What BBCM needed was more corrupt knights who weren’t reliant on magic to indicate their cruelty. So not Valiant or Dagr (who was only pretending to be a knight), but nobles who are villains because of their classism, their anti-magic stance, their general lack of compassion that contradicts their own code. Camelot knights or fighters from other anti-magic kingdoms, like Amata, who have nothing to do with magic because they believe it is an inherent evil.
They’re not trying to assassinate Arthur or anything like that. They’re antagonistic villains because of how their unethical values hurt the people they’re sworn to protect. They’re villains because of the very qualities that Uther’s reign encourages in them, that Arthur’s reign continues but must end. Perhaps Arthur is able to ignore their flaws that are so blatant to those suffering the abuse, up until it affects him personally. And he realizes he was warned, he just minimized the issue because he doesn’t care about those with magic, or because it’s considered “normal” to treat servants as tools instead of people.
Let this be a lead into Arthur’s own character development, where he fully realizes the effects of the laws he’s upheld, how they don’t really benefit the people at all. Bring Arthur the understanding that the real enemy isn’t just anyone who undermines his authority, but is instead something he himself has perpetuated, something he will put an end to (especially since his romance with Gwen relies on it).
Make Arthur a great king instead of just calling him one. Or if he is not meant to show this growth until the very end, then don’t justify it and minimize its effects in the meantime. Emphasize Merlin, Gwen, Morgana, and other oppressed people’s stakes in the magic ban being overturned and the working class becoming equal, because this is just as important as any Arthur assassination plot, if not more so.
No more dependency on magical means for villains. The plots-of-the-week lose meaning when they forget that people don’t become evil because they’re “corrupted” by magic, but because of their own inability to value and respect other people as their equals, whether they have magic or just the weapons Arthur provides them. And yes, involving the conflict between Merlin and his magical kin is compelling! He has to choose between Arthur—who is conflated with the greater good of his people—and another individual victim of Uther’s Purge sometimes! And he will try to resolve this by some compromise that benefits both parties, or he’ll see no way to escape the ultimatum! But that story does not rely on the “someone is trying to assassinate Arthur… with magic!” formula that is found in nearly every episode.
Show us that the reason a character is a villain is not because they’re, by default, suspicious for lying about their associations with magic or for disapproving of Arthur’s laws, but because they are doing harm to the people we’re rooting for: the magical communities that Uther traumatized, the working class who have as much worth as any noble, or even the personal life of an individual that has nothing to do with the way Camelot is ruled (without neglecting to show how this intersects with their status). Show us the distinct ways in which the core four and the round table are impacted by this. Show us just how an attack on Arthur can be construed as an attack on the people Merlin is trying to protect.
Return the life and depth to the story. Expand on the world-building. Make the individuals throughout Camelot and Albion as significant as their kings are. Create villains that are consistent with the underlying themes. Remember what each character, including the villains and antagonists, is fighting for.
annaxmalina
germansingergirl
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