Board Thread:Series 5 Discussion/@comment-6905051-20130327100352/@comment-10341849-20130606063212

Fimber wrote: Their whole relationship, from the beginning to the end, was the thing that obviously most fans loved but it was the very thing that was the most irritating to me on the show. Always up and down, most of the time silly, never really building up. To me they weren't close friends and they had no chemistry, probably because their relationship actually didn't evolve. Only in the episode Sword of The Stone  Arthur let Merlin convinced and guided him to believe that he is the great king. Only that time that Merlin's opinion really mattered to him. Only in that time too Merlin showed his strength and said so many wise words to guide Arthur.

That is why one of my favorite episode (despite the bad ending) was The Diamond of The Day, when Merlin was no longer being submissive. He was the one taking charge and leading their journey, he was taking charge for all the fights and diversions of the enemy. He was also very confident and showed his true power without acting like fool in front of Arthur. He became the leader and that was really really cool to me.

Although I love them very much, I also sometimes hate and get very irritated whenever Arthur called him idiot, buffon, useless, lazy and so many bad names. It seemed like Arthur never really appreciate Merlin whatsoever. Maybe it seemed like Arthur just used Merlin as servant and sometimes friend or company to keep him entertained. Even after so many times Merlin's word proven right, Arthur still didn't trust him or belive in his words whenever there was something weird going on.

But despite of that, I still love the relationship between them. I mean (although Merlin supossed to guide Arthur and Arthur should have listened to Merlin), Arthur enjoyed Merlin's company because he was the one that is not kissing up to him. Arthur said in The Once and Future Queen that he wanted other not treat him special because he was the prince. Merlin is not like other servant, he didn't try to kiss his a** or tried to impress Arthur. And maybe Arthur like being insulted once in a while and Merlin did it all the time. Maybe that is why Arthur always took Merlin everywhere. Because he enjoyed being with Merlin, enjoyed their laugh and sharing insults between them.

Maybe that is just how their relatinship suppose to be. Arthur may not acknowledge Merlin as his advisor. Merlin also didn't want to be Arthur's advisor. They just want to be friends. Friends that can share laughter, insults, jokes, and nobody get hurt by doing it because you can understand each other. You know that your friend doesn't really mean to hurt your feeling. It is just as simple as having fun. I have friend like this in my real life. And it is just terrific.

And in the reality also, I have seen Bradley and Colin becoming best friends too. Their relationship is just like that too, although not as severe as in the series. Bradley become the one that speaks out more, Colin completes his sentences sometimes. They share mild insults and jokes. It is wonderful.

At least this is my opinion about Arthur and Merlin friendship.