Morgana Pendragon

"She is the darkness to your light, the hatred to your love"

- Kilgharrah to Merlin

Morgana Pendragon was the biological daughter of Uther Pendragon and Vivienne, the half sister of Arthur and Morgause and the adopted daughter of Gorlois. Originally a kind hearted individual, Morgana turned evil after being corrupted by Morgause, and betrayed her family and friends, even being involved in the death of her own father. She is determined to take over Camelot and will allow nothing to stand in her way. Morgana has been shown to have formed a bond with Mordred, whom Kilgharrah has forseen would kill Arthur before Mordred betrayed her to Arthur, and she also formed a close bond with the young dragon, Aithusa who saved her life. During the period of the Battle of Camlann, after Mordred's death, Morgana was killed by Merlin with Excalibur, when Arthur was dying.

Early life
"When he died and I took you into my care, you fought me from the beginning. Your will is as strong as my own. You challenge me as a friend must. As your father did in his time."

- Uther on Morgana and Gorlois.

According to Uther Pendragon, when Morgana's presumed father Gorlois was away fighting on the Northern Plains, her mother Vivienne had a brief affair with Uther Pendragon and later gave birth to Morgana. As she was born in the house of Gorlois, no one doubted her parentage. She remained with her family until she was about ten years old. At that time Gorlois was killed by enemies of Camelot because Uther failed to send his best friend the promised reinforcements. It was stated by Uther himself that Morgana fought him from the beginning and was never afraid to speak her mind. As a young girl she often practised swordplay with her childhood companion, Arthur, and according to her, used to best him with a sword, though he would later deny this. Being the only woman in the royal family, she would often sit beside Uther during state affairs and tournaments, seemingly filling the role which would have ordinarily been undertaken by the Queen of Camelot.

Meeting Merlin
"I mean, the man's a total jouster. And just because I'm the King's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it?"

- Morgana on Arthur

Morgana is first seen by Merlin during his first days in Camelot when he enters her chambers. Morgana, not seeing him, mistakes him for Gwen while getting ready for a feast celebrating twenty years since the end of The Great Purge. Morgana resisted attending this celebration, expressing to Uther her sympathy for Mary Collins and her abhorrence for the Great Purge because of the lives taken to accomplish Uther's endeavour to eliminate magic from Camelot. Nevertheless, Uther orders her to be present. Merlin is initially quite awestruck by the Lady Morgana and watches her flirtatious interaction with Arthur at the feast. She is first properly introduced to Merlin when Gwen is wrongly accused of witchcraft after witnessing his apparent attempt to sacrifice his life for Gwen's (though he was actually the one responsible for the enchantment of which she had been accused). His actions lead her to believe he has feelings for 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).

Early Adventures
"Sometimes you've got to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences."

- Morgana to Arthur

Morgana is the daughter of Uther Pendragon and his mistress, Vivienne, who was his best friend's wife, though hidden from Morgana. At a young age, Morgana discovers that she sometimes dreams of terrible things that afterwards come to pass. The court physician, Gaius, gives her a variety of sleeping potions, but none proves particularly effective. Her powers first appear in the show when Morgana's dreams aid Merlin in defeating two Sidhe that wished to kill Arthur in order to return to Avalon one of their own, Sophia, who was banished to a mortal existence (The Gates of Avalon).

Morgana later becomes deeply attached to Mordred, a young druid boy whose life Merlin saved at risk of Uther's wrath should his actions be discovered (The Beginning of the End). Morgana was willing to defy Uther and hide the boy in her chambers; however, she is caught when trying to return Mordred to the Druids. Merlin aids in the safe return of Mordred to his people, for which Morgana is grateful. In return, she goes with him to his home village Ealdor to help him defend it from bandits (The Moment of Truth).

Morgana has persistently been strongly opposed to Uther's ruthlessness towards magic and questioned his choice to execute Mary Collins' son, Thomas James Collins(The Dragon's Call), due to her belief that magic is an inherent quality rather than an active choice (The Beginning of the End). She appears at times to have an intuitive awareness of Merlin's abilities although she has never confronted him with it (The Gates of Avalon, The Moment of Truth, Le Morte d'Arthur et al).

From early on, Morgana also shows signs of a darker side. Her bitterness over her father's death and Uther's pivotal role in it causes her great turmoil and ambivalence towards her guardian. This means that, when exacerbated by Uther's intention to put Gwen to death unjustly and his actual execution of her father on charges of sorcery, her bitterness blossoms into hatred and a desire for an end to Uther's bloody reign. She plots to have him killed and takes an active role in the performance of the intended murder. However, conflicted and weighed by her conscience, she repents of her intention at the last minute when confronted with the realisation that Uther is truly sorry for his actions in the case of both her father and Gwen's father. She then kills Tauren, the assassin, just before he strikes Uther down and Merlin kills the other sorcerers involved (To Kill the King). After these events she warns Merlin in a trance that worse things are to come.

Exploring her Magic
"Thank you, Merlin. I know now who I really am. And it isn't something to be scared of. Maybe one day people will come to see magic as a force for good."

- Morgana to Merlin

Morgana's magic eventually begins to reveal itself. When Morgana accidentally sets her room on fire and shatters a vase with magic, she becomes terrified. She goes to Gaius and tells him she fears she has magic. Gaius knows it to be true, but lies to her in an attempt to protect her. Merlin advises her to seek out the Druids for help and advice, and Morgana eventually finds her way to a Druid camp where she is reunited with Mordred. Merlin later arrives, saying Uther believes she has been kidnapped and is going to execute everyone in Camelot who is under suspicion unless she is returned. Morgana does not want to go back, but an army of Camelot soldiers raid the camp and bring her back. Morgana thanks Merlin for what he did for her, saying her experience has taught her not to fear her powers, though she still realises the danger in exposing them. Arthur mistakenly believes that Morgana and Merlin have romantic feelings for each other (The Nightmare Begins).She is terrified of discovery when Uther hires a witchfinder to expose the last traces of magic, and is desperate to keep her secret hidden. She is later taken hostage when the Witchfinder's treachery is exposed, but is saved by Merlin. (The Witchfinder)



Final Betrayal and Disappearance
"I don't want to be brave. I just want to be myself. I don't want to be alone anymore."

- Morgana to Alvarr

Some time later, Mordred returns, sneaking into Camelot to see Morgana with the sorcerer Alvarr, who asks Morgana to steal a powerful crystal hidden in Camelot's vaults. Morgana eventually agrees and steals the crystal, delivering it to Alvarr's camp. When the crystal is discovered to be missing, Merlin suspects Morgana, having caught her in Arthur's chambers when she was stealing the key to the vault, and follows her to the camp, witnessing her reunion with Mordred. Through Gaius, Merlin gives up the location of the camp and Uther sends Arthur and his men to retrieve the crystal and kill Alvarr's men, forcing Morgana to ride to the camp ahead of them and give Alvarr warning. Despite this, Alvarr is captured, although Mordred was able to escape, and when Uther condemns Alvarr to execution, Morgana tells Uther that she disowns him in a heated agruement and later uses her sleeping potions to drug Alvarr's guards, allowing him to escape. Uther suspects Morgana when he hears Alvarr had help escaping and emotionally informs the court that whoever has been responsible has betrayed him, whatever the consequences.(The Witch's Quickening).

Sometime later, Morgana finds a letter from Morgause, asking her to meet her. Morgana meets with her and admits that she hates what Uther has become, confessing that she once had the chance to be his assassin, but saved his life instead because she believed he was still capable of changing for the better. However, she realises Uther would never alter his persecution, and that should he ever discover her true nature he will execute her. Morgause then casts a spell without warning, causing Morgana to fall asleep. When Morgana awakes in Camelot, she thinks the meeting with Morgause was only a dream, but as the day progresses and everyone around her begins to fall asleep, she hides in her chambers until Arthur and Merlin return. Morgana, afraid of what is occurring around her and helpless to do anything about it, is disturbed when Merlin suggests that Morgause is behind it. Despite his own suspicions, Merlin covers for her when Arthur wonders why she is the only one not affected by the spell, claiming that Gaius must have given her a draught that fights off the sleeping plague before he succumbs to it himself. Merlin later discovers that Morgause made Morgana the vessel for the sleeping plague, unbeknownst to Morgana herself. For the plague to end, either Morgause must undo the spell or Morgana must die.

Morgana is therefore poisoned by a reluctant Merlin, who rashly sees it as his only option, and as Arthur fights Morgause's knights, Morgana begins to suffocate as the hemlock enters her system, quickly falling unconscious, after realising, however, that Merlin has betrayed her. Across the castle, Morgause becomes aware of Morgana's plight and realises her sister is dying. In order to save her sister, Morgause agrees to call off the attack in return for Merlin revealing what he has used to poison her, and she then disappears with Morgana (The Fires of Idirsholas).

Return to Camelot
"Merlin? He believes I've changed. And he's right. Soon he will see exactly how much."

- Morgana to Morgause

A year passes by in Camelot with Uther sending his men to scour the kingdom in search of Morgana, costing an ever-increasing number of lives as the soldiers are slaughtered by unseen forces, but Uther refuses to give up or see reason. Eventually, a close to hopeless Arthur and Merlin chance upon a dishevelled, frightened Morgana stumbling through the woods. They then return with Morgana to Camelot, and Gaius orders Uther to allow her to rest. When she awakes, Morgana shares an intimate moment with Arthur, explaining how she escaped the bandits who were holding her captive. He embraces her, promising her that she is safe in Camelot. As Arthur left, Morgana notices a nervous Merlin at the door and calls him inside, telling him she knows he poisoned her, and in response he swears he did not want to, to which she smiles faintly and informs him she understands why he does it. To his surprise, she tearfully confesses she did not know what she was doing, that she is now aware of "exactly" what Uther fought against, and hopes he can forgive her. Merlin leaves her chambers elated, relieved that she forgave him, but unbeknownst to him her repentance is merely an act as Morgana has been in Morgause's company for the past year, and in that time has been fully corrupted and turned against Uther.

Though she maintains the pretence of dutiful love for the King when they are reunited, it is a ploy to collect his tears, which Morgause then mixes with the black blood of a mandrake root, creating a spell to drive the king insane. When she is spotted by a sentry returning to the castle after meeting Morgause, Morgana stabs the guard in cold blood, and then creeps inside to place the mandrake root under Uther's bed. By morning he has begun to lose his sanity, hallucinating spectres of the innocents he has executed over the years, including boys he has drowned in a well and Ygraine, whose death was ultimately a result of his own folly meddling with the forces of life and death.

Morgana also worsens Uther's sickness by wrapping the mandrake root up with a string and pulling it twice: this causes the root to scream, like it is in pain and so Uther has another vision of Ygraine and other drowned boys which beg the king not to harm them. Morgana looks upon Uther's face and she sees him screaming. Morgana then smiles and leaves the king.

Merlin soon finds the mandrake root and suspected Morgana, following her when she goes to meet Morgause. However, Morgana quickly senses him following her and catches him, after which Morgause binds him in chains and leaves him to be killed by Serkets. Morgana returns to Camelot as Cenred's armies prepare to descend on Camelot, and during the battle she creeps down into the catacombs to use a magic staff to awaken the dead buried there, sending them forth to attack the knights of Camelot.

Merlin, who survives thanks to the intervention of the dragon, arrives and begs her not to continue. She tells him that Uther had to be stopped for the sake of herself and other magical beings, but Merlin tells her that they can find another way, to which she replies that there is no other way. After Merlin attempts to destroy the staff, Morgana draws her sword against him. Merlin fights her, albeit rather clumsily in comparison to Morgana's polished swordsmanship, and in the end is forced to use magic to overcome her, causing the stone ceiling to come crashing down on her. Once she falls unconscious, Merlin shatters the staff, destroying the undead army, and rushes back out to find Arthur. In the aftermath of the battle, Uther informs the entire court that they owe their victory to the bravery of one person: the Lady Morgana, who claimed to have discovered the staff in the tomb and destroyed it claiming victory. See then stares at Merlin, threatening to expose him, if he reveals her true colours. (The Tears of Uther Pendragon).

Morgana's Birthday
"I had to stop the future. I had to stop Morgana killing Uther. I didn't mean to do it like this."

- Merlin to Gaius

As the King's ward, Morgana's birthday celebration is a lavish event, attended by many noble families of Camelot. Arthur's gift to her is, on Merlin's inadvertent advice, an ornate jewelled dagger, and Morgause sends a mirror with a message asking Morgana to meet her that night. Unbeknownst to Morgana, Merlin witnessed glimpses of the future through the Crystal Cave, among them a vision of Morgana murdering Uther with a bejewelled dagger namely the one given to her by Arthur. As the chain of events Merlin foresaw begin to take place, desperate to stop Morgana's intended regicide, he causes a torch to flare in front of her as she passes through the castle. However, this happens at the top of a stone staircase, causing Morgana to fall down the stairs as she flinches from the fire. Merlin alerts Arthur, who carries her to Gaius for treatment, though the prognosis is grim. Morgana's skull has been fractured and Gaius determines that the injuries are fatal. Morgana spends the next few days unconscious, though she does regain consciousness for a few minutes, during which Uther reveals a shocking secret: while Gorlois was away fighting, he had an affair with her mother, and Morgana is a result of this.

A guilt-ridden Merlin later uses a spell to heal her, not wanting to be the reason for her death. When Uther comes to her bedside, Morgana is deeply conflicted and offers him the chance to tell her the truth about her paternity. Uther, evidently uncomfortable, does not do so, and Morgana interpretes this as him being ashamed of her, thus cementing Morgana's decline into hatred for the Pendragon rule.

Later, when Morgause sneaks into Camelot to see her, a bitter Morgana reveals her discovery. Despite her own shock, Morgause explains to her that her being of royal blood is good news for them, as she now has a legitimate claim to the throne. Morgause tries to make Morgana promise not to do anything rash, but Morgana's anger towards Uther becomes frenzied. Hurt and angry that he lied to her all her life and feeling he disowned her to uphold his reputation as "the perfect king", she retrieves the dagger Arthur gave her for her birthday, intending to kill Uther that very night. Merlin confronts her once more, knowing what is about to happen, but she uses magic to hurl him into the wall, knocking him unconscious and upturning a candle, thus starting a fire. With no one in her way, Morgana enters Uther's chambers and stands over him with the dagger as foreseen by Merlin, but as she is about to murder Uther, Merlin races into the doorway and uses his magic to shatter the window. Morgana drops the dagger just as Uther awakes and kicks the blade under his bed, fabricating the excuse that she became frightened by the fire and was seeking security. Uther suspects nothing (The Crystal Cave).

Plotting Against Arthur
"And then, my Lady Morgana, you must play your part well." "When have I not?"

- Cenred and Morgana

During the time in which Arthur is to be forced into marrying a princess, Morgana notices that he and Gwen have fallen in love (The Changeling). After speaking to Morgause about this, the two plot to use Arthur's love for Gwen against him by conceiving a plan that will result in his death. With Arthur dead, Morgana will be able to ascend to the throne of Camelot. Morgause has Cenred kidnap Gwen and her long lost brother, Elyan. Gwen is told to bring Arthur to the Castle of Fyrien where Cenred is staying, or else her brother will be killed. Gwen does so, only after Merlin sees the scars left on her wrists from the chains, and admits it was a trap so Arthur must be prepared.

On the morning of the excursion, Morgana announces she is coming as well, and despite Merlin's attempts to convince Arthur not to let her come, Arthur is glad to have her along and points out that he needs Morgana to watch his back, since Merlin is useless with a sword. As they travel, Merlin tries to get rid of Morgana by causing her horse to throw her, spraining her ankle, but Arthur helps her along. As they make camp, Arthur reveals his plan to sneak into the castle through tunnels known only to Uther and a few others of the royal court. Despite Merlin's attempts to thwart her, Morgana is able to alert Morgause and Cenred to the tunnels, and their men are waiting to ambush the party from Camelot. Cenred makes a show of dragging Morgana away from the others, which allowes her to reunited with Morgause, but when Arthur and the others escape, Morgause isn't worried- she knows that Arthur will never leave without Morgana, and she is right. Arthur arrives to find Cenred holding Morgana hostage with a sword to her throat, and Morgause attempts to hit Arthur with a deadly spell, but Merlin's arrival interrupts it, and when Morgana insists they leave her behind to escape since her ankle is injured, Arthur throws her over his shoulder and carries her out, much to Merlin's amusement (The Castle of Fyrien).

Morgana plots against Arthur again when he goess on a quest to find the golden trident and she tries to kill him by using a Phoenix Eye in a bracelet. However this fails because Merlin removes the Eye from Arthur's arm and gives it to the Fisher King, foiling her plan. Also during this time, Gwen begins to suspect Morgana after she sees her with Morgause to the point that she sees Morgana using magic, finally discovering Morgana's betrayal (The Eye of the Phoenix).

A Fellow Future Queen
"Whatever relationship exists between Arthur and Gwen, you must destroy it."

- Morgause advising Morgana

Morgana later begins to have dreams about Gwen becoming Queen of Camelot. To prevent this, she tells Arthur to spend the next day with Gwen, then invites Uther on a ride with her, intentionally passing the spot where Arthur and Gwen are. When Uther realises Arthur is smitten with a servant, he banishes Gwen from the city. However, when Arthur decides to join her and then return to make Gwen his queen, Morgana realises she has failed to alter the future and break up Arthur and Gwen. Morgana then plants suspicions in the King's mind about the possibility of an enchantment, having previously planted a poultice under Arthur's pillow to frame Gwen. Gwen is sentenced to death and, seeing Morgana's cold smile on hearing her sentence, finally realises that she is behind it all. Merlin, however, thwarts Morgana's plans by using an ageing spell to become Dragoon the Great, a veteran wizard who claims to have placed the poultice to bring shame on Camelot, leaving a somewhat confused Morgana foiled (Queen of Hearts).

Queen of Camelot
"First I want you to suffer as I suffered. To know what it's like to be alone and afraid. To be disgusted with who and what you are."

- Queen Morgana to Uther

Morgana and Morgause eventually manage to get their hands on the Cup of Life. Using this to turn Cenred's army immortal, Morgause overruns Camelot's army and captures the castle. Uther is dragged to the throne room where he is forced onto his knees to watch Morgana's coronation. Unbeknownst to anyone in the room, Arthur and Merlin are also present, witnessing the event through a grate in the wall. Arthur is visibly devastated not only by Morgana's betrayal, but by his father's concealment of her being his sister. Arthur and Merlin escape to raise a resistance movement against Morgana's reign, but Uther is imprisoned, left alive only to bear witness to everything he held dear being torn down around him.

thumb|left|200px|Morgana Becomes Queen Morgana rules for some time and tries to get the Knights of Camelot to pledge themselves to her, but regardless of the fact that she claimed to be Uther's daughter, the knights are loyal to the King and refuse to obey her. As punishment and to ensure their compliance, Morgana allows her army to execute peasants, a cold warning that any treason the knights attempt will be unleashed on the innocents of Camelot. Afterwards, Morgana visits Uther in the dungeons, mockingly calling him "father". A deeply distraught Uther points out that innocent people are suffering, but Morgana angrily retaliates by saying she is merely mirroring the extreme persecution that dominated his reign. Uther then begs her to kill him and not innocent people, but she coldly states she will execute him only after she is satisfied that he has suffered the same amount of pain he caused his victims. This, as well as Morgana's claim of hating him beyond his understanding, compounds Uther's psychological destruction.

Morgana seems hopeful that Guinevere will remain loyal to her, and indeed Gwen replies that she has always been so, but Gwen then frees Sir Leon from the dungeons and Morgana's men follow them to Arthur. However, Arthur is able to escape and rally a small group of knights to lay siege to Camelot. Arthur, Merlin, Elyan, Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival infiltrate Camelot, but Morgana's soldiers intercept them, and so while the knights fight, Merlin and Lancelot set out to find and tip over the Cup of Life. Morgause attacks Merlin but GaiusintervenesandMerlin attacks her with magic, causing her to slam into a stone column and allowing Merlin to empty the cup to destroy the army. Morgana arrives moments later and rushes to Morgause's side, cradling her just as Morgause did over a year before with her. Merlin tells her grimly that it is over, to which she furiously retorts that it has just begun. Morgana's subsequent screams of fury bring the walls of the throne room crumbling down around them, forcing Merlin, Gaius and Lancelot to flee. In the aftermath, there is no sign of either Morgana or Morgause in the rubble, indicating that Morgana used magic to escape with Morgause (The Coming of Arthur).

Unleashing the Dorocha
"What you're about to do will affect everyone. Even you. But most importantly, it will bring our enemies to their knees."

- Morgause to Morgana

At some point over the following year, Morgana gains the allegiance of Arthur's uncle, Agravaine, who is stationed in Camelot as Arthur's chief advisor after Uther's deteriorated mental state leaves him incapable of ruling. Morgause has escaped with Morgana, severely weakened and physically damaged to the point where recovery is beyond both of their considerable abilities. Morgana's powers have developed greatly and she too is now a High Priestess of the Old Religion. At Morgause's request, Morgana sacrifices her sister on the Isle of the Blessed at midnight during Samhain, with Morgause wanting her inevitable death to at least be used for Morgana's benefit. The sacrifice of a soul, as required by the Cailleach, tears the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Morgana is thrown back and knocked unconscious for a few moments, and upon waking she sees the Cailleach, who confirms that her powers are great but warns her that Emrys will be her destiny and doom, without telling her that he is in fact Merlin. She also sees the Dorocha, which she has unleashed upon the world.

Later, Morgana meets with Agravaine in her house in the woods where he informs her that the Dorocha have brought Camelot to its knees and that Arthur plans to sacrifice himself to close the veil. Though Agravaine is clearly pleased by this, Morgana is still uneasy about the Cailleach's words regarding Emrys. Then, that night, she has a dream in which she is surrounded by dead soldiers and is begging Emrys to help her. However, he merely tells her that it is all her doing, at which point she wakes up, angrily whispering the unknown sorcerer's name.

When Agravaine, who has taken charge of the kingdom in Arthur's absence, tells Morgana about Gwen speaking out against him, Morgana tells him of the dream she had of Gwen becoming queen and plans to kill her to prevent the vision from coming true. While Agravaine diverts Gwen's attention, Morgana secretly enters Camelot through a tunnel and knocks Gwen unconscious to leave the Dorocha to kill her.

However, Gaius finds Gwen and saves her before the Dorocha can kill her. Additionally, Morgana's plan of crushing Camelot through the Dorocha is thwarted by Sir Lancelot who sacrifices himself to heal the rift in the veil once more. When Morgana learns that her plans failed she, in a rage, tells Agravaine about Emrys and her belief that he thwarted them. Morgana then asks Agravaine to help her find Emrys and kill him (The Darkest Hour).

Uther's Demise
"Arthur will replace him. There'll be no celebration until I take my place upon the throne."

- Morgana to Agravaine

Uther is fatally injured by the Gleeman, who came to Camelot for Arthur's birthday celebrations, but whose intention was to kill Arthur on King Odin's orders. The Gleeman attacked a drugged Arthur in Uther's chambers, prompting the King to defend himself and his son. Uther is fatally stabbed, and in the ensuing days a desperate Arthur even resorts to seeking magical intervention to heal his father. When Agravaine learns of this, he informs Morgana, who enchants a necklace to reverse any healing spell used on its wearer and the magnify it tenfold. As a result, when a disguised Merlin performs the spell intended to save the King, Uther is instead killed. Arthur then blames Dragoon the Great for his father's death while shifting to a deeply suspicious, anti-magical stance, believing that his risk in giving magic a chance is a grave mistake.

Ironically, while Morgana eliminates one persecutor of magic from the throne, she therefore also helps to bring about a second by cementing Arthur's distrust of it. Morgana is immediately aware of Uther's death and when Agravaine comes to her she appears vulnerable, commenting that she felt Uther's pain as he died and seems disturbed by the idea of her biological father's death. Additionally, as Arthur is crowned king after Uther's death, Morgana seemingly instinctively inquires about his state of mind ("How's Arthur?") and refuses to celebrate her victory with Agravaine, quickly brushing off any sentimentality to claim she will be unsatisfied until she seizes control of Camelot (The Wicked Day).

Alliance with Queen Annis
"Uther was a curse upon this land, as is his son. I seek revenge for wounds they have inflicted, as do you."

- Morgana offering allegiance to Queen Annis

When King Caerleon is killed in cold blood by the recently crowned Arthur Pendragon in an attempt to assert his dominance, Caerleon's furious and grief-stricken wife, Queen Annis, declares war on Camelot. Morgana soon goes to her court and offers her assistance in destroying Arthur. She is able to gain the acceptance by claiming that she wishes to avenge the death of Gorlois (a good friend of Annis) whom she viewes as her true father. Morgana demonstrates her intimate understanding of Arthur's nature after he opts for single combat to avoid massive bloodshed, commenting derisively that it is "no trick" as he will always risk his own life over others', "because he's Arthur". During the fight, Morgana enchants Arthur's sword, multiplying its weight and making it nearly unbearable. Annis’ champion immediately gets the upper hand, but Merlin's intervention saves Arthur, giving him the victory and sparing the lives of both sides.

A seething Morgana returns to Annis and swears that Arthur will not be as fortunate next time. Annis, however, has altered her perception of Arthur as King of Camelot, now acknowledging a respect for Arthur's just nature and the hope he brings with him. She refuses any further cooperation with Morgana, commenting that she was mad with grief and allowed Morgana to manipulate her. Morgana venomously calls Annis weak, but when Morgana vows not to rest until all of Camelot bows before her, Annis shocks her by being the first to openly chastise her, telling her she resembles her hated biological father, Uther, a great deal more than she does Gorlois (despite coming to her in the name of Gorlois) due to her faithless hatred of Arthur and her blindness to all but her own interests. Morgana, for once without a retort, leaves Annis to return to scheming alone (His Father's Son).

Controlling Merlin
"You're Arthur's servant, nothing more. Yet, time and again, you've proved yourself willing to lay down your life for him."

- Morgana to a captured Merlin

After Merlin sacrifices his own safety and cast a spell to cause a rockfall that bars a group of mercenaries' way to Arthur, he is kidnapped and brought to Morgana. She takes him back to her hut in the woods and binds him, questioning his loyalty to Arthur while tending to his wounds. Merlin tells her she fails to understand loyalty, a claim which she quickly refutes, claiming she merely has noone left to be loyal to. She then uses a spell to heal his wound before readying her plans for him.

Later, she awakes Merlin and shows him a Fomorroh. She then tells him that the High Priestesses of the Old Religion used to plant the heads of these creatures into the necks of their enemies, which allowed them to take over their minds. She does just that to him and leaves him with a single thought: killing Arthur. Morgana then lets Merlin leave, subsequently encountering Arthur who went out searching for him. Back in Camelot, Merlin tries and fails several times to kill Arthur. However, the steep personality change the Fomorroh also causes means that Gwen and Gaius soon realise something is wrong with Merlin. Gwen knocks him out to allow Gaius to examine him, and upon realising what it is Gaius paralyses the Fomorroh's head, extracts it and throws it into the fire. Believing that to be the end of it, Gaius leaves Merlin to wake up, but the next day notices that the Fomorroh has grown back. Gaius later realises that the only way to completely get rid of the Fomorroh is to kill the mother beast, which he informs Merlin of after paralysing the creature temporarily and giving Merlin back his mind.

Merlin therefore disguises himself as Dragoon the Great and rides to Morgana's hut, intending to retrieve the Fomorroh. However, while searching for it, Morgana returns and catches him rummaging through her belongings. Recognising him as Emrys and at first horrified, she quickly retreats and shuts the door, but then warily re-enters, questioning his existence. However, when he takes the jar containing the Fomorroh, Morgana regathers herself and the two enter into a closely matched and intense magical battle. During the battle she angrily demands to know who Emrys really is and why as a fellow magic user he would defend Arthur, who despises their kind. Merlin, though disadvantaged by his frail and aged physical form, manages to secure the Fomorroh from Morgana, having defeated and seriously wounded her. He then casts a spell and throws the Fomorroh into the fire, getting rid of it and its spawn once and for all. Later, Agravaine comes to visit Morgana and is clearly deeply concerned when he discovers her unconscious in the woods. He carries her to safety, and is the one ot take care of her until she recovers (A Servant of Two Masters).

Kidnapping Gaius
"He knows all our plans. All our secrets. He knows everything."

- Morgana on Emrys

After Morgana recovers, she and Agravaine arrange to have Gaius kidnapped in order to learn the identity of Emrys. She forms a brief alliance with the warrior priest of the Old Religion, Alator, requiring his techniques to extract the information from Gaius. Alator successfully learns from him that Emrys is actually Merlin, but instead of informing Morgana immediately, he betrays her, having discovered from Gaius that Merlin is the one destined to bring a glorious new age to the kingdom. Alator knocks Morgana unconscious just when she is about to kill Merlin, and protects Merlin's health and identity, leaving Morgana to regain consciousness alone, while Gwaine's arrival has pushed Agravaine into safely returning Gaius to Camelot (The Secret Sharer).

Causing Guinevere's Exile
"We all have our secrets and, unfortunately for Guinevere, I know hers."

- Morgana to Agravaine

Agravaine informs Morgana of Arthur's intentions to marry Gwen, thus realising Morgana's visions of Gwen becoming queen. Determined to stop her vision from coming true, she visits the Dochraid for advice regarding necromancy. The hag explains to Morgana that with the enchanted coin Morgause gave her, she will be able to summon a shade from the dead and bend it to her will. Morgana therefore goes to summon Lancelot and moulds his resurrected self, devoid of memory and his former sense of morality, for her malignant purposes.However, she broodingly remarks that she did not feel the pleasure she expected from such absolute control, instead experiencing a sadness at the bleak contrast between the resurrected Lancelot and his former might.

Nonetheless, she continues to carry out her plan and gives him a single mission: destroy the relationship between Arthur and Gwen. She also enchants a bracelet to restore Gwen's old feelings for Lancelot and therefore trap her into adultery. Morgana's scheme succeeds, despite Merlin becoming aware of her use of necromancy, and, having witnessed Gwen's betrayal, Arthur exileds her. When Morgana learnts that Lancelot has successfully fulfilled his task she orders him to take his own life, which Arthur assumes was due to Lancelot's own sense of right and wrong (Lancelot du Lac).

Alliance with Helios
"Truth is, it doesn't matter which way you go."

- Morgana to Guinevere

Morgana at some point enters into an alliance with Helios, the powerful warlord. They prepare to attack Camelot together on the condition that Morgana brings plans of the siege tunnels from the castle vaults, a task which she assigns Agravaine. As she is unsympathetic and irritated by him when he fails in his first attempt, Agravaine therefore kills a boy and enacts a complex scheme to get hold of the plans, of which Morgana then makes a magical copy. Morgana brings the plans to Helios, failing to realise she has just walked past Gwen, who was captured by Helios’ raiding party. Morgana and Helios discuss their plans, therefore allowing Gwen to overhear their intended siege. Gwen flees, but alerts Helios and Morgana to her presence in doing so.

Eventually, Morgana notices Gwen's tunic in Helios’ caves and, knowing her relationship with Arthur, tells Helios to give chase. Morgana herself pursues Gwen through the forests, easily catching her up. Morgana toy with Gwen briefly, commenting that she has ridden the forests since childhood, and points out the direction of Camelot, which Gwen bitterly distrusts. Morgana, holding her advantage, casts a powerful stunning spell on Gwen when she tries to run. Morgana, snatching Arthur's ring from around Gwen's neck, formulates a plan, now aware of the nearby hunting party. She stands over Gwen, promising she will see Arthur again, but then enchants her to transform her into a deer. She leaves her to be caught and shot by the hunters, which she ultimately is, though Merlin once again intervenes. Morgana returns to finalise her plans with Helios, preparing the attack on Camelot (The Hunter's Heart).

Second Conquest of Camelot
"Taking Camelot was the easy part, Helios. I want Arthur. Where is he?"

- Morgana to Helios

Soon, Morgana and Helios’ plan for conquering Camelot comes to fruition. When Agravaine opens the siege tunnels beneath the city, a small detachment of her army passes through into the lower town which soon falls to her forces. This distracts the knights of Camelot long enough for Morgana to enter the city with the bulk of her forces. She personally knocks Elyan out with her magic to stop Agravaine from engaging in a sword fight, claiming there is no time to "play soldiers". The castle is quickly overrun by Morgana's men with King Arthur and the knights forced further and further back. Morgana, however, has one sole aim: to capture Arthur. Merlin therefore forces Arthur to flee Camelot by enchanting him to ensure his compliance, and so by the time Morgana herself reaches the last stronghold of the Knights of Camelot, Arthur has already disappeared leaving Gaius and Gwaine behind.

Morgana, desperate to remove the last obstacle to the throne, leads a troop of her men in hot pursuit. On horseback, she catches up with Arthur but is ultimately foiled again by Merlin and the knights who accompany Arthur. Agravaine later informs Morgana that the people of Camelot will swear allegiance to none but Arthur, so she orders their crops to be burnt to force their loyalty, by which even Agravaine seems perturbed. Set on finding Arthur, Morgana then proceeds to torture Elyan using a Nathair to find out where he is headed. As soon as Elyan reveals the information, she sends Agravaine to Ealdor in search of Arthur, warning him that if he should fail her again he will receive the same treatment as Elyan.

Agravaine, shocked, goes to bid Morgana farewell before leaving, emphasising his loyalty and love for her and warning her that even Helios is not to be trusted. Morgana seems largely unmoved by Agravaine's passionate speech, though claims to be grateful for his faithfulness, and merely states that he need never leave her side again if he succeeds in his mission. Morgana then heads down to the dungeons and confronts the captured Gaius, Elyan and Gwaine, all of whom are going hungry as punishment for having killed so many of her men. When Gwaine protests her harsh treatment of them and beseeches her to show mercy to the aged Gaius, she agrees to give them food only if Gwaine is prepared to fight for it. Morgana applauds him mockingly when he wins his first fight, tossing him a small chunk of bread as reward and commenting that he will have to do better to earn more (The Sword in the Stone).

Second Overthrowal
"You can't blame me for my father's sins." "It's a little late for that. You've made it perfectly clear how you feel about me and my kind"

- Arthur and Morgana

Morgana remains in control of Camelot for a short period of time, entertaining herself at Gwaine's expense by compelling him to fight more and more unequal battles in return for scant pieces of food to share between all three prisoners in the dungeon; Gwaine, Gaius, and Elyan. Nonetheless, Morgana's unattested time on the throne is short lived since Helios informs her that the men she sent after Arthur were wiped out by Kilgharrah and that Agravaine is dead. Morgana immediately identified it as the work of Emrys.

Morgana subsequently orders that messengers be sent to King Lot to offer a reward for capturing Arthur. She then sees Emrys, or rather Merlin disguised as Dragoon the Great, running past her, much to her horror. Helios tries to reassure Morgana but seeing Emrys greatly unsettles her and she then retires to her chambers, unaware that Merlin has placed an enchanted poppet beneath it. When she is told of Arthur's assault on Camelot, Morgana steels herself to receive him. Arthur bursts into the council chambers and finds Morgana and Helios waiting for him. The confrontation is highly tense with Morgana appearing conflicted at the sight of Arthur, who sadly remarks he thought they were friends, to which Morgana replies "as did I". Nonetheless, Arthur and Morgana can not reconcile and Morgana accuses Arthur of being too much like his father in his hatred of magic, while Arthur retorts that she too resembles Uther in her cruelty. The angered Morgana attempts to attack Arthur with magic, but finds her powers to be blocked due to Merlin's poppet. Seeing this, Helios pushes Morgana aside and she flees, fighting her way through various Knights of Camelot, one of whom manages to stab her in the side. Despite this, Morgana continues on and at some point, understanding that Guinevere is following her, decides to wait for her and confront her. Gwen demands to know why Morgana hates her so deeply as they fight, to which Morgana replies that she hates what Gwen is destined to do rather than what she has already done. Morgana swiftly bests Gwen and knocks her sword out of her hand, but before Morgana can harm her Merlin intervenes and throws Morgana back magically. Then, in the confusion, Morgana somehow escapes from the castle and finds her way to the woods. However, she has been grievously wounded in the process and ends up staggering through the forests alone, collapsing as she goes. Then, for reasons unknown, Aithusa the white dragon appears and heals the injured Morgana, thus reviving her. Morgana, shocked and enraptured, opens her eyes to see Aithusa who briefly looks back at her before flying away, leaving her fate unknown (The Sword in the Stone).

Years in Captivity
"Two long years I've known nothing but darkness. Patience and I are old friends."

- Morgana to Ruadan After her overthrow, Morgana was imprisoned with Aithusa by the warlord Sarrum, who wanted to erase magic from the land. She described it as seeing nothing, but darkness (Arthur's Bane:Part One). According to Sarrum, he found Morgana's weakness, which was her love for Aithusa, and used it against her; he captured the two creatures and buried them in a living grave (The Hollow Queen).

Alliance with Ruadan
"Prophecies do not lie. Arthur's Bane is real. Once it is known to us, his end is nigh."

- Ruadan to Morgana After her captivity she somehow met with Ruadan. She also meets with Mordred at some point. It seems she searches for the key of wisdom, and is rather impatient to getting it. She claims that for two long years she's only known darkness and that she and patience are old friends, when Ruadan tells her to be patient.

In the meantime, Morgana, who is in command of some magical wolves, manages to enslave a big number of men and work for her, two of which are Gwaine and Percival. When she learns that Arthur is coming to ambush her, although shocked at first, she orders Ruadan to prepare for battle. In the end, she ends up ambushing Arthur and defeating his men. However, he and Merlin manage to get away, so she angrily commands her men to find them as soon as possible (Arthur's Bane:Part One).

Morgana soon learns about Sefa's captivity, and reassures Ruadan that her sacrifice won't be in vain. However, he rushes to save her, and dies in the process. He sends Morgana a crow to inform her that Arthur is coming to her, but she should not worry. Soon after that, Morgana runs when she notices a familiar man arriving and is happy beyond words when she finds out that this man is Mordred and he is in fact alive. She hugs him and then dines with him.

She tells him that magic will soon be free, but is enraged after he reveals to her that he let Arthur go. When the latter invades her castle, Morgana has both him and Merlin at her mercy. Arthur tries to reason with her and asks what happened to her, but she tells him she grew up. As she is about to finish him off, Mordred stabs her in the back, and Morgana painfully looks at the friend who betrayed her, before losing consciousness. She is later seen staggering in a snowy wasteland, next to Aithusa (Arthur's Bane:Part Two).

Alliance with King Odin
"You should choose your allies more carefully. Any friend of Camelot is an enemy of mine."

- Morgana to King Rodor

Morgana somehow reaches Nemeth, which has been conquered by Odin. She enters as he talks to a captured Mithian and Rodor, and makes a deal with him: he will help her conquer Camelot, and she will help him kill the man he wants most: Arthur Pendragon. Morgana uses an Ageing spell and visits Camelot as Hilda, Mithian's maid. There, Morgana has Mithian lure Arthur into a trap, and also constantly checks on her behaviour, as the young princess tries to inform Camelot of her motives at all costs.

Morgana manages to prevent each and every attempt of Mithian's, until she writes her name on a stone that Merlin sees. However, Morgana is fast enough in order to knock Merlin unconscious with an unknown spell. She manages to lead Arthur to Odin's hideout, and, as Odin is about to kill him, she reveals her true self and tells Odin that she wants the satisfaction of killing Arthur too. As they are about to strike him down, an unknown force causes the cave to crumble, and Morgana is knocked unconscious by Merlin's Magic, although it is currently unknown if she saw him (Another's Sorrow).

Alliance with Guinevere
"Good morning, my lady. I thought we could play a little game."

Morgana later attempts to get Gwen to join her side and succeeds in doing so. After Guinevere returns from visiting her father's grave, accompanied by the Knights of the Round Table, Morgana uses her powers to make a snake attack the knights, and takes her chance to abduct Gwen while she is fleeing. Morgana takes her to the Dark Tower, and locks her inside a room filled with mandrake roots, which produce hallucinations of her favorite people in the world. Every now and then, Morgana would come and visit Gwen, inviting her to dinner. There, she sympathyses with her former friend, gives her food to eat and talks to her about her own journeys during those years.

As Gwen sees more of her friends turning againist her and laughing at her, Morgana slowly begins to convince her that she is her one and only friend. When Arthur and his knights arrive to save her, Morgana has prepared numerous traps to slow them down, and the final obstacle is an enchanted sword that protects Gwen. Elyan rushes to save his sister, and succeeds in doing so, sacrificing his own life in the process. However, everything is not as it seems; Gwen has believed in Morgana's words and, with the help of the mandrake roots, Gwen's loyalties now are with Morgana. The night after Elyan's death, Guinevere meets Morgana in the Darkling Woods, and the two plan Arthur's downfall (The Dark Tower).

Attempts on the King's life using the puppet queen
Following this event, Morgana and Guinevere make numerous attempts on Arthur's life. Morgana and Gwen often meet in the Darkling Woods and plan Arthur's downfall, as well as Gwen ruling according to what Morgana wants. Morgana goes to a merchant and asks for a poison that will kill slowly and painfully. She gets two liquids and gives them to Gwen, who successfully manages to poison Arthur with them. However, Arthur is saved due to unknown to Morgana circumnstances (A Lesson in Vengeance).

Morgana realises that Merlin is a bigger nuisance to her than what she thought. She persuades a young boy named Daegal who lures Merlin directly to her trap. When the warlock sees her, she knocks him out with her magic, makes him drink a deadly poison and then kicks him down a cliff. When the young boy tells her why she is doing this, she tells him to not meddle with her or she will kill him too. Later, Morgana conspires with Guinevere in order to have Arthur and his new ally, Sarrum, a powerful warlord as well as the man who imprisoned her and Aithusa for two years, killed so that this leaves Gwen on the throne. She requests from Gwen one last thing: Give Sarrum a painful death, which Gwen agrees to do with pleasure. However, although Sarrum dies, Arthur survives, as Sarrum's ally killed him instead of Arthur (The Hollow Queen).

Rescuing her Queen
Some time later, Morgana suddenly gets a message from the Dochraid that Emrys is trying to break her control over Gwen. Morgana asks from Aithusa to help her, to which the creature agrees on. The two ambush Arthur's group and, although Aithusa fails to eliminate them, Morgana corners Merlin and Mordred and knocks them out with magic. Although Merlin somehow escapes, Mordred does not. Morgana wakes him up, asking him why he betrayed her and demanding to know who Emrys is. Seeing his unwillingness to help her, Morgana prepares to kill him, but Mordred mentioning to her how drastically she has changed from her past self and how lonely she is emotionally breaks her, which gives Mordred a chance to knock her out using magic, and help Merlin and Arthur save Gwen (With All My Heart).

Capturing Alator
As Morgana knew that Emrys broke her control over Guinevere, she demanded to know his true identity. She with a group of many men, including Beroun captured Alator of the Catha, who had betrayed her last time to demand to know where and who Emrys is. He refused to tell her who Emrys was, so he was ordered to reveal the true identity of Emrys, by being tortured by Nathair. Alator told Morgana that if she killed him, he would walk to paradise happily, knowing that Morgana had failed. Morgana refused to kill him, she wanted him to be tortured and to suffer alive. But when Finna, who was protecting Merlin sends a letter to Alator that she found Emrys, and not to worry, Morgana discovered it right away and caused her in murdering the High Priest by breaking his neck with magic, making him unable to breathe. After Finna got Merlin's sword, when she was wounded, Morgana and her men found her and she demanded to know from her where Emrys is. She refused to tell and killed herself before Morgana could kill her. This led the High Priestess to declare war on Camelot (The Kindness of Strangers).

Discovering Emrys and alliance with Mordred
When Mordred's love interest, Kara, is sentenced to death for plotting against Camelot, Mordred is brought in great rage against Camelot, feeling betrayed by Arthur and Merlin. After escaping from his jail cell he decides to visit Morgana, and is brought by two Saxons into her throne room. She does not welcome Mordred at first, as she knows that he tried to kill her during their last met, but when he apologizes for what he has done, tells her the key to lead to Arthurs downfall she starts to understand him. Mordred also claims that there is one person who kept stopping her from bringing down Camelot.

Morgana knows that its Emrys and Mordred reveals his true identity, that he lives in Camelot, and it is Merlins druid name (The Drawing of the Dark).

The Battle of Camlann and Death
"This is the last time, Emrys..."

- Morgana taunts Merlin in the Crystal Cave

Morgana and Mordred officially declare war at Camelot after they make sure Merlin cannot be a threat to their plans. Morgana uses a magical weapon which sucks his magic, rendering him useless to protect Arthur. Immediately after that, she and Mordred summon a meteor to attack the enemy forces, which annihilated Camelot's defence. She uses Aithusa's breath to forge a sword for her proudest warrior, Mordred, so he can kill Arthur with it.

She also uses a woman named Eira as a spy. After the woman gains Gwaine's sympathy, she gains information about Camelot and especially Arthur and Merlin and tells everything to Morgana. After she learns that Merlin plans to go to the Crystal Cave to get his magic back, she plans to end him once and for all. She follows him inside the cave and toys with him, until he finds her and slashes her with a sword. Although in pain, Morgana laughs at his attempts to thwart her plans and bids him farewell, as she uses strong magic to trap Merlin in the Crystal Cave once and for all.

After this, she gathers her forces at Camlann, where she reunites with Mordred. The two, along with the Saxons, begin their final fight againist Camelot. Although they easily overwhelm the Camelot soldiers at first, Merlin's return greatly shocks Morgana as she screams at him, and he attacks her and knocks her unconscious. When she regains consciousness, she finds out that Mordred has been killed. Creating a grave for him, she buries him and swears to him that Arthur will meet his doom.

When her men report to her that Arthur is alive, Morgana is so furious that she instantly kills one of the men. She meets with Gwaine and Percival, who knew of Arthur's location, and although Percival manages to stab through her, she survives and manages to defeat both of them. She traps Gwaine and uses a Nathair on him to learn about Arthur's location and, after she does, she executes him.

Morgana finds Merlin and Arthur and uses magic to blast Merlin away. She then taunts a dying Arthur, but Merlin points Excalibur at her and says that, although he always blamed himself for what she has become, the bloodshed she created has to end, and so stabs her with the sword. Morgana thought she could withstand this hit too, but is wrong, as a sword forged in a Dragon's breath can hurt her. Morgana leaves her last breath there, and very soon her brother dies as well (The Diamond of the Day).

Personality
"You're wrong. Don't think I don't understand loyalty just because I've got no one left to be loyal to."

- Morgana to Merlin

Morgana is portrayed as being vengeful, ruthless, embittered, cold and calculating. Having turned against her closest friends and even her own family, Morgana zealously pursues what she believes to be her rightful throne as well as the downfall of her enemies, even those she once cared about. She is a highly isolated and darkened character who resembles her biological father far more than she cares to admit since she, like Uther Pendragon, has suffered greatly on an emotional level and is unwilling to let go of past suffering. Additionally, Morgana seeks to avenge her losses but ultimately fails to achieve satisfaction, which dooms her to be perpetually unhappy, a fact first pointed out by Queen Annis much to Morgana’s ire. In spite of her apparent callous antipathy, on rare occasions, Morgana shows a sorrowful melancholy that she herself does not expect to feel, such as upon the death of Uther, the resurrection of Lancelot as a mere shadow of his former glory and her confrontation with Arthur.

Earlier in life, as the King’s ward, Morgana displays a spirited, quick-witted and compassionate nature. While in Camelot she is considered by many to be very beautiful and attracts the attention of numerous men, including Knight Valiant, Merlin and Arthur Pendragon. However, Morgana proves to be both beautiful and capable; she is also fiery and independent and will not hesitate to stand up to Uther, despite his being her guardian. She always takes issue with his cruel and unjust persecution of magic-users, believing that his punishments are unfair and unfitting. When necessary, she also displays her courage and ability as a fighter, always intervening to stand up for what she feels is right. Like Uther, she too is very stubborn, and when Arthur told Uther that he lost a bet against Morgana, Uther told him that he should have known better than to mess with her.

Despite portraying a fierce but just and independent personality at the court, on the inside Morgana is feeling great fear, depression and loneliness while in Camelot. Not knowing that she is Uther's daughter, the thought that he may find out about her magic greatly stresses her, taking into consideration his attitude towards magic. Unable to find anyone to help her and having no one to turn to, she slowly envelopes herself in loneliness and depression, which fleetingly disappears at the company of creatures like Morgause, Alvarr and Mordred, who are like her. After Merlin poisons her and almost causes her death, Morgause takes her with her to cure her, and Morgana spends over a year with Morgause. When she returns, she is a different person; vengeful and more cruel, she returns determined to take revenge for beings like herself against Uther and the magic-hating Camelot.

Though Morgana initially believes Arthur was a better man than his father and would be a fair ruler, she ultimately becomes more and more fixed on her belief that the Pendragons are not fit to rule Camelot and seeks to take the throne herself, despite her also being a Pendragon in blood. She joins Morgause in her regicidal ambitions and eventually operates alone in trying to kill Arthur. Despite being motivated by her disagreement with Uther's tyrannical regime, Morgana herself lapses into a reign of cruelty during the times she rules Camelot to gain the allegiance of the people, such as executing innocent people in her first reign, and threatening to burn peasants' crops in her second reign. Morgana also takes a sadistic pleasure in tormenting Uther and forcing Gwaine to fight for food, as well as willingly torturing Elyan for information.

Despite her vindictive and unforgiving personality, however, Morgana remains a powerful, arrogant, intelligent, overconfident, and ferociously determined individual. Her darker characteristics are largely the product of external influences while her truer nature was portrayed as one of immense compassion. This nature has arguably not disappeared due to the melancholy she sometimes showed and she does at times reveal a vulnerable side of herself, such as her shock and hurt on hearing of Agravaine's death, her deep conflict at seeing Arthur again, her fear at being rendered powerless and her elation at being healed by Aithusa.

This nature is explored more after her liberation from her prison. The time she spent with Aithusa made her more vulnerable and at times she shows her softer side to the young creature. Even at her enemies, she shows acts of kindness, as shown when she ordered her men to burn Finna's corpse after her suicide. She also displays a caring, loving side, like a mother figure towards Mordred, as he is the only one she can still consider her friend. After turning his back on Arthur and delivering Emrys' true name to her, Mordred is the one she was able to forgive, even after he tried to kill her twice, and when he died at the hands of Arthur, she swore vengeance at her friend's grave. From this point forward, Morgana became more sadistic, psychotic and cruel, even towards her allies, and her only goal became the death of Arthur Pendragon, which she initially realises, shortly after she is slain by Merlin.

Merlin
"I know I can trust you, Merlin... you're a good friend."

- Morgana and Merlin discussing magic Morgana's relationship with Merlin began well since Morgana appeared to trust him from early on, going straight to him when Gwen faced execution (The Mark of Nimueh). When Merlin ran to her to hide Mordred, the Druid boy, Morgana agreed to help, driven by compassion and trust of Merlin's intentions. When Merlin's village was under attack (The Moment of Truth), Morgana, Gwen and Arthur journeyed with him to defend it, and Merlin overheard her saying that they were there because they all cared for Merlin.

However, Merlin attempted to distance himself from her after her attempt on Uther's life, but ultimately ended up becoming closer to her when she was confused by her manifesting powers. Merlin clearly wanted to help Morgana and tried to persuade Gaius to help her instead of ignoring her powers altogether. Morgana later demonstrated her trust in Merlin by confessing her suspicions of her magic, leading Merlin to eventually advise her to seek the Druids' help despite Gaius and the Great Dragon's warning him not to get involved. He, believing that he could not abandon her and understanding what she was going through, ignored the two ( The Nightmare Begins). The pair remained friends until Merlin discovered that Morgana had once again allied with Uther's enemies in forming a bond with Morgause. When Morgause made Morgana the unwitting vessel for the sleeping plague, Merlin demonstrated a lack of faith in Morgana by believing his only option to be to kill her in order to end the plague. Instead of talking with her, he chose to poison her in order to force Morgause to end the spell to save her life. Though it was done reluctantly, his choice was ultimately one that severely alienated the already conflicted Morgana, who may well have drunk the hemlock on her own to save Arthur, whom she loved deeply, had Merlin simply explained all. However, Merlin chose to believe the worst in Morgana, potentially unaware that Morgause had turned her into the vessel without her knowledge or consent, therefore destroying his relationship with her forever, polluting her better nature and sending her irrevocably into Morgause's care for one year (The Fires of Idirsholas).

When Morgana returned to Camelot, Merlin was anxious that she would expose him, but to his surprise she tearfully said she understood why he did it and confessed that she had had no idea what she was doing. Thinking she had forgiven him, Merlin was vastly relieved until he discovered the enchantment on Uther ( The Tears of Uther Pendragon). When he followed her to meet with Morgause, Morgana dropped the act and revealed her true loathing for Merlin, leaving him bound in chains to die. Curiously, Morgana never exposed Merlin for poisoning her, though she probably could have him executed on the spot for it. Possible explanations include that she feared her magic or her treachery being exposed, that she wanted to kill him herself, or for some reason did not want him executed. Morgana remained ignorant to the fact that she owed her life to Merlin when he cured her fatal head injury, although he acted largely to alleviate his own guilt from having caused her accident in the first place, and also to save Arthur and Uther from their overwhelming grief (The Crystal Cave). With all pretense now dropped, Morgana and Merlin were deeply hostile to one other, though in the presence of Arthur and Gwen they tended to be civil, but not friendly.

Uncharacteristically, Merlin was shown to be very cold towards Morgana and vice versa. Merlin had long since given Morgana up as a lost cause, and when Morgana crowned herself Queen of Camelot, Merlin helped Arthur rally a resistance, destroying the immortal army she and Morgause raised by emptying the Cup of Life after he hurled Morgause into a stone pillar. Morgana's hatred of Merlin was amplified by his severely wounding Morgause, though it is unclear whether her eventual emaciated state and death were a direct result of Merlin's attack. The following year, Morgana was ever more suspicious, paranoid and hostile. She and Merlin did not meet over the course of the year, although Merlin was frequently aware of her plans to seize the throne and continuously thwarted them. Despite this, Morgana did not kill him instantly when he was at her mercy after being captured by mercenaries, instead using him as a pawn in her wider plans ( A Servant of Two Masters). However, Morgana continually remained ignorant to the fact that Merlin was in fact the Emrys foretold to be her doom (The Secret Sharer), still believing he was merely an unusually troublesome servant of Arthur's, although she discovered it through Mordred's betrayal of Arthur (The Drawing of the Dark).

After learning Merlin's secret, Morgana is extremely surprised. Both are aware that there is no room for forgiveness towards the other. Merlin wastes no time in stabbing her in the Crystal Cave after taunting her about her fear for him, and Morgana mockingly tells him that he will not mess with her plans again. During the battle of Camlann, Morgana hysterically screams at Merlin when he returns to the battlefield, and he wastes no time in attacking her with a lightning spell. Later, when she is close to killing Arthur, without hesitation, Merlin stabs Morgana with Excalibur, apparently ending her life. (The Diamond of the Day).

As Emrys
Once the Cailleach delivered her cryptic warning about the sorcerer Emrys being her doom, Morgana began to live in great fear of him, particularly after having a vision of herself pleading for Emrys' help in a battlefield. Though she suspected his having a hand in many of her foiled plans, she first met him face to face when she caught him going through her possessions. This led to a magical duel between the two, which Emrys narrowly won. Morgana became obsessed with discovering Emrys's true identity, believing he stood between her and her birthright, even going so far as to capture Gaius in an unsuccessful attempt to find it out. Morgana continued to be afraid and suspicious of Emrys, still having failed to identify him, and she panicked when she caught sight of him after she conquered Camelot, clearly fearful of further attack. Her efforts to discover who and where Emrys was became successful when Mordred betrayed Camelot due to the fact his love was hanged. (The Drawing of the Dark).

Arthur Pendragon
"You're a better man than your father. Always were"

- Morgana to Arthur

Morgana and Arthur grew up together and their relationship had always been strong. On the surface they seemed like siblings, teasing one another mercilessly and trading sarcastic comments, but there was also a much deeper connection between them. Morgana proved to be Arthur's advisor and moral compass early on as she was the only one who could get him to confront and defy his father by doing what he knew in his heart was right. Despite being raised together, Arthur and Morgana developed romantic feelings for one another at some point. Whenever knights flattered Morgana it irked Arthur, and he in turn openly accused her of being jealous when she tried to dissuade him from pursuing Sophia. They shared a number of tender moments where it was clear that the love they had for each other went much deeper than attraction, and the prophetic dreams that terrified Morgana most were ones of Arthur's death (The Gates of Avalon, Le Morte d'Arthur). Each time she would desperately try to save him and prevent her prophecies from being realised, on one occasion running to plead with him in front of the assembled knights when she knew he would not return safely from a quest. And just as Morgana was fiercely protective of Arthur, he in turn did everything in his power to keep her safe and happy. He defended her interests against his father, securing her release from the dungeons (To Kill the King) and and agreeing to defy Uther and smuggle Mordred out of Camelot solely for her sake (The Beginning of the End).

However, Arthur's sudden interest in Guinevere caused his relationship with Morgana to suffer. Caught up in his new romantic problems, he failed to realise that Morgana was struggling with something serious and unintentionally left her even more isolated as she wrestled with her growing magic. When she was "kidnapped" by the druids, however, Arthur mounted a rescue and brought her back safely to Camelot, although he did not realise this was not what she wanted (The Nightmare Begins). The more he became infatuated with Gwen, the more his relationship with Morgana shifted towards that of brother and sister, while when Uther married Catrina, the two were horrified to discover their new stepmother was a troll (Beauty and the Beast). Morgana grew more defensive and less open with Arthur, for instance believing her magic to be the reason she was immune to the sleeping plague while feeling unable to risk telling him the truth (The Fires of Idirsholas). Although Arthur undoubtedly loved and cared for Morgana, she recognised that his position would be one of severe conflict due to his inherited suspicion of magic and therefore could not seek his help.

After Morgause disappeared with Morgana, Arthur demonstrated his devotion to her by spending a year searching for her, feeling that he had failed to protect her. Finding her stumbling through the forest on one such patrol, with great relief Arthur brought her back to Camelot where he tenderly listened to her recount her escape and promised her that she was safe now. When Uther fell ill and Arthur was faced with the burden of ruling, he sought comfort from Morgana, embracing her and telling her how glad he was that she was there with him. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Morgana was, in fact, responsible for Uther's decline, and she continued to plot against the king in secret (The Tears of Uther Pendragon). When Merlin inadvertently caused a fatal head wound in Morgana in an attempt to stop her from killing Uther, Arthur was utterly grief-stricken at the thought of losing her, ironically telling Merlin he would "sacrifice [his] place on the throne for her to see another sunrise" (The Crystal Cave).

For a time, Morgana's hatred was directed solely at Uther, and largely she showed no animosity towards Arthur, but after the discovery that Uther was her father, Morgause pointed out that Arthur was all that stood between Morgana and the crown, despite her being illegitimate and unrecognised. After this, Morgana began to plot against her half-sibling while he remained a doting brother, even risking his life to go back into Cenred's stronghold to rescue her, unaware that it was a trap to get him killed (The Castle of Fyrien). It was not until Morgause's army overtook Camelot and Morgana crowned herself queen that Arthur learned of her treachery and her true paternity. Arthur reeled in the face of this knowledge and spent a whole week struggling with it, only recovering when Merlin rallied him to take back his kingdom from her. Arthur lamented that he had known Morgana his whole life and could not understand her betrayal, but in the end led his knights against her to take back Camelot (The Coming of Arthur).

Over a year after he learned of her treachery, Morgana was now fully estranged from Arthur, plotting against him and bringing about Uther's death from afar which resulted in Arthur being crowned King of Camelot. Morgana therefore continued in her attempts to take Arthur's throne, eventually succeeding in conquering Camelot once again. Her first confrontation with Arthur since leaving came when he stormed the castle to take back the kingdom. The reunion was clearly tense with Morgana's expression conflicted as Arthur commented he "thought we were friends", to which she, evidently torn, replied "as did I". However, the two could not reconcile and Morgana accused Arthur of being too much like his father, leading Arthur to remark that she too resembled Uther more than she realised (The Sword in the Stone).

Three years after their last encounter Morgana's hatred of Arthur seems only to have intensified. Morgana's captivity and subsequent torture may have played a part in this. Morgana believes that Arthur is the only obstacle standing in the way of the Old Religion being respected once more. The High Priestess also can't understand how despite all her powers Arthur continues to defy her. When she corners Arthur in the tunnels beneath Ismere Morgana wastes no time in trying to kill her brother. Arthur, however, even on the brink of death, keeps reminding her how kind and compassionate used to be, as well as their early relationship. Morgana, however, refuses to go back and says that she has grown up now (Arthur's Bane). After this, Arthur admits that he hates her, however it is unclear if he only said this to gain Sarrum's trust or if he has actually given up on his sister (The Hollow Queen).

After Mordred's love Kara is hanged by Arthur, Mordred allies himself with Morgana giving her the key of Arthur's demise by revealing Emrys' true identity to her(The Drawing of the Dark). After Mordred is killed during her fight with Arthur, Morgana's hatred extremely grows for her brother. She finds him and taunts him that he is going to die, her looking sad as well, although it is not clear if it was because of Arthur dying or Mordred's death. After Merlin pierces through her with Excalibur, Arthur fleetingly looks at her lifeless eyes, and very soon he leaves his last breath as well (The Diamond of the Day).

Guinevere Pendragon
"What did I do to make you hate me so much?" "It's not what you did, but what you're destined to do!"

- Gwen and Morgana

Morgana had a close friendship with her maid, Gwen, whom she treated as an equal rather than a servant. Gwen frequently comforted Morgana when she woke up from nightmares and was very attached to her mistress. When Uther's soldiers killed Gwen's father, Tom, Morgana was enraged on her behalf to the extent where she participated in a plot to kill the King, but later changed her mind. As time went on Morgana noted that Gwen was getting more secretive, and wondered if there was a man involved, which there was. Despite their close friendship, Morgana never confided in Gwen about magic, instead turning to Merlin.

When Morgana was taken away by Morgause, Gwen appeared to miss her, but after Morgana's return it became obvious that her experiences had changed her. Morgana was distant and now treated Gwen like a servant rather than a friend, although she did give Gwen an embroidered handkerchief she received as a birthday present, albeit as an excuse to get Gwen to leave the room so she could read a message sent by Morgause. Morgana soon discovered Gwen's feelings for Arthur when he was forced to marry a princess and she later used this to lure Arthur to a trap in the Castle of Fyrien. When Morgana received visions of a future where Gwen was Queen of Camelot, she was incensed that Gwen would one day rob her of her birthright, so she subtly revealed Gwen and Arthur's courtship to Uther and framed Gwen for enchanting Arthur in order to stop this future from happening. Morgana intended for Gwen to be banished, knowing Arthur would choose exile to be with her, but Uther ordered Gwen to be executed instead. Although this was not part of her plan, Morgana, no longer caring about Gwen's well-being, did not seem bothered by it and was annoyed and confused when Merlin thwarted her again.

Gwen, who had witnessed Morgana using magic already and had seen her with Morgause, was now firmly convinced that Morgana was no longer a friend to any of them, but they continued the pretence of civility. When Morgana was crowned Queen after Cenred's army invaded, Gwen assured Morgana that she was still loyal, but conspired with Sir Leon to escape Camelot and restore Arthur to the throne. Morgana was furious and thought to have Gwen executed, but instead she allowed Gwen and Leon to escape and lead her forces to Arthur's hideout. After her betrayal was exposed, a year later, Morgana, who was determined to prevent her vision of Gwen becoming Queen from coming true, attempted to kill Gwen by knocking her unconscious out in the open so the Dorocha would finish her off come nightfall. Gaius, however, foiled her plan by saving Gwen. Morgana seemed finally victorious over Gwen by resurrecting Sir Lancelot and using him to come between Arthur and Guinevere, which led to the latter's exile.

Some time later, after Gwen happened to eavesdrop on Morgana's conversation with Helios about conquering Camelot, but revealed her presence leading to Morgana coldly pursuing her through the forest. Having caught up with her, two openly confronted each other and Morgana demonstrated her lack of feeling towards her former maid, cruelly taunting her before knocking her unconscious. She then enacted a sadistic plan to have Gwen killed not by herself, but by her lover, Arthur, enchanting her to take the shape of a deer so she would be shot and killed by Arthur's hunting party (The Hunter's Heart).

When she conquered Camelot for the second time, Gwen, along with Arthur, Merlin, Tristan and Isolde, confronted Morgana and Helios in the throne room. She later fought and lost against Morgana one on one and, when she asked what she had done to deserve her hate, Morgana stated that she did not hate her for what she had done, but rather for what she was destined to do, and apologised for having to kill her, although Merlin ultimately prevented her from doing so (The Sword in the Stone).

Three years later, after her imprisonment, Morgana's resentment for Guinevere stealing her throne grows even more. She ambushes Gwen and takes her to the Dark Tower with her. There, she uses mandrake roots to twist Guinevere's memories and make her believe that she is her only one true ally. While under her control, Gwen worships Morgana and thinks of her as her one and only friend, while she loathes all her former friends(The Dark Tower). Meanwhile, Morgana also hugs Gwen whenever she sees her and confesses to her secrets about her dark past, resembling the relationship the two used to share once. Although Morgana fought hard to keep Gwen under her control, Merlin, Arthur and Gwen are able to free her from Morgana's grasp, and the two do not communicate at all after this event(With All My Heart).

Gaius
"Nonsense, my child. My favourite patient is always welcome."

- Gaius to Morgana

Morgana often went to Gaius for potions that were supposed to help her with her nightmares, which were sometimes effective but more often not. Morgana admitted to Aredian that her dreams got worse when Gaius started treating them, though she insisted that this was just a coincidence. She initially trusted Gaius a great deal, even though she told Aredian that she had no idea what he'd put in the potions, because he took care of her and his draughts were the only thing that let her get any sleep. Gaius seemed very fond of Morgana, often calling her "my child" in a grandfatherly tone, but Gaius firmly maintained that Morgana was better off ignorant about her powers, often lying to her about the importance of her dreams and powers in hopes of protecting her from Uther's hatred of magic. He believed that the draughts, which essentially drugged her so that she could not dream, were the best treatment, and was angry when Merlin argued with him about it.

Despite his fondness for Morgana, after the sleeping plague he was quick to believe Morgana had allied herself with Morgause, despite the fact that this was not yet true. He told Merlin he did the right thing by poisoning her, and that Morgana had chosen to use her gifts for evil, despite the fact that at this point she had been nothing more than an unknowing vessel for Morgause’s scheming. Gaius’ former good opinion of Morgana was stripped away and he was highly suspicious of her when she returned. Although he acted as if nothing had changed, Gaius helped Merlin work to thwart her plots time and time again, and when he was possessed by a goblin he told her that her heart was full of darkness. Although Gaius was not initially an object of her hatred, he finally became one of her targets once she suspected that he knew of Emrys, leading to his kidnap. Morgana showed none of her former respect and affection for Gaius and was happy to firstly torture him to extract information, then later leave him deteriorating in a cell without sufficient food.

Uther Pendragon
"Every day I must look Uther in the eye knowing that if he were to discover who I really am, he'd have me killed."

- Morgana Pendragon on Uther

Morgana had a rather strained relationship with her father, Uther, whom she thought was merely her guardian, as for most of her life as she believed her father to be the late Gorlois, Uther's best friend. She frequently stood up to Uther when she thought he was being unfair or cruel and was not above defying him to do what was right. Despite his affection for her, Uther was willing to punish her for such defiance, and once had her put in chains in the dungeon for challenging him. After the death of Gwen's father, Morgana conspired with the sorcerer Tauren to kill the king, believing Camelot would be better off with Arthur on the throne, but when Uther expressed his regret over Tom's death, admitting he was arrogant and foolish, she aborted the plan at the last minute. Therefore, when Tauren attacked, she warned Uther and then ended up killing Tauren herself to save the King.

Despite his show of repentance, however, Uther continued to execute people in his campaign against magic, and Morgana became more and more distressed, realising she had been wrong to think he was capable of change. When Mordred returned, she agreed to help steal a crystal from Uther, and later freed a sorcerer from the dungeons. Uther suspected her involvement, emotionally warning that whoever was responsible had betrayed him, but Morgana stayed defiant. When Morgause's sleeping plague fell over Camelot, Arthur left Morgana alone with a sleeping Uther, handing her his sword so she could protect both herself and the king, and a fearful Morgana did not act against Uther, instead choosing to stay with him and wait for Arthur to return. After Merlin poisoned her and Morgause stole her away, Uther was distraught, blaming himself. He then spent a year deploying his army at the cost of a great many men to hunt down magical groups in an attempt to find her.

When Morgause finally conquered Camelot, Uther was captured and brought to the throne room on his knees, where he said Morgause had no right to the throne. Uther finally discovered Morgana's treachery when Morgana stepped out, agreeing with Uther's words and asserting her own royal right. Morgana told him she had known he was her father for some time, and while the guards held him on his knees, Uther watched his daughter be crowned Camelot's new queen. Later, locked in the dungeons and witnessing the execution of peasants through the bars, Uther begged Morgana to kill him instead of innocent people, but she said he would live until she was satisfied with the amount of suffering he experienced as her revenge for his numerous crimes against those with magic. She then left Uther in the dungeons to rot, stopping only to confirm that she hated him beyond his ability to understand, which prompted a complete mental breakdown to the point where Uther was no longer able to act fully as king, leaving Arthur to serve as regent.

Over the next year, Uther did not recover from his breakdown over Morgana's betrayal and became greatly weakened. In a last display of courage, Uther fought to protect himself and his son, but was fatally stabbed in the process. When Morgana learned that Uther was mortally wounded, she expressed cold pleasure and claimed she hoped her face would haunt him in his final moments. She also actively caused her father's death when she was informed that Arthur planned to use magic to save Uther by enchanting a necklace to reverse any healing spell and worsen the ailment tenfold. Despite causing Uther's death as she had planned for so long, she was left still unsatisfied and said that there would only be cause for celebration when she seized control over Camelot. She also told Agravaine that she had felt her father's pain as he died and was seemingly disturbed by the sensation; whether this means she felt any remorse or simply sensed it through her magic is unknown.

Mordred
"There's a bond between us. It's like nothing I've ever felt before."

- Morgana and Gwen discussing Mordred

Morgana developed an almost immediate close bond with the Druid boy, Mordred, after Merlin sneaked him into the castle when the soldiers were searching for him. She sheltered him while guards searched the castle and tended to his wounds, sympathising with him as Uther's men hunted him. She was protective of Mordred to the extent that she attempted to smuggle him out of Camelot, stating that she was risking her life because there was a "bond" between them like nothing she had ever felt before. Their first escape attempt was ultimately foiled by Arthur, who had no choice but to turn them in since there were witnesses, but he later helped Morgana get the boy safely back to his people (The Beginning of the End).

Morgana's bond with Mordred was further cemented when she stayed with the Druids to learn about her developing powers, but their time with one another was cut short when guards stormed the camp. As the druids tried to flee with her, Morgana was visibly concerned with Mordred's safety, and he was reluctant to leave her behind, but in the end he escaped while Morgana returned to Camelot with Arthur (The Nightmare Begins). The two were not reunited until Mordred came into the care of the sorcerer Alvarr, who found him after the Druid massacre, and Alvarr used his close relationship with Morgana to convince her to steal the Crystal of Neahtid from the vaults of Camelot. Morgana's initial agreement was solely for Mordred's sake, as she wanted Alvarr to get the boy out of Camelot before they were caught, and when she delivered the crystal to their camp Mordred ran to embrace her. They were separated again when Morgana had to return to Camelot, but Kilgharrah warned Merlin that Morgana and Mordred shared a destiny and would one day form a dark alliance against Camelot (The Witch's Quickening).

Morgana meets with Mordred many years later, after she has become a High Priestess of the Old Religion. Although she is ruthless towards her past friends, her affection for Mordred has not faded away, as she shows genuine affection and relief when she finds out he is alive. However, the feelings are not mutual, as Mordred has grown cold towards Morgana, in comparison to his former bond with her. When Morgana has Arthur at her mercy, Mordred stabs her in the back and pushes her aside, which completely ruins their relationship, as Morgana looks hurt and betrayed, while Mordred does not have have any sympathy left for her (Arthur's Bane).

When they later meet again, Morgana wakes him up and wants to know why Mordred betrayed her. She reminds him of how Arthur would react if he knew, but believing in Arthur, Mordred replies that one day Arthur will change his mind about magic and refuses to tell her where Emrys is. Morgana tries to kill him, but Mordred in turn critizes her for so casually being willing to kill one of her own kind, and wishes that she someday finds the love and compassion which used to fill her heart. This greatly distresses Morgana, and Mordred finds the chance to knock her out with a spell, leaving her to die. (With All My Heart).

However their relationship is repaired when Mordred, having lost faith in Arthur, after the exercution of his love Kara by his men, goes to Morgana and kneels before her, telling her that she was right about Arthur and that he will never question her judgement again. He gains her trust when he reveals to her that Emrys is in fact Merlin (The Drawing of the Dark).

After this, the foretold alliance happens: Morgana forges a sword equivalent to Excalibur and hands it to Mordred, calling him her proudest warrior. She is also very protective of him, using magic to defeat his enemies during the battle of Camlann. When Mordred dies in battle, Morgana is completely engulfed in hatred. She swears at his grave that she will avenge him, and does not hesitate to kill her allies when they do not bring her closer to finding Arthur, displaying that even after he betrayed her twice, she still cared for him (The Diamond of the Day).

Morgause
"I care only that Morgana takes her rightful place upon the throne of Camelot."

- Morgause on Morgana

Morgana was Morgause's younger half-sister, though for many years she had no idea of her existence since Morgause was smuggled away as a baby and given to the Priestesses of the Old Religion. Nevertheless, Morgana felt an immediate connection to her when they met during Morgause's first appearance in Camelot, and Morgause, though not revealing her identity, gave her with a bracelet that had once belonged to their mother, Vivienne, to help prevent Morgana's nightmares. Although Morgause nearly caused Arthur to kill Uther, Morgana remained ignorant of these events since Arthur and Uther swore the witnesses to silence, and so when Morgause requested that she meet with her, Morgana agreed. During their meeting, Morgana confessed her growing hatred of Uther's regime, but had no idea Morgause intended to use her as an instrument to topple Camelot. When Merlin discovered that Morgana was the vessel for the sleeping plague and poisoned her to stop it, Morgause abandoned her attempt to conquer Camelot in order to find out the type of poison to save her sister, evidently grieved as she held Morgana's unconscious body in her arms. Morgause then spirited Morgana away to save her, and kept Morgana in her care for a year, teaching her how to use her magic.

By the time she returned to Camelot, all of Morgana's previous affections had been transferred solely to Morgause and she was completely loyal to her. At this point Morgana seemed fully under Morgause's control, her personality shifting to become almost a copy of her sister's. Morgause, as the more experienced and worldly wise of the two, assumed a puppeteer position over Morgana, being the chief orchestrator of their regicidal schemes. However, Morgause seemed to ostensibly treat Morgana as an equal and did genuinely care for her as she chose to save her life over destroying Camelot. Morgause had such influence over Morgana that when it was revealed that Morgana's father was in fact Uther Pendragon, she managed to convince Morgana to work towards killing Arthur, despite their long history and former deep relationship. Morgana seemed enthralled by her sister, and even when crowned Queen of Camelot, it appeared that Morgause remained the one in control since her rule was one of cruelty, something that she had previously fought against.

The depth of Morgana's attachment to Morgause was shown when the latter was seriously injured by Merlin and Gaius since Morgana was visibly distraught, and her screams of anguish proved to be powerful enough to destroy the throne room walls. In a reversal of the previous year, Morgana escaped with Morgause in an attempt to save her. Morgana remained devoted to the now seriously deteriorated Morgause and thought nothing of attacking Knights of Camelot to protect her. Morgana showed deep reluctance and sorrow when Morgause insisted she use her as a blood sacrifice to tear the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. Morgana later commented that Morgause had been the last person she had to be loyal to, and her isolation after her sister's death was evident.

Alvarr
"You're not alone. You're here with us. You need never be alone again."

- Alvarr to Morgana

Alvarr approached Morgana to enlist her help in stealing the Crystal of Neahtid, using Mordred as a pawn to win her over. Morgana agreed to help primarily for Mordred's sake, but Alvarr, a con man at heart, used his charm to gain her favour. Having someone to talk with about her magic was a relief for Morgana, and Alvarr knew exactly how to play her so she felt they were kindred spirits, despite the fact that he had a woman in his band. Morgana delivered the crystal to Alvarr and then returned to Camelot, and Alvarr's lover commended him on how well he played the Lady Morgana, which Alvarr did not seem to regret since it achieved his goal.

Indeed, it paid off further for Alvarr when Morgana returned to warn him that Arthur's men were marching on their encampment, although she would have likely come regardless to ensure that Mordred escaped. When Alvarr intended to ambush and kill the knights, Morgana was horrified and said he could not kill them all, commenting that he need only fight to escape, clearly worried about Arthur and the knights she knew to be good men. Alvarr did fight but was captured and brought back to Camelot where Uther ordered him to be executed at dawn. Morgana was furious and told Uther she saw him for what he really was and that she disowned him, before using the sleeping draught Gaius prepared for her to drug the dungeon guards, allowing Alvarr to escape. Though he was shamelessly using her for his own purposes, Alvarr seemed genuinely humbled when she freed him and was evidently grateful for all she had done.

Vivienne
It was not made clear how Morgana felt about her mother, Vivienne, as little mention was made of her, which would suggest that she possessed few memories of her. Vivienne's situation remained unknown, though the fact that Morgana lived with Uther from a young age after Gorlois’ death implies that she was either dead or otherwise absent.

Gorlois
"Gorlois raised me as a child. He made me who I am"

- Morgana to Queen Annis about Gorlois

Gorlois was probably the person that Morgana felt closest to during her early childhood. When he left to go to battle, at some point he called to Uther for reinforcements. However, Uther failed to deliver them and so Gorlois was outnumbered and killed. Morgana was only ten years old at the time and did not a great many memories of Gorlois when he died. She, ten years later, told Uther at her father's graveside that she only knew that she loved him and that he was taken from her. Morgana blamed Uther for his death, believing that if he had sent the promised reinforcements, he may have survived. She later discovered she was the result of Uther's betrayal of Gorlois in having an affair with Vivienne, which was revealed when she overheard Uther's confession of her true parentage. This furthered her antipathy towards Uther and may have caused her an element of shame for not being Gorlois’ true daughter, though Morgana's feelings towards Gorlois are not made explicit beyond her claiming to Queen Annis that she was working with her in order to honour him.

Agravaine de Bois
"I am your one true ally, my lady. I am your one true friend. I would do anything for you, you know that."

- Agravaine to Morgana before his final mission

Agravaine served as Morgana's spy in Camelot and was loyal to her due to his sister Igraine's death as a result of Uther's actions, though Morgana did not seem to return this loyalty as she once told Merlin that, after Morgause's death, she had no one left to be loyal to (A Servant of Two Masters). Agravaine often visited her in her hut to feed her information about what was happening in Camelot and helped her murder Uther Pendragon (The Wicked Day). Although she displayed no affection towards Agravaine, he was shown to care deeply about her, exhibiting deep concern upon finding her unconscious in the forest after her duel with Merlin (disguised as the aged sorcerer Emrys) and tending to her in her vulnerable state (The Secret Sharer). Whether Morgana actually felt any gratitude for his care is unknown, though it seemed unlikely as she appeared to view him as a lackey and took his servitude for granted. On the occasions where Agravaine succeeded in carrying out her wishes, she would at times bestow icy congratulation, but often she would merely retort with biting sarcasm and further orders (The Hunter's Heart).

Later on, when their plans to conquer Camelot came to fruition, However, she did profess her gratitude for his loyalty when he came to her for the last time before going after Arthur on her orders and commented that if he succeeded, he need never leave her side again. When Helios reported that Kilgharrah had killed all of Agravaine's men, Morgana asked about his wellbeing and when she learnt of his death, she was clearly shaken, whether because she was mourning his death, or because she was simply afraid for herself (The Sword in the Stone).

Helios
"Once I'm crowned Queen of Camelot, you may indulge yourself all you wish."

- Morgana to Helios pre-conquest

At some point Helios entered into an alliance with Morgana and seemed quite familiar with her, plotting to besiege Camelot alongside her. Helios appeared to be on more equal ground with Morgana than others such as Agravaine, presumably since he was in control of a sizeable army himself. He took certain liberties with Morgana and seemed attracted to her, commenting that he would hold her to her promise of rewarding him once Camelot was conquered. Though Agravaine had warned Morgana she could not trust Helios, Helios did not show any signs of intending to betray Morgana and continued to ensure her well-being. Helios also displayed a protectiveness of Morgana when her powers failed her and Arthur was launching a counter-attack, pushing her behind him and taking on Arthur himself.

Aithusa
"Her love for that creature made her suffer more than she ever thought possible"

- King Sarrum on Morgana's love for Aithusa Aithusa saved Morgana's life after she was wounded while escaping from Camelot )The Sword in the Stone). This act caused Morgana to form a close bond with the young Dragon and also showed that although she was evil she was still capable of love since she genuinely cared about Aithusa. Aithusa was living with Morgana three years later and Morgana displayed affection for her treating her like a pet (Arthur's Bane).

Morgana often sends Aithusa on missions, normally to kill Arthur but on all of the occasions she does this, Aithusa is stopped by Merlin's ability to command Dragons (With All My Heart). Despite Merlin's Dragonlord powers however, Aithusa was very loyal to Morgana and never showed any signs of betraying her even when under Merlin's influence. Morgana clearly loved Aithusa very much and it was revealed by Sarrum that the young Dragon was her greatest weakness(The Hollow Queen). Morgana also uses Aithusa to create a sword which she gives to Mordred so that he can use it to kill Arthur. After this, both Morgana and Aithusa attack Camelot's army at Camlann (The Diamond of the Day). It is unknown what happens to Aithusa after Merlin runs Morgana through with Excalibur.

Abilities
"What if magic isn't something you choose? What if it chooses you?"

- Morgana, on magic

Morgana is a seer and thus is able to see visions of the future in her dreams. She often suffered from prophetic nightmares as a result of this ability, initially largely revolving around Arthur Pendragon's death. She also has some level of telepathy as she was the only person other than Merlin able to hear Mordred speaking mentally (The Beginning of the End). Morgana is also a powerful sorceress and High Priestess of the Old Religion as well as a highly trained swordswoman.



Magical Abilities
Though initially Morgana's powers were raw and uncontrolled, resulting in her inadvertently setting her room alight and shattering a vase, in the year spent with Morgause, Morgana's skill with magic improved greatly and she gained control over her abilities. However, she admitted that her magic was still considerably weaker than Morgause's magic (The Tears of Uther Pendragon), many of her spells relying on her using an object of some sort – such as when she tried to kill Arthur by using a phoenix eye - as the central focus for the spell rather than simply conjuring something on her own. When Morgause was wounded by Gaius and Merlin, Morgana displayed tremendous magical power by bringing the whole room crashing down with an emotionally-driven magical outpouring. Her grief for Morgause augmented her powers to an extremely high degree, although it is unknown if she was actually in control of the magic (The Coming of Arthur).

One year later, Morgana's magical powers had grown under Morgause's continued tutelage, and she finally became a High Priestess of the Old Religion. She showed very strong magic when she was able to swiftly defeat four Knights of Camelot, killing two of them. Later on she was able to perform a difficult ritual to tear the veil between the worlds. Morgana repeatedly cast powerful magic that incapacitated her opponents instantly, leaving her largely free to pass in and out of Camelot. Morgana also thwarted Merlin's attempt to cure Uther magically by enchanting a necklace to counteract any healing spell and worsen the ailment tenfold (The Wicked Day).

Morgana later used an enchantment on Arthur's sword to make it ten times as heavy when he fought Derian in single combat in an attempt to have him killed (His Father's Son). However, while she has great skill in casting complex spells, she has little experience using magic in direct combat, as shown when she directly engaged Merlin in a magical duel. Although she did come close to overcoming him, even in his strongest form, she was ultimately defeated by him and badly wounded (A Servant of Two Masters). Morgana once used telekinesis to cause her dagger to follow Merlin wherever he moved, which would have been certain death for him had Alator not intervened and, catching her by surprise, knocked Morgana out with a stunning spell (The Secret Sharer). Morgana also demonstrated enough magical competence to wield the power of necromancy, a little-practised art, to get rid of her rival Guinevere once and for all. Using a magical coin given to her by Morgause, Morgana resurrected a shade of Lancelot's spirit and, controlling his mind, used him and a magical bracelet to force Gwen into adultery, thus causing her exile from Camelot. She also put a glamour on Gwen that made her look like a dear in the eyes of others, thus making Arthur and the other knights think that she is an animal.

Three years after her second assault to Camelot, Morgana's magic has grown even stronger. With a simple stunning spell, she was able to knock out Merlin in his young form, whereas three years earlier two stunning spells of hers were not enough to prevent an older Merlin from defeating her. She also grew more adept at telekinetically using weapons, being able to weild a dagger with her mind without using any verbal spells. (Arthur's Bane:Part Two)

Merlin himself admits that the day Morgana would be as strong as him is not far. Indeed, she manages to keep an Ageing Spell for a long time without the use of potions, surprising even Merlin and Gaius with her achievement (Another's Sorrow). She also acquires new and powerful spells, including magical explosions, which she uses to capture Alator (The Kindness of Strangers), or enchanting snakes which manage to defeat the Knights of the Round Table (The Dark Tower (episode)).

The full extent of Morgana's powers was displayed after she learnt about Emrys' true identity. Even Mordred, a born druid, admitted that he was no match for her powers (With All My Heart).. The High Priestess was able to generate lightning to knock all her opponents out during the Battle of Camlann, generate a meteor, casting a spell along with Mordred and use powerful magic to trap Merlin inside the Crystal Cave (The Diamond of the Day).



Expert Swordmanship
Morgana was also a skilled swordswoman and held her own against a number of men attempting to raid Merlin's village. She also easily overpowered Merlin during the siege of Camelot and disarmed him twice. In the end, Merlin only defeated her by using his magic, of which she was unaware. It has been indicated that she might have even bested Arthur with a sword before, though he insisted the incident "did not happen" when Morgana mentioned it (The Moment of Truth).

However, after mastering her magical powers, Morgana rarely chose to fight with a sword, instead defeating her opponents magically. Nonetheless, she was still an exceptionally talented swordswoman, capable of fighting her way through several knights to escape the castle when her powers were blocked by Merlin. One knight managed to inflict an injury, but it should be noted that he caught Morgana by suprise and she still struck him down with a single blow despite being stabbed in the side. She also quickly defeated Guinevere in a sword fight despite being wounded at the time. (The Sword in the Stone)



Acting
In addition to her magical abilities and combat skills, Morgana proved to be an extremely convincing actress who was able to hide her true nature from almost everyone in Camelot including Uther, and Arthur, Before she became queen the only people who knew of her true allegiance were Merlin, Gaius and Gwen, and these three were only aware of her true allegiance due to Merlin and Gaius’ prior knowledge of her magical abilities and Gwen walking in on Morgana preparing a spell by accident.

Extreme Resilience
Morgana is also extremely resilient, a trait that she shares with her half-brother Arthur, and she was able to defeat Gwen in a duel without much difficulty despite having been stabbed in the side by a Knight. She was also able to take direct hits from Merlin's magic on several occasions, one of which involved her falling down some stairs and cracking her skull. It is still unknown exactly how she managed to escape from Camelot while fighting her way out, but she somehow managed to make it into the woods, still with a stab wound in her side and having been recently thrown to the floor by Merlin's magic. Nevertheless even Morgana's remarkable resilience had its limits and she would have died if not for Aithusa. (The Crystal Cave, A Servant of Two Masters, The Sword in the Stone)

Her endurance was also shown when she recovered from being stabbed by Mordred. (Arthur's Bane)  This trait she demonstrates further, as when Merlin stabbed her with a sword, she laughed at him and used a spell to trap him in the Crystal Cave. Later on, Percival stabbed her in the back as well, but she was still able to fight him and Gwaine and knock them unconscious. However, when stabbed by Excalibur, Morgana could not recover from the wound; due to the blade's ability to kill magical creatures.

Immortality
As confirmed by Balinor, creatures born with magic, like Morgana and Merlin, never die, thus Morgana's spirit lives eternally even after her mortal body was wounded.

Near-Death Experiences

 * Series 1
 * The Mark of Nimueh: She, along with Arthur and Merlin pursued the Afanc and would be killed, had it not been for the latter's magic.
 * A Remedy to Cure All Ills: When Edwin Muirden used the Elanthia Beetles on her as a plan to become the court's physician.
 * The Beginning of the End: She was almost stabbed in the back by Arthur, when she tried to help Mordred flee Camelot, although Arthur did not know it was actually her doing.
 * Series 2
 * The Nightmare Begins: She accidentally set her room on fire with her magic.
 * In the same episode, she was almost killed by a group of Serkets.
 * The Witchfinder: When Aredian took her hostage using a sword.
 * The Fires of Idirsholas: A Medhir knight was about to behead her, but he probably recognised her as an ally of Morgause and did not hurt her.
 * In the same episode, she was poisoned by Merlin.
 * Series 3
 * The Crystal Cave: Merlin accidentally caused her to fall from the stairs, which gravely injured her and would kill her, had he not later healed her with the dragon's breath.
 * The Coming of Arthur: When she used powerful magic and caused the ceiling to crush down. It was later revealed that her body was not found, which means she somehow managed to escape.
 * Series 4
 * A Servant of Two Masters: When Merlin used powerful magic and hit her with a tornado spell. It was later revealed that she actually made it to the spirit world, but Morgause brought her back to life, giving her a coin of necromancy in a deleted scene.
 * The Sword in the Stone: A knight stabbed her from behind and she also took a direct hit from Merlin's magic. She was almost killed but Aithusa brought her back to life.
 * Series 5
 * Arthur's Bane: Mordred stabbed her side before she tried to kill Arthur.
 * Another's Sorrow: Merlin knocked Morgana unconscious in a cave that was collapsing, leaving her to die.
 * With All My Heart: Mordred telekinetically through her backwards, with enough force to knock her out cold.
 * The Diamond of the Day: Merlin stabs Morgana with a sword.
 * He also later uses a lightning spell on her.


 * The Diamond of the Day:Percival and Gwaine also stab Morgana with a sword behind her back.

Behind The Scenes

 * Katie McGrath is officially credited for all episodes of Merlin, though of the current total of 58 episodes, she has not appeared in seven. These include: The Lady of the Lake, The Last Dragonlord, Love in the Time of Dragons, Aithusa, Lamia, A Herald of the New Age, The Death Song of Uther Pendragon and The Disir.
 * Before it was revealed that Uther was in fact her father, it was speculated that because Morgana was a 'daughter' of Gorlois that her surname was 'Le Fay' like her historical counterpart Morgan Le Fay. It has not been confirmed that Gorlois' family name was Le Fay.
 * Katie McGrath almost didn't get the role of Morgana. Because she and co-star Colin Morgan (Merlin) are both Irish, the casting directors didn't want two actors with the same accent and they were ready to decline Katie if she couldn't do an English accent only Colin beat her to it and they both got their roles.

In The Legend
Morgan Le Fay is said to be the daughter of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, and of his wife, Igraine. Morgan had two sisters Morgause and Elaine. Igraine also bore King Uther Pendragon a son who became the legendary King of Camelot. Morgan and her sisters were schooled in a nunnery after the death of her father, upon which Igraine became wife of Uther Pendragon. Morgan is usually portrayed as a wicked enchantress who learned her initial mysterious skills from her corrupt education in an early Christian nunnery. Later, Merlin helped her to extend her magical powers. Morgan became queen by marrying King Uriens of Gorre, a section of Ancient Britain following the departure of the Romans. They had a son, Sir Ewain, but she actually kept several lovers behind her husband’s back. Uriens greatly supported Arthur, which just made her hate Arthur even more. Morgan fell in love with the King's nephew, Giomar. Guinevere, however, put an end to the romance. She even sent the Green Knight to Camelot in order to frighten Guinevere to death.

Morgan stole his enchanted sword Excalibur and its magic scabbard while Arthur laid wounded in the nunnery after battle against the Saxons in 415 AD. (The wearer of the scabbard would lose no blood, thanks to its magic, no matter how seriously he was wounded.) She had the sword and scabbard replaced with exact copies, which lacked enchantments. Morgan presented her lover, Sir Accolon, with the true Excalibur and magic scabbard, and told him that if he killed a particular knight the next day, he would become her husband and the next king of Britain. According to Morgan, this unnamed knight’s death would make it possible for her to kill King Arthur and her husband, King Uriens. Accolon fought the knight the next day, unaware his armoured opponent was really King Arthur himself. Armed with Excalibur, Accolon seriously wounded King Arthur, who nevertheless fought back with great skill and courage. Yet, Arthur might have been doomed had not Merlin’s lover, the Lady of the Lake used her powers to force Accolon to drop Excalibur. Knowing that Accolon’s sword was the true Excalibur, Arthur seized it and quickly defeated Accolon, who then realised Morgan’s plot. Horrified to learn his opponent was King Arthur himself, Accolon repented before dying of his injuries. Until now, Arthur had fully trusted his half-sister Morgan, but now he swore a vengeance upon her. He regretted giving her a castle of her own, but he could not take it back without laying a siege. Thereafter, Ewain thwarted Morgan’s attempt to murder her husband King Uriens. She assuaged the youth’s fears and made him keep it a secret on promises to restrain her treachery. Learning of Accolon’s death and the failure of her plot against Arthur, Morgan became enraged and herself stole the magic scabbard herself and hurled it into a lake. She then returned to Gorre intent on further harm on Arthur. Morgan attempted to make Alisander le Orphelin, the nephew of King Mark, her paramour and even tried vamping Lancelot, preferring to keep only one lover at a time. After the death of Sir Hemison, she kept Lancelot imprisoned in her castle and tried to get him to share a bed with her. The tryst might have been to tarnish his sterling image, turn him against Arthur or just because he loved Genevieve. Morgan existed at the center of a network of enchantresses and female villains. King Mark appealed to her and the Queen of Norgales to set the country afire against wicked knights such as Sir Malgrin and Breuse Sans Pitie. Morgan’s nephew, Mordred, began working with her for the first time in sharing their treachery against King Arthur. Morgan’s many attempts to bring ruin upon Camelot were continually thwarted by Arthur, Merlin, Sir Percia of Scandia who was the original Black Knight and the Knights of the Round Table.

After some years without keeping contact with King Arthur, Morgan was believed by Arthur to be deceased, but she had actually retired in secret to her castle near Tauroc, Wales after her ordeal with Chthon. Arthur chanced upon her during a hunting trip and spent a week as her guest as she showed him the murals of Lancelot which she had painted in his room as her guest, possibly to get in good fervour with him. The two were immediately reconciled. In late life she moved to the Isle of Avalon, and it was to here that she and her allies, the Queens of Northgalis and the Wastelands, took her wounded brother to be healed after the Battle of Camlann.

Etymology
Morgana is a variant of Morgan (Welsh, Old English), and the meaning is "circling sea or great brightness; bright or white sea dweller".

Trivia

 * Morgana is the only main character who has never encountered Kilgharrah.
 * Morgana is the first and last character onscreen in Series 4.
 * Of the Main Characters, Morgana has made the fewest Episode Appearances with 49 of a Total 57.
 * Morgana is the only character who is a villain in every series.
 * Morgana is the only character to have appeared in an interactive show named after her (The Quest for Morgana) that aired between Series 2 and 3 in order to give the audience a hint of her whereabouts.
 * It was never revealed as to how Morgana knew Aithusa's name as she was never portrayed to speak. It could be likely that Aithusa did know how to speak prior to both their capture at the hands of Sarrum.

Memorable Quotes

 * "I just don't think that chopping someone's head off is a cause for celebration" - to Uther
 * "Sadly, the age of gallantry seems to dead. You look around and all you see are small men, not big enough to fill their armour. There's not one of them that's able to stand for what is right"-to Arthur
 * "It's not every day a girl gets to save her prince." - to Arthur
 * "And what kind of king would Camelot want? One that would risk his life to save that of a lowly servant? Or one who does what his father tells him to?" - to Arthur
 * "And killing things mends a broken heart?" - to Arthur
 * "What if magic isn't something you choose? What if it chooses you?" - to Merlin
 * "In my experience, you don't need any help looking like a fool" - to Arthur
 * "Brings back memories of when I used to beat you?" - to Arthur
 * "You're weak, Annis.  As I thought you were." - to Annis
 * "Please Merlin, you must beware! This is only the beginning." - to Merlin
 * "Now I know who I really am and there's nothing to be scared of" - to Merlin
 * "Because you're an arrogant fool. You were deaf and blind to the very needs of the people you profess to serve and protect! The people will tolerate it no longer!" - to Uther
 * "You don't have magic Merlin. How can you hope to understand?" - to Merlin
 * "And you, Uther Pendragon...you will go to hell" - to Uther
 * "It has just begun!" - to Merlin
 * "Yes, magic made who I am, but so did you Uther Pendragon." - to Uther
 * "If I am to die by your hand then you can at least tell me who you are. Did Arthur send you? But we're no friends of his. Magic has no place in Camelot, it never will. Not until I take the throne. Please spare me. I only want what's rightfully mine." - to Emrys
 * "Prepare the horses! We're going for a hunt."
 * "Not even Emrys can save you now."- to Arthur.
 * "You have made perfectly clear how you feel about me and my kind. You're not as different from Uther as you would like to think." - to Arthur
 * "Don't think I don't understand loyalty just because I have no one left to be loyal too" - to Merlin
 * "For two long years I've saw nothing but darkness. Patience and I are old friends." to Ruadan
 * "Your bravery is only matched by your stupidity." to Arthur
 * "Good morning, my lady. I thought we could play a little game." to Guinevere