#watchs1

merlin is baby

~ exposition ~

lmao merlin literally gets discovered on his first hour in camelot before he even says a word to gaius this boy did not keep his magic secret for another ten years

merlin’s so smiley and adorable :(( as opposed to how broken down he is by the end of the show i am SAD

this morgana is so great and also completely and explicitly against uther’s war on magic? WHAT HAPPENS

gaius: obvs i don’t need to tell you that you gotta keep it lowkey or you will get killed. right? good

merlin, like five minutes later: *tries to fistfight the prince of camelot*

wow arthur really is a jerk. that character development tho

this scene already feels different in context adfhsksk

it takes arthur like 0.5 seconds to realize he’s never met anyone like merlin before

lmao at gaius laughing so hard at merlin in the stocks

gwen is so sweet and gentle and lovely 🥰  + i love that little music for her

i love merlin and gwen so!! much!! their dynamic is great and i am forever craving more of them together

“did you ever study magic?” “uther banned all such work 20 years ago” gaius that is evading the question!!

arthur’s really desperate for merlin’s attention huh

arthur’s “friends” not reacting to merlin’s SICK burn is unrealistic

i can’t believe how hard they’re flirting boys you’re in public

also merlin stop trying to fight the prince of freaking camelot!! i know he’s hot but his father WILL kill you

there it is, possibly one of the best lines of the entire show. merlin’s “my lord” kills me dead every fucking time god i love him

aaand now he’s using magic in front of arthur and also a huge crowd. no survival instincts i’m telling you

“how could you be so FOOlish”

now there’s something really interesting, merlin already sees magic as a truly fundamental part of himself

also merlin’s immaturity really comes through here and is a good reminder that arthur isn’t the only one to go through major character development 

every single time kilgharrah whispers merlin i see the title screen in my head

bruh are these guards not scared of these fucking haunted dice

ah yes the beginning of kilgharrah being utterly unhelpful

uhh i’m also a very big fan of merlin and morgana and honestly we were robbed of their relationship too

also they dropped the whole arthur and morgana thing so hard after season 1 i totally forgot about it

morgana and gwen :((( i love them

boys i agree morgana is STUNNING

flustered gwen is adorable and merlin is a tragically lovable idiot

mary collins really lives for the drama and i respect that

“FATHER” arthur’s such a pissbaby i love him. also this is the best decision uther ever made

those LOOKS they give each other. you two have absolutely no idea everything that’s to come 😭

wait gaius is actually encouraging merlin to use magic

wait wait wait i know merlin keeps it from gaius at first but gaius finds out about kilgharrah and his destiny and all that eventually right? how much does gaius know about merlin’s destiny later on?

merlin looks so scared hunting im love him

merlin’s face looking at the unicorn is my face every time i look at him

not the last time we’ll see merlin trying to save a magical creature

merlin apologizes to the unicorn 😢

“it was the most beautiful creature i’d ever seen” toxic masculinity whom

i love that merlin’s disappointed in arthur for taking pleasure in killing the unicorn, that he expects better from him

i need to make a gif compilation of people walking in on merlin and arthur being far closer to each other than they need to be

of course it’s magic gaius

“it would be embarrassing to have to lock up my own servant for breaking the curfew” arthur doesn’t suspect merlin for a goddamn second

merlin not understanding hand signals is hilarious

digging anhora’s vibe

the gall on merlin. no one else can talk to arthur like that

this episode highlights the fact that merlin really is quite rubbish as a servant and i’m living for it 

merlin really does spend the vast majority of his time with arthur huh

“then it’s probably best you don’t tell him” merlin spurring arthur to sneak around his father’s back,, there’s just something about it

when you think for a second that gwen and morgana are sneaking food away for themselves but actually they’re trying to feed the people who need it most 😭

likewise, arthur not wanting to eat while his people are starving is just 🥺

because you KNOW uther is out there eating more than his share because he’s the king or whatever bs

merlin’s little nod when arthur asks if he’s eating rat 😂

arthur there is no need to stand so close to him!!

morgana walking in, one more for that gif set

you can tell evan’s hitting home by taunting arthur with uther’s disappointment in him 😢

still think anhora’s total unphazedness is wicked cool

to be fair to arthur, this test doesn’t feel on par with the first. mostly bc i’d argue that the dude deserved some punishment. but like yeah arthur sorta loses it

his complete anguish however at his people being punished because of him is touching and heartbreaking

merlin recognizes this love for his people in arthur

“i would rather starve than beg my enemies for help” yeah but you’re not the one starving huh uther

“you’ll have to give that order yourself” hell yeah arthur!!

is uther seriously trying to blame this on arthur for not catching the sorcerer?? catch him yourself you fuckwad

i like that anhora’s willing to talk to merlin in a way he isn’t willing to talk to arthur

“i trust him with my life” and you’re right to :’’)

anhora’s literally giving arthur another chance bc he knows he’s witnessing true love

arthur and merlin being protective of each other,, my weakness 

why do i like anhora so much is this a popular opinion

oh dear that vine cgi was cringe

the entire beach scene is so much i’m gonna cry in anticipation

arthur already trying to save merlin from the get go

arthur literally does not hesitate at all about him having to be the one to die

“i had no idea you were so keen to die for me” 😭😭😭

^^ that fucking line though because listEN arthur says it in an almost jokey tone but he means it. we already know that merlin would 100% die for arthur but arthur doesn’t, not yet. the closest thing he saw was in the poisoned chalice but even then merlin was drinking that poison under orders of the king. this time merlin is completely going out of his way to make sure that if it comes down to a death, it’s his and not arthur’s, and arthur has never witnessed this before

AND that line/this entire situation means so much especially in this episode where their relationship has been shown to be insults and quips and complaining about each other and this just proves that underneath all that they care about each other

I’M GLAD YOU’RE HERE MERLIN

ARthur says this not because merlin’s helping, not because he wants him to take his place, not because he thinks merlin can save him, but because he’s probably going to die and he’s glad merlin will be there with him when it happens fucK me

i have more to say about the rest of this scene but i don’t have time to make my thoughts coherent and type them all out, just know that i’m crying

only with these two would it be even remotely relevant for a goddamn prince to say to his servant ‘oh you know me, i never listen to you’

the similarities between this scene of arthur “dying” and the one in 5x13 are striking (oh what’s that? i made a handy dandy gif set demonstrating this? 😇)

fucking anhora, we stan

“he has proven what is truly in his heart” what did i tell you camelot will be saved because these two idiots are in love

also i’m obsessed with merlin looking down at arthur and slowly and softly smiling, if there hadn’t been a fade out that moment would have been so heavily giffed

hey here’s a missing scene i’d love to see. what went on between that and merlin and arthur arriving to camelot. how did arthur react when he woke up? how did he pick up from ‘i just willingly drank poison to save your life’ give me that fic

holy shit i just realized. arthur just willingly drank poison to save merlin’s life. sound familiar anyone?

i was so caught up in the merthur i literally forgot about the unicorn for a second

season finale baby let’s do this

love that even now the knights just quietly stand behind merlin and arthur like yup,, there they go again 

uther you are going to get you, your son and all of camelot killed

gwen comforting morgana when she has nightmares 🥺

morgana really is losing it and it’s quite heartbreaking

arthur’s first instinct upon seeing the beast is to push merlin out of harm’s way

did merlin just defeat the questing beast just like that? he barely lifted a finger damn alright emrys

“we haven’t done all the things we’re meant to do” wanted to make some kind of shippy comment before i remembered that arthur eventually does die before they do all the things they were meant to do and now i’m crying

tbh despite it all it’s always nice to see the more human side of uther, the one that truly cares for arthur

HARRY POTTER IS DEAD vibes

kilgharrah my dude you’re really starting to get on my nerves

merlin has clearly felt bound to his destiny from day one but we’ve never seen him quite so desperate for arthur to live

i think it’s really interesting how his reasoning for being willing to do anything to save arthur keeps going back and forth between ‘it’s my destiny’ and ‘he’s my friend and i don’t want him to die’

hm bashful/nervous gaius, that’s a new one

arthur calming down under his father’s touch :( he’s just a boy

also hi merlin looks gorgeous

gwen’s talk to arthur is just lovely, as is she

arthur is already loved and respected, the people are preparing to mourn

“i don’t believe in miracles” >> immediate cut to merlin. i dig it

iiiit’s nimueh

“i willingly give my life for arthur’s” “his life is worth 100 of mine” 😢

merlin!! ily but at NO point did she explain or did you ask for the exact terms of this bargain you have already agreed to

everything’s going to be alright?? i can’t tell what merlin’s thinking. maybe arthur living is all that matters to him but everything certainly won’t be alright for a whole lot of people if merlin dies

merlin holding arthur i

morgana jumpscare

“i think there’s someone watching over me, keeping me from harm” the closest merlin will get to actual recognition from arthur until… well you know

what’s this? the first proper arwen scene and it actually really works for me?? holy shit why had i never seen this???? it’s super arthur and it’s super gwen and they’re adorable af?????? MORE OF THIS PLEASE

who tf is it??

HUNITH D:

this part with kilgharrah just makes me mad because it was merlin’s fucking destiny to help arthur bring magic back to the land so WHY didn’t that happen

merlin’s betrayal. i felt that

hey uh kilgharrah… wtf?

this is a good time to point out that we have never seen merlin do so much magic or be so in control of it

i know it sucks but your mother wouldn’t want you to die for her merlin

i don’t know how true everything merlin’s saying to gaius rn is but it’s sweet

this,,,,,, scene,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

merlin calls him a royal prat right to his face and all arthur does is laugh with overwhelming levels of fondness

“are you ever going to change merlin?” you KNOW what future line i’m thinking about 😭

arthur’s face when merlin says he’s happy to be his servant until the day he dies, i’m telling you shit’s going on there

arthur’s last words to merlin: “everything you’ve done, i know now. for me, for camelot. for the kingdom you helped me build. thank you” vs. merlin’s last words to arthur: “just… don’t be a prat”

merlin saying goodbye to gwen too 😢

gaius DID that

“you did not like the outcome” and you did??? was the outcome not the genocide of your people? isn’t revenge the whole point of all this?

well i say that, to this day i still cannot for the life of me figure out what any of nimueh’s actual goals are

yo this confrontation is pretty epic. worthy of a series finale

powerful merlin is my shit!!!! he just brought LIGHTNING down. amazing

LMAO “what did you do?”

yo that ending was cute

just like in 1x03 tom and gwen are too happy for it to last 

these uther, arthur and morgana scenes are always so interesting because they’re very clearly on three different points on the opinion on magic spectrum

oh tom :( he didn’t know. and the money was for his family, for gwen

i do like the idea of merlin being able to sense powerful magic

this is shaping up to be a good morgwen episode, morgana’s defending tom with everything she’s got because she feels it’s the right thing to do but also because it’s gwen’s father

oop my mergana feels are stirring too, they’re standing so close

again i will say that it’s really nice to see how close the four of them have become, it’s really easy to forget going into the later seasons

ooh morgana what are you up to

“i cannot see the future” think again morgana

tom didn’t deserve this but gwen really didn’t 😢

this scene with uther is really giving us that first glimpse of future morgana

damn she’s really fully turned on him

arthur is fantastic in this scene with gwen, i think it’s the most sincere i’ve ever heard him

“the mage stone” didn’t want to call it the philosopher’s stone?

“you’re a better man than your father. you always were.” this arthur and morgana scene makes me so sad knowing what their relationship becomes :((

“if anything happened to you i couldn’t bear it” gwen saying this to morgana 🥺

major props to katie because there really is a manic glint in morgana’s eyes now that wasn’t there before

i will say though that morgana’s shift in this episode is justified but a little too abrupt for my taste

pause to comment on how gorgeous merlin looks because he looks gorgeous

i’m laughing i just had to rewind this scene with gaius because i was too busy staring at colin to hear anything they were saying 😂

remember when there were guards at the dragon’s cave? yeah me neither

kilgharrah’s going a lot harder on the whole ‘kill uther’ thing than just a few episodes ago in 1x06

shit this episode’s pretty intense huh

as terrible as uther is, i kinda agree with gaius that i don’t think arthur’s ready to be king yet

this gwen and merlin scene,, i want mo r e

once again gwen’s strong sense of morality setting merlin straight ❤️

WOAH. merlin just has a magical staff than can immediately knock people out?? where does this thing go??

the way morgana’s face changes when uther admits he was wrong for killing tom and the ensuing conflict and panic in her eyes is just amazing

lmao unfortunately for poor merlin, arthur really doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions

gaius is funnier than i’ve been giving him credit for

hmm merlin’s interest in girls seriously wanes as the show goes along. it’s just interesting isn’t it

hi i still love gwen

arthur,, please calm down sweetie you’re being pretty dickish

merlin already cheering arthur on i’m

gwen and morgana are so cute and look so happy plS

the way arthur immediately switches gears the second he realizes merlin’s made him smile is just brilliant

arthur really can’t help liking merlin and i get that

gaius is like ‘is it me or are you totally starting to crush on arthur’

okay this is besides the point but arthur is so gentle when he’s taking the snake head from merlin i can’t stop watching that little moment

merlin’s been arthur’s servant for like 5 seconds and arthur is already trusting his word over a knight’s i cry

THOSE LOOKS THOUGH

my guys could you not wait just a teeny tiny bit for ewan to wake and be able to provide proof before calling an audience with the king

uther this is your son and you can’t even spare him the benefit of the doubt? fuck off

“then what am i to make of these allegations?” that he’s telling the truth?? or at the very least that he thought he was??? you know arthur is anything but a coward

i get you’re humiliated arthur but this is so not merlin’s fault

tbh though i’m surprised uther didn’t sack him

kilgharrah: the og merthur shipper

“just give me a straight answer” yeah don’t think that’s going to happen merlin

and trust me there’s nothing straight going on here

did i mention i love gwen?

again, i like the subtle introduction to morgana’s nightmares

arthur still believes merlin even though he doesn’t actually have any more evidence or reason to do so than uther does

our (and merlin’s) very first glimpse into arthur’s strong sense of duty

man they’re really pushing the arthur and morgana this episode and it’s lowkey creeping me out

DOGGO

again, merlin’s just out there doing magic right in the open

nice arthur, gotta end him with a dramatic one-liner

the contrast between arthur saying that uther will never apologize and then him immediately going to apologize to merlin is 👌🏽👌🏽

god this show’s potential

merlin really is a buffoon i love him

woah there arthur going straight for the kill, i mean he doesn’t even really know what’s going on

arthur looks v good here

merlin be like ‘that’s right you better run!! he’s my boyfriend and he’s crazy!!’

these boys are just absolute suckers for a pretty face smh

as much as i ship them, merlin teasing arthur about girls and trying to set him up will forever be amusing to me. there’s just something about it

it just implies such a closeness between them and, like, knocks arthur down a peg? also it’s hilarious

that being said, it is definitely weird how intent he is on getting arthur and sophia together later on in the ep

morgana grabbing merlin’s hand. okay so yeah lowkey i ship them

this gaius comforting morgana scene would be really sweet if gaius wasn’t actively trying to keep her from finding out about her magic

“rotten to-mah-toes”

merlin really is a terrible liar and i have no idea how he keeps his damn magic secret for so long

merlin hears arthur say “friend” and just caves. he’s so eager i just

morgana is completely confiding in gwen here, even though there’s an implication of magic. where does this trust go later on

merlin speaking out of turn with the king while he’s angry at him. i just can’t with this boy

shy arthur is CUTE okay

well that officially confirms morgana’s magic

arthur is so smug and i just want to smack him. morgana!! is trying!! to communicate!!

why is merlin so invested in arthur’s love life?? babe stop he’s not worth it

“she’s incredible” alright arthur y’all said what like ten words to each other

listen this show is fucking funny sometimes

did merlin just motherfucking slow down time

“mortals are only supposed to glimpse it the moment before death” immortal merlin foreshadowing?? this early on?? wOWza

a rare moment of sympathy for uther who has to deal with his 20-year-old son, the heir to his kingdom, wanting to marry some random girl he’s known for like two days because he thinks he’s in love

aaand there goes the moment of sympathy. you were doing alright until you brought up the executioner

morgana very nearly tells uther and it makes me sad because, as much as he cares for her, she definitely made the right call in not doing so

woaH so apparently they’re friends now

“no merlin you’re my servant” merlin looks genuinely hurt 🥺

merlin lying to gaius so he can go save arthur :(((( we having feelings

they do manage to almost make me feel for sophia

merlin dragging arthur out of the lake of avalon. reincarnation AUs anyone

damn arthur’s hair is longer than you’d think

this whole scene with arthur in bed talking to merlin and gaius is hilarious. pure gold

and one more of merlin in the stocks. it’s the rule of three

fascinating the implication that arthur told morgana the very embarrassing truth of trying to elope with sophia and only being saved by merlin knocking him out. shows that they’re close

merlin and morgana exchanging looks,,

merlin is so peaceful and pretty at the beginning here

hm an early point at which merlin doesn’t have enough control of his magic to properly use it as self-defense?

oof those special effects could use some work

did i wait long enough to swoon over lancelot because god he’s gorgeous

immediately love and merlin and lance’s friendship 

merlin’s “oh yes” after lance asks him if he knows arthur lol

what all these arthur training the knights scenes are showing me is that arthur 100% could have decimated merlin with the mace in episode 1 and very intentionally didn’t

lance bby :(

i reiterate lance is gorgeous

this scene between gwen and lance is just absolutely fantastic

lance is clearly already just gone for gwen and even with gwen still talking about merlin the chemistry between the two is palpable

listen they’re both so soft and kind and perfect for each other and i just 😭

lance, gwen and merlin all together,,, i just love them so much

i’m dying arthur that slap was so unnecessary

merlin’s like ‘you’re doing great sweetie!! that means he likes you!!😃’

arthur and lance’s fight scene... yes you’re both ridiculously attractive we get it

oi @ merlin and gwen stop being so cute

the transition from lance’s test to him being knighted is just beautiful

arthur and lancelot the friendship we deserved

merlin you oblivious dolt

okay merlin jokingly trying to make gwen choose between arthur and lancelot is pretty funny

can’t anyone on this show be happy for like one day

it’s uther being unreasonable about magic time. again.

why does he suddenly refuse to believe magic is the cause? he usually jumps at the opportunity to blame magic

“because lancelot you fight like a knight” oof i really like this scene

arthur’s ambiguous/undecided stance on magic continues and i dig it

lance and gwen deserved each other!!!!!!!

happy merlin :(((((

these “you did it” parallel scenes have me feeling things

arthur still out here trying to fight for what is right

i love the fact that lancelot, the most noble and righteous person you will ever meet, does not blink an eye at merlin having magic 

“the law is the law” shadowhunters anyone?

lance is too good for y’all and for his own good

lmao gaius is judging merlin so hard rn, man merlin’s a sucker for a pretty face

nimueh is indeed quite pretty

merlin and arthur are already so comfortable with each other it’s ridiculous

merlin looks adorable arthur fight me

arthur turning back to smile at merlin while his father puts an end to a war sure

also can’t help but enjoy seeing merlin wearing the pendragon seal

they’re really going all out with the red and blue this episode

oh gwen :(( ignore merlin he doesn’t deserve you

i get that nimueh doesn’t have much to lose here but this is such a convoluted way to go about… whatever it is she’s trying to achieve 

i want to be mad at merlin for just believing her but honestly what else is he supposed to think, certainly not the truth

arthur immediately looks so concerned for merlin bc he just knows there’s no way this ends well for him

nimueh could not have possibly known that this is how things would play out

namely because uther is once again being utterly unreasonable, making merlin drink from the chalice makes absolutely no sense whatsoever

“then you should have schooled him better” like what????

arthur trying to take the goblet from merlin,,, gwen stepping towards merlin,,,,, merlin drinking knowing full well he’s going to die,,,,,, arthur rushing over to him the second he collapses,,,,,,,, 😭😭😭😭

arthur does not hesitate a single moment i m

okay i gotta point out that gaius doesn’t seem particularly distressed that merlin is dying an apparently slow and painful death

morgana and gwen are both such sweethearts :((

okay this uther and arthur scene is so fucking good, the contrast between the two of them is beautifully shown and in a situation where neither of them is wrong

nimueh smiling like arthur going to save merlin is exactly what she wanted. you!! did not know!! this was going to happen!!

also what the hell is your plan!!

again, we see a highly perceptive gwen

aaaand now merlin is moaning and groaning arthur’s name in his sleep. not much to add here 

“i know this place” bitch didn’t you just say you were lost

arthur will just not give up on merlin

our very first ‘why do you care so much about your servant?’ moment

every time uther crushes that flower i gasp

arthur reaching for the flower 🥺

RUN GWEN RUN

holy shit gaius doing magic!! i’d never seen this before!!

honestly gaius you’re as bas as merlin, gwen could have walked back in at any moment

stop blaming yourselves 😢

gwen kissing merlin in the moment is sweet and gwen is sweet

would have loved to see arthur’s reaction in the future to somehow finding out that gwen and merlin had once kissed

“the truth about nimueh” ooooh ~secrets~

the entirety of this last scene is just so much i can’t

arthur checking up on merlin, smiling when he sees he’s okay, wiping off his smile before beginning to speak to him, generally trying to act like he doesn’t care when he so clearly does, merlin calling back for arthur, the fucking loaded looks when they’re thanking in each other in what is probably their first completely genuine moment in which arthur for just a second drops all pretenses

yeah so i’m literally tearing up anYWAY