One thing that has always bothered me about Merlin is how much moral credit Arthur receives simply for feeling bad.
The show presents the persecution of magic as one of the greatest injustices in Albion's history. People are executed, entire communities are driven into hiding, druids are hunted, and religious practices are criminalized. The Great Purge is not portrayed as a series of isolated incidents but as a systematic campaign of violence carried out by the state over decades.
Yet when it comes to Arthur, the narrative seems remarkably willing to forgive.
Arthur inherits the kingdom that committed these crimes. He benefits from the system that was built through them. For most of the series, the persecution continues under his authority. The laws remain. The structures remain. The fear remains. Magical people are still forced to conceal who they are.
And yet the audience is constantly reminded that Arthur is different. Arthur is kinder. Arthur is more understanding. Arthur feels remorse.
But remorse is not justice.
If your family was killed, if your community was destroyed, if your religion was outlawed, what exactly does Arthur's remorse do for you? What does it change? The show often seems to treat his sympathy as though it is a form of restitution in itself, as though recognizing an injustice somehow compensates for the people who suffered from it.
The audience is repeatedly invited to focus on Arthur's internal struggle. We are asked to admire his compassion. We are asked to appreciate that he is more tolerant than his father. We are asked to see him as morally exceptional because he occasionally questions the system he was raised within.
But from the perspective of the people being persecuted, that distinction must seem almost meaningless.
A magical family fleeing execution is not made safer because the prince privately disagrees with the policy. A druid community does not recover because Arthur feels conflicted. The dead do not return because the future king has developed a more nuanced perspective.
The material reality of persecution remains exactly the same.
What makes this even stranger is that Arthur receives enormous moral credit for things he supposedly will do in the future. The audience knows the prophecy. We are told that one day he will restore magic to the land. One day he will create a better Albion. One day things will be different.
The problem is that "one day" never helps the people suffering in the present.
And the show relies on this future promise constantly.
Arthur is forgiven because one day he will be better. The kingdom is forgiven because one day it will be better. The dynasty is forgiven because one day it will be better.
The narrative continually asks the audience to evaluate Camelot not according to what it is, but according to what it might become.
But that future never arrives.
What actually exists on screen is a kingdom built upon decades of persecution and a ruler who, despite his personal doubts, largely preserves that system.
The magical communities are expected to place their faith in the future goodwill of the very dynasty that persecuted them. They are expected to trust that the heir of the kingdom responsible for their suffering will eventually make things right. The burden is placed on them to wait patiently for acceptance to be granted from above.
And that is what I find so frustrating about the show's politics. It recognizes oppression. It condemns oppression. It repeatedly shows the devastating effects of oppression. Yet when it comes time to imagine a solution, it cannot seem to think beyond the idea of a good king.
The victims do not receive justice. The people responsible are rarely held accountable. The structures that enabled the persecution are never seriously questioned.
Instead, the story focuses on the conscience of the ruler.
The audience is encouraged to celebrate Arthur because he understands that persecution was wrong. But understanding is the bare minimum. Feeling guilty is the bare minimum. The fact that the series treats these things as extraordinary moral achievements is what makes the whole narrative feel so strange.
By the end, the show seems less interested in the people whose lives were destroyed than in proving that the king has become enlightened. The suffering of magical communities becomes part of Arthur's character development.
And that's the contradiction at the heart of Merlin: it knows persecution is evil, but it seems far more invested in redeeming the people connected to that persecution than in imagining what justice for its victims would actually look like.
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