Board Thread:What If?/@comment-5674726-20140723213417/@comment-5674726-20140809222405

Machairodus wrote:

Kilgharrah will not be able to act agaist dragonlord. And why should he consider Uther or Morgana Arthur's heir. What if now Merlin is Once and Future King(or Forever King since he is immortal)? Uther wasn't Arthur's heir, Arthur was his heir and, following Arthur's death, Morgana is the most probable heir to Uther's throne. The show makes it very clear that, despite being born out of wedlock, she would have a valid claim to the throne after Arthur if her paternity was known. Chances are that he'd want her to make an alliance by marriage sooner rather than later, to safeguard the succession.

Merlin as the Once and Future King would be completely out of the question. There is no way that he would have been considered to have any claim to the throne so he could only make himself King by right of conquest. Even if he had the raw power to seize control, I can't see him forcing himself on the people of Camelot as their ruler.

One possibility is that Arthur was never an essential component, in the sense that Merlin could help any halfway intelligent and decent prince (or princess) become the Once and Future King (Queen). If he didn't cleave to Morgana, he might become a guide to her son or grandson, which would fit the legend of Merlin as an elderly wizard guiding the Once and Future King.