#merlin season 1

[pendragonsclotpole]

help, i just got slapped in the face with the existence of WILL. be still my beating heart as i write an essay on this man, will of ealdor

firstly, i adore the silent and implicit trust hidden in the first joke that introduces will’s character. like merlin’s been aware his whole life that if his secret is ever found out, he will be hunted down and persecuted, but here comes will with a jab that they both inherently understand is a joke in the macabre style only true friends can lovingly master. the smile they share almost immediately gives me ned stark and robert baratheon meeting again in the courtyard of winterfell in season one of got. there’s also something so normal in their interaction that speaks of a familiarity borne from their equal status and years of friendship. i know merlin’s friends in camelot tend to skew to the non-royal/non-noble, but when you tally it up, those closest to merlin often hold some title that’s greater than merlin’s role as arthur’s servant. gwaine is a knight implied to be of noble blood; lancelot, percival, and elyan are also knighted and esteemed members of arthur’s court; gwen is the lady morgana’s maid and close companion long before she is ever queen; gaius is a physician and long time member of camelot’s court; morgana before her betrayal is literally uther’s ward. i feel like when placed among them all, merlin has a tendency to fade into the background offscreen. obviously the audience knows how important merlin is to the overall story given how much of the storyline focuses on him, and the characters regularly acknowledge merlin’s importance to them or arthur, but all of them still regard merlin as merlin the servant from camelot and few of them are privy to the plots we as the audience see firsthand. and even when they acknowledge him for his merits, his role as arthur’s close friend and confidante takes precedence. look at leon’s reaction in the later seasons when merlin is bewitched by morgana. merlin literally makes a comment about plotting to kill arthur and leon barely even blinks before quipping back, “driving you mad isn’t he?” or something along those lines. except for a few instances with even fewer characters, they never get a chance to know him as merlin the sorcerer from ealdor.

will does! and more than that, he got to know merlin as he is without arthur. we all hype up their status as magical soulmates but damn if i wasnt living for how jealous of arthur will seemed to be in this episode. call me crazy, but it makes me desperately headcanon a realistic past in ealdor for merlin, full of hardship and strife, but never without it’s moments of happiness. furthermore, will’s lone appearance in season one shines some real light on the unfairness of the fate that has been bestowed on meelin. the moment that will points out why he’s been so obstinate with arthur really strikes a deep chord. sure it could be just jealousy, but more compellingly, i choose to read it as a deep sense of care for merlin. everyone merlin has met within camelot, (or reunited with in the case of his own mother) has continually pushed him closer and closer to arthur. will presents a crucial exception. he knows exactly who merlin was before camelot, and who merlin is completely separate from arthur.

will is staunchly in merlin’s corner, and that position allows him to identify a key characteristic of merlin’s series’ long arc: his complete devotion to arthur. will even points it out himself: merlin could singlehandedly defend their home if he just used the full extent of his power. merlin doesn’t, and actively chooses not to because of his desire to stay close to arthur. it’s such a small moment, but i think it demonstrates how much of merlin’s decisions become motivated by his desire to stay close to arthur and to always put arthur first, even at a detrimental cost to himself. merlin understands and readily accepts arthur as his destiny, but this acceptance does not come about independently, instantly, or of merlin’s own volition. it does so eventually, but initially merlin sticks by arthur’s side because of the encouragement of everyone around him. “arthur needs you, merlin” or “arthur is your destiny, merlin” or “arthur is a good man, merlin. he has the potential to be a great king, he just needs the right people, merlin.” its codependent as hell.

sure, merlin originally does not tell arthur about his magic because they do not know each other and as far as merlin knows revealing his magic would lead to his death, but eventually the reasoning changes and becomes so focused on doing what’s best for arthur. merlin can’t tell arthur because then arthur would have to kill him and then who would look after arthur or ensure his fate? merlin can’t tell arthur because if arthur chooses to defy uther’s law, merlin is then forcing arthur to turn against his father and how could he look after arthur then? merlin can’t tell arthur because another betrayal from magic would ruin everything and truthfully, he wonders how would arthur react? merlin comes to fear what his magic might do to arthur and what it’s reveal might mean for his place in camelot more than the laws of camelot and their verdicts.

by this logic, merlin is a magical solar system orbiting entirely around the celestial body known as arthur pendragon. eventually merlin cared more about his relationship with arthur and what arthur thought about him than his own life. in retrospect, it’s so sad that will died so early on, because it strips merlin of a person solely in his corner. will’s death is the first in the series’ long pattern of loss that merlin endures and that eventually comes to define him because people either find out about his magic and their knowledge is directly tested against his loyalty to arthur, or he cannot allow them to know about his magic because it will unravel his relationship with arthur.

will, freya, balinor, morgana, mordred, arthur.

also the fact that will covered for merlin’s use of magic in his last moments just adds to the tragedy AND the growing pile of moments merlin could have told arthur about his magic but didnt. and also the fact that will literally died to save arthur. like tell me that just doesn’t prove my point. tell me. will never stood a chance. tell me every aspect of merlin’s life does not get consumed by arthur pendragon.

i’m all for merthur being soulmates, but god the original series is rife with the unbalanced mess of merlin being wholeheartedly aware of arthur’s great potential and destiny leading to some intense devotion and faith that yes, arthur earns and pays back in full measure but can never fully reciprocate because he just does not know anything. by the triple goddess, it can get so toxic. i wish will had lived if just for that. and like the jealousy arthur gets whenever merlin has other people. because i 100% live for possessive arthur and protective merlin dynamics.

#will of ealdor #merlin #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin bbc #merthur #king arthur #merlin emrys #bbc merthur #merlin deserves nice things #someone give merlin a friend pls #merlin deserves people solely devoted to him #where is the merlin defense gang #hmm #headcanon #show analysis #merlin season 1 #merlin rewatch #gendry waters played will and i unironically adore that no matter what merlin is surrounded by the sons of kings #arthur and merlin #arthur/merlin #prince arthur

[mistressvera]

#merlin bbc #merlinedit #morgana pendragon #morgana le fay #morganapendragonedit #merlin #merlin season 1 #1x06 #katie mcgrath #katiemcgrathedit

[emrys-merlin]

The best BURNS in the series.

#bbc merlin #merlin #merlin bbc #arthur pendragon #Morgana Pendragon #Nimueh #merlin gaius #kilgharrah #uther pendragon #sorry i can't hate kilgharrah #i love that little shit lol #poor gaius anyway #merlin season 1 #merlin season 4

[crystaiskiess]

as a treat in the season break here is a scene from the season 1 finale of my merlin rewrite ‘the once and future kings’ !!

read it on AO3 here

#merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #merlin/arthur #arthur pendragon #oafk #the once and future kings #merlin emrys #kilgharrah #merlin season 1

[gay-for-zoya]

I've almost finished the first season of merlin and it's so good so far

#merlin #bbc merlin #morgana pendragon #arthur pendragon #merlin season 1

[marislittlethings]

bbc merlin 1.01-1.05

I miss gwaine even though he literally has not been introduced yet, i love him and i can't believe we don't get him until s3

merlin really just flirts with everyone!!

gaius & merlin have actually such a strange relationship that develops sort of out of nowhere? like within the first three/four episodes, gaius says that he would die for merlin but all he's done is tell him he's an idiot who is going to screw everything up??

i'm preemptively furious about the morgana plotline

that dragon is so fucking useless!!! he's been locked in a cavern alone for 20 years and still can't be bothered to talk to merlin for longer than 2 seconds at a time. where is he flying to? he's shackled in a cavern!! he's got nowhere to go!!!

lancelot, my beloved sunshine boy. you really are the most pure character, with gwen being a close second

everyone is in love with merlin fr (me too, i am also in love with merlin)

it's so crazy to me that merlin grows up with his magic being a part of him, something that's always there (and in later episodes he sort of alludes to it connecting him with the world on a deeper level) and then his mother ships him off to camelot where it's illegal and gaius tells him he has to stop doing magic like it's just easy?? and then he's immediately told that no, actually, you can only do magic to serve this guy who is a bully and who would turn you over to be killed in an instant. no, don't do it to save the life of your friend's dad. no, don't do it to help your friend become a knight. no, don't do it to lighten your (frankly insane) workload. and another thing, by the way, every time you try to help this guy, someone is going to accuse you of lying, throw you in the dungeon, try to kill you, insult you, etc. this thing that has, for twenty years, been so intrinsically tied to who you are belongs to a guy who barely even cares about you and you are not allowed to feel ownership over it or use it for anything outside of this. obviously it evolves past that, but for s1 merlin that was fucking brutal

#cataloging my merlin rewatch for the fic i will eventually write #bbc merlin #merlin #merlin season 1

[dragoonandthedolma]

Merlin’s smile is so contagious like I could literally be in the worst mood but then I’ll be scrolling on tiktok or something and see a video/ photo of him smiling and then I instantly start to smile like I literally can’t help it

#bbc merlin #merlin #camelot #merlin season 5 #colin morgan #i love merlin so much #merlin bbc #merlin season 1 #merlin is so cute #help #i love him #god I love that show

[sammypompeius]

Merlin episode 5 sketches part 1

Tag list: @saint-raphael-stuff @justgayangelthingz @all-or-nothing-baby @agonyandsweat @blue-eyed-cutiepatootie - Let me know if you wanna be added or removed.

#merlin bbc #merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #merthur fanart #arthur pendragon #lancelot du lac #lancelot #merlin x lancelot #mercelot #gwen pendragon #guinevere pendragon #gwencelot #lancelot x gwen #gwen x lancelot #season 1 #merlin season 1 #my art #sammy's art #digital drawing #digital sketches

[whatastrangewriter]

Alright, so, I have a new proposal to the BBC Merlin fandom. (Which I am happily part of.) So, we know that in the first season, the false physician, Edwin, was tormenting Morgana with those beetles that burrowed into her brain?

Well. What if those beetles did more damage than anyone realized? What if Edwin had a backup plan for if his plan failed?

What if those beetles, when burrowing into Morgana's brain, began to eat away at the very part of her brain that held all of her love, compassion and sanity?

And yes, okay, they caught the beetles and removed them, but what if it didn't end there? What if that was where it all started? It took a while for the effects to show, sure, but what if with each little lie, each thing she saw that made Morgana lose hope in magic ever being legal in Camelot, the hole in her brain grew larger?

Perhaps that's where it all began. Perhaps that's why she went psycho in the last few seasons - because the beetles had begun the work that Uther had finished, and whatever part of her brain had been holding onto her sanity had been completely destroyed?

Just a small headcanon for people to ponder.

#bbc merlin #morgana pendragon #uther pendragon #merlin fandom #arthur pendragon #merlin season 1 #merlin season 5 #evil morgana pendragon #merlin emrys #merlin bbc

[immabitqueer]

And we know that canonically Arthur is 20 turning 21 in season one soooo..

#i knew he was supposed to be young! #but i didn't think he was a teenager #i only thought about his age re watching the pilot and seeing merlin actually be a bit childish #bbc merlin #merlin #arthur and merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin season 1

[mistressvera]

#merlin bbc #merlinedit #morgana pendragon #morgana le fay #merlin #morganapendragonedit #katie mcgrath #merlin season 1 #1x04 #katiemcgrathedit

[emrys-merlin]

So, this is the 1x01 CANON script, and Merlin is, in fact, canonically attractive

Oh well, you know

😗

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #colin morgan #merlin emrys #merlin 1x01 #merlin season 1 #the writers knew what they've doing

[our-lovely-things]

So funny that Merlin was crushing on Nimueh

#bbc merlin #merlin emrys #merlin #merlin bbc #emrys #merlin rewatch #arthurian legend #arthur pendragon #merlin season 1 #the poison chalice

[lucylichtenweg]

Me: *rewatching Merlin season 1*

Arthur & Morgana relationship in a romantic way

Me: Damn shit, forgot about this!

#arthur and merlin #bbc merlin #morgana #arthur pendragon #merlin series #Merlin season 1 #why did they do this #merthur #fandom

[littlemsterious]

full offense to whatever that bitch was named from merlin season one but if my magic snake shield came alive when it wasnt supposed to, i would simply not act like i knew what was happening. i’d run and scream and make sure everyone knew i was as confused as them. but maybe I’m just built different.

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin season 1 #forgot the fuckers name but it’s been at least 6-7 years since i watched merlin #i dont even know why i was thinking about it #only the most topical discussion found on my blog #lmtposting

[dragoonandthedolma]

I could listen to merlin talking about how magic feels to him for hours on end honestly like hearing him talk about it is just so beautiful

#bbc merlin #merlin #merlin bbc #merlin season 6 #merlin season 5 #merlin season 1 #magic #camelot