Board Thread:What If?/@comment-5674726-20130803001002/@comment-5102537-20130814113328

If the writers/showrunners had ever intended to let Merlin help Arthur and Gwen conceive a child - in case that it would have even been necessary... we don't know whether or not they could conceive, maybe they just didn't want to for whatever reason - they would have thought of another situation in which Merlin willingly offers his own life. This kind of self-abandonment and subservience I would have found quite disturbing.

However, even if; we don't don't know if it would have been even possible with Nimueh gone. Merlin probably would have had to ask Morgana as the last High Priestess. And in case he had found another way, I wouldn't be surprised if he had really done it, despite what happened the last two times. He was willing to "pay any price!" when he saved Arthur's life and was lucky enough to be able to win over Nimueh. He probably would try it again, thinking that he can achieve whatever he wants if it just serves Arthur.

I wonder how Morgana's seer powers even worked. In the beginning she had visions of what will happen to those close to her (though it wasn't in her powers to prevent the things from happening) but later she only saw glimpses of her doom or what would be a disadvantage for herself. Maybe the seer powers change with the desires and the personality of the seer. The more selfish she grew, the less visions about the fate of others she had, meaning visions that wouldn't affect her and make her furious.