Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season One/@comment-20237552-20131006065951/@comment-5674726-20131006184716

With Gaius, we're talking about a fall from ten to twelve feet, which would be enough to cause serious injuries. He fell backwards and would have fallen on a stone floor if not for Merlin so there'd be a good chance of a back and head injury. If he didn't die from the impact, he could have died of his injuries.

Had Merlin saved Arthur from a fall, it'd be too soon for Arthur to be ready to alter his view of magic. He could have thought that Merlin saved him to try to manipulate him, and would have been on his guard against that sort of thing. Given his experience with Nimueh, Uther is bound to have taught Arthur that he can never trust those with magic, least of all when it looks like they're helping him. I'd say that Merlin would have had to make a run for it if he didn't want to be arrested and executed for sorcery.