the way you so completely misunderstood my post is actually almost impressive. anyway, let’s chat, shall we?
“Merlin only poisoned Morgana because she was holding the sleeping curse onto Camelot. A fact that she’s 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 aware of. She 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 Merlin didn’t poison her for having magic.”
Incorrect for several reasons. Firstly, Morgana didn’t know that she was the anchor of the curse. Or did you forget that Morgause knocked her out before casting that spell? Morgana might have had suspicions, but she didn’t KNOW for certain, and so how could she think that Merlin knew? The ONLY information she had at the time was that Merlin knew about her magic. And it’s not like he stopped to tell her that he was killing her because she was the anchor. Once again: all he did was nod. SHE made the assumption that her magic was protecting her, SHE made the assumption that Merlin was lying to cover for her magic, SHE made the assumption that Merlin was killing her for that reason. You assume malevolence where there is only misunderstanding.
2. “Morgana didn’t know about Merlin having magic— but what she 𝑑𝑖𝑑 know is that he was a magic sympathizer.”
You know who else she “knew” was a magic sympathiser? Gaius. And yet, he did nothing to help her. Why should Morgana trust “magic sympathisers” when not even those closest to her would help her? Gaius practically helped to raise her, and yet when she went to him in fear, he gaslit her and told her that she was delusional. Once again, you’re assuming malevolence. Morgana, especially in the early seasons, was afraid. She could have easily been killed had anyone found her out and told Uther, and she had no reason or proof to believe that any “sympathisers” would actually be on her side. That, coupled with Morgause’s manipulation, is the foundation she started with. Fear, paranoia, isolation, and manipulation.
3. “for the love of god, Merlin. Did. Not. Owe. Morgana. His. Secret. What he owed her as his her friend and someone of her kind was 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭.”
3. (cont.) “And why are you certain that that would have changed Morgana and not just made Merlin a bigger target when she went Darkside? it’s always about how he could’ve benefitted Morgana more and never about how this risky this would be for Merlin.”
I’m not certain. I think it could have helped, if it had happened very early, before Morgause had time to manipulate her way into Morgana’s confidence. And it would have benefitted Merlin as well, to have someone like him that he could be himself with, someone with whom he could be wholly honest. Because his only other confidants in the series are Gaius, who was obsessed with Uther to almost the same degree that Merlin becomes obsessed with Arthur, and Kilgharrah, who very clearly had his own agenda that did not always align with Merlin’s morality or the prophecy. Merlin has no other magical friends within the series. Every other magic user either hates him or reveres him, but there are absolutely none with whom he is on an equal level with. He and Morgana could have had that. But again, only if it happened very early, and only if it happened before Morgause intervened. (You seem to be ignoring or forgetting that Morgause is a strong influence for Morgana for more than half the series.)
4. “Morgana is pretty firmly a villain by episode 10— and that’s me being generous. When she uses her influence and the anti magic laws(yk.. the one she’s supposed to be fighting to change) to try and get gwen-her best friend who has done nothing wrong - executed because she would become queen.”
“by episode 10” of season 3. And again, it was done under Morgause’s influence. Morgause is the one who encouraged Morgana to get Gwen out of the way. Morgana of season one and two would have never put Gwen in harm’s way. Morgana free of influence would have never hurt Gwen. Again, you are ignoring outside influences here in order to paint Morgana as some born-evil villain.
Morgause is also responsible for the first coup on Camelot - it was her decision to usurp Uther, to put Morgana on the throne, to claim her inheritance as the “rightful heir” as Uther’s daughter. Morgause is responsible in equal part for the atrocities committed in Camelot against the people. Morgana did not take Camelot alone.
5. “i don’t completely disagree on the Mordred bit. However Merlin wasn’t irrational in his distrust. And there was far more at risk than Arthur’s life. But to make one thing clear, what pushed mordred to Morgana was the fact that 𝐴𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑟 sentaced Kara to death. I Merlin culpable?sure I’m not going deny that,but it was ultimately Arthur that did it instead of acknowledging that she was right.”
This is all true. I actually despise season five for this exact reason. Merlin wasn’t wholly irrational, but to be clear, in my original response I’m talking about early seasons, not the end of the show.
Merlin had good - if somewhat questionable - reason to distrust Mordred. But in distrusting Mordred, Merlin played a role in the fulfilment of the prophecy he was so afraid of. A key theme in this show is that many of the prophecies are self-fulfilling or circular - in trying to avoid them, most of the time, the decisions made lead to the prophecies coming true. For example, Merlin being shown a vision in the Crystal of Neahtid about Morgana killing Uther, and his attempt to stop her leading to her being on her deathbed, which is how she discovers that Uther is her father, which then stokes her hatred for him - which up until that point had been solely focused on magic - and leads to her ultimately killing him by proxy (Agravaine). In his attempt to prevent that prophecy, Merlin’s choices led to it coming true.
The point is, if Merlin had tried to befriend Mordred, instead of trying to kill him (as a child), their story could have been different. Again, very similarly to Morgana, can it guarantee a change? No, of course not. But it could have. That’s the tragedy of Merlin, so many things could have been different, but they weren’t, because it was always going to end that way. The characters were always doomed.
My point with my original post was not to “shift blame” onto Merlin. Nor was it to strip responsibility from Morgana. However, you in your apparent hatred of her character, have chosen to ignore the underlying context and the circumstances surrounding her decisions in order to paint her as someone who has always been and will always be evil. That is a gross misunderstanding of the show, the character, and the narrative itself, not to mention a blatant misunderstanding of my own post, where I made all of this very clear.
Morgana was a villain by the end of the show. But she did not start that way, and she did not become a villain alone.
Merlin does bear responsibility for what happened to her, because ultimately, his betrayal of her, coupled with Morgause’s influence, Uther’s warmongering, Gaius’s gaslighting, and Arthur’s ignorance, is what set her on that path in the first place.
She could have been good. Just as Merlin could have been evil. They share responsibility. And so they share the blame.
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