Board Thread:What If?/@comment-5674726-20130722103118/@comment-5674726-20130730173138

67.162.191.87 wrote: I think seeing the prophesy gone awry would have shaken Merlin badly. In the episode where Mithian was introduced, we see how rattled Merlin is, as well as how firmly he believes in fate. A lot of what happens results from Merlin's conviction (or worry) regarding prophesies, so a story arc might have arisen which restored his faith in fate. I also agree with ReganX about Morganna. I think she would have found an opportunity to tell Arthur about the bracelet, to further torment him.

Merlin wasn't aware of any prophecy about Guinevere becoming Queen; Morgana had a vision and the only people she told were Morgause and Agravaine. For Merlin, I think that it was a combination of wanting his friends to be happy together and wanting Arthur to marry a servant to show that he valued her more than he valued a princess. He was very encouraging of the idea of honouring commoners, understandably so, given his position.

I think that Merlin was pretty desperate to see Guinevere as Queen because he too was a servant and wanted Arthur to show him that, when the time came, he would be able to see him as an equal too. I can't imagine that Merlin's ambition didn't stretch beyond being servant to the King, or that he envisaged himself continuing to be relegated to washing Arthur's dirty socks, cleaning his chambers and mucking out his horses once magic was restored and Albion united. He steadfastly ignored any potential advantages to the proposed matches with Princesses Elena and Mithian, assumed that Arthur would be unhappy if he consented to the matches, and implied that it would weaken the kingdom if he didn't follow his heart and marry Guinevere, which I would consider a disservice to Arthur; I can't see him doing any less than his very best for Camelot, regardless of who he was married to.