Board Thread:Rewatching "Merlin" - Season One/@comment-5102537-20130223112431/@comment-5674726-20130304000446

''Your logic is undeniable, ReganX. So the only explanation would be what MerlinDragonLord said, that he held a gruge against Uther and/or Arthur and was some sort of a kamikaze-warrior. However, the episode failed to state this out if this was the case. Maybe Valiant was just a fanatic about winning even when he gets in trouble afterwards.''

Valiant's main issue, as Villains of the Week go, is that there was never any motive given. A season later, when King Odin wants Arthur dead, we're told that it was because his son died at Arthur's hand. With Valiant, we don't know why he went to such lengths to win a tournament, or why he didn't have the sense to do as Fimber suggested, and pretend to be the victim of a conspiracy when the snakes came to life. It was also odd that other characters believed that he'd dare to use the shield against Arthur.