Uther Pendragon

Uther Pendragon is King of Camelot, father of Arthur Pendragon and guardian of Morgana

Life before the series
Uther had ruled Camelot for over twenty years prior to the beginning of the series. After discovering his queen, Ygraine, was unable to have children, he sent Gaius to the Isle of the Blessed to ask the sorceress, Nimueh, for advice (Le Morte d'Arthur). Wanting to help her friends, she used magic to allow Ygraine to conceive an heir. Unfortunately at the time, Nimueh didn't know that by using magic to create a life, another life had to end in order to protect the natural balance of the world. As a result, Ygraine died in childbirth (Excalibur).

Heartbroken over the loss of his beloved wife, a grief-stricken Uther turned on Nimueh, accusing her of treason and banishing her from the court. He then began The Great Purge, ordered the executions of hundreds of sorcerers, good and evil alike, as well as banning magic from Camelot. The purge ended with the capture of The Great Dragon, who was imprisoned beneath the castle to serve as an example to all magic users.

Ruler of Camelot
Uther can be a tyrannical ruler who will stop at nothing to set things right in his eyes, especially if magic is involved. He believes that all magic are evil, and all those who practices magic are evil. In the Poison Chalice, he said "Those who practice magic know only evil. They despise and seek to destroy goodness wherever they find it". Despite his paranoia about magic, Uther often does not see sorcery being practised, even when presented with evidence (Valiant). When he believes that magic is being used however, he will deal with it decisively, such as when he sentenced Gwen to death when she was suspected of creating a plague with dark magic, despite having no proof (The Mark of Nimueh). Similarly, he executed a Druid, Cerdan, and attempted to kill Cerdan's young apprentice, Mordred (The Beginning of the End) for simply knowing magic.

Because of his crusade against magic, Uther constantly finds himself, his family and his Kingdom in constant threat by enemies who are out to take their revenge against him, for killing their friends and family. He barely escapes death on three occasions during the first season: (A Remedy to Cure All Ills; Excalibur; and To Kill the King).

Despite his often harsh and tyrannical display of temper, Uther does display a caring and softer side. When he realizes that Arthur was going to fight a wraith, a creature that couldn't be killed by any mortal weapon, Uther decides to sacrifice himself and fight the wraith instead, so that Arthur, his son would live. As he said to Arthur in Excalibur "You are too precious to me. You mean more to me than anything I know. More than this entire kingdom and certainly more than my own life". He also cares deeply for Morganna, and while he locks her in the dungeons when she defied him and pushed his temper too far, he later apologised to her, admit he was wrong, and tells her that "You have been a blessing to me, Morgana. You are the daughter I never had. Your counsel is invaluable, as is your friendship and your love. Without you, I cannot hope to be the king this land deserves". He also cares for the well being of common people, even those outside his kingdom, as he sympathized with Hunith when she asked for his help against raiders, but unfortunately he couldn't send his knights to help the village because the ruler of the Kingdom in which Merlin's village is in would see any rescue attempt by him as a declaration of war. Uther is even darker and worse in Season 2. A troll uses magic to cause Uther to become infatuated with and marry her, enough so that when presented with evidence he refuses to believe it (Beauty and the Beast). It is also likely he will be a strong factor in keeping Arthur and Gwen from entering a relationship.

When Gaius is accused of being a warlock by the Witchfinder, Aredian, Uther comes down with full force. Enraged that someone so close to him would practice magic, Uther immediately sentences his old friend to death. However, when Merlin proves that Gaius was framed by Aredian (who Uther now believed to be the sorcerer also thanks to Merlin) he goes to apologize to Gaius for the suffering he endured at Aredian's hands.

Gaius points out politely, but coldly that he didn't suffer at Aredian's hands, but by Uther's because Aredian was following his orders. Shocked, the king tells Gaius that he was tricked, but Gaius quickly lashes back, saying that his hatred of magic and obsession with destroying it causes him to lash out at anyone in his path, that his friends become foes and his servants become sorcerers. As a stunned Uther stares at him, Gaius states that he isn't the first person to be wrongly accused of magic by Uther (possibly referring to Gwen in The Mark of Nimueh) and that he was one of the lucky ones (unlike Gwen's father, Tom in To Kill the King). He then asks for Uther to leave him alone and the king leaves, clearly shaken by Gaius' words and the thought that if Gaius was innocent, how many other innocent people he had put to death in his quest to destroy magic.

Uprising of sorcerers
When Arthur was defeated in combat by a woman named Morgause, he was spared only on the condition that he come to her and accept another challenge. When Uther learned that Morgause knew something of Ygraine, he refused to allow Arthur to go, fearing that what she knew was the secret of Arthur's birth. But with Merlin's help, Arthur managed to break out of Camelot and go to Morgause. Uther later learned that Morgause is the daughter of Gorlois and Morgana's half-sister. Uther wanted this kept from Morgana to prevent her loyalties from being divided.

Arthur and Merlin reached Morgause's castle, where they learned that Ygraine had died in childbirth because Uther had turned to magic to concieve an heir. Arthur was furious, and returned to Camelot with the intention of murdering his father. Uther was forced to fight his son, but was ultimately disarmed and at his mercy. But before Arthur could deal the death blow, Merlin managed to convince him that Morgause had lied to him.

Uther's guards later captured Alvarr, a sorcerer who was ploting against him. Uther tried and had him condemned to death. Morgana, who had secretly been swayed to his side, furiously disowned him and told him he "will go the hell." This left Uther stricken. Later, Morgana freed Alvarr, and Uther suspected her, but had no proof so he had to let it drop.

Morgana was later taken from Camelot by Morgause after her half-sister attempted to destroy the kingdom. Uther was devestated, and became determined to find his ward. He remains unaware that Morgana was part of Morgause's conspiracy and that she has completely turned against him.

Finding Morgana
Spoilers for Series 3 show that Uther has nearly destroyed his army looking for Morgana. When she is finally found, he is overjoyed, and it will take a very long time for him to realize that she has officially turned against him. The creators of the show have also said that Uther is "slowly losing his grip," which will become more prominent in series 3.

Personality
When it came to any form of magic, Uther was very much a tyrant. His hatred of it stemed from the death of his beloved wife, Ygraine. Ygraine died in childbirth after magic was used to allow her to give birth to their son, Arthur. Uther refused to tolerate magic at all and executed anyone found using it.

Despite his attitude towards magic, Uther genuinely cared about his kingdom and tried to be a good ruler. He cared very much for his people and wanted to ensure that peace and stability remain in Camelot. He also cared for people outside his kingdom, as shown when he wanted to help Hunith defend her village from raiders and only refrained from doing so because it would be considered an act of war on the kingdom Hunith's village resides in.

Uther was a very proud man and hated admitting when he was wrong. However he swallowed his pride to tell Gaius that he was wrong to assign Edwin Muirdun as Court physician. (A Remedy to Cure All Ills) He later admitted to Morgana that he was wrong to have Guinevere's father, Tom killed. (To Kill the King) However he didn't apologise to Gaius for causing his suffering at the hands of Aredian and sentencing him to death, even though this act was far worse than assigning a new Court physician, instead trying to blame it on Aredian. Gaius firmly told him that it was Uther, not Aredian, that caused his suffering and told him that Uther had had other innocent people killed because of his paranoia of magic. This left Uther very shaken but he still didn't directly say sorry to Gaius for what he'd done, though he did imply it. (The Witchfinder)

Arthur
Uther was very critical of his son, spending a great deal of time ordering him around like a second-in-command or scolding him. As a consequence, Arthur routinely believed himself to be "a big disappointment". However Uther cared about Arthur more than anyone (Excalibur). After discovering the truth about his birth, Arthur made a serious attempt to kill his father but was snapped out of his rage by Merlin. (The Sins of the Father)

Merlin
Uther was the one who appointed Merlin to be Arthur's servant, meant as a reward for saving Arthur's life (The Dragon's Call). He was unaware that Merlin was a warlock because of Merlin and Gaius' constant cover-ups, which had given Uther the idea that Merlin was incompetent. However, he was very grateful to Merlin for his devotion to Arthur, which he noticed went beyond that of a regular servant, and trusted Merlin to look after him (Excalibur).

Morgana
Uther had a somewhat strained relationship with Morgana, his adopted daughter. While he did care for her, his constant executions of people who use magic often put him at odds with Morgana. He was also unaware that she was a witch. After Morgana was found hiding a Druid boy he was trying to locate, Uther told her that he would not hesitate to break the promise he had made her father if she ever betrayed him again. On the occasion he executed Gwen's father for supposedly conspiring with a warlock and having her chained in the dungeons for speaking out against him, Morgana conspired to have him killed, though she changed her mind at the last minute when she realized that Uther honestly regretted his actions. However, Morgana eventually sided with Camelot's enemies, and no longer saw Uther as her family. Uther had no idea that his ward had magic and that she sided with her half sister.

Spoilers for series 3 show that Uther has been obsessed with finding her, to the point that he has nearly destroyed his army by sending them on repeated searches.

Gaius
Gaius was a good servant to Uther and Uther looked on him as a friend, probably his closest since Morgana's father died (A Remedy to Cure All Ills, Excalibur). Despite this, Uther still sentenced him to death when he was accused of using magic by the Witchfinder, Aredian. Uther was too proud to admit that he was the one who had caused Gaius' suffering until Gaius told him so. Gaius wasn't afraid to stand up to Uther and was one of the few people brave enough to argue with him when necessary. Despite the creases in their relationship Gaius still remained loyal to the king and Uther's trust in him strengthened after discovering he was innocent (The Witchfinder).

Ygraine
Uther loved his queen very much and when she died giving birth to Arthur, he was devastated. His sorrow was so strong that he began persecuting the thing that he believed caused her death: magic. Twenty years after her death he stills mourns her, saying to Nimueh that Ygraine was his heart and soul. It is likely that Ygraine was also very much in love with him.

Gorlois
Uther claimed that Morgana's father, Gorlois, was the greatest man he'd ever known. Uther said that Gorlois was extremely dedicated to defending his kingdom and unafraid to question his judgement, a trait that he had passed on to his daughter Morgana. When Gorlois died, Uther promised to take care of Morgana. However he once threatened to break this promise.

Abilities
Uther was a knight before becoming king and was a skilled warrior. Though he rarely entered combat in the series he was a talented swordsman and this was proven when he managed to slay Tristan De Bois' Wraith using the sword Excalibur. However Arthur teased that Uther needed to improve on his footwork, indicating that Uther wasn't as skilled as he had been in his youth. (Excalibur)

Trivia

 * Where as Gaius is blind in his left eye, Uther has a blue right eye, and a fiery orange left eye. It is unknown why this is, as the actor, Anthony Head, does not have this in real life.