Oh, you're perfectly right—I didn't mean to say that Arthur doesn't carefully heed the advice that Merlin imparts when he himself is at a crossroads and at a loss. Not at all. Actually, I feel like Merlin recognized that he had this power, and doomed them all when he told Arthur to reject magic with the thought that it would save Arthur's life.
This was, to me, the most devastating moment of series 5. Yep, more than even that finale. To me, the situation itself was a double-edged sword that left Merlin with no right answer. If he'd said, "Yes, Arthur, accept the Old Religion and bring back magic!" then he would be putting his own interests and ambitions first. By saying what he did, he showed us that Arthur, the man, not the great king that he's supposed to become, is more important to Merlin than anything. By heeding that advice, Arthur showed us just how much he really trusts Merlin—and doomed himself. *headdesk* If ever there was a good reason for the writers to wait so long for magic to be accepted, though, this was it. The plot device itself was one designed to put this bond between them to the test, and by caring so damn much about each other, they fail.
When I said that Merlin is ultimately a subject of Arthur's, one under his command whose advice Arthur takes and discards as he pleases, I was more referring to the times when Arthur isn't at a crossroads. It's weird, this system between Arthur and Merlin, because when Arthur is lost, he first turns to Merlin, and listens. But when Arthur is sure of himself, while Gwen's words can give him pause, Merlin's he scoffs at and either has to be convinced to heed him or receives an "I told you so" later on. These cases are all generally results of Merlin having information that Arthur doesn't because of magic, and so would most definitely be decision making processes heavily affected by Arthur's knowledge of Merlin's powers.
The way things always were in the show, my feeling is that Arthur's relationship with Gwen and Merlin only balanced out because he wasn't really seeing all of Merlin. He indulged Gwen and listened to her most of the time, but she never had quite as much advice to offer as Merlin did. Merlin's advice was sometimes taken and sometimes not, but there's so darn much of it. But once this mask called magic is gone! Oh, then all of Merlin's warnings and suggestions and advice would suddenly be valuable, because there would no longer be unsubstantiated arguments like, "I had this odd feeling that this is the case."
Which is why, if they'd done the reveal earlier, I feel like it would have gone differently. I feel like we'd have had Arthur shy away from Merlin for a bit longer than a day, and ignore his advice time and again until he finally accepted him. And then suddenly Merlin would be everything, so important to not only Arthur but also to the kingdom...that I feel like Gwen would have to fade into the background.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Part 2 I
Date: 2013-03-09 12:39 am (UTC)This was, to me, the most devastating moment of series 5. Yep, more than even that finale. To me, the situation itself was a double-edged sword that left Merlin with no right answer. If he'd said, "Yes, Arthur, accept the Old Religion and bring back magic!" then he would be putting his own interests and ambitions first. By saying what he did, he showed us that Arthur, the man, not the great king that he's supposed to become, is more important to Merlin than anything. By heeding that advice, Arthur showed us just how much he really trusts Merlin—and doomed himself. *headdesk* If ever there was a good reason for the writers to wait so long for magic to be accepted, though, this was it. The plot device itself was one designed to put this bond between them to the test, and by caring so damn much about each other, they fail.
When I said that Merlin is ultimately a subject of Arthur's, one under his command whose advice Arthur takes and discards as he pleases, I was more referring to the times when Arthur isn't at a crossroads. It's weird, this system between Arthur and Merlin, because when Arthur is lost, he first turns to Merlin, and listens. But when Arthur is sure of himself, while Gwen's words can give him pause, Merlin's he scoffs at and either has to be convinced to heed him or receives an "I told you so" later on. These cases are all generally results of Merlin having information that Arthur doesn't because of magic, and so would most definitely be decision making processes heavily affected by Arthur's knowledge of Merlin's powers.
The way things always were in the show, my feeling is that Arthur's relationship with Gwen and Merlin only balanced out because he wasn't really seeing all of Merlin. He indulged Gwen and listened to her most of the time, but she never had quite as much advice to offer as Merlin did. Merlin's advice was sometimes taken and sometimes not, but there's so darn much of it. But once this mask called magic is gone! Oh, then all of Merlin's warnings and suggestions and advice would suddenly be valuable, because there would no longer be unsubstantiated arguments like, "I had this odd feeling that this is the case."
Which is why, if they'd done the reveal earlier, I feel like it would have gone differently. I feel like we'd have had Arthur shy away from Merlin for a bit longer than a day, and ignore his advice time and again until he finally accepted him. And then suddenly Merlin would be everything, so important to not only Arthur but also to the kingdom...that I feel like Gwen would have to fade into the background.
**Continues in Re: Part 2 II**