Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Three/@comment-5102537-20130921103327/@comment-5102537-20130924112831

Selecasticon wrote: We should also give a round of applause for the Queen of Hearts. Gwen took a big step to see Morgana for what she had become, giving no room for margin of error. Also, Gaius confirming this was a big initiative.

This was indeed a good episode. If I'm not mistaken, this one was originally scheduled to air after "The Queen of Hearts" since in this episode, Gwen finds out about Morgana practicing magic whereas she only suspects her in the later episode "Queen of Hearts" and seem to have forgotten what she had seen before.

What strikes me most about this one is that it wasn't actually Arthur but Merlin's quest. Aside from the assumption that Arthur was only being used by those who direct the fate of others (gods, goddesses, any kind of entity...) in order to make Merlin go on his journey that had been determined a long time ago, the inevitable future that can't be altered played yet another part here.

The Fisher King had been waiting for Merlin even long before Merlin was born. So everything that had happened before was predetermined because it led to this happening. Had Morgana not turned to the dark side and not given Arthur the bracelet, Merlin wouldn't have had a reason to follow Arthur and to risk his friend failing in his test. This was at least the second time that Merlin learnt that fighting fate was pointless since the predetermined future always fullfills itself.

I found it a bit disappointing that he never took this into consideration and always tried to alter the future, ignoring that he as well as everyone else were always doing exactly what "the future" wanted them to do. If I was Merlin I would at least wonder about that for a while and ask myself why I'm even trying to change things.

As fascinating as I find this theory of a future that is set in stone and can't be altered, it stretched the story a bit and created a conflict between powerlessness and the ongoing attempt to influence things and people which was supposed to make the viewers curious about what effect the actions of the characters will have on situations and other characters. It's either all determined or it can be altered, but not both things at the same time.

I felt sorry for the Fisher King. This poor man suffered for centuries only to meet Merlin. If this isn't cruel, then what is?

It was quite astonishing, if not actually ridiculous that Arthur had to choose a quest with the help of a vision. Isn't a vision that shows you the way to a quest pure magic? Such thing is no different from the visions Morgana had, yet she never told anyone but Gaius because she feared Uther would kill her when suspecting her of having magic. Where is the difference between Arthur's vision and Morgana's visions, and why did Uther even want Arthur to have a vision because it was "tradition"? Made no sense to me at all. I wonder how Uther or anyone else would explain a magical vision that leads to a magical quest as being a natural and non-magical thing.

How did Uther even know that this was tradition when he conquered Camelot and supposingly wasn't a prince before becoming king? Even if he was the son of another king, did he have a vision too when he was young?

Moreover, instead of just storming the castle of the Fisher King in order to get the trident, a magical tool, Arthur was being sent on a magical mission alone, risking his life because of a magical vision - and all that with Uther's permission. That was weird.

Morgana's remark that Uther wouldn't have to worry because a Pendragon will rule the kingdom was a little creepy. She was so right, either way. And she visibly enjoyed the upcoming tragedy she tried to cause to her own father and everyone else.

Poor Arthur was again fooled by pretty much everyone: by the supernatural powers that sent him to the Fisher King only to make Merlin following him, by Morgana who gave him the bracelet and almost killed him with it, by Merlin who once again saved him when stopping the dragon-like creatures (by the way, where did they come from?) and by the Fisher King who actually had no business with Arthur at all. And Arthur had no idea whatsoever that he was actually only a puppet on a string in this weird game.

The water of the lake of Avalon was more proof for a predetermined future since the Fisher King gave it to Merlin so that he can use it later in order to get Excalibur from Freya which was (would be) necessary to defeat the army of immortals when Morgana and Morgause attacked Camelot. And Excalibur was being forged by the dragon because Merlin needed it to save Arthur and Arthur needed to be saved because Uther had asked for magical help in order to get an heir (Arthur).

Is it any wonder that basically, all the characters couldn't help but do what they were supposed to do since they absolutely had no choice at all? And isn't it proof for the danger of magic/the Old Religion that was constantly playing games with people and robbed them off their own will and capability of shaping their own future?

And is it any wonder that Uther and many others fought magic when considering that the wound of one single sorcerer (the Fisher King) caused the destruction of an entire land?

MERLIN Who was the Fisher King?

GAIUS He was a sorcerer who lived many hundreds of years ago.

MERLIN And?

GAIUS Legend has it he was wounded in battle. The wound festered and the infection spread, not just through his body, but through his lands as well. His mighty kingdom was reduced to a wasteland, and it has remained that way to this very day.

Merlin's next question "I don't understand. Why is Uther so worried"  almost seems to be ridiculous when regarding what he had just heard Gaius saying.

Who wouldn't be worried when a wound eradicated a land, probably killed thousands of people and when this one sorcerer could still be alive? Well, I would be worried for sure. This example demonstrates again how very dangerous magic was, even though the Fisher King himself obviously wasn't evil. However, magic was uncontrollable and obviously, the Fisher King wasn't capable of stopping the infection that destroyed the land. That's quite a reason to be worried, I would say.