#UTHER COMMITTED AN ENTIRE GENOCIDE | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mintedemrys · 8 months

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The merlin and giaus parallel is so!!! Because it means that giaus never truly changed! He may talk about regrets he has about how he acted during the beginning of the purge but when he becomes a mentor to merlin he teaches merlin to act exactly the same way he did or pretty close, even when merlin did periodically speak out and say that he felt different (like coming clean to morgana about his magic so she wasn't alone) giaus made sure that merlin made the same mistakes he did because he never took the time to consider his loyalty to a king who tried to commit a genocide. It's just so wild to me because not only did giaus help turn his apprentice to a soldier who never strays from his king even when he know hes wrong, but giaus does this to the one person who's destined to bring magic back and act as a sort of protector to the magical community (as seen by how the druids treat him and the mythology around him). Gaius could never deal with the consequences of his actions, regardless of whatever reasons he took them for, and because of that he passed it down onto merlin and lead partially to his downfall. Idk I just think gaius is a really interesting look into a character who distances himself from his community who's being oppressed and how loyalty to your oppressor won't ever get you the freedom you want, especiallywhile theyre actively still opressing your community, like the person who actually does bring magic back was born into the working class!

*gestures furiously to all of this* ABSOLUTELY you are right and you should say it.

I have SO MANY feelings and thoughts about the way Gaius manipulates Merlin, seemingly unknowingly, all the time. Not only that, but he is also Merlin's biggest critic and doubter, despite everything Merlin has done and achieved in a remarkably short amount of time. I mean, Merlin was out there mastering forms of magic that Gaius claimed was "beyond anyone's ability" at least twice PER SEASON. And yet, Gaius was constantly, repeatedly saying "Oh I don't think you have the power for that, Merlin. I don't think you can do that, Merlin. You're not strong enough for that kind of magic, Merlin."

Like?????

But then, to others - notably to Arthur in 5x13, and to Alator in 4x07 - Gaius was calling him the most powerful sorcerer to have ever lived.

So clearly, Gaius believed somewhat in the prophecy, but he also made it as hard as possible for Merlin to actually achieve it, and to be entirely honest, I don't think Gaius wanted it to be fulfilled.

I think Gaius got comfortable with his job and his life in Camelot, denouncing magic until it was convenient, ignoring his community and his people until it mattered to him (see: Alice). Merlin's goals would have changed that, and I genuinely do not think Gaius wanted anything to change.

Look at the way Gaius insists, endlessly, that Arthur "isn't ready" for change, like becoming King or learning about Merlin's magic. Because Gaius isn't ready for a new king, nor is he ready to not be the only one to know about Merlin's magic. He's not ready to give up that small amount of control he has over Merlin by being his sole advisor (aside from Kilgharrah, but Gaius also warns Merlin frequently not to trust the word of a dragon blindly). He's not ready for magic to return to Camelot, because that would mean having to accept that the genocide against sorcerers was wrong, and I don't think Gaius actually believes that it was.

Again, he was a personal friend of Uther's, which means likely he was a personal friend of Ygraine's as well. We know from some small conversations in canon that Gaius did warn Uther of the consequences of creating life from magic, but I think Gaius fell very much into the same trap that Uther did after Ygraine died. They both turned their anger and their guilt out, towards magic and sorcerers, rather than inward and reflecting on their own failings. Gaius would have every reason to hate Uther for killing Ygraine, for putting Gaius's fiance on a list to be killed, for leaving Arthur motherless, but instead, Gaius gave up magic and turned his back on the magical community.

And to see that so neatly paralleled with Merlin and his relationship with Arthur, turning his own anger and guilt outward instead of reflecting on himself, joining in with Arthur's hate instead of standing up and putting an end to it when he undoubtedly has the power to do so.... it's just. Wow. Incredible.

#bbc merlin #merlin #gaius #meta #asks #anon #nonnie i am bowing at your feet this is so good

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themundanemudperson · 11 days

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5. Worst thing you think Uther ever did.

Breathe /j

In actuality? Gaslighting Arthur his entire fucking life. Like. He's been grooming Arthur to become what he sees as a perfect king, and he's lied to Arthur over and over

Also commiting genocide after his wife died. I hope Ygraine whoops his ass in the afterlife

#bbc merlin #asks #quo 💜#life's mundanity #uther pendragon

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rachel-dared-me · 1 year

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I’m rewatching Merlin for the first time in years and this might have already been said but

MORGANA DID NOTHING WRONG! JUSTICE FOR MORGANA

The fact that Merlin is actively supporting a regime that oppresses him makes me sad. Morganas entire goal is to overthrow a corrupt king, a king that committed and continues to commit genocide against people who practice magic. And we’re supposed to root for this guy and want to keep him in power?

Merlin knows that he would be killed if Uther knew he has powers. And instead he opposes Morgana in her endeavor to overthrow a tyrant?

I know later in the show she does take over and becomes a bit of a tyrant herself, but I still think her original motives in the earlier seasons are completely justified. They just made her more of a villain in season 4 to justify why Merlin opposes her. She’s the “darkness to his light” or whatever but I think that’s bullshit. Morgana was just trying to make a better world for herself and other magic users! And she believed her only option for that was to overthrow Uther. Can you blame her?

Also one could make the argument that BBCs Merlin is an analogy for the “Dont Ask Don’t Tell” mindset surrounding gay people in the 2000s-early 2010s, but I won’t get into all that here. Unless you want me to 👀

#Merlin #bbc merlin #morgana pendragon #morgana #king arthur #Morgana was hotter anyway #she was my gay awakening #she deserved to be queen #uther was a little bitch baby

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the-chickenshit-oddity · 1 year

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i read a fic that called gaius 'a good friend of uther' and, i had never thought about this before, but now i can't not. what kind of friendship is it when your buddy decides to commit genocide on your own people and you just stick around and help him out? for decades? and then someone shows up to help, destined to help and you're like 'don't say anything to anyone, no no don't do that either'? 'no no don't help the only person in this entire city who might understand and help you, we'll just give her stuff to knock her out every day and let her think she's going crazy'. 'oh whoops she went crazy, well, that's no fault of mine, is it?' anyway, i have decided that i don't like gaius much.

#stupid

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servingliesarchived · 2 years

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no one will ever convince that merlin, aged eighteen, didn’t develop a forever grudge against uther when the first thing he saw upon arriving in camelot has been him chopping someone’s head off for being magic, especially that nothing he found out about him later had been any better.

#𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 ; nerd central.#...... so like i said in my last post #i MIGHT be noncommittally rewatching the pilot #MAYBE #MAYBEEEEEE #it's on tv while i'm on my laptop #time to lose my mind #ABOUT MY POST:#seriously tho like he would have let him be as long as he had absolutely had to but other than that #committing so hard to making him live was pointless #i just don't think he should have lied about ygraine arthur deserved to know #anyway.#ok i'm not done yet #UTHER COMMITTED AN ENTIRE GENOCIDE

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sneakyboymerlin · 3 years

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The popularity of the antagonistic perspective on magic—that it’s a dangerous and corruptive force—amongst fans is honestly alarming, if only for the lack of critical thinking, especially with how similar it is to the traditionalist reasoning used to uphold bigotry.

Once again: there is no reason to target people who have magic. They are not inherently evil. Uther simply chose a convenient target for his misplaced blame. It is a form of religious persecution (magic is referred to as “The Old Religion” ffs) which results in genocide and the long-lasting demonization of innocent people and practices.

Murder and other crimes are already illegal in Camelot (unless a noble does it to a member of a lower class), so banning magic serves no purpose except to equate magic to evil and prevent people from using it for anything at all, good or bad. The law against murder already covers murders that are caused by magic, just like it covers murders that are caused by a knife or an arrow. Making magic itself illegal only makes innocent things by magic illegal since unethical actions are already prohibited by law.

It would be within reason to, say, ban certain spells that only serve the purpose of destruction, just like we might ban AK-47s to prevent shootings, yet we don’t ban every tool in existence. Why ban kitchen appliances in reaction to something entirely unrelated? By banning all magic, it is assumed that all actions taken by a person with magic are inherently dangerous, which is incorrect and leads to the persecution of harmless people.

This is why Uther is able to drown children for being born a certain way, and it’s why people can be arrested for something as innocent as healing magic. The law encourages profiling and stereotyping; ultimately, it doesn’t discourage people from committing crimes any more than the laws already in place do. Anyone can be dangerous, with or without magic, and it is often Camelot’s government that causes the most destruction—raiding Druid camps or slaughtering the last Dragonlords, for example, not to mention stealing artifacts like The Cup of Life.

In summation: magic is illegal because it is assumed that it doesn’t matter what actions you take with it, only that existing a certain way makes you less-than. It is bigotry, and the associated biases are not based fully upon fact or experience or logic, contrary to popular belief used to defend anti-magic mindsets.

Arthur is able to see that magic has been and can be used to help people. Even if he hasn’t, criminalizing an entire group of people and their practices because of a negative personal experience is nothing but stereotyping. It cannot be justified. Reasons are not excuses. We know that Arthur is wrong; Arthur himself learns this. So why do I see hundreds of people defending Arthur in this? And by extension, defending Uther and the Sarrum and all the people who upheld these critically inaccurate beliefs?

Consider how this interpretation may reflect on real life before deciding to defend beliefs that are deliberately portrayed to mirror social dynamics and human reactions irl. Show sympathy for the victims who were harmed by these beliefs instead of running in circles to justify the people who harmed them. An abuser or oppressor’s feelings should not take precedence over the feelings of their victim(s).

#arthur critical #fandom critical #show critical #bbc merlin #merlin meta #my meta #mine #anti bioessentialism #tw child death #tw death #tw genocide #tw gun mention

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feelitstillmp3 · 3 years

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i was going to dump this into @time-and-space‘s inbox, but then it spiraled out of control and became super long. so im making it into a post. heres some thinking abt doctor who/torchwood/class/merlin parallels ! (specifically abt the parallels between tenrose/janto/charlie x matteusz/merthur) (keep in mind that my knowledge on merlin is not so good) (also feel free to correct me if im wrong or add anything on) (also this contains spoilers for ... all the shows. pls watch them, theyre good)

ive been thinking about the whole theme between charlie and matteusz where theyre like ?? scared to lose each other ?? and how it totally parallels to the other things like .... we have one character whos different and immortal and alien (not to mention the trauma they've been through-), but another who is supposedly "normal" and human. so, they work with it right ?

but then theres the ever-present danger of what they have to go through daily, and the fear that its going to leave them alone. i mean, they've already been left alone, but now that they've actually fallen in love, its different. its harder now.

consider the following lines:

"i think of it every day, and the only thing that stops me is you." (class, e6)

"i take it all back, but not him!"(torchwood, s3e4) (theres probably a better quote but no think, head empty)

"i could save everyone, but lose you." (doctor who, uhhh idk but i swear the doctor said something like it at some point, pls correct me if im wrong)

and yes, theyve felt this before, the pain of their entire race being wiped out, no one left but them, and everyone seems to leave them in the end. but for one second, they stop and actually think they have a chance for a while. someone who might stay.

ALSO it works as like .... the normal person is scared of the other, scared of what they can do and how they are ....

consider the following lines:

"im afraid of who you are, of what you're capable of, of what you will do" (class e6)

"you like to think you're a hero, but you're the biggest monster of all." (s1e4)

"what about you, doctor? what the hell are you changing into?" (doctor who, s1e6)

the person who has been through so much is capable of doing so many things, and sometimes it scares the other one. but they witnessed genocide ! and theyre probably traumatized over it ! theyve probably done some terrible shit as a result of it ! both of them are so valid in being that way.

and another parallel i have just thought of, mentioned a lot already, but the recurring theme of killing off an entire race and how that affected the alien character ....

consider the following situations:

doctor who - the time war, in which the doctor participated, and eventually ended. // when 9 was planning to kill off the last of the daleks in the parting of ways, hesitating for a bit, knowing that it would end up destroying earth in the process, making them no better than what the daleks are

torchwood - jack's planet and how it got invaded, how his parents died as a result and why his brother did everything that happened in exit wounds. // ummm i think maybe how willingly jack was able to give the girl up to the fairies to save the human race, like hes seen what the fairies are capable of, hes seen what disasters mass murder can bring. he doesnt want to see it again.

class - well, the shadowkin invasion, both on rhodia and when it happens on earth (both times) but also the invasion with the flowers ? // how much he really wants to just kill the shadowkin like ! he even mentioned it once ("i want to murder the shadowkin. every last one ...." e6) and he just wants to do it out of revenge. but “we shouldnt avenge genocide with genocide” (we're not going to talk abt how the only thing stopping him is that he would lose matteusz in the process)

but yeah ! theyve seen first hand what it like, and when prompted to do the same thing themselves, they end up hesitating, eventually choosing the other option instead. (well... except charlie. he does it once at least.)

and finally, immortality. this ties in a lot w my first point abt losing the other person .....

doctor who - pretty easy to think about, the doctor has had so many companions over the years, and each time they end up leaving them. even after he meets rose, who wished to stay together forever ("how long are you gonna stay with me?" "forever.") but then she ends up leaving, the doctor is left to continue on for so much longer ..

torchwood - pretty same as above, jack never commits himself to a relationship, he knows everyone will leave him anyway. but then he meets ianto jones. and it all changes, he falls in love, which he said he would never do, and thats why he doesnt ever say "i love you," because once he says it then he cant deny it any longer. once he says it than he will have to admit that ianto, someone that he does love, is lost to him.

class - ok, charlie isnt technically immortal from what i know, but i am assuming he probably has a longer lifespan than humans (basing this off this line - "you want to know who would be the last one standing out of the five of us? i would." e6) so ! its mentioned a lot (and is the main theme, as i said earlier) that matteusz and charlie dont want to lose each other. i want to specifically point out the line “every day i think, please dont go where i cant follow.” (e8) because it just so implies that charlie is different. he can go places, live longer than matteusz ever can.

going to add this onto the end here, but i just thought that actually merlin kinda fits into this too !

loss - the loss of his father, of his one childhood friend (will?), the knights of the round table (pretty sure a lot of them die too, correct me if im wrong) and even arthur who leaves in the end. everyone around him just seems to leave or turn bad

fear - we all know merlin is powerful, right ? i mean i swear it says somewhere hes like ... the greatest sorcerer to ever live or smth. and yes, arthur doesnt technically fear him, but if we think about what would have happened if merlin revealed his magic earlier, when camelot was still under the rule of uther and arthur was still scared of ppl w magic .... idk abt this one ndjnsjd it works in my head okay

trauma - had to get some help from @a-confused-contradictory-mess here and she brought up some good points ! when he was younger, because of his magic, he never really fit in. his mother made him hide, because she feared what would happen if he found out. (i ... think?) imagine what that does to someone, having to hide something about yourself for so long.

immortality - after everyone leaves around him, theres kinda no escape. he has to live with it for all the years that his immortal life goes by. this ties in a lot w how jack and the doctor feel, with everyone around them making them left all alone.

tldr: losing the one person they always thought would stay, one being scared of the other's power, the trauma affecting one of them, immortality and the price that comes w it are all some really good parallels between these ships/shows and genuinely kill me inside

#no good content only incoherent ramblings #none of this makes sense !#i am fully aware #doctor who #torchwood #bbc class #merlin #yes theres probably only a few ppl out there who have watched all 4 shows but i am posting this anyway #it took me three hours #and for what #i am probably going to end up making a gifset of this .... we'll see

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merlinmeta · 3 years

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Honestly I think my biggest issue with Arthur in this show is that the narrative spends so long propping him up as this destined savior and it’s literally never even slightly shown. It’s especially egregious in the ending where he’s apparently supposed to come back to save Britain and honestly, he really doesn’t deserve to be resting in Avalon. He’s not very impressive nor an especially good leader. He just exceedingly ordinary, which would be fine if the stupid prophecy and the narrative wasn’t trying to pretend he was some otherworldly king. He either has to be average or exceptional and he certainly isn’t the latter. I do like him but it doesn’t feel like he is the one who HAS to be king, which isn’t good when Merlin ends up having to do some pretty horrible things to save him with the only reason being that Arthur must be king. It feels like Merlin is basically sacrificing his humanity for a guy who has done nothing to prove he deserves it. It’s also why Morgana and the other villains have to become such caricatures (though this is also a holdover from Uther since reasonable people don’t side with genociders so they have to make all the antagonists with justified griefs suddenly omnicidal). If they’re shown to have valid points then Arthur might actually have to confront this and become better but the story won’t allow it. Sorry for the random rant, I just needed to post this somewhere.

LMAO honestly you're right like. what could canon Arthur POSSIBLY contribute to literally any modern issue, political or otherwise? That premise only works if Arthur is like...a force of nature, driven to bring people justice and revolutionize broken systems no matter how hard it is or what stands in his way.

Though I disagree that "it's never even slightly shown," because we DO see that side of him in some of my absolute favorite scenes in the whole series! The problem is that the writers prove again and again that they are committed to maintaining the status quo above all else, to the extreme detriment of their characters and the story they promised to tell in literally the first episode. They don't make changes that really mean anything.

But there are a lot of Arthur scenes that could have laid GREAT narrative foundations for legend-worthy change, and that's really what makes him so disappointing to me. (Shameless plug: I'm writing a fic about one of those scenes, even if it's on break right now because Life.) Someone recently recced me a fantastic essay called "The Triumph of Uther Pendragon" by Araeph on AO3 with a chapter about how the showrunners had to literally, physically bludgeon Arthur into ignorance (aka knock him unconscious constantly) out of fear that he would change the narrative otherwise. To be honest, I think that's giving canon Arthur a little too much credit, because quite a bit of his ignorance is self-inflicted throughout the entire series. But I think that view of Arthur is exactly the character he SHOULD have been.

I think the legendary version of Arthur is someone who was raised in hatred and ignorance--but when something comes along to challenge his beliefs, he CAN'T ignore it. Even if it's easier to just listen to his father when he says magic is evil, even if he tries to go back to the way things were because believing otherwise would be complicated and guilt-inducing and hard, he can't hide behind his pride and arrogance for too long when people are suffering. Maybe he falls back into old habits; maybe his deeply ingrained fears and biases rear their head again and again. But he keeps trying to learn and grow because he can't be satisfied with anything less than the best he can offer his people.

Show me Arthur fighting the outdated mindsets of his people and his advisors as his beliefs become more and more radical--struggling to reestablish communications with Druids, learning about the Old Religion and the people who practice it, listening to the people who hate him, refusing to live in ignorance. Shattering Uther's whole system the moment he has the power to enact change and dealing with the consequences of doing so.

Arthur shouldn't have just been sorta better than Uther in some ways. He should have blazed his own path--not Merlin's, not Uther's, not Gaius's or Kilgharrah's or anyone else's, even if they guide him at times. He should have kept on surprising us (Merlin included!) all the way to the end with how hard he is willing to work and keep working for justice, how humble he could be when facing those he had wronged, how ready he is to challenge his father's legacy.

He should have been a revolutionary.

#anon #replies #i always gotta write posts in the Most Dramatic way i guess #and then answer additional points that don't fit the ~flow~ in the tags #arthur #additional points: what you said about making the main villains caricatures is SO ACCURATE #morgana's pain and fear were too justified and people had to hate her and root for the ''good guys''#so they set her villain switch to one million percent and gave morgause no discernable personality traits or motivations (that i can recall)#also i've definitely seen arthur fans try to defend him to me by basically saying he's human and we expect too much of him #he's allowed to be hurt and make mistakes yadda yadda #yes!! he is!! and i love his arrogance and pride and biases and obvious lack of social awareness or his own privilege #but he's also got a whole ass prophecy about how good and amazing he is so uhh #we're explicitly told we should be holding him to a higher standard than any other person #and i think that high standard shouldn't ignore his flaws but allow him the space to grow out of the ones that hurt people #and prove that coming from that place of hatred and ignorance doesn't define the amount of good you can put into the world #other arthur defenders are like ''but he fulfilled the prophecy about uniting albion by making peace with the five kingdoms!''#and point to the annis episode for good independent leadership #but like....the other kingdoms are so fucking unimportant in the overall narrative of the series #that most of them are unnamed #or are only known by the name of their ruler (''odin's kingdom'')#whereas uniting albion by bringing magic back to the land is a central theme in almost every conflict in the series #and is the core motivation of the title character #and arthur NEVER DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT #he ''pardons the druids'' or whatever but the ONLY consequence of that is that mordred becomes a knight so he can betray him later #and they SPECIFICALLY bring in kara--a druid--to say ''hey that's bullshit. nothing is better for us''#she HAD valid points and instead of confronting that and becoming better #arthur just calls her a naive gullible child and executes her #(which is exhibit a in why i think that essay gives arthur too much credit as an unstoppable agent of change in canon lmfao)#anyway i hope this is a satisfying response #and feel free to rant some more or dm me if you've got more on your mind!! i love to hear it

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 3 years

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Watching (the Adventures of) Merlin season one on Netflix

Episode One: The Dragon's Call

. . . I feel like going to the capital of the kingdom indiscriminately slaughtering magic users wasn't the best idea.

Why? Well, that guy did just get executed.

And now his mom is mad. You tell that sorry excuse for a king, witch lady.

I don't like Uther, in case it was unclear.

Wait... if you could teleport why not just grab your son and ditch before he loses his head? Literally.

Oh, wow. Arthur is a dick.

Morgana. We have no choice but to stan tbh.

Dragon, you're really rubbing me the wrong way.

That's right Merlin! We need more than Because Destiny Says So!

Where did the spiderwebs come from? That sleeping spell gives me Sleeping Beauty vibes.

Ah, yes. The old drop-the- chandelier-on-the-villain trick. :(

If she went after Uther instead of Arthur I would have no complaints.

Manservant? You call that a reward for saving your son?

Episode Two: Valiant

Snake!Shield

Oh, he's gonna- Yup, dead. That's what happens when you deal with knights who cheat.

Where did that guy even get a magic shield in the first place?

Is there a thriving magic black market or something?

I love Guin.

. . . I feel like Sir Valiant didn't think this through. If bite marks are visible.

Ugh, you're the worst Uther.

It's only the second episode! Did you forget who saved your son already?

Stop being a jerk Arthur.

Lol. Merlin bringing a dog statue to life in order to practice for the Snake!Shield.

Bye Valiant!

Episode Three: The Mark of Nimueh

Whatcha up to with that egg, new witch lady?

You gonna poison the water of all of Camelot? Seems like a jerk move.

Dang that's a lot of dead bodies...

No, I like Guin's dad!

Yes! Cure him Merlin!

No! Stop arresting Guin, Uther!

You tell him, Morgana!

That plague monster that hatched from witch lady's egg is creepy.

Dead monster!

Arthur is kinda oblivious to Merlin's magic ngl.

Yay! Guin's free!

What do you know about witch lady Nimueh, Uther? Hmm? Why she want you dead? Besides the obvious reasons.

Episode Four: The Poisoned Chalice

Wow, Nimueh really doesn't like Merlin saving the day.

Wow, Nimueh really orchestrated an entire diplomatic incident in order to kill Merlin while also ensuring Camelot is destroyed by its neighbor. Impressive.

I really like Merlin and Guin's friendship.

Dang. Merlin really drank poison in order to save Arthur.

Merlin saved Arthur's life, Uther! Let him return the favor!

Oh, wow. Arthur really disobeyed his father in order to save Merlin's life.

I didn't know Merlin could cast spells while deathly delirious. And several miles away from him too.

Uther you b****! The antidote is right there! Let Arthur save his friend!

Putting your own son in a cell is such a jerk move.

At least Arthur and Guin manage to sneak the antidote to Merlin.

Quick aside: Internet spoilers say Uther needs to die for Arthur to complete his himbofication- I mean character development. So, if you could get on with that? Thanks!

Episode Five: Lancelot

Wow, that's a very CGI griffin.

Lancelot is so precious- Uh, I mean effective! Saving Merlin and all.

I know, Guin. I know.

Always thought it was a stupid rule to only let nobles be knights.

You're really going to commit magical forgery for someone you just met, Merlin?

I mean, Lancelot is earnest, hardworking, modest, kind despite his tragic backstory and it's his childhood dream to be a knight...

Yeah, I'd commit magical forgery too.

Lol, knocked you on your ass didn't he Arthur? (The second time at least)

I don't remember griffins being man-eaters!

Uther stop arresting people! Ugh, you're such a classist.

Let Lancelot help fight the griffin, Arthur! You need all the help you can get!

Well okay letting him go was nice of you.

Lancelot-Merlin tag team!

Wow. Lancelot really strode in with Camelot's singular braincell by figuring out Merlin has magic.

(The bar is low, okay.)

No, don't take away the braincell! Stay! The griffin was a team effort!

Okay, Lancelot's lawful good tendencies are a little annoying but, hey, nobody's perfect.

Episode Six: A Remedy to Cure All Ills

Edwin, no. Leave Morgana alone.

Oh, beetles! Curse beetles! That's not creepy at all.

Gaius how do you know Edwin?

What diabolical plot are you hatching Edwin? Oh, you're replacing Gaius in the royal court. That's kinda rude.

Merlin's so happy meeting another magic user that isn't trying to kill him (yet).

Le gasp! Uther's purge killed Edwin's parents? WhO cOuLd HaVe fOreSeEn tHis!?

But seriously. No wonder Edwin wants Uther dead.

I know Edwin blackmailed Gaius with exposing Merlin but he also wants to kill Uther!

That gives him a pass in my book.

Gaius no. Let Uther die.

Edwin stop trying to kill Gaius! You're going to-

Yup, here comes Merlin and-

Edwin's dead :(

Well he was trying to overthrow the kingdom. That's... bad... I guess.

Episode Seven: The Gates of Avalon

That title is misleading. It's more of a natural portal/magic lake type thing.

Arthur saves a father and daughter from bandits (Which they hired but shhh)

And they immediately try to put a love spell on Arthur

For human sacrifice purposes of course

Idk why the Sidhe want a human prince's soul -look at him, you don't know where he's been- but that's the price for readmission

I wonder how the dad killed one of his own kind? Was it an accident or...?

Exiling the daughter too makes me suspicious of Avalon's justice system

Evil laugh is a bit out of place for someone who is trying to restore his daughter's immortality

(They are so whiny about being mortal. Hey, we put up with it all the time!)

The fairy-like Sidhe moving in accelerated time so they just look like tiny orbs of light was an interesting touch. The blue faces and razor sharp teeth is not a good look for them, lol

They make Arthur ask to be married ('cause it takes a while for the love spell to go into full blown mind control or something)

Prompting Uther to threaten to kill both of them

(I feel like they didn't think this through)

Morgana admonishes Uther for being the worst

He replies that first love rarely lasts and that Arthur is inexperienced in such things. Plus that Arthur only met the girl yesterday

... I can't believe Uther is the voice of reason this episode

He doesn't get any points though. Due to the whole "threatening to execution his son's 'crush' " thing

The daughter is having second thoughts about using Arthur as a human sacrifice

Dear old dad puts those to rest and they try drowning Arthur in the lake that is/is the portal to, Avalon

Merlin's really leaning into the whole "Cool motive. Still murder.", thing huh?

Like, he did NOT hesitate to blow up both of them

Episode Eight: The Beginning of the End

Why do magic users keep going to Camelot!? The king is trying to KILL YOU!

Wow, this grown ass man is threatened by a literal child... I hate Uther so much

Morgana is the MVP of this episode. I love her

Protect that druid kid!

I feel like you're being paranoid Uther

You tell him Morgana!

Dragon, no. Stop prophesying death and destruction.

Wow, this grown ass dragon is threatened by a literal child...

Aaaand Morgana got caught sneaking the kid out of the city :(

Uther she is your adopted daughter! Stop putting people in cells!

Arthur is gonna sneak him out now?

While Morgana distracts the king?

Yes, excellent. What could possibly-

Merlin stop listening to that destiny dragon! Hearing his voice in your head is no basis for trust!

Cutting it close... Yay! They made it!

Mordred!? MORDRED!?

THAT little boy is Mordred!?

... Okay, I'm more inclined to believe the destiny dragon now

Still think letting him die would be a dick move

Episode Nine: Excalibur

What're you up to with that tomb Nimueh?

Oh! It's some kind of undead knight. Yes.

Throwing down the gauntlet. Pfft! Always thought that was a stupid idea.

Also: that Black Knight literally crashed your party!

Ugh, knights.

Nimueh if you can just teleport into the heart of Camelot while Uther is alone why don't you just stab him? Grab one of those pointy things he likes so much and stab him in the back. Easy peasy!

Stealing this joke but Don't do evil magic kids. It fries your brain cells.

Wait, the Black Knight is Uther's brother-in-law!?

Arthur's mother died in childbirth!?

Uther asked Nimueh to use her magic so he could have Arthur!?

Equivalent Exchange!?

Uther went on a genocidal rampage because he didn't bother with the instruction manual of ancient and powerful magic!?

Actually, that last one is not surprising at all.

I can't believe they're using the Wife in the Fridge trope. That appliance hasn't even been invented yet!

Ooh, Merlin's going to use his magic to destroy the Black Knight so Arthur doesn't have to fight him

As he's killed two knights already

Aaaaand, yup, he's still there. His cloak didn't even catch fire...

Arthur stop being a bastard. It doesn't suit you

Dragon forged sword! DRAGON FORGED SWORD!

Only Arthur can wield it. Yup, got it. How could this possibly go wrong?

Uther drugged Arthur and took his place in the fight... I have mixed feelings about this.

Wait, the dragon was very specific about only Arthur using that super special sword! Oh, snap.

Well at least the Black Knight is dead. Again.

Oh, dragon is not happy.

I know the dragon said "where no mortal soul could find it" but are you sure you wanna throw it into Avalon, Merlin?

Those people were gonna suck Arthur's soul out of his body

Episode Ten: The Moment of Truth

The way this episode title just lies to your face like that...

Oh, you're Merlin's mother! Thought we had an anime protagonists type thing going on

I... would like to say Uther is being unreasonable when he decides not to cross borders to get rid of some bandits. But I can totally see everyone hating him so that's a no go.

Lady, you were in a whole different kingdom. Why for the love of Merlin did you send him to Camelot!?

We're off to save the village! Morgana and Guin are coming too!

A wild Arthur appears!

Morgana better at swordplay than Arthur confirmed!

Merlin! I didn't know you had friends!

Granted he's a bit rough around the edges but

Okay. If it were literally anyone else besides Arthur. I'd say he was right about lords and knights being useless snobs.

Actually. He's right about lords and knights being useless snobs. Ah, that felt great.

Wow, the homosexual subtext is strong with this one.

The girls can tell Arthur came for Merlin.

But get your foot out of his face! I don't care how royal it is!

Look at Guin over here calling out Arthur for being a dick

And talking him into letting the women fight. She's on a roll

Aw, Merlin's friend died. :(

And he took credit for Merlin's tornado (so Arthur wouldn't find out about Merlin's magic)

Episode Eleven: The Labyrinth of Gedref

Lol, that unicorn could use a haircut.

No, Arthur. I said a haircut not an arrow to the chest!

Bad things? What kind of bad things Gaius?

Uther what's the point of having an expert in magical lore if you're not going to listen to him!

And all the crops are dead. Fantastic.

I know it's a magic thing but stating outright that the blight only targets edible plants is still really unsettling.

And the water's turned to sand. Great.

Who're you and how come Merlin is the only magic user that can't teleport?

What kind of tests mister Keeper of the Unicorns, sir?

Arthur I know you don't want to believe it's your fault... But it's totally your fault.

Uther no. People are starving.

You tell him Arthur.

Oh, the "theif" was a test!

Aaaaand he failed the second one. :(

Merlin's got a lot of faith in Arthur.

It's interesting how the Keeper can only direct the curse caused by the unicorn's death. Or rather the trials surrounding the curse, but can't break it himself.

Unicorns have some powerful magic.

The Labyrinth was barely on screen for five minutes! Surely something with Unicorn in the title would be more appropriate?

Arthur drinking a poisoned cup so Merlin could live?

That's some strong parallels right there.

The Keeper of the Unicorns is such a troll! Sleeping potion, hah!

The day is saved, Arthur lies to Uther's face about killing the Keeper and the unicorn resurrects itself.

Still needs a haircut though.

Episode Twelve: To Kill the King

Whatcha up to Guin's dad?

Oh that guy isn't suspicious at all.

You didn't think it was shady when he asked to meet in the middle of the night!?

Philosopher's Stone!?

Wow, the guards found him quickly.

What- No! Don't arrest Guin's dad!

Uther, he's a blacksmith! Stop being paranoid!

Will you stop executing people!? That inn keeper didn't know that guy was a dangerous sorcerer!

No, nononononono! He surrendered! Why did you do that!? Guin's father was important to Morgana!

That's why she gave him the key!

Dragon has his priorities straight.

Shut up, Merlin. You literally blew up a father and daughter for trying to kill one(1) person. (No really, you could see their hands flying off.)

Morgana deserves a little murder. As a treat.

Yes! Get him! Kill the bastard!

No! Why would you make GUIN say that!? Who are you and what have you done with Guin!?🔪🔪

UGH, he literally committed genocide!

The "that would make me as bad as he is" DOES NOT APPLY!

What- Oh, he still has the fairy's staff.

No. Stop it! Let Uther die!

Oh, God, Uther is such an abusive piece of GARBAGE!

Stop! Don't fall for it Morgana!

*sees dagger being pushed closer to Uther's "heart"* Yes! Yes! YES!

*Morgana saves him* NO!

NO!

NOOOOOO!

*inarticulate ranting in the background*

Episode Thirteen:

Okay, the cgi might be getting a little better 'cause the Questing Beast is freaky

Old religion? What is that? And how come it's conveniently absent from the previous episodes?

Dang, they really here just casually gaslighting Morgana like that 😡

Merlin you know Morgana has visions! You couldn't have been a little more careful? She warned you. Now look at Arthur, he's got the heroic death disease

Granted that thing does seem like a handful

Why do you only act like a father when it's a matter of life and death? Why can't you be a father literally any other time!?

"The old religion is the magic of the Earth itself."

Well that sounds fascinating, dragon. Are you going to elaborate? No? Later then?

Soooooo, is the old religion actually a religion or is it a magic? It's really unclear...

"You will be a better king than your father could ever hope to be." Guin, you're back!

I expected a place called the Isle of the Blessed to be less... creepy

Nimueh! Whatcha up to girl? Plotting the demise of a kingdom? Not today it seems

Oh there some Equivalent Exchange type nonsense going on is there?

Arthur you were supposed to be in a coma not listening to Guin!

Oh. Oh, no.

Merlin saying goodbye as he prepares to trade his life for his mother's is 😢😭

Wow, that dragon really knew Nimueh would give Merlin's mother the curse and didn't say anything. The little b*****!

No wonder Merlin's mad at him. Stop breathing fire at him! It's your own fault!

Gaius, no! Not the dead mentor trope!

"You stood by and watched as our friends died." Damn, Nimueh isn't pulling her punches.

Merlin vs Nimueh! Ready? Fight!

Anime protagonist power up! Dang, Nimueh's dead... I feel like that wasn't supposed to happen.

At least no one else is dying. Since Nimueh's death appeased the Equivalent Exchange laws of the old religion.

#bbc merlin #bbc arthur #bbc uther #bbc morgana #bbc's merlin

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thegeminisage · 2 years

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22 for how Arthur got his groove back, then! ;-*

ANON I LOVE YOOOOU i was so sad i didnt get many asks for this one you’re a rock star <3 my answer is gonna be so long im so happy i love getting to talk about my shit

22: Have you used any symbolism in [insert fic]? What does it represent?

MULTIPLE!!! instances of symbolism in how arthur got his groove back thankyou. side note i fully believe this is a better fic than broken road ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ SPOILERS for the fic below this if u haven’t read it go read it if that’s a thing u wanna do

okay so the first & most obvious bit of symbolism is with fire, specifically arthur and uther’s fire, representing magic/the secret of arthur’s mother dying because he was born of magic. at the beginning of the fic when everybody gets cursed to have magic they both repress it and try to pretend it isn’t happening, which is the exact same thing they do with the secret of how arthur was born. IN theeee best episode 2.08 the sins of the father arthur confronts his father about it and uther doesnt say that arthur wasnt born of magic, he says that he would never have hurt his wife. and since arthur brings it up again in season 4 (“magic killed my mother”) i think what happens is an unspoken understanding on his part that yeah uther did it but he didn’t mean for it to wind up like that, and uther sort of made himself believe that arthur bought it, that he didn’t blame uther for it

which is obviously an ENTIRE crock of shit, and the fic deals specifically with how that secret eats at arthur, because then he doesn’t know if the single memory he has of her is even real, he doesn’t know, existentially, what it means for him if her life really had to be sacrificed to make sure he was born. and he goes through a lot internally about how this secret isolates him, much like merlin’s magic does, but also how he tries to bury it, and deny it, and he just CAN’T, anymore than he can bury the fire. the fire HAS to come out. the SECRET has to come out, because it’s fucking killing him, living with that kind of knowledge all alone is a terrible sort of burden (again, a rough parallel to merlin’s magic, as well). and so the first scene i imagined for this fic was in chapter 4, where he creates this huge firestorm that he can’t stop and can’t control and it will LITERALLY kill him if he can’t come to terms with it, and then like merlin helps him do that because merlin is the only one who isn’t afraid of magic

going further, the fight scene in chapter 6 which sorry not to heap praise on my own fic or anything but the fight scene which i FUCKING LOVE i love fight scenes so much!!! the one where arthur like, gets pushed to this breaking point by uther and accepts the magic and uses it to aid him and save his life in the duel, and in so doing he sort of comes to accept that his mother died the way she did, and he also comes to understand that the ygraine he saw in 2.08 was real, and he finds his peace with it, and from then on the fire obeys him

uther on the other hand never ever comes to terms with it, and he never will, he isn’t capable of it. this i alluded to directly in the text but there’s a section from when he first gets the magic where he’s pacing around his room snuffing out the candles that his magic keeps lighting up and he can’t. he can’t snuff magic out. he committed genocide and he tried and tried and tried but as soon as he stamps it out in one place it pops up in another. and the REASON he committed genocide was that he could not and never will be able to accept ygraine’s death. and so he remained at odds with the magic until the curse was broken

which leads into the final bit of symbolism, which is the sparrow in chapter 9 (one of my favorite chapters along with 4 and 6). this one’s a big spoiler so if you ignored the first warning definitely tear your eyes away now. basically when they go out to the lake to get excalibur, arthur begins to like, feel the magic in living things, the way the show has sort of alluded to it - because he was finally at a place where he could accept and perceive it. and he feels the presence of the sparrow sort of get curious and follow them away from the lake. that’s supposed to represent natural magic, good magic, like the druids and merlin, not the curse that was inflicted on camelot or the dark magic used to make arthur. and so arthur is like wait this is good actually! this has moved me to tears! but when the sparrow gets too close it dies - because arthur is dangerous to that kind of magic, because of who he is (uther’s son) and what he’s done (been complicit in his father’s genocide). so he doesn’t get to take total joy in that without being reminded that uther used him like a blunt little instrument sword, that he has to make amends because he’s not safe. that two sparrows appear at the end of the fic instead of one, that they’re hatchings, is a symbol of a new birth for magic, a multiplying of it, because arthur is changing the world to make that possible. they aren’t grown yet, so all it is is a POSSIBILITY because you can’t ever really finish atoning for the death of kids, but he’s made the start, and that’s where i chose to end the fic - with just a little more left to go, more left to imagine, even though this part of the story is over. i did however fully write up what happens after the end if anybody wants to see that though lol

anyway thank you for asking!!!!! wow i love explaining things in a longwinded manner <3

[fic ask game]

#liz answers asks #anonymous #ask memes #liz loves writing #how arthur got his groove back #long post

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mythsandmagicfancast · 3 years

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uther's death and general exit of the show is given way too much grace and sympathy by the narrative. for some reason we're focusing on why HE is the victim here. he gets treated by gwen of all people. he's deeply depressed, and it's framed as this tragic "look at this man who's lost everything. look how he's suffering, how he's lost his mind. look how negatively arthur is affected by this. so heartbreaking" thing. it's in the shots and in the music and in the dialogue. and then he dies heroically breaking through this distraught haze he's in to save his son in one last valiant display before dying and it's like. bloody hell. this man committed genocide. he emotionally abused his son for his entire life. he supposedly loved morgana enough to be completely mentally destroyed by her betrayal for an entire year, without ever improving and becoming nearly entirely non-verbal. but he DOESN'T love her enough to refrain from, oh i don't know, locking her up in chains and shackles, mentally abusing her, never telling her the truth about her heritage for selfish reasons............. like. it feels like the show is trying to convince me to feel sorry for him but!! i don't!!! i feel sorry for all the people he executed! now this is all obviously just my personal opinion but idk. the way he went out rubbed me the wrong way. n e ways love what youse are doing <3

This is definitely a good point and one we're eager to discuss it. The bias the show sometimes had towards Uther is interesting to say the least. Thanks for sending this we look forward to talking about it.

#simply-sunflower #ask #Mythsandmagic

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and-damntheconsequences · 4 years

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@huntingbird22

29: Which Character Deserved Better?

I think most characters deserved better as people. It was sad to watch Morgana turn away from her family and friends, it was heartbreaking to watch how Merlin broke in the later seasons. But those added to and were key elements of the story, I wouldn't change those if the show was mine (though I would focus more on Morgana's journey and how she changed).

No, for me, the one character who truly deserved SO much better is Nimueh.

Because she was portrayed as the first real villain, as an enemy of Merlin, as evil. When in truth, that's not who she was, and absolutely not what she deserved to be shown as. She was less evil than, say, late S2 Morgana, than Morgause, a FAR better person than Uther, and that's not really shown. Instead, she's shown as the reason Uther was so cruel to magical people. It's shown as her fault, because of a mistake she made. She deserved better than that.

Uther, a man she had considered a friend, even if that relationship was a little tense, had kicked her from the court, murdered everyone like her, and wiped out all traces of her world. For a mistake she made. And I don't think at all that she let Ygraine die on purpose. I think it was simply that a sacrifice needed to be offered to create a life, and Uther refused to acknowledge that, so she let the spell "choose" by itself. (And yes, there's the argument that a life didn't NEED to be taken, but I still don't see it as entirely her choice. She's a high priestess. She works within the old religion, she is going to play within the rules, especially when playing with death magic, something usually so far outside human control).

It was, at worst, foolish to let Uther suffer the consequences of his own actions without thinking through what that might be. Perhaps she could have done something, but in her frustration with him, allowed the spell to take whatever it wanted. Maybe.

But it wasn't deliberately malicious. She didn't mean to kill Ygraine. And she was also likely quite young at the time.

And even in S1, when she turns against Camelot, its different to say, when Morgana did. Morgana turned against Camelot and its people, at the point that she truly became "evil", mostly because she wanted to hurt Uther and Arthur. Nimueh hurt Camelot because it betrayed her. She would have had friends there, and by the time she returns 20 years later, its full only of people who turned against her. Its a justified anger after all she's suffered.

And she doesn't kill Arthur, even when she could, even knowing that that would destroy Uther. She's still playing by the rules.

AND, to make it worse, Merlin kills her for mostly the same reason Uther banished her. Okay yes, he offered himself as sacrifice, so it is better than what Uther probably did, but she offered him a bargain and he didn't like the terms and she died for it. It wasn't her choice. (And also I feel this reflects badly on Merlin, when he could have been so much better, but that's another discussion).

Yet, she's shown as worse than the man who committed literal genocide. Even to Merlin.

So I think she's the one who deserved better the most. And I'll die mad about it.

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin emrys #merlin Nimueh #nimueh #merlin headcanons #merlin asks

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crysrambles · 4 years

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So here’s my rant on why Uther Pendragon from Merlin is an incredibly written “villain”

We all know that the writers of Merlin have made many questionable decisions, especially as you move further in the series, and that’s why it’s so prone to being rewritten in fan fiction. But one thing they did brilliantly was Uther’s characterization.

Because he’s a three dimensional character masquerading as a two dimensional character. He hates magic. He has his reasons of course, not valid ones but still he’s not just doing it to be hateful. He’s doing it out of bitterness and control, he’s trying to avoid his own crushing guilt by projecting it on others. Pretty normal stuff that only matters because he is a king with total control. And throughout the series he is constantly portrayed as this. This hard hitting villain who hates magic and would kill even children without a second thought. He commits genocide without a care in the world. He sends his son off to die on quests to supposedly “prove himself”. He pulls a Zeus on his best friend’s wife. He double crosses even his closest friends.

And yet no matter how much you hate him, you can’t just view him as a nothing, as just wholly evil. Because we get these moments. Moments where he sacrifices himself for Arthur’s sake. Moments where he has fun, and behaves as an actual father. Moments of regret for the things he has done. Moments where he is wholeheartedly human. He’s not just a villain, he’s a person and you can’t help but see that. But it only makes everything else more hard hitting. Why does someone with the capability of selflessness, someone who is clearly capable of love, behave this way? Why does he do these cruel things when we see that he could be a good person, that somewhere within him is kindness. How can someone with anything in their heart other than utter hatred commit a genocide.

Did he ever really love Arthur? Ygraine died to bring Arthur into the world and Uther knows that. He sees Arthur as simultaneously his greatest accomplishment and his greatest loss. I think he feels that because Arthur’s existence brought such great loss, Arthur has to become all the more amazing. He’s held to high expectations. A way to justify her death. Uther’s vision of Arthur will always be in the shadow of Ygraine’s death. Yet he also loves Arthur all the more for this. Because Arthur is all he has left of her. Arthur is the only family he has and he’s afraid to lose him too. Yet he sends Arthur on these foolish quests that will only get him killed. He thinks of Arthur highly, doesn’t think he’ll actually die, he thinks too highly of Pendragon strength. His own beliefs and arrogance take precedence over anything, even his love for his child. I’d find it hard to even qualify as a fatherly love, it’s familial yet distant, only afraid of losing him as a family member, not caring for him in any other way. He’s not a good father by any means, and not a good person at all.

All this stands to say that he’s a wonderfully three dimensional character, cruel and unjust yet still human. Even in the show they take account of this. Gwen says after everything she wouldn’t choose to kill Uther. And for the last part of Uther’s life, all his cruelty is turned around on him. We see underneath all the kingly grandeur into the pathetic desperate man filled with hate and obsession and guilt. The glimpses of humanity we had seen when he wasn’t being king come to full light. And he’s just a sad man.

It’s hard to think of him as just entirely a cruel villain. And that’s what marks a well written villain. He doesn’t have some tragic backstory, but he has more emotions than just evil.

Personally I don��t hate him, I just pity him more than anything.

I think he’s one of my favorite written villains in western media.

But idk that’s just my two cents, feel free to yell at me or tell me I’m wrong or otherwise discuss I just wanted to essay out my thoughts on this.

#i managed to get through this without referencing hitler #bbc merlin #merlin #uther pendragon #bbc uther #writing #meta?#just a ramble

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