The real tragedy of Merlin is that the creators were SO invested in maintaining the premise of the show (keep the magic secret!) that they bent characters and storylines around it to their own detriment. Whenever you find yourself asking “Why did X do that…?” you have to immediately say “Oh yes, because of the Premise.” You can’t give a good in-universe explanation because one doesn’t exist.
Nobody is more guilty of upholding the Premise than Gaslight Gatekeep Gaius, which is why he survived the whole show. Narratively, he should have died in s3/4 to allow Merlin to step into more of an advisory role, but they couldn’t kill off Gaius AND keep the magic secret. If Gaius had died, Merlin would have told Arthur about his magic the very next day.
The continued fandom engagement over a decade after the final episode aired is, without exception, about rejecting the premise of the show. Let’s remove those shackles. Let’s let the characters change & adapt & grow & react. Stop, please stop, keeping the magic secret. Let Merlin come out of the closet. Let him be happy for one single episode.
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