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tiodolma · 1 year

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Merlin saying “morgana will just harden arthur and uther’s heart”and him putting the blame on every other magic user who try to uppend the system for making magic look bad while he’s stays safe and hidden behind the castle walls and under the royalty’s protection is so deliciously ironic and hypocritic.

He’s not even piloting some kind of peaceful activism himself. He’s not even showing another means of peaceful revolt. He’s not even stirring up the hearts of people who think like him, that the pendragon heir is the right choice after all. If merlin and like-minded people wanted that change shouldnt it have been better that more people knew about arthur’s destiny with magic? Shouldnt there have been more social pressure on arthur to fulfill that? Why did that information only stay with a chosen very secretive few?

Coz look i get merlin’s motives. He doesnt want an arms struggle. He wants the change to be gradual and a smooth transition. The magic people and the current admin arent ready, etc, etc.

But how are people supposed to slowly change their stance on magic if he also isnt doing anything other than just protecting the pendragon heir without question and without recognition, without hint that magic was a weapon that can be used for safety?

Why do other magic users have to be the one to “show the way” and not him himself? Isn’t merlin just protecting his own ass while the embittered magic folk risk their own lives everyday, exposing themselves and fighting for their right to live everyday? Is it not unfair for merlin to expect good and peaceful things to miraculously happen while he keeps staying in secrecy and relative safety compared to others like him?

Enough of that. Say. He really thinks that protecting the oppressor’s life by playing God again and again is the path to justice is the right thing. Fine.

It’s still not enough. Coz his champion is ignorant and Highly Dismissive of the values he is supposed to represent in Merlin’s head: freedom for magic, fairness, equality. Arthur is stubborn and willfully blind and entrenched in his own prejudices and uprbringing.

Merlin’s tactic of “i’ll tell him whats wrong and hopefully he will listen if not i will sulk and arthur will be upset that im upset so maybe he’ll reconsider but often he will not until he realizes his mistake because bad sht that i warned about already happened then he will begrudgingly do what i told him to in the first place” isnt enough.

Merlin is just one man, he’s a man that is so low in rank compared to his supposed best friend, the head of state, that his words dont really matter until they do and its only usually because of arthur’s bruised ego.

More people should tell Arthur off jfc. The nobility, the masses, the other kingdoms. They should have all been able to apply pressure on Arthur, not just Merlin or Gwen.

Look this is what merlin needed to really spearhead his ideas or wtv bullsht the prophecy entailed

Merlin had to apply pressure on the monarchy on all fronts.

Launch a propaganda machine, spread the word that arthur is going to bring back magic. Like do write ups, spread pamphlets , give the masses smth to think about and do it under a false name, etc.

Collaborate with others who think like him and Not Hide (difficult to do since gaius loves to rat out and help imprison these kind of magic-kin despite him believing in the same prophecy)

Find a way that Arthur hears those rumors, actually drop hints that magic was protecting the kingdom all along. If not Merlin himself, then Arthur must hear those rumors of him being savior of magic from more people.

Find some noble who is sympathetic to their cause at least. (Like how morgana had agravaine and helios... that means powerful people LIKE THAT existed in merlin’s world. It is also possible that somebody out there would have allied with him and give merlin better political backing if he just tried -moot point again cause gaius would just rat them out to the king and advise against it)

Jfc Merlin should just step into his role as kingmaker in the light. I mean he already is one but he is denial.

i get what everyone here is thinking. This is too smart and “manipulative.” This is something like what Morgana and the other magic-folk do.

Then That means the magic folk were already doing so many kinds of protests and machinations to send their own message. The lot of them didnt even need to kill. They played by the rules of kingdom-making and used politics/established social order as a sort of protest to inspire the change they needed.

Example the Unicorn Guy did so much economic damage that people started to doubt the Pendragon dynasty’s claim to power. It was bad for the Pendragons’s image but good news for the magic folk since the ordinary citizens will just turn against the ruling dynasty on their own! That is an example of an effective non-arms struggle btw! It’s smart and a not a lot of people will have to die unecessarily! And it kind of spurred a temporary change of heart for arthur too!

My point is. Merlin. If he really wanted social change. Should have worked smarter and more efficiently. Governmental change will never happen with just one miracle event.

Most of the successful ones happen when the masses AND the ruling class have the same goal. If Arthur was truly a people of the masses and ruling class, then he would try to satisfy their demands in order to prevent riot or defection.

But what do i know? Maybe knowledge and tactics more complicated than “eliminate threat permanently asap” are inherently evil after all.

#adventures of merlin #bbc merlin #merlin critical #merlin x magic #merlin crit #essays #wars of truth and privilege who would win #gaius is super conservative and paranoid he hates progress and initiative so much

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