Morgana Pendragon

Morgana is the ward of Uther Pendragon and friend of Merlin. She is also a witch and seer, and is the only person within Camelot other than Merlin who appears to have a natural magical gift. Her half-sister is Morgause. (The Sins of the Father)

Biography
Morgana is the daughter of Gorlois, an ally of Uther. Following her father's death in battle when she was ten years old, Uther adopted her as his own and raised her as his daughter. (To Kill the King)

Series 1
Morgana is first seen by Merlin during his first days in Camelot where she mistakes him for Gwen while getting ready for a feast celebrating twenty years since the end of The Great Purge, a celebration that she did not wish to enjoy since she didn't think the Great Purge was a good thing.

She first meets Merlin face to face when Gwen is wrongly accused of witchcraft after witnessing him apparently attempting to sacrifice his life for Gwen's (Although it was to save Gwen, he was actually the one who did the enchantment), and his actions led her to believe Merlin was in love with Gwen. She helps Merlin and Arthur defeat the Afanc that Nimueh used to poison the water supply despite them telling her it is too dangerous. (The Mark of Nimueh)

She also is a capable sword fighter. (The Moment of Truth)

Her powers have also been of use against some enemies as Morgana's dreams aid Merlin in defeating two Sidhe that wished to kill Arthur in order for the young female, Sophia, to return to Avalon. (The Gates of Avalon)

She became very attached to Mordred, a young druid boy that Merlin saved, risking disfavour with Uther in order to do so. (The Beginning of the End) When Merlin helped her get Mordred back to his people Morgana was grateful to him and went with him to his home village Ealdor to help him defend it from bandits. (The Moment of Truth)

She is strongly opposed to Uther's stand against magic and questions his choice to execute Mary Collins' son, Tom. (The Dragon's Call) She shares her views with Merlin; that magic is something you are born with rather than something you choose. (The Beginning of the End) She appears to have an awareness of Merlin's abilities although she has never confronted him about it. (The Gates of Avalon, The Moment of Truth, Le Morte d'Arthur et al)

Morgana also has a darker side. She plotted to have Uther killed as revenge for her father's death, as well as Gwen's. However, she changed her mind at the last minute when she realized Uther was truly sorry for his actions, and killed Tauren, the assassin who wished to kill Uther, while Merlin killed the other sorcerers involved. (To Kill the King)

The plot to kill Uther appears to have left a strain on her friendship with Merlin, who appeared unsympathetic to her when she warned him that worse things were to come (of course, this also could be because she was in a trance-like state when she spoke to him and her odd behavior startled him).

Series 2
Morgana's magic eventually began to reveal itself. When Morgana accidentally set her room on fire, she became terrified. She went to Gaius and told him she feared she had magic. Gaius knew it was true, but lied to her to protect her. This disgusted Merlin, who advised her to seek out the Druids for help.

Morgana eventually found her way to a Druid camp, where she was reunited with Mordred. Merlin later arrived, saying Uther believed she had been kidnapped and was going to execute everyone in Camelot who was under suspicion unless she was returned. Morgana did not want to go back, but an army of Camelot soldiers raided the camp and brought her back. Morgana thanked Merlin for what he did for her, saying her experience has taught her not to fear her powers.

While she no longer fears her powers, Morgana does realise the danger in exposing them. She was terrified when Uther hired a witchfinder to expose the last traces of magic, and was desperate to keep her secret hidden. She was later taken hostage when the Witchfinder's treachery was exposed, but was saved by Merlin.

In the Witch's Quickening, she steals a dark crystal to give it to the druids. Merlin finds her in Arthur's chambers with his keys, so automatically suspects her. She rides to the druid camp and Merlin follows, and his fears are confirmed. Later on the episode, when Alvarr is taken captive, she turns against Uther and frees him. Uther suspects Morgana, but leaves it. Morgana starts to play the villian in the series from now onwards.

She appeares in the next episode as the only person who is not effected by a sleeping plague. Morgause is behind this, and Merlin learns that they are half-sisters. Has Morgana caused this deadly plague to help her sister from killing Uther? She is then poisoned by Merlin and refuses to give Morgause the cure, unless she destroys the Knights of Medhir and wakes everyone up. Reluctantly, Morgause agrees and Merlin, Uther and Arthur watch Morgause conger a whirlwind and her and Morgana disappear. Uther is devestated and looks everywhere for his ward.

Personality
Morgana is generally fiesty and sassy. She enjoys taunting Arthur and appears to share a level of sibling rivalry with him. She also appears to fancy Arthur to a certain degree but

Arthur does not appear to realise it.(The Dragon's Call, Valiant et al) She is very affectionate to her maidservant Guinevere considering her more of a friend than a servant. When Gwen's father is killed by Uther it prompts Morgana to try and get revenge for both their fathers' deaths by killing him. (To Kill the King)

Morgana appears to trust Merlin from early on as she goes straight to him when Gwen faced execution. (The Mark of Nimueh) She appears to notice Merlin's powers after Arthur is saved from being offered to the sidhe. (The Gates of Avalon et al) Merlin chooses to distance himself from her after her attempt on Uther's life. Nonetheless she still appears to be looking out for him. (The Moment of Truth, To Kill the King, Le Morte d'Arthur)

Abilities
Morgana is a seer, a person who sees the future in their dreams. She often suffers from nightmares as a result of this ability. Although she and Merlin have not revealed to each other their abilities they are both aware of each other. (Valiant, The Gates of Avalon et al)

She also seems to have some level of telepathy as she is the only person other than Merlin able to hear Mordred speaking in their heads. (The Beginning of the End)

Morgana also has magic, which has recently begun to reveal itself.

On the physical plane, Morgana is a skilled swordswoman, having been taught the skill by Arthur, and holds her own capably against a number of men attempting to raid Merlin's village (The Moment of Truth).

In the legend
Morgana is loosely based on Morgan Le Fay, who was the half-sister and enemy of King Arthur in the Arthurian romances. In some legends she was the wife of King Urien of Gore and mother to Sir Ywain, a Knight of the Round Table. Morgan is also believed to have been a great healer from skills learnt in a corrupt nunnery and a powerful sorceress from being tutored by Merlin.

Morgan fell from favour with Queen Guinevere after she had an affair with the queen's brother Gotegrim and was exiled from the court. Thereafter she swore revenge of Arthur and Guinevere. She fled to live with Merlin and became his mistress while learning magic; in some variations of the legend she is also responsible for his death or eternal imprisonment.

Among the Morgan's exploits, she is credited with stealing Excalibur, attempting to murder her half-brother in order to gain his throne, sending the Green Knight to frighten Guinevere to death, and aiding in the conception of Galahad, son of Lancelot. She took Mordred, the illegitimate son of Arthur and her sister Anna-Morgause, as her protege, and he ultimately killed and was killed by the King.

It is yet to be seen whether the Morgana of Merlin will follow a similar path, though most recent episodes show that she is beginning to descend into darkness.