User blog comment:Fimber/Elements of classic literature and religion in "Merlin"/@comment-5995315-20130202160426

I have my own idea about what Merlin’s story represents, but I think two or three other allegories work as well.

The first is the religious one. Merlin can be taken a story about Christianity itself. That means Merlin is actually Christ, and their lives are parallels. We start with a world in which man is separated from God, who represents Himself to them through magic and fate. But Satan uses those things as well. Uther’s reign represents the Old Testament, in which humans fought Satan on their own. Uther’s demise  shows that the human species cannot survive alone. Fate and dark magic will finish them  off.

To save mankind God must bridge the gap between humans and magic, putting humans back in harmony with magic. God had sent prophets who were not able to fix it because they were magic and could not reach  humans. As a result, God   incarnates himself as a human  because only that way can the experience of being human become part of magic (the Spirit).

Merlin (Christ)  is magic (divine)  and human. His purpose, though he doesn’t know it yet, is to experience his humanity to its fullest, and in so doing bring humans into harmony with the rest of creation.

The parallels get stronger. Merlin (Christ) begins his ministry as a servant to Arthur, who stands in for all humans. Morgana represents Satan, of course. Arthur’s goal is a kingdom of justice and wisdom, but he needs Merlin’s help.

In the Disir episode we learn that Arthur’s (mankind’s) good deeds alone will not save him, only faith in magic. Mordred represents Judas, and now Christ will be betrayed. The final episodes of Merlin depict Jesus’s (Merlin’s) Calvary. Episode 12  represents the Crucifixion, in which Merlin (Jesus) loses his magic (God's presence) and must die without it. Fate and dark magic kill Merlin in the cave. But his immense suffering as a human closes the gap between God and Man.

Merlin (Jesus) is resurrected to spread this Good News to mankind (Arthur). Being a man himself, Merlin can do what no other prophet ever could: speak to humans in their own language. He gets through to Arthur on an emotional level, and Arthur responds.

But Arthur is fated to perish. In his last moments he expresses his love for Merlin (Christ), confesses his faith to Merlin (“Everything you’ve done … I now know …), and achieves salvation. Merlin's suffering upon Arthur's death is the worst imaginable for a human. It represents Christ taking on the world's sins to save all mankind. Death, or fate, is defeated by man’s newly restored bond with magic, or the Spirit of God.

The last scene shows a world watched over by Christ, who will call forth Arthur for Judgment Day. On that day humans will all be judged with compassion and mercy, unlike in old times, and everyone will have a chance at salvation and a way to defeat fate.

To me this allegory is as good an alternative as my own. There are others that work, but I won't take  them up in this long post.