Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24762954-20140731125438/@comment-5102537-20140801101016

I agree with both of you.

Additionally, I think that, at some point, there was the idea of showing that one extreme can't replace another in order to make things right and that Merlin was supposed to be the one who brings a new age of coexistence.

This would have worked well if they had just focused on it instead of the relationship with Arthur that made Merlin forget about helping sorcerers and magic users. In "Le morte d'Arthur", Merlin told Nimueh that he doesn't want to have anything to do with her and her kind. This demonstrated the beginning of a new way of thinking and acting in regard to magic, represented by Merlin who refused to fight against the ban of magic with brutality and ruthlessness. He was supposed to be some kind of a mediator, and he didn't ignore the guilt and violence of the Old Religion.

I think that this was a brilliant start of the show and it's so disappointing that it was ignored in seasons four and five.

The good magic users were definitely the minority throughout the show. Moreover, most of the sorcerers and magic users didn't even seek revenge on Uther but had various other reasons for their plots and malicious plans which also absolved Uther from his wrongdoings a bit. Plus the fact that magic almost ruined the entire land long before Uther came to Camelot (or was even born).

Another reason was that ever since Uther's death, Arthur needed a good reason to hate magic. Otherwise he could have lifted the ban and Merlin wouldn't have had to hide his secret anymore.