As Merlin winds to a close, fans are beginning to worry about how the show will actually end. Read our top 5 theories and vote for your favourite!

We here at Hypable have decided to embrace the fact that Merlin is ending in less than a month by kicking off A Month of Merlin: celebrating the BBC series with a variety of different columns examining the show’s past, present and future.

A few days ago we posted the article The 5 biggest plot points that need to be resolved, and had a staggering amount of feedback! But most of you seem to believe that there’s no way the BBC series will actually satisfy us before the end… which begs the question, just how will it actually end?

Selina Wilken and Pamela Gocobachi have joined forces to bring you these five theories about how Capps, Murphy and the BBC might be planning to wrap it all up on December 24. Check out what we have to say, then cast your vote as to which theory is most likely to come true – and tell us in the comments what you think will happen!

1. The ret-con: Would the real King Arthur please stand up?

Destiny is a tricky thing. Yet it also seems like by the show’s definition, it cannot be avoided. So far, everything that has been prophesied has come true, despite (or because) of Merlin’s attempts to avoid it. So it stands to reason that while Arthur is destined to die at Mordred’s hand, his joint destiny with Merlin which sees them uniting all of Albion will also have to happen in some way.

But barring a time jump/flash forward, there’s no way all of this can happen before the finale, right? Well, no, unless the Arthur we know is not actually the Arthur who will unite Albion. Think about it: the biggest discrepancy the show has made as far as the legends go is to make Arthur and Merlin the same age. We’ve seen a lot of things go from AU to Arthurian canon over the course of the series, including Morgana starting good but turning evil and Guinevere going from servant to queen, so perhaps this is another aspect which will have aligned itself with the legends by the end.

Here’s what will happen: Mordred kills Arthur at Camlann, as the prophecy says. But Gwen is pregnant, and gives birth to a son she names after his father. And it turns out that this is in fact the Arthur whom the dragon was referring to when he told Merlin that he and the king were two halves of a whole, and that they would unite Albion together. This would also make sense Arthurian legends-wise, because there is more than one historical figure who is said to have been THE King Arthur, and some say that the different people each embody one aspect of him. As such, Bradley James’ Arthur would be King Arthur, yes, and a lot of the original legends would refer to him (Uther being his father, Guinevere being his wife, and Lancelot, Gwaine etc. being his knights), but parts of the story – specifically the parts about Merlin helping him become the Once and Future King – would refer to his son. Arthur 2.0, if you will.

We’re gonna go out on a limb here and say that very few fans would be happy if this actually happened. Not only would it essentially nullify the “destiny aspect” of the Arthur/Merlin relationship, leaving a lot of viewers feeling very cheated, but it would also ret-con the entire series. We’d have to go back and look at every prophecy made about “Arthur,” and everything Kilgarrah ever told Merlin, and determine whether it was said about original!Arthur or Arthur Jr. We’d have to accept that we’d been essentially taken for a ride for five years, all for one spectacular bait-and-switch ending.

But despite the outrage from fans, and the inevitable plot holes that’d result from the twist, it would be a huge “gotcha!” moment and we’re not sure the writers would be able to resist that.

2. The season 1 callback: Arthur lives, but does Merlin?

While the show has told us that Mordred is destined to kill Arthur, the legends actually tell a different story: it is uncertain whether Mordred actually killed Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, or fatally wounded him. If the latter is the case here, it would leave room for Merlin to desperately try to save Arthur any way he could, which we know he’d try to do.

And let’s say that Merlin actually finds a way to save Arthur, but it’d be similar to what Nimueh offered him in the season 1 finale: Merlin can save Arthur’s life and allow him to live and finally fulfill his destiny of bringing peace to Albion, but only by sacrificing the life of another. Like when Uther brought Arthur into the world and Ygraine paid the price, and when Merlin saved Arthur by taking Nimueh’s life.

There are two ways this could play out, then, depending on how intent the writers are to leave us sobbing into our Christmas pudding:

The uplifting ending: Yes, this is is a way for Merlin to actually end on a high note, and for fans to be left somewhat satisfied! Merlin agrees to save Arthur’s life at any cost, willing to sacrifice everyone and anyone to do it, and even offers up his own life in return. But by a twist of fate, the person who ends up paying the ultimate price (either unwittingly, or maybe even by her own free will) is Morgana, who then gets to semi-redeem herself. This way, Emrys does end up bringing about her downfall as the prophecy said, and all the good guys get to live!

The devastating ending: Of course another way this could all turn out is that Merlin saves Arthur’s life, but ends up actually giving his own life in the process, dying before he ever gets to see any of the things Arthur will go on to do because of his sacrifice. Arthur would be left with the knowledge that Merlin had been a sorcerer and given his life for his king, and this would be what he ultimately needed to accept that sorcery isn’t an evil thing, and allow magic back into his kingdom.

The fact that Merlin would finally get all the honour and respect he deserved only after he died would only serve to further twist the knife in our turkey-filled bellies. This is probably the ending which would divert most drastically from the original legends, in which Merlin is always left alive after Arthur dies, but it would be a way for the show to put its own unique spin on the story.

Hmmm. Guess which of these two endings we prefer?

3. The depressing ending: Mordred kills Arthur, there is no Golden Age

The fandom has to prepare itself for every possible outcome, and perhaps this is why a lot of Merlin fans have begun to pessimistically view this theory as the one most likely to come true.

So far, all the signs are pointing to the fact that the end of Merlin will be pretty damn depressing. Not only has this season been a bit of a downer (sassy old lady Merlin aside), but in interviews, the actors have been gravely stating the inevitability of Arthur meeting the fate which Merlin saw in the season opener. Bradley James has even stated that if there is to be a movie, he probably won’t be in it.

Could they all be setting us up to expect one ending to throw us off the scent of what will really happen? Let’s hope so! But we can’t rule out the possibility that the “high note” which the show will apparently end on according to the cast is an emotional one, and that they’re gearing us up for some spectacular death and destruction. If Robin Hood has taught us anything it’s that yes, the BBC would.

Merlin will see Mordred cut down Arthur at Camlann, just like in the original legends. There isn’t time for a Golden Age between now and the finale, and it isn’t likely that Arthur will discover Merlin’s magic until the final episode or the one before (if he even does). Merlin has so far been unable to prevent any prophecies from coming true, and in fact the more he fights them, the more he just seems to help them along. What if this isn’t any different, and despite everything he does, Arthur still dies with his destiny left unfulfilled?

Of course, after this point there could be several final twists to tie up the story (see theories #1 and #5), but there might not be. This might just be the end of the series: Arthur dead, Guinevere ruling alone the best she can (or maybe Morgana even takes over Camelot again), Merlin sad and depressed knowing that he ultimately failed. Most likely we’d see Merlin fully embrace his Emrys side, left to wander the world alone.

But don’t worry, it’s Christmas. Santa is coming! Or… should we just tell the children the truth about him right now while we’re at it?

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!

5. The reincarnation: King Arthur is reborn in present day

This ending’s got it all: it has the potential for sacrifice and the element of death, while also leaving viewers with a feeling of hope. A feeling that one day, everything will be okay even if it’s not in this lifetime.

And you may think it’s a bit of a crackpot theory, but it’s more in tune with the original legends than you think! There are two ways this could play out, and let us tell you how:

The immortality theory: The first way we could see the popular theme of reincarnation in Arthurian Legend playing a role in the show is if they incorporated the idea of Merlin being immortal into the plot.

Historically speaking (it’s interesting, we promise), the Merlin character first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae. Here, Merlin is said to have been born of a mortal woman but fathered by an incubus, and he inherited both his immortality and his magic from his incubus father. In the series, Balinor was of course a Dragonlord, but dragons live a hell of a long time, too.

Imagine the following scenario: The battle of Camlann rages on, reaching its crescendo. And Merlin turns around just in time to see Arthur fall to the ground, mortally wounded by Mordred’s hand. After an intense battle of magic, Merlin defeats Mordred and he and Arthur share a tearful goodbye before Arthur dies as the prophecy showed us at the beginning of series 5, leaving Merlin alone and drenched in the feeling of failure as he knows his and Arthur’s destiny will go unfulfilled.

But just when all seems lost, Kilgarrah swoops in and informs Merlin that there’s still hope after all: Merlin must wait until the time comes for Arthur to return to the land of the living, for Arthur is still destined to be the greatest King Albion has ever known. Centuries will pass, Merlin will grow old, cursed to live forever and walk alone waiting for Arthur. But finally, his King will return, reincarnated and ready to unite all of Albion with Merlin by his side as always.

The rebirth fanfic theory: The second way we think reincarnation could work is a bit more far-fetched, but would make for a fun plot twist nonetheless.

Let’s set the scene for our second scenario: Everyone dies. And we mean EVERYONE. Think Lost, but with more sword fighting. The screen fades to black – then opens in the present day. The streets are bustling with early morning commuters making their ways to work, and Merlin’s among them, weaving in and out of the crowd as quickly as he can – he’s going to be late again if he doesn’t hurry! But he miscalculates a clearing in the crowd and barrels straight into a man who’s briefcase goes flying, papers strewn all over the pavement.

He hears the voice of the stranger calling him an idiot, and scathingly asking why he wasn’t watching where he was going. Merlin’s head snaps up, he’s ready with an irritated response of his own, except the man’s blue eyes and shock of blonde hair stop him. The man looks strangely familiar and Merlin’s quick witted retort gets caught in his throat. Arthur.

Okay. We may or may not have stolen that last idea from a fanfic, but indulge us for a moment. We love the idea of BBC’s Merlin ending in present day reincarnation, because it leaves the story open-ended with so much possibility. It doesn’t matter whether you’d like to imagine Merlin and Arthur living out the present day in normalcy, or you’d like to imagine they’ve been reincarnated to fight the forces of evil destined to plunge the 21st century into darkness unless they succeed in defeating the reincarnated Mordred once and for all; the best thing about this theory is that the possibilities are endless.

 

Now it’s your turn!

We’re pretty sure we managed to cover all the basic theories in this post, but you guys are bound to have your own brilliant ideas about how the series will end! Vote in the poll below to tell us which theory you believe is most likely to come true, and tell us what you think in the comments below.

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Share your own thoughts and theories in the comments! And stay tuned for more #MonthofMerlin from Hypable, as we’ve got a lot more fun stuff planned before the end.