"I'm really attached to that armour": On Merlin and Arthur in two seasons
I’d hardly be a Merlin watcher if I hadn’t some thoughts on the Merlin-Arthur (or Merlin/Arthur, be that as it may) relationship. Summed up from various discussions with 
trude during her recent rewatch, and with other friends like kathyh, here are my undisguised-by-fanfic ramblings:
Firstly, I’ll start with a somewhat heretical thesis, to wit, that leaving aside The Curse of Cornelius Sigan where they’re hopelessly over the top in their prattishness (Arthur) and clumsiness (Merlin) respectively, as an episode evidently meant as a (not too successful) reintroduction for new viewers, there is actually progress in the relationship in s2 (as well as additional problems), not regress. And that neither at the end of s1 or at the end of s2 we’re dealing with a friendship-between-equals (I think the only friendship-between-equals candidate around is the one between Gwen and Merlin, possibly also Merlin and Lancelot, but that’s harder to judge because Lancelot isn’t around for most of the show). What we do have is a very compelling and emotionally intense relationship (not to mention one that involves a lot of kidding-each-other, which is part of its charm), which is complicated by both class and deception issues and rarely if ever “just” about each other.
It’s worth remembering that Merlin starts out regarding Arthur as a necessary evil to the big destiny the dragon has promised him, and that Merlin is really invested in having said destiny. It gives him a purpose, it’s his answer to the “why am I the way I am?” question he poses in the pilot. He’ll develop more mixed feelings towards having said destiny later on, but that he wants to have it in the first place is important. Now, from the second episode onwards, he begins to warm up regarding Arthur, coming to see being Arthur’s servant as not entirely horrible in tandem with regarding Arthur as someone who might be more than the jerk he appeared to be at first sight. (Incidentally, it cracks me up that the first thing about Arthur Merlin appreciates is that Arthur is good at tournaments. Arthur displays more laudable character traits later on, but let’s face it - Valiant makes a pretty good case of Merlin not being immune to the shallow thrill of sports. Or Arthur in chainmail, depending on your slash goggles. Either way, colour me amused, especially since it’s partly true for Gwen as well, who at this point simply thinks Arthur is a royal bully but cheers more for him than Morgana and Uther do.) And the show does a good job of letting the viewer discover there’s more to Arthur as well, be it via ethical arguments between Uther and Arthur (in 1.3. and 1.4) or by letting him display courage, or a sense of responsibility in tandem with his sense of entitlement. But as opposed to some fanfic depictions where Merlin becomes completely devoted to Arthur, as opposed to my-destiny-and-Arthur or Arthur-and-my-destiny, early on, it is, and remains, more complicated and mixed than that. Yes, he’s willing to drink poison by 1.4 already, but he doesn’t do so “just” to save Arthur. He thinks he’s protecting Kara, the serving girl Nimueh pretends to be, whom he’s rather smitten with and, as he thinks she’s a bullied servant in fear of her king, identifies with as well. (If you compare Nimueh’s Kara persona with Freya in 2.09, they’re pretty similar. Apparently Merlin’s type, as far as girls are concerned, are dark-haired damsels persecuted by the authorities but really magical beings in disguise. This is why in the potential BTVS crossover I will not write he would inevitably encounter Drusilla.)
By 1.7. Merlin likes Arthur as a person enough to cover for him and spend time in the stocks repeatedly when he thinks Arthur is in love with Sophia. (Which really doesn’t have to do with anyone’s destiny.) I don’t think this equals Arthur having become the most important person in Merlin’s world, though. Or Merlin is now ignoring what character traits of Arthur’s he originally found objectionable. In 1.11., when he’s worried about Arthur but not (yet) in the type of life-or-death situation that colours pronouncements, he says to Gaius “Arthur is annoying and pig-headed, but he does care about his people”, which I think sums up his opinion at this point. Mind you, he clearly hopes Arthur sees him as more than an exchangeable servant (hence the going back and thro during 1.10 between “he’d do the same for any village” and “then he’s not the friend I hoped he may be” and “please don’t think differently of me”), and at this point he’s become closer to him than to either Gwen or Morgana, but as far as emotional hierarchies in Merlin’s life go, I’d say the order is pretty clearly Hunith-Gaius-Arthur. With the proverbial “whom would he save first out of a burning house” test working in that order. And whether he’s able to divide Arthur completely from the whole destiny gig is anyone’s guess, because the situations where Merlin is willing to die for Arthur, or commit morally ambiguous or downright morally wrong deeds (such as letting Mordred die, even though he’s ultimately unable to go through with it - yet) so Arthur will live, invariably mix up the two. It would be interesting if the show were to create a scenario where Merlin could believe he can fulfil his destiny without Arthur, and to confront him with it. (He was willing to leave both Camelot and Arthur behind for his mother in 1.10 and for Freya in 2.09 - more about the later in a moment, but in those cases he also was willing to quit on his promised destiny.)
The big elephant in the room in both seasons is, of course, the magic. Will is the only character who calls Merlin on the paradox of declaring he’d trust Arthur with his life on the one hand and being unwilling to do just that by revealing his magical abilities on the other. Now, of course things are more difficult than the biased Will allows, but he still has a point. In a way both statements are true - Merlin does and can trust Arthur to fight for him in any type of menace-of-the-week scenario, and as 1.11 shows to sacrifice his own life rather than let Merlin sacrifice his for him - but he’s not yet able to trust Arthur with the truth about being a warlock. By the time the first season ends, has Arthur given him enough reason to risk that? Let’s see.
Arthur’s attitude towards magic is somewhat more differentiated than his father’s - it could hardly be less so than Uther’s, of course, so not to damn with faint praise: for someone who has been raised on the belief that all magic is evil and so are all magic users, and has next to no experience with any magic that hasn’t been used in a negative manner, it’s surprisingly matter-of-factly instead of fanatical. For example, in 1.3. he doesn’t question Uther’s assumption that an evil magic user is behind the plague, or that all use of magic should be punished, but he makes a case for intentions being important when it comes to judgment. (I.e. if Gwen used magic to save her father’s life, she should not be treated the same way someone using magic to harm others should be.) In 1.08. he argues for a status quo truce with the druids as long as they don’t attack Camelot even before the whole “do we kill a child?” question arises, and of course is willing to save Mordred at the end when Morgana asks him to. In 1.12 he uses a similar argument to 1.3 about Tom when talking with his father, i.e. that the punishment should fit the crime and intentions should count (and Uther doesn’t listen there, either). But you know what’s missing in this entire list? Arthur actually questioning the basic premise of the whole belief system, i.e. that magic is something inherently evil. (His attitude is very similar to the one he takes towards the fake thief in 1.11; stealing food is a crime, but forgivable if you do it with the good intention of saving your children from starvation. Doesn’t change the fact the act itself is a crime. There is a big difference between extending mercy for something or believing that something not to be bad to begin with.) Add to this that Arthur while arguing with his father in private, when they’re alone or only Morgana is present, about Gwen, Mordred and Tom, does support him in public - when Merlin makes a critical remark about Uther arresting anyone who associated with Toran in 1.12, Arthur shuts him down immediately - and Arthur’s reaction in 1.10., both to the use of magic and to Will identifying himself as the magic user - and I think Merlin has good reason not to take that particular risk. Especially if you assume his emotional investment is still as much into having a destiny as it is into Arthur. Because at this point, Arthur might not kill him or hand him over to Uther, but he probably would send him away (or would have told him to stay in Ealdor, if Will hadn’t fake-confessed).
Arthur, of course, not being informed about prophecies regarding their destiny, has no other reason to keep Merlin around as a servant than the original life saving in the pilot and then the fact he comes to like him. The second time Merlin (as far as Arthur, though not the viewer, knows) saves his life by being willing to sacrifice his own, in 1.04, seems to genuinely shock him (whereas the first time, in the pilot, he responded just by being somewhat surprised and a tad annoyed), and triggers a willingness to not just argue with but defy his father and risk his own life to save Merlin in turn. However, as subsequent events and various on screen arguments with Uther about the knightly code prove, this is as much about Arthur’s understanding of noblesse oblige as it is about Merlin. Being prince (or king) does not just mean people risk their lives for you, it has to mean you’re willing to risk or give your life for theirs as well. The fact that in 1.08. he initially doesn’t want to include Merlin in the Mordred rescue operation (not knowing that Merlin was involved from the get go) and sends him away, only for Morgana to say “I trust Merlin”, has an interesting ambiguity in this regard; it can be because while Arthur and Morgana, if caught, risk Uther’s fury and presumably another stint in the local cells, but nothing worse, Merlin if caught definitely will be punished by death, or it can be because he’s still not sure whether or not to trust Merlin with such a secret.
Whether in 1.10. Morgana’s assumption that Arthur came to Ealdor strictly for Merlin’s sake, or Merlin’s defensive remark to his mother that Arthur would have done the same for any village menaced by a warlord, or even Will’s challenge that Arthur is there because he likes playing the hero, is right is something that is not simply a question of either/or, but both/and. On the other hand, Arthur’s questions about what it was like to grow up in Ealdor are definitely about Merlin as a person, and a sign he’s come to care about his less than stellar manservant beyond the opportunity for amusing banter. Still, as mentioned before: the one and only time Merlin dares to critisize Uther, Arthur reproves him immediately. Compare and contrast the many times Morgana does this, and I think I’ve made my case that while Arthur undoubtedly cares very much for Merlin by the time s1 ends, the fact that Merlin is a servant, not an equal, is always present for him as well.
During the second season, handwaving the first episode away, what strikes me is that Merlin and Arthur are more relaxed with each other (while the elephant in the room grows ever bigger and gets offspring, but more about that later). The banter is mutual; you have Merlin needling Arthur as much as vice versa (their “advice” to William - “knights think they’re so much better than everyone else”/ “ignore him, he’s an idiot” in 2.02. is a case in point, as is Merlin’s “oh, now you’re just showing off!” in 2.04 and his enjoyment in teasing Arthur about Arthur’s feelings for Gwen and Arthur’s uncomfortableness in talking about emotions in general (see 2.04 and 2.10). You also have Merlin’s irritated rant about Arthur putting him in danger without asking in 2.04. - which he wouldn’t have done in the first season. Arthur in 1.13 seems to have no clue what’s going with Merlin when Merlin comes to say goodbye, beyond the obvious fact Merlin is behaving weirdly, but by the time 2.09. and 2.13 roll along, he picks up when Merlin is seriously distressed about something and tries to do something about that. (He doesn’t know the real reason in either case, but he identifies the emotion clearly enough, and provides comfort in his clumsy way.) You also have Arthur demonstrating trust in Merlin on a variety of levels - when Uther orders him to arrest Merlin in 2.06 he misleads the guards and sends him away instead, he’s ready to take poison on Merlin’s promise he’ll come through the antidote in the same episode, they confide each other about their dead/missing parents in 2.08, in 2.09. he might be yelling about his bathwater but also stops the bounty hunter from interrogating Merlin immediately, when in 1.7. Arthur (admittedly under a spell, but still) let Merlin take the fall for him in 2.11. he might be pissed off but takes the blame instead of shifting it on Merlin when Uther chastises him about the key theft, and in 2.13 you have the circumvential “if I weren’t, then we’d get” friendship declaration. I’d define the difference to the 1.13 state of affairs from Arthur’s pov as going from “my servant whom I like a lot” to “my friend-except-I-can’t-have-any who is also my servant”. (The consciousness about their difference in station stays.)
At this point I imagine several readers spluttering “but he doesn’t believe him about Catrina, and Cedric, whereas in the first season he believed him about Valiant without even knowing him very well”. True. But starting with 1.13, we get Arthur’s occasional “you’re a riddle, Merlin” declarations. In 2.06 the entire “I’m an open book” / “I don’t believe that for a moment” exchange is played for comedy, but it’s there. I think a case can be made that Arthur is aware Merlin is lying to him about something, or several somethings, and on an ongoing basis. He doesn’t know what because he doesn’t want to - another thing 2.06 plays for comedy but does state in the “I didn’t do it”/”I don’t care, just get yourself to safety” exchange - but the awareness is there. Which makes for simultaneously more emotional openness and less willingness to believe individual statements.
Which brings us to the rapidly growing in size elephant in the room and its offsprings. Starting with 2.07, and with the exception of 2.10, events in Camelot get darker and darker, especially for a show that’s primarily directed at a young audience. 2.07 demonstrates that Uther was willing to let the closest thing he has to a best friend die as a magic user, and given the obvious parallels and contrasts between Uther/Gaius and Arthur/Merlin, and the fact that as opposed to the unjust taxes, where Arthur protested on his own, Arthur here didn’t interfere until pushed, this is anything but encouraging to Merlin as far as the big “to tell or not to tell” question is concerned. Then 2.08. deals out the double emotional wallop of Arthur at last being willing to question the entire premise of the belief system his father taught him, but doing so in combination with an action that would destroy him emotionally. Come to think about it, this is the closest thing we did get to an Arthur versus destiny instead of an Arthur + destiny scenario for Merlin, because stopping Arthur from killing his father with a statement that throws Arthur back on Uther’s anti-magic convictions (and btw, the way Colin Morgan chokes on the words was fantastic acting) was all about Arthur. (I don’t think Merlin at this point was cool enough to calculate whether or not a parricidal Arthur would be able to unite Albion, etc.) It still means that the inevitable real one day will now be burdened with another very serious lie, and Merlin knows it.
Enter Freya, in 2.09. Leaving aside Doylist deliberations about one-shots, Freya presents not simply someone with whom Merlin can interact without lying (I was going to add “other than Gaius”, but actually Merlin lies to Gaius pretty frequently as well in both seasons) but an illustration of how mixed his feelings about his Camelot existence and what it will/should lead to have gotten. Here’s an opportunity for choosing one of the persecuted instead of being congratulated for being a collaborator with the persecutors (which is what Uther did in the previous episode), a black and white scenario instead of more and more murky grey (Freya needs help, and she’s not planning on assassinating anyone; her werenature comes without intent), and basically the chance and a reason to run away. And he takes it. This is a problem only when you assume that Merlin is so utterly devoted to Arthur that nothing else counts (whether or not you see that devotion as romantic or platonic in nature), but not if you consider the show itself never said as much. Mind you: again ignoring Doylist realities and from a purely Watsonian standpoint, I don't think Merlin would have managed to actually stay away from Camelot for long. He and Freya didn't actually know each other very well and were idealizing each other (kathyh made a comparison to Lancelot and Gwen in 2.04, which struck me as right), plus, mixed feelings or no mixed feelings, the longing to have a destiny and point in life for Merlin would still have been there. But Merlin wanting to leave with Freya to begin with, at this particular point in the show? That I could believe. Freya’s death results in that s2 speciality, simultaneous greater closeness and greater deception, when, as mentioned earlier, Arthur picks up on Merlin’s distress and they have a hurt/comfort moment - but without ever revealing what it was all about.
The ensuing poisoning of Morgana and her resulting near-death, the freeing of the Dragon (partly a consequence of what happened with Morgana) and the resulting most definite deaths of over forty people, as well as the nature of Merlin’s relationship with Balinor are all a series of interconnected events and secrets that by the time s2 ends have made it next to impossible Merlin will reveal the truth to Arthur on his own, or that Arthur will simply respond in a “oh well then, so what, I like you anyway!” manner. (Though seriously, I don’t think he’d have done that a season earlier, either, when “all” Merlin was lying about was his magical ability. See above. Much as that is fun in fanfic to read.) There is also the fact that the longer Arthur supports Uther, even when he’s willing to judge in a case-by-case manner, the longer he’s also complicit in the death of more magic users and/or people who have the misfortune of being suspected as same. And I don’t think once he knows for sure about Merlin, he could continue to simultaneously carry out his father’s orders regarding other magic users. It’s a set up that basically allows no easy solutions, and I have no idea whether or not the show will deliver. But then again, ever since 1.08 with its “don’t do this, Emrys” scene where Merlin was seriously contemplating the death of a child, it has surprised me. And you know - one thing this particular relationship has never been was simple, or uncomplicated.
trude during her recent rewatch, and with other friends like kathyh, here are my undisguised-by-fanfic ramblings:
Firstly, I’ll start with a somewhat heretical thesis, to wit, that leaving aside The Curse of Cornelius Sigan where they’re hopelessly over the top in their prattishness (Arthur) and clumsiness (Merlin) respectively, as an episode evidently meant as a (not too successful) reintroduction for new viewers, there is actually progress in the relationship in s2 (as well as additional problems), not regress. And that neither at the end of s1 or at the end of s2 we’re dealing with a friendship-between-equals (I think the only friendship-between-equals candidate around is the one between Gwen and Merlin, possibly also Merlin and Lancelot, but that’s harder to judge because Lancelot isn’t around for most of the show). What we do have is a very compelling and emotionally intense relationship (not to mention one that involves a lot of kidding-each-other, which is part of its charm), which is complicated by both class and deception issues and rarely if ever “just” about each other.
It’s worth remembering that Merlin starts out regarding Arthur as a necessary evil to the big destiny the dragon has promised him, and that Merlin is really invested in having said destiny. It gives him a purpose, it’s his answer to the “why am I the way I am?” question he poses in the pilot. He’ll develop more mixed feelings towards having said destiny later on, but that he wants to have it in the first place is important. Now, from the second episode onwards, he begins to warm up regarding Arthur, coming to see being Arthur’s servant as not entirely horrible in tandem with regarding Arthur as someone who might be more than the jerk he appeared to be at first sight. (Incidentally, it cracks me up that the first thing about Arthur Merlin appreciates is that Arthur is good at tournaments. Arthur displays more laudable character traits later on, but let’s face it - Valiant makes a pretty good case of Merlin not being immune to the shallow thrill of sports. Or Arthur in chainmail, depending on your slash goggles. Either way, colour me amused, especially since it’s partly true for Gwen as well, who at this point simply thinks Arthur is a royal bully but cheers more for him than Morgana and Uther do.) And the show does a good job of letting the viewer discover there’s more to Arthur as well, be it via ethical arguments between Uther and Arthur (in 1.3. and 1.4) or by letting him display courage, or a sense of responsibility in tandem with his sense of entitlement. But as opposed to some fanfic depictions where Merlin becomes completely devoted to Arthur, as opposed to my-destiny-and-Arthur or Arthur-and-my-destiny, early on, it is, and remains, more complicated and mixed than that. Yes, he’s willing to drink poison by 1.4 already, but he doesn’t do so “just” to save Arthur. He thinks he’s protecting Kara, the serving girl Nimueh pretends to be, whom he’s rather smitten with and, as he thinks she’s a bullied servant in fear of her king, identifies with as well. (If you compare Nimueh’s Kara persona with Freya in 2.09, they’re pretty similar. Apparently Merlin’s type, as far as girls are concerned, are dark-haired damsels persecuted by the authorities but really magical beings in disguise. This is why in the potential BTVS crossover I will not write he would inevitably encounter Drusilla.)
By 1.7. Merlin likes Arthur as a person enough to cover for him and spend time in the stocks repeatedly when he thinks Arthur is in love with Sophia. (Which really doesn’t have to do with anyone’s destiny.) I don’t think this equals Arthur having become the most important person in Merlin’s world, though. Or Merlin is now ignoring what character traits of Arthur’s he originally found objectionable. In 1.11., when he’s worried about Arthur but not (yet) in the type of life-or-death situation that colours pronouncements, he says to Gaius “Arthur is annoying and pig-headed, but he does care about his people”, which I think sums up his opinion at this point. Mind you, he clearly hopes Arthur sees him as more than an exchangeable servant (hence the going back and thro during 1.10 between “he’d do the same for any village” and “then he’s not the friend I hoped he may be” and “please don’t think differently of me”), and at this point he’s become closer to him than to either Gwen or Morgana, but as far as emotional hierarchies in Merlin’s life go, I’d say the order is pretty clearly Hunith-Gaius-Arthur. With the proverbial “whom would he save first out of a burning house” test working in that order. And whether he’s able to divide Arthur completely from the whole destiny gig is anyone’s guess, because the situations where Merlin is willing to die for Arthur, or commit morally ambiguous or downright morally wrong deeds (such as letting Mordred die, even though he’s ultimately unable to go through with it - yet) so Arthur will live, invariably mix up the two. It would be interesting if the show were to create a scenario where Merlin could believe he can fulfil his destiny without Arthur, and to confront him with it. (He was willing to leave both Camelot and Arthur behind for his mother in 1.10 and for Freya in 2.09 - more about the later in a moment, but in those cases he also was willing to quit on his promised destiny.)
The big elephant in the room in both seasons is, of course, the magic. Will is the only character who calls Merlin on the paradox of declaring he’d trust Arthur with his life on the one hand and being unwilling to do just that by revealing his magical abilities on the other. Now, of course things are more difficult than the biased Will allows, but he still has a point. In a way both statements are true - Merlin does and can trust Arthur to fight for him in any type of menace-of-the-week scenario, and as 1.11 shows to sacrifice his own life rather than let Merlin sacrifice his for him - but he’s not yet able to trust Arthur with the truth about being a warlock. By the time the first season ends, has Arthur given him enough reason to risk that? Let’s see.
Arthur’s attitude towards magic is somewhat more differentiated than his father’s - it could hardly be less so than Uther’s, of course, so not to damn with faint praise: for someone who has been raised on the belief that all magic is evil and so are all magic users, and has next to no experience with any magic that hasn’t been used in a negative manner, it’s surprisingly matter-of-factly instead of fanatical. For example, in 1.3. he doesn’t question Uther’s assumption that an evil magic user is behind the plague, or that all use of magic should be punished, but he makes a case for intentions being important when it comes to judgment. (I.e. if Gwen used magic to save her father’s life, she should not be treated the same way someone using magic to harm others should be.) In 1.08. he argues for a status quo truce with the druids as long as they don’t attack Camelot even before the whole “do we kill a child?” question arises, and of course is willing to save Mordred at the end when Morgana asks him to. In 1.12 he uses a similar argument to 1.3 about Tom when talking with his father, i.e. that the punishment should fit the crime and intentions should count (and Uther doesn’t listen there, either). But you know what’s missing in this entire list? Arthur actually questioning the basic premise of the whole belief system, i.e. that magic is something inherently evil. (His attitude is very similar to the one he takes towards the fake thief in 1.11; stealing food is a crime, but forgivable if you do it with the good intention of saving your children from starvation. Doesn’t change the fact the act itself is a crime. There is a big difference between extending mercy for something or believing that something not to be bad to begin with.) Add to this that Arthur while arguing with his father in private, when they’re alone or only Morgana is present, about Gwen, Mordred and Tom, does support him in public - when Merlin makes a critical remark about Uther arresting anyone who associated with Toran in 1.12, Arthur shuts him down immediately - and Arthur’s reaction in 1.10., both to the use of magic and to Will identifying himself as the magic user - and I think Merlin has good reason not to take that particular risk. Especially if you assume his emotional investment is still as much into having a destiny as it is into Arthur. Because at this point, Arthur might not kill him or hand him over to Uther, but he probably would send him away (or would have told him to stay in Ealdor, if Will hadn’t fake-confessed).
Arthur, of course, not being informed about prophecies regarding their destiny, has no other reason to keep Merlin around as a servant than the original life saving in the pilot and then the fact he comes to like him. The second time Merlin (as far as Arthur, though not the viewer, knows) saves his life by being willing to sacrifice his own, in 1.04, seems to genuinely shock him (whereas the first time, in the pilot, he responded just by being somewhat surprised and a tad annoyed), and triggers a willingness to not just argue with but defy his father and risk his own life to save Merlin in turn. However, as subsequent events and various on screen arguments with Uther about the knightly code prove, this is as much about Arthur’s understanding of noblesse oblige as it is about Merlin. Being prince (or king) does not just mean people risk their lives for you, it has to mean you’re willing to risk or give your life for theirs as well. The fact that in 1.08. he initially doesn’t want to include Merlin in the Mordred rescue operation (not knowing that Merlin was involved from the get go) and sends him away, only for Morgana to say “I trust Merlin”, has an interesting ambiguity in this regard; it can be because while Arthur and Morgana, if caught, risk Uther’s fury and presumably another stint in the local cells, but nothing worse, Merlin if caught definitely will be punished by death, or it can be because he’s still not sure whether or not to trust Merlin with such a secret.
Whether in 1.10. Morgana’s assumption that Arthur came to Ealdor strictly for Merlin’s sake, or Merlin’s defensive remark to his mother that Arthur would have done the same for any village menaced by a warlord, or even Will’s challenge that Arthur is there because he likes playing the hero, is right is something that is not simply a question of either/or, but both/and. On the other hand, Arthur’s questions about what it was like to grow up in Ealdor are definitely about Merlin as a person, and a sign he’s come to care about his less than stellar manservant beyond the opportunity for amusing banter. Still, as mentioned before: the one and only time Merlin dares to critisize Uther, Arthur reproves him immediately. Compare and contrast the many times Morgana does this, and I think I’ve made my case that while Arthur undoubtedly cares very much for Merlin by the time s1 ends, the fact that Merlin is a servant, not an equal, is always present for him as well.
During the second season, handwaving the first episode away, what strikes me is that Merlin and Arthur are more relaxed with each other (while the elephant in the room grows ever bigger and gets offspring, but more about that later). The banter is mutual; you have Merlin needling Arthur as much as vice versa (their “advice” to William - “knights think they’re so much better than everyone else”/ “ignore him, he’s an idiot” in 2.02. is a case in point, as is Merlin’s “oh, now you’re just showing off!” in 2.04 and his enjoyment in teasing Arthur about Arthur’s feelings for Gwen and Arthur’s uncomfortableness in talking about emotions in general (see 2.04 and 2.10). You also have Merlin’s irritated rant about Arthur putting him in danger without asking in 2.04. - which he wouldn’t have done in the first season. Arthur in 1.13 seems to have no clue what’s going with Merlin when Merlin comes to say goodbye, beyond the obvious fact Merlin is behaving weirdly, but by the time 2.09. and 2.13 roll along, he picks up when Merlin is seriously distressed about something and tries to do something about that. (He doesn’t know the real reason in either case, but he identifies the emotion clearly enough, and provides comfort in his clumsy way.) You also have Arthur demonstrating trust in Merlin on a variety of levels - when Uther orders him to arrest Merlin in 2.06 he misleads the guards and sends him away instead, he’s ready to take poison on Merlin’s promise he’ll come through the antidote in the same episode, they confide each other about their dead/missing parents in 2.08, in 2.09. he might be yelling about his bathwater but also stops the bounty hunter from interrogating Merlin immediately, when in 1.7. Arthur (admittedly under a spell, but still) let Merlin take the fall for him in 2.11. he might be pissed off but takes the blame instead of shifting it on Merlin when Uther chastises him about the key theft, and in 2.13 you have the circumvential “if I weren’t, then we’d get” friendship declaration. I’d define the difference to the 1.13 state of affairs from Arthur’s pov as going from “my servant whom I like a lot” to “my friend-except-I-can’t-have-any who is also my servant”. (The consciousness about their difference in station stays.)
At this point I imagine several readers spluttering “but he doesn’t believe him about Catrina, and Cedric, whereas in the first season he believed him about Valiant without even knowing him very well”. True. But starting with 1.13, we get Arthur’s occasional “you’re a riddle, Merlin” declarations. In 2.06 the entire “I’m an open book” / “I don’t believe that for a moment” exchange is played for comedy, but it’s there. I think a case can be made that Arthur is aware Merlin is lying to him about something, or several somethings, and on an ongoing basis. He doesn’t know what because he doesn’t want to - another thing 2.06 plays for comedy but does state in the “I didn’t do it”/”I don’t care, just get yourself to safety” exchange - but the awareness is there. Which makes for simultaneously more emotional openness and less willingness to believe individual statements.
Which brings us to the rapidly growing in size elephant in the room and its offsprings. Starting with 2.07, and with the exception of 2.10, events in Camelot get darker and darker, especially for a show that’s primarily directed at a young audience. 2.07 demonstrates that Uther was willing to let the closest thing he has to a best friend die as a magic user, and given the obvious parallels and contrasts between Uther/Gaius and Arthur/Merlin, and the fact that as opposed to the unjust taxes, where Arthur protested on his own, Arthur here didn’t interfere until pushed, this is anything but encouraging to Merlin as far as the big “to tell or not to tell” question is concerned. Then 2.08. deals out the double emotional wallop of Arthur at last being willing to question the entire premise of the belief system his father taught him, but doing so in combination with an action that would destroy him emotionally. Come to think about it, this is the closest thing we did get to an Arthur versus destiny instead of an Arthur + destiny scenario for Merlin, because stopping Arthur from killing his father with a statement that throws Arthur back on Uther’s anti-magic convictions (and btw, the way Colin Morgan chokes on the words was fantastic acting) was all about Arthur. (I don’t think Merlin at this point was cool enough to calculate whether or not a parricidal Arthur would be able to unite Albion, etc.) It still means that the inevitable real one day will now be burdened with another very serious lie, and Merlin knows it.
Enter Freya, in 2.09. Leaving aside Doylist deliberations about one-shots, Freya presents not simply someone with whom Merlin can interact without lying (I was going to add “other than Gaius”, but actually Merlin lies to Gaius pretty frequently as well in both seasons) but an illustration of how mixed his feelings about his Camelot existence and what it will/should lead to have gotten. Here’s an opportunity for choosing one of the persecuted instead of being congratulated for being a collaborator with the persecutors (which is what Uther did in the previous episode), a black and white scenario instead of more and more murky grey (Freya needs help, and she’s not planning on assassinating anyone; her werenature comes without intent), and basically the chance and a reason to run away. And he takes it. This is a problem only when you assume that Merlin is so utterly devoted to Arthur that nothing else counts (whether or not you see that devotion as romantic or platonic in nature), but not if you consider the show itself never said as much. Mind you: again ignoring Doylist realities and from a purely Watsonian standpoint, I don't think Merlin would have managed to actually stay away from Camelot for long. He and Freya didn't actually know each other very well and were idealizing each other (kathyh made a comparison to Lancelot and Gwen in 2.04, which struck me as right), plus, mixed feelings or no mixed feelings, the longing to have a destiny and point in life for Merlin would still have been there. But Merlin wanting to leave with Freya to begin with, at this particular point in the show? That I could believe. Freya’s death results in that s2 speciality, simultaneous greater closeness and greater deception, when, as mentioned earlier, Arthur picks up on Merlin’s distress and they have a hurt/comfort moment - but without ever revealing what it was all about.
The ensuing poisoning of Morgana and her resulting near-death, the freeing of the Dragon (partly a consequence of what happened with Morgana) and the resulting most definite deaths of over forty people, as well as the nature of Merlin’s relationship with Balinor are all a series of interconnected events and secrets that by the time s2 ends have made it next to impossible Merlin will reveal the truth to Arthur on his own, or that Arthur will simply respond in a “oh well then, so what, I like you anyway!” manner. (Though seriously, I don’t think he’d have done that a season earlier, either, when “all” Merlin was lying about was his magical ability. See above. Much as that is fun in fanfic to read.) There is also the fact that the longer Arthur supports Uther, even when he’s willing to judge in a case-by-case manner, the longer he’s also complicit in the death of more magic users and/or people who have the misfortune of being suspected as same. And I don’t think once he knows for sure about Merlin, he could continue to simultaneously carry out his father’s orders regarding other magic users. It’s a set up that basically allows no easy solutions, and I have no idea whether or not the show will deliver. But then again, ever since 1.08 with its “don’t do this, Emrys” scene where Merlin was seriously contemplating the death of a child, it has surprised me. And you know - one thing this particular relationship has never been was simple, or uncomplicated.