Merlin: The Road to Camelot (Fandom Overview)
Hi everyone! This month I'm taking you on a magical mystery tour to the fair castle of Camelot, hot on the trail of the hottest new fandom around, Merlin.
Merlin is the newest, gayest incarnation of the Arthurian Cycle (and that's saying something, as the medieval versions are pretty darn gay, with all those "jousting" knights, thrusting swords, and long, long quests with nary a woman to be seen). The first season is just about to finish its run of thirteen episodes on the BBC. It's made for a general audience (think kids adventure show), so it's one of those fandoms you can share with anyone, from non-fans to friendshippers, to full-on slashers and het shippers.
The Premise
Merlin is almost a highschool-AU-style adaptation of the Arthurian Cycle (which I'm assuming everyone knows the basics of: King Arthur, Holy Grail, Knights of the Round Table, Excalibur, etc), and it contains many of the elements you'll already know from the Arthurian mythos, but sets the story whilst the protagonists are still young adults.
In this version of the story, Arthur is not yet king, and is bound by the decrees of his rather strict and bigotted father, Uther Pendragon. Merlin is newly arrived at Camelot to train with the court physician, Gaius. After acting to save Arthur's life, Merlin becomes the Prince's green and hapless young manservant, much to Arthur's dismay.
Despite a rather rocky start, Arthur and Merlin quickly forge a close friendship and together they manage to save Camelot from evil.
But there's a twist -- Uther is decidedly anti-magic, and punishes magic users with death; which means Merlin must keep his powers secret from everyone, including Arthur. This is made rather difficult by the weekly arrival of a magical monster/baddie.
Oh, there's one final ingredient you need to know about: The Gay. It's not only slashers who can see it -- even the critics are talking about the show's slashy subtext. So expect a lot of Merlin/Arthur friendship, snark and sex in the upcoming rec set; add in a dragon and some court intrigue, and you have the basic recipe of the show.
The Characters
Merlin (Colin Morgan)
Meet Merlin. (Hi, Merlin, hi!) Something that this photo doesn't clearly show you, but that you need to know, is that Merlin has rather, shall we say, unique ears. Within fic, Merlin's ears have not yet reached the iconic status of John Sheppard's elf ears, but mark my words: verily shall Merlin and his ears be known throughout the land.
Another important thing you need to know is that Merlin is a yuppy. He started out as a village boy from humble origins, but now has two jobs: training to be a healer with Gaius, the court physician, and working as Prince Arthur's manservant. Merlin is a terrible manservant, it turns out, but luckily for Arthur, he's a fantastic friend. Arthur doesn't have enough of those who aren't prats. In his spare time, Merlin is learning how to use his magic; he does this mainly by magicking away household chores, and saving Arthur's life.
In other news, Merlin has been known to flirt with Gwen, with various knights (such as Lancelot) and old boyhood friends (Will), and also with the Great Dragon locked up underneath the castle.
Prince Arthur (Bradley James)
This is Arthur. Pretty, isn't he? The other important thing you need to know about him is that he's a bully and a prat. Fortunately, Merlin has his number, and doesn't let him get away with it. To give Arthur his due, he seems to recognise that this is a good thing, and as a result he's only sacked Merlin a little bit for his cheek; Arthur is rapidly turning into the kind of man who will make a much better king than his father. He's already a knight of some prowess, and is in charge of a large party of knights who protect the kingdom.
As for Uther and Arthur -- they have a rather fraught relationship. Arthur wants his father's respect, but is also starting to disagree with Uther's policies.
When it comes to pairings other than Arthur/Merlin, the main ship so far is Arthur/Morgana, due to some UST between the characters.
Guinevere -- Gwen (Angel Coulby)
Guinevere (Gwen) is also a servant in this incarnation of the story, working as a maid for Morgana. There's no hint of how she will transform into Queen Guinevere, but I for one can't wait to see her in some fancy clothes.
So far, Gwen is the little black dress of the fandom, as she's been paired with Merlin (for the flirting), Morgana (for the girl friendship), and Arthur (for the mythos).
Morgana (Katie McGrath)
There are three important things you need to know about Morgana: 1) she has the magical powers of a seer; 2) she's Uther's ward; and 3) the mythos suggests she will not stay one of the good guys, although it depends on which version you read. So, gorgeous and potentially an enemy of Arthur and Merlin if things go tragically wrong. Mmmmm. A winning combination.
Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head)
The big bad king of Camelot. Uther is a strict father and merciless king. He's got the last Great Dragon locked up in the celler, and he lops off heads left and right for the merest whiff of magic. He seems to care about Arthur, in a fairly ruthless, you-shall-be-a-great-king-like-it-or-not sort of way. But hey, this is bad daddy played by Giles, so the fandom kind of loves to hate him already, and he gets more sympathy than you'd otherwise expect.
Gaius (Richard Wilson)
The healer training Merlin, and the one person at court who canonically knows Merlin has magic. Gaius is a trusted confidante of the king, and generally plays the wise old man role.
The Great Dragon (John Hurt)
And then there is the Great Dragon, who gives out fortune cookie advice, just to make things extra mystical. The Dragon's advice to Merlin is always cryptic, and usually contains the word "destiny" (ie. Merlin and Arthur are destined to be together forever). The Dragon has a kind of boring life, though, locked up underneath the castle and all, with the only highlight being the dispensation of advice to a gormless wizard. So who can blame him for being a bit of a drama queen about it and yanking on Merlin's chain in the process?
Nimueh (Michelle Ryan)
Nimueh is the show's arch-villian. We don't know a lot about her yet, except that she's a sorceress. There's some kind of history between Nimueh and Uther, and the implication is that she's a big part of the reason for the anti-magic law.
Fandom Resources
Alternative Introductory Guides:
(kindly provided by wistfuljane)
The Merlin Wiki
Fanlore's entry
merlin_ljguide
bbc_merlin_news: the daily newsletter
The fiction:
Merlin Fanfiction Archive
merlinfic
merlin_flashfic
merlinslash
merlinrpf
Specific Pairings:
merlinxarthur
gwenmorganabbc
camelot_tree: rare pairings
Songvids:
merlin_vids
ETA: There's some discussion of canon and the legends, and more links to resources in the comments. Because fandom is awesome like that. :)
Merlin is the newest, gayest incarnation of the Arthurian Cycle (and that's saying something, as the medieval versions are pretty darn gay, with all those "jousting" knights, thrusting swords, and long, long quests with nary a woman to be seen). The first season is just about to finish its run of thirteen episodes on the BBC. It's made for a general audience (think kids adventure show), so it's one of those fandoms you can share with anyone, from non-fans to friendshippers, to full-on slashers and het shippers.
The Premise
Merlin is almost a highschool-AU-style adaptation of the Arthurian Cycle (which I'm assuming everyone knows the basics of: King Arthur, Holy Grail, Knights of the Round Table, Excalibur, etc), and it contains many of the elements you'll already know from the Arthurian mythos, but sets the story whilst the protagonists are still young adults.
In this version of the story, Arthur is not yet king, and is bound by the decrees of his rather strict and bigotted father, Uther Pendragon. Merlin is newly arrived at Camelot to train with the court physician, Gaius. After acting to save Arthur's life, Merlin becomes the Prince's green and hapless young manservant, much to Arthur's dismay.
Despite a rather rocky start, Arthur and Merlin quickly forge a close friendship and together they manage to save Camelot from evil.
But there's a twist -- Uther is decidedly anti-magic, and punishes magic users with death; which means Merlin must keep his powers secret from everyone, including Arthur. This is made rather difficult by the weekly arrival of a magical monster/baddie.
Oh, there's one final ingredient you need to know about: The Gay. It's not only slashers who can see it -- even the critics are talking about the show's slashy subtext. So expect a lot of Merlin/Arthur friendship, snark and sex in the upcoming rec set; add in a dragon and some court intrigue, and you have the basic recipe of the show.
The Characters
Merlin (Colin Morgan)
Meet Merlin. (Hi, Merlin, hi!) Something that this photo doesn't clearly show you, but that you need to know, is that Merlin has rather, shall we say, unique ears. Within fic, Merlin's ears have not yet reached the iconic status of John Sheppard's elf ears, but mark my words: verily shall Merlin and his ears be known throughout the land.
Another important thing you need to know is that Merlin is a yuppy. He started out as a village boy from humble origins, but now has two jobs: training to be a healer with Gaius, the court physician, and working as Prince Arthur's manservant. Merlin is a terrible manservant, it turns out, but luckily for Arthur, he's a fantastic friend. Arthur doesn't have enough of those who aren't prats. In his spare time, Merlin is learning how to use his magic; he does this mainly by magicking away household chores, and saving Arthur's life.
In other news, Merlin has been known to flirt with Gwen, with various knights (such as Lancelot) and old boyhood friends (Will), and also with the Great Dragon locked up underneath the castle.
Prince Arthur (Bradley James)
This is Arthur. Pretty, isn't he? The other important thing you need to know about him is that he's a bully and a prat. Fortunately, Merlin has his number, and doesn't let him get away with it. To give Arthur his due, he seems to recognise that this is a good thing, and as a result he's only sacked Merlin a little bit for his cheek; Arthur is rapidly turning into the kind of man who will make a much better king than his father. He's already a knight of some prowess, and is in charge of a large party of knights who protect the kingdom.
As for Uther and Arthur -- they have a rather fraught relationship. Arthur wants his father's respect, but is also starting to disagree with Uther's policies.
When it comes to pairings other than Arthur/Merlin, the main ship so far is Arthur/Morgana, due to some UST between the characters.
Guinevere -- Gwen (Angel Coulby)
Guinevere (Gwen) is also a servant in this incarnation of the story, working as a maid for Morgana. There's no hint of how she will transform into Queen Guinevere, but I for one can't wait to see her in some fancy clothes.
So far, Gwen is the little black dress of the fandom, as she's been paired with Merlin (for the flirting), Morgana (for the girl friendship), and Arthur (for the mythos).
Morgana (Katie McGrath)
There are three important things you need to know about Morgana: 1) she has the magical powers of a seer; 2) she's Uther's ward; and 3) the mythos suggests she will not stay one of the good guys, although it depends on which version you read. So, gorgeous and potentially an enemy of Arthur and Merlin if things go tragically wrong. Mmmmm. A winning combination.
Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head)
The big bad king of Camelot. Uther is a strict father and merciless king. He's got the last Great Dragon locked up in the celler, and he lops off heads left and right for the merest whiff of magic. He seems to care about Arthur, in a fairly ruthless, you-shall-be-a-great-king-like-it-or-not sort of way. But hey, this is bad daddy played by Giles, so the fandom kind of loves to hate him already, and he gets more sympathy than you'd otherwise expect.
Gaius (Richard Wilson)
The healer training Merlin, and the one person at court who canonically knows Merlin has magic. Gaius is a trusted confidante of the king, and generally plays the wise old man role.
The Great Dragon (John Hurt)
And then there is the Great Dragon, who gives out fortune cookie advice, just to make things extra mystical. The Dragon's advice to Merlin is always cryptic, and usually contains the word "destiny" (ie. Merlin and Arthur are destined to be together forever). The Dragon has a kind of boring life, though, locked up underneath the castle and all, with the only highlight being the dispensation of advice to a gormless wizard. So who can blame him for being a bit of a drama queen about it and yanking on Merlin's chain in the process?
Nimueh (Michelle Ryan)
Nimueh is the show's arch-villian. We don't know a lot about her yet, except that she's a sorceress. There's some kind of history between Nimueh and Uther, and the implication is that she's a big part of the reason for the anti-magic law.
Fandom Resources
Alternative Introductory Guides:
(kindly provided by wistfuljane)
- The Guide: Merlin (BBC) by burntcopper @ merlin_ljguide.
- my shame (and accompanying picspam of gay): an introduction of Merlin by sweetestdrain.
- Here be dragons: a picspam and intro to Merlin by aleathiel.
- An introduction of Merlin in pispam format by lexandros.
- Merlin: Massive Post of Pimpage by 20thcenturyvole @ volehole
- Merlin Pimping Post by mklutz (this is in to-read folder, but it's a massive picspam intro)
- So... Merlin: a pondering on Merlin (BBC) and its slash factor by stillane.
The Merlin Wiki
Fanlore's entry
merlin_ljguide
bbc_merlin_news: the daily newsletter
The fiction:
Merlin Fanfiction Archive
merlinfic
merlin_flashfic
merlinslash
merlinrpf
Specific Pairings:
merlinxarthur
gwenmorganabbc
camelot_tree: rare pairings
Songvids:
merlin_vids
ETA: There's some discussion of canon and the legends, and more links to resources in the comments. Because fandom is awesome like that. :)