Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Four/@comment-5102537-20140118143939/@comment-5102537-20140123113619

98.193.78.231 wrote:

Also, there was nothing in this episode to indicate that many people outside the inner circle knew what was really going on. The Knights and Agravaine passed off Elyan's behaviour as anger over Guinevere's banishment; there are ways to have explained it, once it was all over, without having to mention either Arthur or Uther's involvement, indeed without even having to mention the raid at all. I think the only two people to believe and explicitly state at one point that Uther had been involved were Gaius and Merlin, and both knew the truth by the end.

Once Arthur knew that the druid boy came eback to haunt him and when he decided to do something about it, the knights and the rest of all the people who knew that Elyan tried to kill the king would want to know what was going on with Elyan. Whether Elyan had been executed in case that the druid boy had killed Arthur or Elyan would be released from the ghost that possessed him, the knights, Agravaine, Merlin, Gaius and at least the rest of the court would have wanted an explanation. Since Arthur didn't even tell Merlin and Gaius in private that he was responsible, it's unlikely that he told all the others afterwards.

Merlin found out about the true reasons because he witnessed Arthur's confession, which wasn't planned by Arthur since he wanted to go alone. It was very obvious that he wanted to keep this secret.

If "Elyan" had killed Arthur, whether before he confessed or later in the woods, the knights would have hunted him down or they would have been informed by Gaius that it wasn't Elyan but a ghost. Either way, since Arthur didn't tell anyone about his responsibility for the raid and didn't want Merlin to follow him, everyone would have believed that the ghost came back because of Uther and not for Arthur or that Elyan was a vengeful criminal (if nobody had found out about the ghost and/or hadn't believed Gaius, which Agravaine probably would have made sure of). Had Elyan killed Arthur, what would the knights and Agravaine have told the public when their king is dead? Gaius would have tried to convince the knights that it was a ghost = Uthers fault. Agravaine and the knights might have believed him = Uther's fault, but they could have also believed that Elyan simply avenged his sister. The fact that Arthur just didn't tell anyone before when he went to the woods to sacrifice himself (again!!!) was very irresponsible since at least one or two others would have been blamed for his doings - Elyan for avenging his sister and Uther for slaughtering the druids, depending on what people would have believed or preferred to believe.

There was no hint that Arthur told the knights and the courtmembers the truth after the ghost was released either. When Elyan was himself again, what did he tell the knights? Did he remember anything of the happenings and if so, would he tell the truth or keep the secret and rather blame dead Uther than the beloved King Arthur? What did Arthur tell them and the courtmembers?

When he talked to Merlin and Gaius about the ghost in private, he deliberately kept the secret from them, so he couldn't know that Merlin would follow him and find out, thus he thought they kept believing it was Uther, his own father, plus not caring about Elyan's fate either.

In this conversation he should have told the truth at the latest. He should have felt the urge to take away the blame from his father, let alone making arrangements for the future of Camelot and Elyan - Arthur thought that he would die in the woods after all. It was irresponsible, short-sighted and cowardly in regard to his reputation.

Sure thing, Uther wasn't unhappy when Arthur slaughtered the camp. I have no doubt about it in the days back then (though it was contradictory to what was said and done before because Uther knew about the druids but never chased them in the first three seaons, except when he thought that they had tried to kill and later kidnapped his daughter. He could have hunted down the druids because he knew about them, and it wasn't too hard to find their camp as we could see when they found it on the search for Morgana. Uther didn't even go after them when Mordred escaped). But still, it was Arthur who led the raid and it was his responsibility, yet he didn't tell anyone except the ghost the druid boy.

I agree with the other things you mentioned. The knights were once again only side-effects and Arthur's promise to the druids didn't change anything at all.