User blog:Waterwecna/Merlin: what happened to you?



One thing is certain: Merlin is definitely not the character he once was. He has grown from a young boy to a young man, and his character has developed a lot. The only things that have not really changed that much like is his wardrobe and his haircut. Other aspects about him have changed quite a lot over the years. In a way, some changes about Merlin have been really good. I am sure I am not the only one who likes that he dares to speak up much more know, and isn't as shy as in the early days. I personally enjoy absolutely each and every one of those moments. But then there are those moments in each series where you are disappointed with Merlin and the choices he has made, starting from poisoning Morgana and ending with him advising Arthur from keeping magic banned from Camelot. I will analyse his latest decision a bit more in this post.

So in the latest episode, Merlin had to face dilemma: should he advise Arthur to unban magic and save Mordred's life, or keep magic banned and let Mordred die. Before that he had consulted with Kilgharrah, who advised him to eliminate him. And so Merlin decided to advise Arthur not to let magic have a place in Camelot.

Here are some possible reasons why he did it:

1. He cares about Arthur. Merlin is a windhead and does not always think his decisions through - that is for certain. But there is a lot more than stupidity behind this decision. Him choosing to let Mordred die (and through that help Arthur to live) over the future he has dreamt of for so long shows very well how much he cares about Arthur. Still, one should notice how hard it was for him to make that decision - he was on the edge of crying. Even Arthur himself could clearly see that something was bothering him.

2. He may have thought that there is still a way for magic to come to Camelot. It is very tough to say what exactly was going through his mind at that moment, but I can imagine that I in his shoes would have thought about what Kilgharrah had said about magic coming back to Camelot during Arthurs reign, and that perhaps there is another way to bring the old ways back to Camelot. This would explain more why he did it, because I would like to think that he would not have made such a decision which affects all the sorcerers living in Camelot without knowing this.

Still, this does not mean that I approve of him making such a decision. He most likely didn't take other sorcerers into consideration and he still does not seem to realise that his actions do affect other sorcerers around him. Yet it is important to realise that behind this decision most likely was more than just stupidity, and let us not forget that he did not exactly have a lot of time to decide. But although Merlin's character has not been as awesome in Series 5 as in the other Series, I do think that there is a bigger plan behind his acting.

So what do you guys think: why did Merlin make that decision?