Julian Murphy, the creator of Merlin, has finally spoken about the end of the series in a new interview. Read what he has to say about the final episode and the characters’ journeys.
The Hero Complex caught up with Murphy to talk about Merlin, and we’re very glad it did – because apart from his series finale commentary, Murphy and the other producers have been keeping very quiet about the end of the show, and how they made the final decisions.
Anyone who’s seen the finale episode “The Diamond of the Day, Part 2” knows that Merlin did not have a happy ending. Not only did Morgana, Mordred and Gwaine all die, but Arthur himself died in Merlin’s arms – leaving Gwen to bring peace to Albion alone while Merlin was left to wander the world, waiting for Arthur to return and for his destiny to resume.
The decision to end the show with Arthur’s death
In this interview, Murphy acknowledges that, “Yes, it is quite sad,” but at the same time, “it’s quite a sad legend, to be honest, so it’s only a reflection of that.”
He also reveals that their plan had been to kill Arthur all along – even back when the show served as a prequel to the legends as opposed to telling the legends themselves. “What we decided to do was to tell the legend how it was in many ways,” Murphy says. “And I suppose we’re very sad that Arthur had to die, [but] that is a massive part of the legend.”
This was the reason for the final scene, where we see Merlin in the present day. “We tried to sort of soften it and give it a sense of hope that he would one day rise again, and that Merlin even to the present day was waiting for that to happen.”
Guinevere and Morgana’s journeys
Meanwhile of course, Guinevere was left to lead Camelot into the golden age. “We’ve had that in our minds for about three series,” Murphy says. “We felt that to take Gwen from a servant girl to a powerful and strong queen, a person who can bind the kingdom together, was the journey we wanted to do, and I think Angel [Coulby] delivered that brilliantly.”
He also reflects on Morgana’s journey, saying, “the fact that she became bitter and vengeful was a product of circumstance; it wasn’t what she was born as.” They took great care to build up Morgana as a layered character, so that by the end she is, “a villain in every sense of the word, but Morgana is also a complicated, broken, wronged character, and I hope that makes her so much more fascinating and so much more interesting to be with.”
Murphy’s favourite pairing
The interviewer also asks Murphy if he has a favourite pairing in the show, and the answer should surprise no one. “Merlin and Arthur,” he says. “To me, that’s the heart of the program. It’s a story of friendship, it’s both very funny but very touching and very real.”
Reflecting on their journey through the series, he says, “to go from two characters who in many ways in the first series began hating each other to two characters who profoundly respect and care about each other is a great journey. Those simple journeys are always the best, and the heart of the program is not dragons and swords and myths and legends, it’s that story, that friendship.”
Filming the finale
Finally, he reflects on shooting the final episodes, and calls the experience an emotional one. “The worst was shooting the end, which wasn’t actually the last day on set,” he says, because “that was very emotional for everyone. It was actually quite difficult to work on the last story because you’re killing a character you’ve lived with for five years … and going through that with Merlin, that’s an incredibly emotional experience.”
But ultimately, while Murphy acknowledges the tragedy of it all, “there’s also a sense of, this is right. It feels right. If it feels wrong, I think it’s not a very potent experience, but if it feels right, then yes, it’s sad, but it also feels right.”
Having had some time to reflect, what did you think about the way they chose to end the show? Read our review of the finale, which examines the platonic love story of Merlin and Arthur.