Merlin (TV series)/Characters: Difference between revisions

The titular character, Merlin must protect Arthur -- whoArthur—who will one day become king of Camelot and unite the lands of Albion -- whileAlbion—while keeping his magic a secret.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Endanger any of his loved ones -- especiallyones—especially his mother Hunith -- andHunith—and you better get scared.

** [[I Did What I Had to Do]]/[[Kill the Ones You Love]]/[[Shoot the Dog]]: Merlin poisons Morgana -- whoMorgana—who was unaware that she was the vessel of the Knights of Medhir -- becauseMedhir—because [[I Did What I Had to Do|he did what he had to do]] in order to save Camelot, but at the price of killing his friend and someone he cared about. Many fans, while praising the acting of Colin and Katie, did not agree with Merlin's actions.

GuinevereGuinevere—nicknamed -- nicknamed Gwen -- wasGwen—was the maidservant of Morgana and a good friend of Merlin's. She is a hardworking and kindhearted, young woman who is often awkward and shy when it comes to romance. {{spoiler|As of the Series 4 finale, she is Queen of Camelot.}}

* [[Dude Magnet]]: [[Zig-Zagging Trope]]. This is something of a [[Memetic Mutation]] due to her reputation in the source material. In this version, [[Foregone Conclusion|Arthur and Lancelot]] have fallen in love with her, and Gwaine and Helios have shown brief interest (however, both are characterized as being womanizers; in their case, it's not so much that Gwen is special so much that Gwen is ''there''). The trope was [[Subverted]] with Merlin, who shows [[Oblivious to Love|no romantic interest in her at all]], despite her obvious crush. If you're keeping track at home, ''Arthur'' has been romantically linked with more women than Gwen has with other men. <ref> In order, they are: Morgana, Sophia, Guinevere, Vivian, Elena, Mithian</ref>

* [[Love Hurts]]: The poor girl never catches a break -- herbreak—her feelings for Merlin are unrequited, her brief romance with Lancelot abruptly ends when he leaves Camelot, only to return and their romance is rekindled until Lancelot leaves again after noticing Arthur's and Gwen's feelings for each other, leaving Gwen upset, and her budding relationship with Arthur constantly becomes strained because of their social classes. {{spoiler|Once she and Arthur become stable, she is enchanted into cheating on him with [[Back From the Dead|Lancelot]] - the kicker being only the audience and the bad guys know - and banished from Camelot forever}}.

* [[Jerkass Has a Point]]: His extremist stance toward magic would be considerably less understandable if not for the fact that nearly ''every'' magic-user in the series who isn't named Merlin turns out to be evil -- andevil—and not in the "we're desperate and fighting for our lives" sense, but full-on murderous sadism and smirking villainy.

* [[Schiff One-Liner]]/[[Wham! Line]]: Series 1 Episode 8 when he reveals his identity -- theidentity—the above quote.

* [[Telepathy]]: Has contacted several characters -- includingcharacters—including Merlin and Morgana -- withMorgana—with his thoughts.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Refuses to expose his identity as the son of a knight out of his resentment towards nobles -- whennobles—when Gwaine's father, a knight, died, Gwaine and his mother were left penniless, and the king in their land refused to give them any compensation. Gwaine would later change his opinion of Arthur after Arthur defends him.

* [[PietaPietà Plagiarism]]: In the Series 4 trailer {{spoiler|there is a shot of Percival carrying Merlin in this manner}}.

* [[Cheshire Cat Grin|Cheshire Cat Grins]]s

* [[Lovable Rogue|Lovable Rogues]]s: They give this vibe.

* [[May-DecemberMay–December Romance]]: No onscreen ages are given but Tristan certainly ''looks'' considerably older than Isolde (in real life, there is a 16 year age gap between Ben Daniels and Miranda Raison).