dedicated to a happier year

happy pride! remember that being a transgender is everything but fiction. there are so many real historical figures from every century about whose transgenderism we aren't even aware of

Merlin: Be not afraid

Gwaine: Raw. Next question

Merlin:

Cause we watch the show, not merwaine fanfics. The show demonizes Merlin and shows Arthur did nothing wrong

I don’t actually disagree that the framing of these characters in the show tries to push that narrative, but I also don’t think even the show goes that far as to say Arthur did nothing wrong. He is constantly wrong enough that he has to apologize to Merlin in the final episode over his treatment of magic users (in my opinion this wasn’t nearly enough and Arthur needed to apologize for so much more than just that). There are so many examples of him acting before thinking and then having to have Merlin clean up the mess for him (trying to kill his dad, banishing Gwen, not listening to Merlin most of the time, letting Gaius be kidnapped and believing he’s the traitor, killing Odis, etc etc). He is honestly wrong more than he is right.

I think as fans, though, we should be able to call out the messed up motives of the show and say that the glamorization of Arthur isn’t earned. He did so much wrong and never really righted the unequal relationship between him and Merlin because he was benefiting from it. His character arc was backtracked in almost every episode especially in his relationship with Merlin for the sake of comedy and not stirring the dynamic of the show too much.

There were moments where I could almost see Arthur as good but just as quickly he would come in and prove to me, he’s not ready to confront his privilege and the harm he was doing.

Meanwhile, Merlin being demonized only works if we are trying to prop up Arthur’s awful actions. Merlin is a victim in Uther’s and Arthur’s war against magic trying desperately to gain his freedom. He is not perfect, because no one is, but his flaws are not given the space that Arthur’s are. Instead, being used to crucify him and not understand him. Arthur’s condescending behaving gets a pass as him just being him but Merlin striving to make all the right decisions to keep the golden age in his future is enough to cast him as evil. The motives for that concern me.

IMO Merlin’s flaws are not enough to make him the villain of the show given the odds of what he was up against, but Arthur’s are certainly on their way to that point given the nothing reason of why he still acts the way he does all the way to the end of the show.