4. The happy ending: Everybody lives (for now?)
Ultimately, most Merlin fans probably want the same thing: for Arthur to live and build the beautiful golden age future, with Merlin at his side as the official Court Magician. But most people agree that there just isn’t enough time for that, what with the final battle looming and Arthur’s fateful confrontation with Mordred imminent.
But what if that was all a ruse? Even though the legends say that Arthur’s final stand will be at Camlann, there is no reason for the show not to diverge somewhat from this and instead have Merlin, at the very last minute, find a way to stop it from happening. Maybe he manages to get through to Mordred, bringing him back to the good side – or maybe Mordred only thinks he killed Arthur, but it was all some elaborate trick. There are many ways the show could avoid that final confrontation and have Arthur live after all, if that’s the ending the writers are going for.
Or maybe the prophecy can’t be completely avoided, and really will come to pass one day, but not in the finale. Because while it is true that the legends of King Arthur say that he took his final stand at Camlann, and the finale will indeed depict the Battle of Camlann, who’s to say that this is the only battle which Arthur will ever fight there? Yes, Merlin’s vision of Arthur’s death saw him and Mordred at the ages they are now, but one could argue that this is because it’s a vision, and therefore to some extent it is timeless.
And isn’t it nice to imagine that the show is setting us up for this big, epic confrontation between Mordred and Arthur, which we all think we know how will play out, only to get there and say, “Oh! A wild happy ending appeared!” and let Mordred walk away while Arthur lives, the future still open before him?
And then after all has ended happily, the dragon might tell Merlin Arthur will eventually face down Mordred at Camlann, and this time he will die. But it is not today, nor for a long while. Thus, the series can end on a happy, optimistic note, having postponed the inevitable for some distant future point which we don’t have to worry about. Arthur survives, he discovers Merlin’s magic, and we are left knowing that the Golden Age of Albion and all of the wonderful things Arthur and Merlin will build together is still to come.
It’s a Christmas miracle!
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