Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-173.168.115.243-20171129163314

We all know that the way Merlin ended sucked. In fact, sucked would be an under statement. However, we have never really discussed why we think the finale sucked, discuss why it happened. So, I would like to present my theory and allow us to debate if or not we think that the reason Merlin failed his destiny was because he made it happen that way - creating his own self fulfilling destiny.

I know that the Great Dragon said that characters like Morgana and Mordred were always meant to be evil, yet the show made it seem like the only reason they both turned was because of Merlin's apathy, indifference, and lack of faith in him. It really pissed me off that the show made me feel that Merlin (our supposed "hero") made villains out of two really, really good people who both were so brave and who always wanted do the right thing. It was... disturbing to my soul to think that Merlin was willing to ignore all the good out of his friend Morgana and the virtues of Mordred over their primary flaw being their fear that they will never be accepted for who they are in Camelot, the most understandable fear in the world!

Here's what I would say to Merlin: What the hell is wrong with you? They have every right to be afraid! They don't know about your destiny! Why don't you fill them in, tell them that the future is in good hands because they are good trustworthy people who have both placed trust in you? Why don't you take a chance because these are two people who are clearly worth saving Merlin?

I would just think that a real "hero" wouldn't base his decisions on the words of a dragon and fate to betray his friends - his own people (fellow "good" magic users) and ignore all the good that was so easy to see in them? I just can't help but wonder how much the show might have been different of instead of Merlin making his decisions out of fear and hatred to his friend (Morgana) and ally (Mordred), he had made decisions out of hope and love - Because they were both so worth it.

A lot of Merlin fans like to argue who was the biggest villain of Merlin: Morgana or Uther.

But in my opinion,(I expect I will get a lot of hate for this) '''looking over the series has made me view Merlin as the show's biggest villain. '''

Because whereas Uther can be seen as a villain out of his bitterness, and Morgana was made into the villain by fear and betrayal, I feel Merlin can be seen as a villain because he knows what "feels right" to him regarding Morgana and Mordred, "I SHOULD tell Morgana about my magic,"  I SHOULD tell them I know there is hope for a bright future of Camelot, I SHOULD  try to bring Morgana back from the dark side because I know she "has a good heart" (quote from S2 E12), Maybe I SHOULDN'T be such a jerk to Mordred because despite his very unfair childhood, he is actually a really good person who really wants to do the right thing. I think Merlin is the biggest villain because he is in a position where HE KNOWS what feels like right thing to do is, He KNOWS so much more than Uther and Morgana, yet he made his decisions out of fear and apathy to two people who deserved so much love and faith in them on his part, but he gave them none and rewarded good with cruelty. Now that's evil.

I know that folklore says that Morgana needs to be evil, but when I look at how awesome these creators decided to make their interpretation of Morgana in S1 and the first half of S2, I find it very hard to believe that she would have turned evil had Merlin just let her in the loop. Had Merlin fought for her, I have little doubt that they would have become a couple instead of mortal enemies. Why couldn't Merlin see that Morgana was a beautiful woman worth fighting for? :(

Now I get it, Merlin is just a kid with an entire kingdom's destiny on his shoulders, he is expected to make mistakes. Merlin withholding telling Morgana of his magic was a mistake, Merlin poisoning Morgana was a lesser of two evils scenario - I understand. But the parts that really pissed me off about Merlin's treatment of Morgana were all post S2, because where I felt his mistakes with her in S2 were done with the right intentions, his treatment in S3 forward to her was just plain cruel.

Missed Opportunities with Morgana:

'''S3 E1: Apologize, f#cking apologize to Morgana! Say you are sorry, that you missed her, that you are glad she is safe!'''

'''S3 E2: Tell Morgana you understand because you have magic. Tell her because Morgana deserves your trust, and is someone worth saving as although she has gone dark, she is not still beyond redemption. You made a mistake by not telling her before, take the chance that this will backfire on you now because Morgana DESERVES THE CHANCE SHE NEVER GOT TO BE GOOD!'''

'''S3 E5: Resurrect Morgana out of the good in your heart, not because Uther and Arthur are devestated, she can still be your friend to? Show her that you saved her because you love her even if she doesn't believe you! She cared more about you as a friend then Arthur did you moron!'''

S3 E7: When Merlin talks about defending his friends and Morgana storms off, tell her that she is still your friend, that you still believe in her, that you are not ready to give up on her!

Morgana became evil by Merlin's mistakes in dealing with her, and instead of trying to bring her back, he just abandons her taking her first start to evil as proof that she was beyond rescue. To me, that makes him more of a villain then Morgana.

And as for Mordred, his childhood was messed up! His father or guardian was killed defending Mordred simply because they had magic. But he still wanted to be good and showed his loyalty by attacking Morgana, but again, Merlin doesn't care! And instead tries to do everything to get rid of him! In s2 E11, Merlin tried to get the knights to kill Mordred after witnessing Mordred kill knights out of self defense. WTF MERLIN! What would you have wanted him to do? What the hell would you have done in his shoes as he does not know his supposed future destiny like you do? How many people have you Merlin killed? Trying to get Mordred killed here as a just a child was betrayal, hypocritical, and just plain wrong. If you ask me, Merlin deserved to watch Mordred stab his precious Arthur! The way he treated these two is what led them to the people they became, not destiny.

In conclusion the dragon said it was destiny that Morgana and Mordred be evil and make an alliance resulting in Arthur's death. That destiny came true, however, the dragon also said that it was destiny that Arthur would serve as king in restoring magic to Camelot, notice that part never came true. Why? Because destiny was NOT AS SET IN STONE as Merlin believed it to be. Arthur's death PROVED that the hero's decisions do matter. Honestly, is it really so hard to believe that if Merlin been kind, brave, and trusting to Mordred and Morgana instead of hateful, cruel, and fearful, that Merlin could have created a future where Arthur and Gwen could have ruled Camelot together, Merlin and Morgana both could have served as Camelot's First Sorcerer and Sorceress, still friends and possibly fallen in love. A futre where Gwaine and Elyan were still alive as their deaths were both either directly or indirectly caused by Morgana, and where Mordred also still served as a knight and mage - a happily ever after? Perhaps it is too much to ask for, but still I feel that the show made it seem to me that if Merlin didn't show such cowardism, hypocrisy, and unjust cruelty to Morgana and Mordred, things could have been so much different. This is why I think the true villain of the show is also our primary hero Merlin. What started out as honest mistakes and mistakes that needed to be made quickly became acts of cruelty to two amazing people that did not deserve it, especially from Merlin, A FELLOW MAGIC USER AND FRIEND WHOM THEY BOTH TRUSTED!

I really enjoyed the first two seasons of Merlin with heroes like Merlin and Morgana, but by HAVING Merlin makiE Morgana go evil by accident WITHOUT TRYING TO MAKE MORGANA COME BACK TO THE LIGHT followed by his treatement to Mordred, I really couldn't help but end up feeling that he served not only as the show's primary hero, but the primary villain as well.

Well, that's my argument for Merlin's self fulfilling prophecy,. Yes, I am not a fan of Merlin's character and am very, very disappointed with him. If you agree or disagree with me on Merlin and his destiny, please write your comments and arguments as I would love to hear what fellow fans think about the importance of The Dragon's prophecies. 