Mordred

"The love that binds us is more important than the power we wield..."

- Mordred to Merlin

Mordred was a druid who formed a close bond with Morgana when she, Arthur and Merlin saved his life as a young boy. Mordred is the first person to call Merlin by his druid name "Emrys". When Kilgharrah foresaw that Mordred would be responsible for the death of Arthur Pendragon, the dragon warned Merlin not to help the young druid but he could not allow the boy to die and helped Arthur rescue Mordred. Later as a young man, Mordred had to choose between Arthur and Morgana, choosing Arthur because he believed in the good inside him. Arthur knighted Mordred a Knight of Camelot, but Merlin still did not trust him. When Mordred's love interest Kara was captured and executed by Arthur, Mordred decided to turn against Camelot and ally himself with Morgana, revealing Merlin's true identity to her. Mordred succeeded in mortally wounding Arthur during the Battle of Camlann, but was ultimately killed by him in the process.

Prophecies
Kilgharrah had foreseen that Mordred would become a deadly enemy of both Merlin and Arthur, and according to his prophecy, Arthur would die at Mordred's hand. Nimueh is also implied to have foreseen this future because she told Arthur, "It is not your destiny to die at my hand" (The Poisoned Chalice).

Arrival in Camelot
After his master is arrested by the Knights of Camelot, Mordred uses his telepathy to call Merlin for help. Merlin helps him escape the guards and takes him to Morgana, who helps Merlin hide the boy. Uther declares that anyone caught hiding the boy will be executed along with the child. Mordred's arm was wounded by the guards when they chased him through the town, and he fell sick after the wound became infected. Although Merlin tries to treat the wound, he is unsuccessful and is forced to tell Gaius that he and Morgana are hiding the boy from Uther. Gaius agrees to treat the boy, but will not help them return Mordred to the Druids. Once Mordred recovers, Merlin, Morgana and Gwen try to sneak him out of Camelot; but Morgana is caught by Arthur and they are taken back to the castle. They try for a second time to sneak Mordred back to his people, this time with Arthur's help. Merlin almost allows Mordred to be caught during the second attempt to sneak him out of Camelot due to the Dragon's prophecy, stating that Mordred is destined to kill Arthur, but eventually decides against this and helps him escape (The Beginning of the End). Arthur, with Merlin and Morgana's help, manages to take Mordred back to Iseldir and the Druids where the boy finally reveals his name.

Morgana later mentions Merlin's help in Mordred's escape as her motivation for accompanying Merlin to Ealdor (The Moment of Truth).

Life as a Druid
"Now I can take care of you. Like you did me."

- Mordred to Morgana When Morgana's magic starts to reveal itself, she goes to the Druids for help. Mordred informs his people who she is and he takes care of her. But when Uther's soldiers raid the camp, Morgana is 'rescued' and Merlin sees Mordred surrounded by several soldiers. Using a single spell Mordred knocks over, and possibly kills, the soldiers and escapes with the rest of his people. Merlin is visibly shaken by what he witnessed Mordred do (The Nightmare Begins).

Aligning with Bandits
"The prophecies speak of an alliance of Mordred and Morgana. United in evil."

- Kilgharrah to Merlin

Mordred later sides with a group of bandits led by a sorcerer named Alvarr. Mordred and Alvarr sneak into Camelot where they visit Morgana and persuade her to steal the Crystal of Neahtid. Morgana steals the crystal and delivers it to the camp where Mordred is pleased to see her. Back in Camelot, Merlin visits the Great Dragon and he is told of an ancient prophecy foretelling an evil alliance between Mordred and Morgana. When Arthur and the soldiers attack the camp, the bandits are killed apart from Mordred, who escapes, and Alvarr, who is captured and later freed by Morgana. Merlin tries to stop Mordred from getting away by causing a branch to elongate, tripping him, while Mordred uses magic on two spears to kill the two guards chasing him. Following this, Mordred looks over at Merlin and speaks to him in his mind, saying: "I shall never forgive this, Emrys, and I shall never forget". Then, he runs out of sight into the woods (The Witch's Quickening).

The Return
"Arise, Sir Mordred, knight of Camelot."

- Arthur to Mordred

Mordred sees that his ally, Ragnor, and his men are about to kill Merlin and Arthur, he prevents them from this, saying Morgana should decide their fate. He then helps Arthur get up, expressing his gratitude for the latter saving his life. When Merlin recognizes him and says his name, he smirks, shocking the two men. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Mordred has been revealed as Arthur's demise in a vision shown to Merlin.

Mordred and Ragnor take Arthur and Merlin and other slaves to Morgana in Ismere. Mordred acts somewhat kind to Arthur and Merlin as he claims that he owes Arthur what he calls a 'life debt'. When Arthur and Merlin escape Arthur spares Mordred's life, and he and Ragnor continue on to Morgana. Morgana recognises him instantly and she acts toward him in a way she hadn't acted to anyone in a long time - showing kindness and softness. But later, whilst Mordred was feasting with Morgana, Mordred reveals to Morgana that Arthur was previously, only days before, in his and Ragnor's 'grasp'. This angers Morgana, she begins shouting extremely violent slurs; Mordred tries to calm her down, but she doesn't flinch.

Morgana, with Mordred at her side, corners Arthur, and Morgana holds him at sword-point. Threatening to kill Arthur, whilst Merlin cannot do anything. Arthur then tells Morgana that she was once good and they were once friends, but Morgana shows no signs of mercy. This seemingly persuades Mordred to turn on Morgana to save Arthur. Mordred stabs Morgana in the back with a knife; it is unknown if his intentions were to kill her, but Morgana falls to the ground, apparently dying. Arthur takes Mordred to Camelot where he is made a Knight of Camelot for saving Arthur's life (Arthur's Bane).

Near Death Experience
"I can't ignore what I saw. Gaius, Mordred is destined to play a part in Arthur's death."

- Merlin to Gaius

In Camelot, Arthur is impressed with the young man's fighting skill and grows quite fond of him. Merlin, however, remains deeply suspicious of Mordred. The other knights accept Mordred and treat him as one of their own. Arthur tells Mordred that he is now ready to accompany him and that he will join the patrol to the White Mountains. Mordred is honoured and tells Arthur that he will not regret it. After he leaves, Arthur mentions to Guinevere that he thinks Mordred will make a fine knight. When the sorcerer Osgar is killed, Mordred sees Merlin building a grave for Osgar, even though sorcerers are not permitted to have marked graves. Mordred remarks that "we go unmarked in death as we do in life". On several occasions, despite Merlin's continued distrust of him, Mordred aids Merlin and never reveals his magic.

When one of the Disir badly wounds Mordred, Merlin refuses to heal him despite Gaius' pleas. Arthur asks the Disir to save Mordred but they demand he return the kingdom to the Old Religion. When Arthur refuses to accept magic into Camelot he believes Mordred's life is forfeit, yet Mordred is seen to be alive and well when Arthur and Merlin return to Camelot. Merlin realizes that in refusing to allow magic Arthur has forced the Disir to save Mordred so that he can bring about Arthur's demise. Mordred is training with Arthur, with Merlin and Gaius watching from a window. Mordred defeats Arthur and Arthur congratulates him by lifting him up, joyful that the young man is fully recovered (The Disir).

As a Knight of Camelot
Mordred, along with the other knights, were at Arthur's coronation. Mordred was unsure why the king was so sad but Elyan told him that its because of his father's death, he was also at the meeting at the Round Table and he startled when the door slammed open (The Death Song of Uther Pendragon).

In a deleted scene, Mordred arrives at Arthur's chambers and asks why he is not accompanying him and the other knights to Nemeth, Arthur tells him that he is not ready, Mordred thanks him for his honesty but is then reassured when Arthur tells him he will be one of the best (Another's Sorrow).

Mordred was present among the other knights when Elyan was cremated after giving his life to save Gwen from the Dark Tower (The Dark Tower).

Mordred later hunts down the 'intruder' in Camelot. Mordred later appears when Arthur tries the chemist, Sindri (A Lesson in Vengeance).

He also is the leader of the manhunt on the sorceress Finna. Only he knew that it was Merlin who was escaping with her and kept Merlin's secret hidden by telling Arthur that it was too dark to see the other person (The Kindness of Strangers).

Restoring Guinevere
When Merlin and Gaius take the sleeping enchanted Gwen out of Camelot, Mordred finds out. He does not tell any of the knights but follows Merlin and Arthur and intends to help them. When Merlin and Arthur are trapped he saves them and helps them take Gwen to summon the White Goddess. However, Morgana appears there she sends Aithusa to attack them and breathe fire on them. Morgana attacks Merlin and Mordred with magic. Merlin escapes, but Mordred falls unconscious.

Morgana confronts Mordred about his betrayal and how Arthur would no longer tolerate him if he knew that one of his knights had magic. Mordred accuses Morgana of how much she has changed since his childhood days and hopes that one day she will find her warm and caring heart. This emotionally breaks Morgana, which allows the druid Knight of Camelot defeat her with his own magic. After Merlin disguised as Dolma heals Guinevere from the Teine Diaga, Mordred realises that it was Merlin's work and promises him that he will not tell Arthur about it or anyone else in Camelot (With All My Heart).

Fall from Grace
After a hunting trip, the knights find many of their men dead where an arms shipment was attacked by Saxons. Mordred sees someone escaping, chases him, and nearly kills him but finds the person is actually Kara, a love interest of Mordred. He allows her to escape. When Arthur and the other knights catch up Mordred lies and says that it was only a deer. Arthur believes him, however Merlin's distrust of Mordred grows as he knows Mordred was lying and that it could have been a Saxon whom Mordred spared. The druid knight later breaks into Gaius' chambers when he is absent and steals one of his healing potions to go and visit Kara and treat her wound. They are happy to see each other, but the druid girl demands to know why is he a Knight of Camelot and why is he loyal to Arthur. Mordred claims that Arthur is a much better man than Uther and once saved his life, but Kara rejects any possibility of goodness in Arthur. When Merlin accuses Mordred of letting a Saxon escape and asks where has he been, Mordred tells Merlin about Kara and begs him not to tell Arthur about her. Merlin agrees, despite his distrust of Mordred.

Later on, Arthur and Merlin revisit the area of the attack, and Arthur discovers Mordred's footprints leading to Kara's hiding place and Merlin is unable to distract him. Kara attacks the king with a dagger, but thanks to Merlin's magic she is stopped, caught and brought to Camelot. Mordred is initially furious with Merlin thinking he was betrayed but soon realizes what happened. In court, Kara vengefully declares that she despises Arthur and is proud to be an enemy of Camelot. Arthur sentences the girl to death. Mordred pleads with Arthur for her life, but Arthur still finds her guilty of treason punishable by execution. Mordred then helps her escape, and Merlin warns Arthur about it. Arthur, Merlin and the knights surround the couple. Mordred begs the others to let the girl go, but they don't listen. Kara has callously murdered a guard during the escape and telepathically advises Mordred to attack his "friends" with magic. With no other choice he prepares to do it, but Percival knocks him unconscious and both druids are arrested with Kara sentenced to die and Mordred's fate to be decided later. Merlin convinces Arthur to give Kara another chance but she is bent on the destruction of Camelot and hanged. When Kara is executed, Mordred screams with rage and frees himself from Camelot's dungeon. Having lost all faith in Camelot and Arthur, he returns to Morgana to form an alliance with her to bring about Arthur's downfall. He apologizes for his attacks on her by revealing Merlin's true identity to her, whom she knew by his druid name, Emrys, as destined to bring Morgana's downfall (The Drawing of the Dark).

Alliance with Morgana
The Garrison in Stoul is attacked by Morgana and Mordred with the Saxons, the two use their magic to fire a fireball at the Garrison and eventually no one is left alive and they make it a fortress. When Eira meets with Morgana to inform her that Merlin is going to the Valley of the Fallen Kings, Mordred tells Morgana about the crystal cave. In the White Mountains, Mordred and Morgana discuss plans to attack and surprise Arthur, Mordred states that he will personally choose the best warriors to flank Arthur. For the battle, Morgana forges Mordred's sword in Aithusa's breath, making it impossible for anyone to survive its touch. Mordred is later seen in a vision leading the Saxons into the hidden path, he then joins the big battle (The Diamond of the Day: Part One).

The Final Battle, Death and The Prophecy
"You gave me no choice."

- Mordred to Arthur as he kills him

During the final battle, Mordred is seen fighting and cutting down many Camelot soldiers, showing no mercy to his former comrades. When he is surrounded by many Camelot knights, Morgana aids him using magic. When Arthur is tending to a fellow knight, he hears a Saxon behind him and draws his sword but, seeing that it is Mordred, he hesitates, allowing Mordred to impale him with his sword. As Arthur falls, Mordred tells Arthur that he gave him no choice, only for Arthur to get up and impale Mordred with Excalibur. Unlike Arthur, Mordred dies almost instantly, smirking to Arthur as he collapses onto the ground. After the battle, Morgana buries Mordred, placing his sword by his grave and vowing that they will get their revenge. Upon inspection, a shard of the sword is chipped off, the piece that is embedded in Arthur's heart. After Arthur dies, it appears that the prophecy that was told when Mordred was just a young boy became true (The Diamond of the Day: Part Two).

Personality
"He's a likeable boy"

- Gaius on Mordred

At first, Mordred seemed to be a shy and innocent child. He normally spoke telepathically and rarely communicated with his voice. Morgana even started to think he was mute, because he never spoke a word. He was frightened whilst trapped in Camelot, which could explain his selective mutism. When his father was executed, Mordred sensed it even though he had not actually seen what had happened, manifesting his psychic abilities and his emotional bond to his father. Nonetheless, Mordred revealed a dark and vengeful personality when he told Merlin that he would never forgive or forget him after Merlin led Arthur and his knights to Mordred's camp and tried to stop him from escaping. He had a close bond with Morgana, who was the only person besides Merlin and a few other magic users who was able to hear him speak telepathically. He was magically talented, as both Kilgarrah and Alvarr believed he would be capable of using the Crystal of Neahtid - even as a child.

As an adult, Mordred rarely spoke telepathically, even to Merlin, although he spoke to Kara telepathically (The Drawing of the Dark). He was shown to be more confident than he had been as a child since he spoke commandingly to the men who captured Merlin and Arthur. He had changed into a good, honourable and loyal person, showing no hostility towards Merlin or Arthur and although he seemed to still have a bond with Morgana, he also realised that she had turned into a monster. Mordred eventually chose to save Arthur's life and stabbed Morgana, believing that the latter had gone too far; he also promised to keep Merlin's magic a secret. He was also very calm and connected, shown when Morgana aggressively reacts to hearing that Arthur was still alive, but Mordred remains calm and self-controlled with surprising ease.

Mordred no longer calls Merlin by his Druid name Emrys. Gaius stated that Mordred was a likable boy and even Merlin admitted that he liked him although he didn't trust him. Mordred showed a willingness to sacrifice himself and threw himself in front of a Disir's staff intended for Arthur. It is also shown that Mordred came to respect his fellow knights who, like Merlin, treated him like a little brother. He seemed friendly with Elyan, who explained to him why Arthur was upset during the celebration to celebrate his birth, his coronation and much to Arthur's displeasure, Uther's death.

However, Mordred's faith in Arthur and Camelot was shattered after the imprisonment and death of his beloved Kara. Believing that Arthur had betrayed him and metaphorically spat on their friendship, Mordred turned against the king and joined Morgana once more. Wielding a blade forged by the young but powerful Dragon Aithusa, Mordred dedicated himself to Morgana in the hopes of avenging Kara and killing Arthur, the very man whom had saved his life many years earlier and whom Mordred had almost died to protect. Mordred did have some emotion towards Arthur as, when he stabs the latter, he snapped that Arthur gave him no choice, seconds before Arthur killed him.

However, Mordred can be seen as unreasonable and blinded by his love for Kara. Even after she proudly admitted to trying to kill Arthur and committing the acts she was accused of, and after she killed a Knight of Camelot in front of him, he still refused to believe that Camelot's laws should find her guilty. When Kara was given a final chance to atone for her crimes and pridefully refused to take it, Mordred was convinced that Arthur and Merlin were unjust and that they should be held responsible for death.

Abilities
Mordred, even at a young age, was magically brilliant enough to master the use of the Crystal of Neahtid; both Alvarr and Kilgarrah acknowledged his ability to wield said crystal. He could cast a stunning spell strong enough to kill off the soldiers that were sent to rescue Morgana with a single hit, visibly unnerving Merlin, and to escape from death at the hands of the Camelot Guards who killed the other bandits after being knocked down by Merlin, he levitated and hurled several spears at the guards, killing them. Although as a young man Mordred rarely used magic since he felt he still needed to hide it, even though Uther Pendragon was dead, to the point he did not even use telepathy anymore, despite the fact that only those who had magic could hear him, Mordred's powers had clearly grown considerably. Although he claimed not to be as powerful as Morgana, he was still able to easily knock her out with a single non verbal stunning spell moments later when he had her off-guard (With All My Heart). Upon becoming enraged and deeply hurt because of Kara's death, he was able to cause many objects, such as a table, in the dungeon where he was locked, to vibrate violently and was able to use his scream to cause the prison door to the cell to be knocked off its hinges (The Drawing of the Dark). Later, alongside Morgana, he was able to cast a powerful spell to summon a small meteor to help in the siege.

Mordred was later made into a Knight of Camelot, after saving Arthur's life from Morgana. During his training with Arthur and his knights, Mordred quickly proved to be an outstandingly talented swordsman and Arthur was highly impressed by his skill, with him managing to fight the king on equal footing and even beat him in their training sessions, although Arthur clearly held back as it was a friendly spar. Although he was exceptionally young for a Knight of the Round Table, Mordred was one of the most lethal warriors in Camelot. As shown by the vision Merlin saw, Mordred had the potential to become so skilled in swordplay that by the time he turned against Arthur, he had became capable of fighting the king as an equal and striking him down, according to a vision that Merlin had seen. Indeed, during the Siege, he not only killed several Camelot soldiers with ease but he would also manage to fulfill his destiny and strike Arthur to his death, although he was soon killed by Arthur in return - it must also be noted that Arthur did briefly hesitate to harm Mordred, which likely aided by Mordred's ability to kill him. (The Diamond of the Day).

Name

 * Mordred is a masculine name of Latin origin. The meaning of the name is "painful".
 * Other spellings of Mordred include Modred, Medrawd, Mordryd, Medraut, and Medrod.

Trivia

 * Of all the characters in the show, Mordred is the only character to have been recast, with Asa Butterfield playing the role of the child Mordred and Alexander Vlahos taking over the role as the teenage/adult Mordred.
 * Mordred's first lines were a telepathic plea for help. His last words could be considered a plea for redemption.

Appearances

 * Series 1
 * The Poisoned Chalice
 * The Beginning of the End
 * The Moment of Truth
 * Le Morte d'Arthur


 * Series 2
 * The Nightmare Begins
 * The Witch's Quickening


 * Series 5
 * Arthur's Bane: Part One
 * Arthur's Bane: Part Two
 * The Death Song of Uther Pendragon
 * Another's Sorrow (deleted scene only)
 * The Disir
 * The Dark Tower
 * A Lesson in Vengeance
 * The Hollow Queen
 * With All My Heart
 * The Kindness of Strangers
 * The Drawing of the Dark
 * The Diamond of the Day

Memorable Quotes

 * "My name is Mordred." - to Arthur
 * "Thank you, Emrys."- to Merlin
 * "Will we ever see her again?" - to Alvarr on Morgana
 * "Now I can take care of you like you did me." - to Morgana
 * "I shall never forgive this, Emrys, and I shall never forget!"- to Merlin
 * "You saved my life once, many years ago." - to Arthur
 * "You fear me, Emrys, don't you?" - to Merlin
 * "Don't be so quick to judge me." - to Merlin
 * "Everything I do you think the worst." - to Merlin
 * "The love that binds us is more important than the power we wield." - to Merlin
 * "Until then we go unmarked in death as in life." - to Merlin
 * "I hope that one day you will find the love and compassion that used to fill your heart." - to Morgana
 * "This time you've gone too far! You will pay Merlin!" - to Merlin
 * "I know where Emrys is. Camelot. And I also know his true name. It is Merlin." - to Morgana
 * "You gave me no choice." - his last words, speaking to Arthur

Legend
Mordred is known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and fatally wounded Arthur. In most versions of the legend, he is the nephew of Arthur and the son of his half-sister Morgause (or in earlier accounts Arthur's full sister Anna), either by her husband Lot or through an affair with Arthur himself. However he is first mentioned as falling in the same battle as Arthur though it doesn't say whether he and Arthur were on different sides.