User blog:MerlinUSA/Lies My Dragon Told Me

All in all Merlin’s dragon Kilgharrah told Merlin what turned out to be the truth. But in a couple of cases the dragon mislead Merlin. At other times, what he said didn‘t help.

In the very first episode the dragon tells the warlock, “There is no right or wrong; only what is and is not.”  How is that supposed to help Merlin? Every episode that follows shows people trying to figure out what’s right. So are they chasing a dream? The dragon may have been implying that fate can’t be changed. But that would leave Merlin wondering whether even the right decision meant anything if  whatever came of it was going to happen anyway. This creates a dilemma that’s driving Merlin mad.

I also don’t think the Kilgharrah is always on the up-and-up. The dragon bears hard feelings against Gaius. As a result, he claims he doesn’t know how to help Gaius in The Witchfinder. With Merlin at that time depending so much on Gaius, Kilgharrah’s spite only undermines Merlin’s destiny.

Kilgharrah is a creature of magic. He cannot read human minds or figure out human motives. This is what weakens the advice he gives. He tells Merlin about the “power of love" in Sweet Dreams, but presents it as a mystery. So it is, to the dragon at least.  In order to achieve his destiny, Merlin is left to figure out on his own what this power of love means.

The dragon’s legacy is a mixed bag. He gives Merlin important help, but bewilders the poor boy to the point that, even without magic, Merlin becomes an increasingly strange young man. Despite it all, Merlin does conquer fate, but at what personal cost? Merlin’s dragon, like Gaius himself, eventually ends up doing little to help Merlin and sometimes a lot to hurt him.

So am I being fair to Kilgharrah?