Kilgharrah

The Great Dragon
Also known as:	Kilgharreh
Biographical Information
Race:	Dragon
Gender:	Male
Family:	Deceased.
Statistics
Affiliation:	The Old Religion Merlin Dragonlords
Enemies:	Uther Pendragon
Behind the Scenes
Portrayer:	John Hurt (voice)
List of Appearances:	Full List of Appearances

The Great Dragon  (also known as Kilgharreh in Series 2) is a mighty dragon who was imprisoned and chained in a cave beneath Camelot by Uther Pendragon at the conclusion of The Great Purge. He served as a mentor to Merlin, telling the boy of his destiny to protect Prince Arthur Pendragon and help him become king of Albion (The Dragon's Call; The Mark of Nimueh).

Profile

Near the conclusion of Uther's purge of magic, the King of Camelot approached a Dragonlord named Balinor and asked him to bring the Great Dragon, the last dragon, to him so he could make peace with it. But after Balinor did so, Uther had the Dragon imprisoned to serve as an example of what happens to those who are magic.

The Dragon was then imprisoned beneath Camelot for twenty years. During the final year of his imprisonment, Balinor's son Merlin arrived in Camelot. The Dragon called to Merlin and told him of his destiny to help Arthur unite Albion and return magic to the land.

The Dragon gives Merlin advice on how to solve challenging problems and even directly helps him at times. However, Merlin did not always do as the Dragon advised. For example, Merlin decided to save the druid boy Mordred despite the Dragon saying he would eventually kill Arthur (The Beginning of the End). He also decided to help save Uther when he overheard Morgana conspiring to kill him, despite the Dragon's advice to let him be killed (To Kill the King).

The Dragon appears to possess foresight, evidenced by his claims regarding Arthur's destiny, and his prophecies concerning Mordred's role in Arthur's future (The Beginning of the End). When Arthur's dead uncle was resurrected as a wraith, the Dragon aided in the creation of a sword capable of destroying Tristan (Excalibur).

Merlin and the Dragon had a major falling out during the time when Arthur was dying from a Questing Beast's bite. In order to save Arthur's life, Merlin was told by the Dragon that he had to go the the Isle of the Blessed and accept the price. Merlin found out the price was another person would have to die in Arthur's place. Merlin agreed to sacrifice his own life, but Nimueh, an Old Religion high priestess, took his mother instead. Merlin went to the Dragon and accused him of tricking him. The Dragon agreed with this, telling him it is Merlin's destiny to protect Arthur until he claims his throne, at which time the Old Religion will be allowed to resurface and he would be free. Realising that was all the Dragon ever cared about, Merlin swore he would never allow him to be free. Angered, the Dragon tried to kill him. Merlin conjured a shield and escaped. The discord appears to have increased due to Merlin's killing of Nimueh (Le Morte d'Arthur).

Despite Merlin's vow to never return to him, Merlin does return for the Dragon's advice and is forced to promise to free the dragon some day, for the knowledge of how to defeat Cornelius Sigan who has conquered mortaility (The Curse of Cornelius Sigan) .

Merlin sought the Dragon again when Morgana's magic began to reveal itself and she became terrified. Merlin wanted to know where the Druids were so Morgana could seek their help. But the Dragon said it would be best if Morgana, who he confirmed was a witch, never knew the full extent of her powers, and refused to aid Merlin if he was planning to aid her. Despite the Dragon reminding Merlin of the consequences of his ignoring his advice in the past, Merlin defiantly chose to help Morgana (The Nightmare Begins).

Merlin later returned to the Dragon after Uther had been enchanted into marrying a troll, a happening that the Dragon found very funny. The Dragon gave Merlin the knowledge on how to break the troll's spell, and also reminded Merlin of the deal he had made with him (Beauty and the Beast: Part Two).

Later, Merlin used magic for his amusement and a villager witnessed it, though she didn't know he had done it. She reported it to Uther, who sent for the dreaded witchfinder Aredian. Aredian, after searching for any sign of magic, pubically accused Merlin of being a sorcerer, but Gaius took the blame. Merlin went to the Dragon for advice on how to help Gaius. At first, the Dragon rebuked him for wanting to reveal himself, saying Aredian would simply kill him along with Gaius. When he saw how distressed Merlin was, the Dragon, in honest regret, infromed Merlin that he couldn't help him because he didn't know how to. Merlin later exposed Aredian's treachery and framed him for sorcery, which resulted in the witchfinder's death and Gaius' freedom (The Witchfinder).

The Dragon later advised Merlin when Arthur was enchanted into loving a princess, saying that only the one Arthur truly loves could break the enchantment (Sweet Dreams).

During Merlin's next visit, the Dragon asked him to uphold his promise and set him free. Merlin said he would, but only when he knew Camelot was safe. Merlin asked the Dragon about a crystal that Morgana had stolen. The Dragon said the crystal only works for those who can use its power, but for those who can it can tell the future. He then told Merlin why he had warned him about Mordred and Morgana: prophecy speaks of an evil alliance between them. Sometime later, Merlin got his hands on the crystal and saw a future where the Dragon attacked Camelot once he was free. This has clearly shaken Merlin, and he is now torn between upholding his promise and protecting Camelot. (The Witch's Quickening)

Merlin, despite his vision of the future, later fulfilled his oath to the Dragon and used a sword stolen from one of the Knights of Medhir to free him. This, however, would have dire consequences for Camelot: the Dragon, full of rage, attacked the kingdom. Merlin was later forced to find the last Dragonlord so the Great Dragon could be defeated before he destroyed Camelot. Merlin found Balinor, a Dragonlord who was also his father. Balinor reffered to the Dragon as "Kilgharrah", implying this either the beast's name, or a generic word for "dragon". Shortly before his death, Balinor said the powers of Dragonlords were passed on genetically from father to son, and therefore Merlin now had the power to command the Dragon. Merlin managed to stop the Dragon in his tracks after he attacked Arthur and his men, but showed mercy by banishing him from Camelot forever. The Dragon commented that Merlin's attitude towards him was a sign of the man he would one day become and, before departing, told Merlin he was sure their paths would cross again.

Personality

The Great Dragon acted as a mentor to Merlin and was very wise, though he tended to speak in riddles which sometimes irritated Merlin. The Dragon appeared to be able to see into the future, though it's also possible he learnt of Merlin's destiny from someone else who could see into the future or another source. Either way, the Dragon possessed great knowledge of the future and Merlin found his advice useful, though he didn't always follow it.

During the last episode of Series 1, the Great Dragon revealed that he was only helping Merlin in order to gain his freedom. Although the Dragon acted mostly for selfish reasons, he was capable of thinking for others and felt genuinely sorry for Merlin when he told him he would be unable to help him save Gaius (The Witchfinder). In Series 1, Merlin considered the Dragon a friend but became a lot less trusting after the Dragon revealed his true intentions.

The Dragon also possessed a slightly strange sense of humour and usually displayed this humour at inappropriate times. For example when Merlin told him that Uther Pendragon's new wife was a troll the Dragon went into a fit of laughter while Merlin couldn't see the funny side of it. He also laughed about Morgana when Merlin told him that she had stolen an important crystal, probably because this was proof of his claiming Morgana was a witch.