Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season One/@comment-5102537-20130214143847/@comment-4814726-20130223040625

A relationship that is based on the fact that one is dominant over the other is NOT a friendship. Its subservience to authority. For a friendship, a brotherhood, each party must have a mutual respect, love, and compassion for the other. Were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley friends because one was more dominant? Were the knoghts of the round table friends because one was dominant?

Merlin and Arthur started out as enemies, as seen in The Dragon's Call, Arthur was master and Merlin was servant. They didn't like each other at all. But as time went on, Arthur began to respect Merlin, tho he showed it in his own roundabout way becuz he thought it was improper to be friends with a servant due to his upbringing. He didnt show it just when he got the morteaus flower for Merlin, as much as when he went with Merlin to protect merlin's home. Arthur had no reason to help Merlin other than that he cared about him as a friend, he owed no debt, it was pure friendship. He didn't do that because he was "dominant". If your saying that Arthur and Merlin's relationship was based on the fact Arthur was of higher authority, then it was NEVER a friendship. If their relationship was based on the fact that Merlin was happy to serve Arthur until he himself died, and Arthur "enjoyed the attention" of that, it was NOT a friendship. It was never stated that Merlin had the opportunity to ask to be given a higher status, or that he denied one. In fact the topic was barely broached at all by the characters themselves. Gwen didn't ask for a higher status, Arthur bestowed it unconditionally along with his love.

Now what I mean when I say that it was disappointing not to see how Merlin and Arthur would get through Merlin's secret coming out, I mean that I would've really liked to see them overcome that and  improving upon their characters in turn. I don't mean that their friendship should have had no secrets between them at all, just the really important ones LIKE THE MAGIC, for one and only.

Arthur and Merlin's relationship wasn't solved by Merlin saying that he was totally and completely loyal to Arthur, nor was it ruined in the first place because it showed that Merlin was "above" Arthur. The relationship was broken because Arthur thought Merlin was an evil sorcerer who killed his father and had deceived him ever since they knew each other. Once he had time to think, listen, and observe, he realized that Merlin was and always had been his loyal FRIEND. Not subservient lower.

I think I should do an analysis of this in a composition notbook and make a blogpost about it to get my thoughts straight. I'll analyze the progression of Arthur and Merlin's relationship in an organized way.