User blog:Adelina Le Morte March/Why Gilli Rocks! (and needs to come back)

Because I recently had to re-purchase all three of my Merlin series dvds (Season four is not out where I live yet on dvd, I'm desperately hoping for jan cuz I REALLY want to see those again, espeically now that the youtube account I viewed them on is closed down), due to The Beginning of the End, Beauty and the Beast part 1, and a few other episodes skipping on mine, I've been re-watching the whole series from season 1 through 3 all over again.

And I've been reminded of something: Why I love Gilli's character!

Now, whenever anyone asked me if I wanted Gilli to come back, I would have said, "Yeah, totally!" but now I've been reminded why it is that Gilli, along with Freya (I plan to write a much longer blog post about her sometime in the near future so I won't bother going into too much detail about her here) and Tristan (and Isolde, except she's dead, though that's never stopped the writers before...), is one of the characters I feel NEEDS to return.

Mostly, a number of people on this site seem to be debating why Alvarr should return, and they appear to have all but forgotten Gilli, who, like Alvarr, was in only one episode, and lived; thus his story is just as unconcluded. Given, I will freely admit, I don't like Alvarr. When re-watching his episode in season 2, I tried SO HARD to see what his hardcore fans see in him. I see pretty much no redeemable quailty in him, sadly. Like Gaius says, he's a fanatic. There's not much else to him. I can understand, though, why they want him to come back; and sort of hope he does, or at least gets a mention, maybe by Morgana or Mordred, just to conclude his story arc. Still, it's Gilli whose return I feel is more important.

Gilli is interesting because he's almost the male version of Morgana and kind of shows what she could have been if she'd taken a different route in life.

Allow me to explain.

Like Morgana, Gilli had a parent who was afraid of magic (admitedly, the circumances were vastly different, his father being afraid of being killed by Uther; Uther, just being, well, Uther, LOL), and it caused him to become bitter. He was slighted frequently and felt it keenly, wanting revenage. Even after Merlin tried to help him, even going so far as to reveal his magic, he still intended to fight and possibly kill King Uther using a magic ring.

Also, like Morgana (though in other ways his life and personality seem to mirror Merlin's and even Freya's more than hers), Gilli is very prideful.

In a strange twist, however, after Merlin uses magic to prevent him from killing Uther, rather than hold a grudge and go off swearing revenge (like Morgana is prone to, whenever someone stands in her way), he is angry but at the same time is willing to listen to reason.

And, thus, he and Merlin part ways as friends, hoping to one day meet again.

Here we have a magic-user, with strong pride, who chooses, in the end, not to go over to the dark side.

Some fans appear to believe that the difference between Gilli's choice and Morgana's is strictly that Merlin shared his magic with one and not the other. I, personally, reject this theory. My reasoning being that a) what did Gilli do after Merlin showed him his magic? Did it stop him from trying to kill Uther? No. It was Merlin's REASONING with him afterward that changed his mind and heart condition in the matter. Merlin did try to reason with Morgana, even offering to help her find 'another way'; he simply, and for good reason, withheld the fact that he had magic from her; if she "needed" him to have magic in order to accept his help and advice, then she's not really a very good friend, is she? I get that Morgause is her sister and all, but she DID sort of seem to pick her friendship over Gwen's largely because Morgause had magic and "understood" better, never mind that Gwen comforted her after her nightmares for years. And b) one needs to understand that the situations are different. The cirucmances, I mean. Merlin knew Morgana had magic (at least that her dreams were magical) before she did, but Gaius wouldn't let him talk to her about it; by the time it became common knowledge, his helping her get to the Druids, the situation became awkward. Also, she's a noblewoman. He may have felt intimtated, even before she changed and joined Morgause's side, by this. Look at who he told about his magic: Freya and Gilli, both commoners on his own level, both also people whose parents were DEAD, unlike Uther. Their parents couldn't punish them for having magic. And who where they going to rat him out to? Freya was in hiding; Gilli's word wouldn't be taken seriously against Merlin's (despite his being just a servant, he is still slightly higher up than Gilli, being the prince's servant). Whereas Morgana, even though she CLAIMED to understand, when she was pretending to be nice, why Merlin poisoned her, had no problem threatening to tell Uther about that. If she knew he had magic, I think she would have told to save her own skin, out of fear and the belief that because she wants a better Camelot, maybe, more than complete spitefulness, I'll give her that, but still. It would have been major blackmail in her hands. And if she knew by Servant of two Masters? Arthur? Yeah, he'd be dead. She would have made Merlin use magic to off him.

Also, there's the fact that I think Gilli is not entirely different from season 1 Merlin. A little more prideful, but, mind you, he doesn't have a 'destiny' to fall back on, or even a royal title (like Morgana, even before she knew she was Uther's daughter, she was still noble). Merlin realizes this, understands why he feels like a nothing. Futher, Gilli saved him from two thugs. There was a kind of brotherhood between them. Like Merlin said, they're kin. With Morgana, it would have been different.

Also, Morgana is a woman. This is going to sound lame, but it's true. Men's reactions to things are DIFFERENT than women. Women get slighted, they remember when they're eighty-nine who messed up their lives when they were twenty! Men get it out, calm down, then get over it. As a general rule. Gilli, in spite of his pride, was able to do this, possibly because, in part, of his gender. Morgana just couldn't let things go. True, Gwen is able to get over her resentment of Uther (but look at her face when she says, "I don't do it for him"); she totally remembered he slighted her (killed her father, tried to have her killed twice). She is big enough to let it go, because of Arthur's feelings. But her reaction is different to season 3 Merlin's when he's putting a blanket over Uther (when he was going crazy cuz of the mandrake root); it didn't look like he was thinking about all the times Uther called him an idiot or dismissed his word as worthless because he was 'just a servant'. That's a guy reaction. Merlin may have felt more comfortable sharing his secret with Gilli, in hopes that his reasoning would work, as it didn't with Morgana, because they were both boys. It's speculation, sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of his reasoning.

So, getting back on track, it would be interesting for Gilli to come back. We've seen how Morgana's path has turned out, where it's taken her. And though we haven't seen HOW, we know what happened to Freya (she became the lady of the lake). But we don't know where Gilli's choice led him. How does his life differ from Morgana's? Is he with the Druids? Is he around non-magic people? How can we know, if the writers never bring him back?

If they met up, WOULD Gilli take Morgana's side, because she is a high priestess, or is he still, after the passing years, loyal to Merlin, remembering what he told him? Again, if the writers don't tell us, we may NEVER know for sure! I highly doubt that he would stab Morgana in the back, though, as Mordred did; I believe his character would be easier to understand, less ambigious.

Also, all that aside, Gilli's just a cool character on his own merits. He's funny (watch him talking to the people in the tavern.. "Oh, I just tripped him, like this..." LOL... Sure, Gilli, sure...that's what happened....), he's a cool friend for Merlin, he has vices (he's not perfect like pre season 4 episode 9 Lancelot). I'd like to see him and Gwaine become friends. Also, I think it would be cute if he got a girlfriend. Maybe Sefa? If they could meet up?

Some fans have guessed that Gilli is meant to be Galahad. I reject the theory, on the grounds, that HE'S NOTHING LIKE that character from legend! BUT, I still want him to be come a knight. I would LOVE to see Gilli as a knight of the round table. I think he'd be more worthy of it than Mordred, if you ask me.

What would be cool would be if he and Freya could somehow return in the same episode? Maybe he sees her at the lake of Avalon on his way to Camelot or something? I would squeal fangirlishly if that happened! Course, I'm not trying to create a Gilli/Freya pairing, exactly, as I'm a firm Freya/Merlin shipper through and through... Though, now that I think of it, that might actually be cute... I wonder if anyone else has ever thought of that.

It's funny, because when I first saw his episode, when he still fought after Merlin's reveal, I HATED him, but by the end of the episode he became one of my favorite characters, all the more so as I've thought of comparisons and what-not.

I even featured him in my Merlin/Freya fanfic, Merlin Und Freya as a friend they could stay with when hiding from Uther (though, in my fanfic, he choose not to fight in the first place, so slight AU, I guess), and his chapters were some of my favorites to write! Which made me love his character even more.

So what do you think of Gilli? Do you think he needs to come back? How do you think he compares in character to Morgana? To Merlin? To Freya, even?

Comment below and share your thoughts.

(you don't have to agree with me on everything I've said, but if you're a hardcore Morgana fan, please don't be rude to me. Let me get something straight: I DO like her, I'm not a hater, I just don't think everything she's done is justified, or that Gilli got a chance she didn't)