions. Arthur rises to the challenge and flourishes as King. Perhaps, contrary to the seemingly endless fanfics that involve Merlin becoming court sorcerer, he was truly meant to walk away once Arthur was King and trust that he would be a great ruler.