User blog comment:Edrea/Why so many bad things happened because of Merlin?/@comment-5674726-20130617001631/@comment-5674726-20130618001546

This is one of those cases where doing the right thing could have been its own reward.

Even if Arthur didn't have a face for the sorcerer who saved his father, he would still have known that he was saved by magical means, and by somebody who asked for nothing in return. If that didn't change his opinion on magic for the better, he'd be rather a lost cause in that respect. Merlin-as-Dragoon wouldn't have been able to hear Arthur thank him but he could still have taken a crucial step towards convincing Arthur that magic wasn't evil.

Granted, I think that the better plotline would have been if Morgana saved Uther. As she said in that episode, his death didn't improve her situation. However, had she healed him, she could not only have rocked his view of magic and given him hope that she wasn't lost to him - useful, since he's not going to hunt her down and destroy any chance that she might come back of her own accord - she could have sowed seeds of dissent in the heart of Camelot. Arthur spent over a year ruling Camelot, disregarding his father's laws and customs as it suited him, and he got used to being able to do things his way. I can't see him being thrilled if a healthy Uther took the reins of power once more and rolled back on the changes he disapproved of. The court could potentially have ended up divided between those who were glad to have Uther back in charge and those who preferred Arthur's way of doing things.

Divide and conquer.