Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Five/@comment-5102537-20140517082836/@comment-5102537-20140611091529

Ozymandias v wrote: I'd have to see that scene again to be sure, but either way, I doubt the writers took that scene into account by the time of the finale, which to me pretty strongly indicates that the Golden Age of magic being welcomed back to Camelot is going to happen under Gwen's rule.

If Gwen had accepted and allowed magic it obviously didn't last. The final scene showed Merlin in our modern day times after all. It wouldn't be believable anyway because the ban of magic or the acceptance of magic didn't depend on the king's (or queen's) opinion only but on what the people and the other kingdoms wanted as well. Gwen would have had to convince Camelot's allies and the citizens, she would have had to avoid conflict and war with those kingdoms that forbid magic. Why would any of them accept Gwen's change of mind about magic, a former servant girl whose husband and father-in-law died at the hands of magic?

Magic killed both kings of Camelot, the battles cost the lives of thousands of people, the most powerful sorceresses allied with Camelot's enemies and almost managed to destroy the kingdom, with Arthur's half-sister and Uther's daughter as their leader. So why would anyone change their mind about magic so that Gwen could have ever succeeded in allowing magic again against the will of all those who hated and feared magic?

If Camelot had been the only kingdom that outlawed sorcery it would make sense that it was under the pressure of all the other kingdoms that finally had a chance to turn things around and take advantage of an overly weakened Camelot after all the wars and battles. Instead it was quite clear that the Five Kingdoms as well as others had outlawed magic, too.

And aside from those who hated magic, Gwen also would have had to deal with all those sorcerers/magic users who still saw Camelot (and other kingdoms) as their enemy. They had no reason to make peace with Camelot all of a sudden after their last High Priestess was killed and the battle lost with all those dead ones.

Basically, after Camlann, Camelot was doomed to go down once and for all, being threatend from all sides: kingdoms that could have easily conquered it and magic-users who seeked to destroy it.