Talk:The Disir (episode)/@comment-5995315-20130129233031

Arthur and Merlin both made exactly the right decision.

The Disir didn't make a request. They made a threat. They demanded that magic be allowed for any evil purposes whatsoever, and they demanded that Arthur bow down to the Old Religion against his conscience.

Arthur wisely refused. He acted responsibly to protect his people from danger, even knowing the consequences. What we see the mark of a legendary king. That's the message of this episode.

Merlin made the right decision, too. He sacrificed his greatest personal desire, that Arthur would know who he really was, to a greater good. He's the greatest sorcerer already, but he, too, refuses to convert to a religion he cannot accept.

It was Merlin's conversion that would have given a stamp of legitimacy to the Old Religion. That's who the triple-headed goddess was really after. The Disir's judgement was actually against Merlin, not Arthur. But in the end, Merlin and Arthur together defeated the judgement of fate.