Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Four/@comment-5102537-20131207132547/@comment-5674726-20140126112431

66.205.130.239 wrote: I don't agree that Gwen could've (or should have) been kidnapped in the Castle of Fyrien, because one of the main points of that episode was that Arthur was willing to risk his life to save someone who was important to Gwen. I mean, sure it could've been another episode where Arthur saves Gwen, but I don't think that would've had the same impact. Considering that he'd already made it clear that he'd risk his life to save her, and especially since she'd already lost her father, I think having Arthur rescue Elyan added another layer to his relationship with Gwen. It was an entirely different way of showing his love for her.

Why would Morgause and Morgana care about proving that Arthur would risk his life for somebody he didn't know from Adam just because said person was related to Guinevere?

They made their plan needlessly complicated, not to mention took the risk that Guinevere wouldn't tell Arthur that her brother had been captured if she didn't want to risk his life, for no reason. At that point, there was not even any personal animosity towards Guinevere on Morgana's part, that might conceivably have led her to set her up to have to choose between Arthur and her brother. It would make made much more sense for them to have Guinevere kidnapped, with Morgana - who was known to be close to her maid - receiving a ransom note, bringing it to Uther when Arthur was present, etc. I can see no reason why the characters would take so much extra trouble to track down and kidnap Elyan, even taking their penchant for elaborate plans into account.

The writers wanting to furnish yet another sign that Guinevere was Arthur's "True Love" may have been the behind the scenes reason for Elyan's introduction but it doesn't make the storyline less ridiculously contrived, or the character anything other than a walking prop.

66.205.130.239 wrote: And I don't understand how someone would think that any knight could've died in The Dark Tower. The fact that Gwen lost the only remaining member of her family is huge.

Except it wasn't treated as huge. There's a funeral at the end, and a throwaway line from the enchanted Guinevere to explain why she is sneaking out of the castle. It'd be another story if Elyan's death was shown to have a major impact on Guinevere in later episodes, perhaps leading her to urge Arthur to go on the offensive against Morgana rather than waiting for her to strike, hardening her view of magic, etc.