Okay okay thinking about it, really thinking about it. My post from the other day (here) I said "you see him slip into this version of himself that is hardly recognisable, even when you compare him to his characterisation in S4" talking about S5 Merlin.
And then I really thought about, okay but what if say S1 Merlin was put into S5 Merlin's shoes, would he do any different? Would he?
Honestly, think about it.
Let's take him at the end of S1, where he was ready to give up his life for Arthur completely to save him. I mean sure he did that in S1Ep4, and tried to do it in S1Ep11, but Ep13 is where it really hits. He said goodbye after all.
This is a Merlin that was ready to tell Arthur about his magic, but was locked out of the possibility after Will lied as he died to protect him.
This is a Merlin who already tried to kill Mordred. Or well, let him die really. Not so much kill.
So let's look at lines from S1EP8 about Mordred dying vs Arthur dying, shall we? ...
"Would you let something terrible happen if it meant you'd stop something even worse happening in the future?"
"One of them's bad, really bad. And the other, it's...unthinkable."
"For once, you don't have to worry. I'm going to do nothing."
I cut out Gaius's replies because Merlin's lines are more important here. The 'something terrible' and the one that's 'bad, really bad' refer to letting Mordred be executed.
Meanwhile the 'something even worse' and 'it's unthinkable' refer to Arthur's death in the future.
He decides to do nothing as we know, he decides to let Mordred die, right up until Mordred pleads with him through telepathy.
That's the S1 Merlin we're dealing with.
Maybe if you took him from Ep1 or pre-S1 yeah he'd act differently, but S1 Merlin is as much defined by Arthur's impending death as S5 Merlin is.
The only difference is between them, S1 Merlin has destiny propelling him forward just a little more than S5 Merlin does. Whether by love or sheer dedication, S5 Merlin is even prepared to push aside his own freedom to save Arthur's life, just to condemn Mordred to death.
Would S1 Merlin do any different?
No, no I don't think he would. Not if he saw the vision, not if he saw Arthur fall.
S5 Merlin is defined by what he saw in the pool, he's defined by seeing what he believes is Arthur's death (not yet knowing he would survive for days after acquiring that wound)
If S1 Merlin, or even S2, 3, or 4 saw that same vision? I don't think they would do any differently.
Maybe he had more hope earlier on, sure, but that would be missing the way that S5 Merlin hopes. He tells both Mordred and Finna that it "won't always be like this". He hopes for freedom as much as S1 Merlin does, he's just more prepared to prioritise Arthur.
But isn't that what he's always done? S2, when he struggles to lie, but still does lie to Arthur about Morgause and his mother - He's thanked for reminding Arthur that sorcerers are evil.
The way he acts just before telling the lie is so similar to his expressions when he's about say "There can be no place for magic in Camelot" in S5Ep5.
That's the thing. I know I bang on about how S5 Merlin is so much darker and he is, he grew up after all. But I truly think if S1 Merlin saw that vision, nothing would have changed.
Nothing. Not even his actions with the Disir. Why would he, if there's a chance to try and kill Mordred Merlin always took it. Or tried to as much as he could.
S2 Merlin, put in S5 Merlin's shoes, might even edge closer to murder, that man tripped that kid up in the hope that two guards would kill him, and instead watched as Mordred killed the guards instead.
What, Merlin was innocent back in earlier seasons? That boy, that man, he was never innocent, man was down to murder from his very first day in Camelot.
So yes, S5 Merlin has ten years give or take of saving Arthur and setting aside his freedom, and that did indeed darken him and change him and mould him, but S1 Merlin already had enough experience that nothing would change.
Merlin was always going to condemn Mordred, he barely knew him early on after all, and later, he already had the knowledge of the vision.
Let's not forget that in S5, Merlin says he likes Mordred, but that he can't ignore what he saw. That he can't save the life of a man destined to kill Arthur, that he can't ignore what the dragon said. That Finna was right, he cannot trust Mordred, not after all he's been told.
I don't think any Merlin could do any differently if he was told all that, and shown Camlann.
There's no such thing as an innocent Merlin, not when it comes to Arthur's life. We can say he became too blinded, but in S4 he killed Agravaine, used dark magic to lock away Morgana's magic for a time, and took away Arthur's free will. S3 is a little harder, but he did command Kilgharrah against his will. S2 Merlin is easy, he tried to kill Mordred, and morbidly held Morgana as she was dying to the water he poisoned. S1 Merls is just people dying left and bloody right. Nimueh, god should we ever forget about the way he killed Nimueh. She fucking exploded.
All this to say, S5 Merlin didn't abandon his values because he already did that when they all first met Mordred. He just became more and more set, darker and darker over time. But if any version of himself was given that vision by the Vates, it's over, it's so over, because that's all it took.
To see Arthur fall, that's all it took. It's all it would ever take.
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As much as I've been loving Destiny 2, I have to say: the continuity issues are so. Bad. Seriously. As a new player, I've had trouble even keeping track of which characters are or aren't dead, and sometimes that depends on the particular activity I'm doing or which planet I'm on.
On top of that, the way Bungie sometimes removes entire campaigns means that characters will talk to me as if I've done all kinds of big crazy stuff when... bro, I've only been alive for, what, two months? I didn't do those things. I'm not the Guardian you're talking about. Even if I had the chance to ask for context and someone explained it to me, that wouldn't inject the memories into my brain.
I'm like an exo that's been reset and has to puzzle their past together from shattered pieces. I can't even feel sad for what I've lost if I don't know what I've lost, y'know? It's like hearing stories of a relative who died before I was born.
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