Merlin Musings
So, was doing some thinking about Merlin the other day, as a show in general, and trying to figure out the point to Merlin being immortal. With the information we have, that final shot of old Merlin in modern age is just CRUEL. He has to live forever because....? I mean, go send him to sleep in Avalon until Arthur is needed again. Give them too little hammocks, they'll be perfectly happy.
This, in turn, made me think of the episode The Disir, where this judgement on Arthur, and yet it seems more like Merlin is being punished for Arthur's choice, seeing as Arthur has no idea Mordred is supposed to kill him, as as effective punishment, it's kind of...weird. But that episode had a lot of ideas I found compelling about the intersection of Merlin, the Old Religion and Arthur. The series never fully addressed any of this, unfortunately. But, it lead me to other thoughts about how Arthur never even was a high king. He never united Albion. He was a good king, but not really a good enough one to warrent his Once and Futureness. And I love me some Arthur, but, for reals.
So then, I had a thought. The story is that Merlin was the clever servant to aide the Once and Future King to create the future, and that Arthur is the focal point, with Merlin as the tool. My preferred version has always been that Merlin was made to champion magic, but he fell in love with Arthur instead and mucked up everything fate had planned.
BUT
...what if...it's the other way around? What if it was Arthur that was the tool? What if Arthur was intended for Merlin to love? What if Arthur was made to be shiny goal for Merlin, a project for him to work on, and a Prince/King so Merlin had this higher purpose to aspire to? So Merlin is the focal point and the one that was supposed to make all these things happen, and, if he keeps on doing these things for all of time, Arthur's return is not so much world saving, but as a prize or motivator for Merlin? The hard truth is that this Arthur - and love him, I do- but he has virtually no skills that would be of use in a future time that would make him a prized asset. Throwing Arthur into World War 2 would basically just have assured death for him, as Arthur's strength was his combat capabilities, and by this point they'd be fairly useless. Merlin is the one who has the power to actually save a world.
So what if Arthur's purpose was not to be a fabulous king, but to motivate Merlin all while Merlin is devoted his full energy into this monarch, effectivly making Arthur a kind of distraction?
Thoughts?
This, in turn, made me think of the episode The Disir, where this judgement on Arthur, and yet it seems more like Merlin is being punished for Arthur's choice, seeing as Arthur has no idea Mordred is supposed to kill him, as as effective punishment, it's kind of...weird. But that episode had a lot of ideas I found compelling about the intersection of Merlin, the Old Religion and Arthur. The series never fully addressed any of this, unfortunately. But, it lead me to other thoughts about how Arthur never even was a high king. He never united Albion. He was a good king, but not really a good enough one to warrent his Once and Futureness. And I love me some Arthur, but, for reals.
So then, I had a thought. The story is that Merlin was the clever servant to aide the Once and Future King to create the future, and that Arthur is the focal point, with Merlin as the tool. My preferred version has always been that Merlin was made to champion magic, but he fell in love with Arthur instead and mucked up everything fate had planned.
BUT
...what if...it's the other way around? What if it was Arthur that was the tool? What if Arthur was intended for Merlin to love? What if Arthur was made to be shiny goal for Merlin, a project for him to work on, and a Prince/King so Merlin had this higher purpose to aspire to? So Merlin is the focal point and the one that was supposed to make all these things happen, and, if he keeps on doing these things for all of time, Arthur's return is not so much world saving, but as a prize or motivator for Merlin? The hard truth is that this Arthur - and love him, I do- but he has virtually no skills that would be of use in a future time that would make him a prized asset. Throwing Arthur into World War 2 would basically just have assured death for him, as Arthur's strength was his combat capabilities, and by this point they'd be fairly useless. Merlin is the one who has the power to actually save a world.
So what if Arthur's purpose was not to be a fabulous king, but to motivate Merlin all while Merlin is devoted his full energy into this monarch, effectivly making Arthur a kind of distraction?
Thoughts?