2. Uther & Gaius: The Early Years
Throughout the Merlin series we’ve heard mention of the years before Arthur’s birth, when Uther was a young king married to Ygraine and Gaius was his court sorcerer and physician. But we’ve never actually seen what this time was like, and the end of the series has left us with a lot of unanswered questions.
There are a lot of stories within the Arthurian Legends that began before Arthur’s birth. Although these legends traditionally included Merlin, he could easily be replaced with a character that practiced magic, like Gaius or Nimueh, who was a High Priestess of the Old Religion.
The Uther we knew in Merlin was a bitter one, and after the Great Purge (which has never actually been shown, only alluded to) everything changed in Camelot. But how cool would it be to see Camelot before all magic was banned? A Camelot in which sorcerers ran free and people with magic were accepted everywhere? Where Nimueh was a friend to the King and Kilgarrah lived in the wild with his dragon kin?
Storylines could include Uther conquering Camelot as a young man (was this a Robert Baratheon/Ned Stark kind of situation? Who ruled the kingdom before Uther? We need to know!), Uther and Ygraine’s courtship and marriage, the prophecy surrounding Arthur’s birth and the magic that made his birth possible, as well as how Morgana was conceived. We could learn more about the start of Uther and Gaius’ friendship and Uther’s rule, as well as Gaius’ relationships with the ladies, including Nimueh and Alice (do we sense a love triangle? Are you Team Naius or Team Galice?).
Let’s do some fantasy casting! We think that The Vampire Diaries actor Joseph Morgan would make a spectacular young Uther, and let’s bring Jamie Campbell Bower back to Camelot as a young Gaius. Yes, the age difference is a little off… but this is a Merlin spin-off, what did you expect?! As for Ygraine, Uther’s beautiful young wife? MyAnna Buring might need a steady gig after Twilight, and we think she’d be perfect for this role. And let’s bring back Michelle Ryan as Nimueh, too.
Like the Harry Potter fans who want to see a Marauder-era prequel series, for us this spin-off would be the next best thing to another season of Merlin. There would be actors that are easy on the eyes, magic, and old characters reinvented. If for no other reason, let’s do it for the love of Camelot!
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