Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season Four/@comment-5102537-20131116154357/@comment-5674726-20140126134914

Edrea wrote: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE DRAGOON BEING SO RUDE AND TAKING SOMEBODY'S LIFE SO LIGHTLY AND EVEN MAKING JOKES IN ABSOLUTELY WRONG TIME!!!!

One could argue that Merlin made his own punishment in this episode. He could have healed Uther immediately, either while he was unconscious or else he could have turned into Dragoon and healed him then and there. Instead, he sets up an elaborate scheme to have Arthur come to him for help so he can use the life of Arthur's dying father as a bargaining chip, wasting time and giving Agravaine the opportunity to go to Morgana, fill her in and return with the pendant to thwart any attempts to use magic to heal Uther.

Had Merlin healed Uther straight away, he could well have found that his good deed would be rewarded as Arthur would see a sorcerer heal his father and ask nothing in return, which would force him to reconsider his view that those with magic are evil and corrupt. As it was, Arthur went to a sorcerer for help, promised him what he wanted if he would only heal his father and was then double crossed.