Because I’m sick of her being cast as a ruthless villain wrt Morgana at the end of season 3. Were you not paying attention? Were we watching the same show?
While I am not going to deny that Morgause set Morgana down the path that eventually led to the vengeance that consumed her and turned her into the wholly different person she was at the end of the series then she was at the beginning of the series I feel that some people’s views of her are too black & white and that completely blaming her for Morgana’s transformation is completely unjust & frankly without merit.
AT NO TIME within the series did Morgause show anything less then concern & devotion to Morgana. I believe wholeheartedly that she loved her sister dearly and that none of that was an act even though Morgause was extremely manipulative towards everyone else around her when it suited her. I’m not saying that at some points she may have made bad choices, but she had good intentions, at least where Morgana was concerned. If you actually watch the show, and I don’t think you have to watch it particularly closely as I caught it the first time (well before I became enchanted with my dear High Priestess) was that as Morgana’s thirst for vengeance grew and her desires & schemes grew more reckless so too did Morgause’s concern for her. The amount of times she would stop and ask Morgana if that was what she truly wished for or if she was sure that she wanted to go through with her plan increased in frequency. If she was sincerely the cold hearted villain who didn’t care for Morgana’s well being & only for revenge why give pause? Why all the second guessing of Morgana’s growing vengeance?Â
She recognised that her sister was turning into someone, something different. While Morgause had sought revenge for many years she was never actually consumed by it (for an example of that see: Morgana s5), and no matter what your opinion of her I believe that we can all agree that she is smart & perceptive enough to recognise someone who is slipping into it’s grasp and did not wish that fate on someone she loved more than anything else in the world. No she did not ever try and stop Morgana or go against her wishes, but if Morgause could give Morgana the world I think she would, but it was there - she did try to moderate Morgana’s actions even if she did not actively try to stop her.
Yes her last act was to sacrifice herself for Morgana’s cause, but maybe, just maybe she believed that if Morgana finally gained the throne of Camelot her vengeance would be sated. After all there was nothing else for her to do for her sister - she would not be around any more to try and help her so we will never know. But you cannot tell me that someone who started out supporting her sister, full stop, to someone who questioned her, albeit gently, and only to try and get Morgana to rethink what she was about to do, did not care & was not trying to keep Morgana from slipping into the woman she became.Â
Now would she have still encouraged Morgana? OF COURSE. She wanted Morgana on the throne as much as Morgana, but she could want that & encourage her & still worry for her mental well being. And she “queen of plots to revive a magical kingdom & overthrow camelot” certainly knew how to work on one & keep the other because it was never just about her. It was about everyone with magic even before she found Morgana.