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weakforarwen · 2 years

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Aithusa

This episode’s rather enjoyable now I know Aithusa’s significance in the story. The pacing’s good, there’s adventure, humor, gorgeous sceneries and score, and almost no Agravaine, and Merlin becomes both a tomb raider and a father.

But when I first watched the episode, it seemed like a filler one, oddly placed after the episode Arthur became King. Watching it now, I wondered why this episode and His Father’s Son weren’t switched. I think Arthur’s poor decisions in episode 5 would’ve made more sense in light of his grief, while the actions he took to correct his mistakes would’ve shown the kind of King he was and could become - one far better than his father. As it was, it didn’t feel like Arthur had been driven by grief, so his decisions were all the more baffling. Also, showing Agravaine as the “replacement” Uther would’ve had its own significance.

Instead, we have this buffer episode. It’s much lighter in tone than episodes 3 and 5, and not immediately relevant to the plot. Maybe the writers thought we needed the breather, but it didn’t seem like Arthur was mourning his father, and the episode didn’t establish Arthur as a King.

However, Arthur’s motivations in this episode were to not let his father’s work be in vain, so the episode showed Arthur will continue his father’s work in some way, and functioned as a prelude of sorts to His Father’s Son. The deleted scene in this episode further proved it.

M: I didn't really know him [Merlin’s father] that well, but...I was proud of him. I want him to be proud of me. A: I can understand that. You should try being in my shoes. It was hard enough while he was alive, always having to live up to what he expected of me. It's even harder now. I now know what he faced, the decisions he had to make. I tell you Merlin, don't start measuring yourself against a man who's dead. You'll never win.

Why did they delete this scene? It showed that Arthur believed he couldn’t measure up against his father, and with Uther being dead he was bound to seek approval from someone who could no longer give it. Agravaine played on those insecurities in His Father’s Son. He confirmed Arthur’s suspicions that his father was a better King than he could ever hope to be, which convinced Arthur that he needed to what his father would’ve done.

At the same time, Arthur was warning Merlin to not seek approval from a dead man. It’s impossible to measure up to a dead person because they are larger than life; whatever mistakes they did in life are erased by death. All Arthur remembers now is that he never truly appreciated his father; he hadn’t known what it means to be King. He admires Uther all the more now, and feels his own inadequacy more strongly. Also, people expect Arthur to be like his father, so he has an even bigger burden placed on him. He was telling Merlin not to be like him. He wanted Merlin to be himself and not live for a dead man like he was.

Anyway, I don’t like the way Dragons are spoken of and treated, and I hate the power Dragonlords have over them. Gaius tells Merlin that maybe the Old Ways are better left in the past and Dragons should be extinct. Why? Why do humans deserve to live, but not dragons? Because they are too powerful and we can’t control them? Because they can’t be controlled? In theory, as long as there are Dragonlords, dragons can be controlled, although that gives Dragonlords an awful amount of power. Are dragons to be feared because they are dangerous to humans, like Kilgharrah was, or because they can be controlled by humans, like Aithusa was? But Kilgharrah attacked Camelot to take his revenge against Uther and Aithusa was young and impressionable, and loved by Morgana.

We don’t know enough about dragons to know anything for sure. We don’t know that all of them are dangerous. They’re just like humans, sentient and intelligent, some bad, some good. So it makes me queasy that Dragonlords have so much power over dragons, especially when the dragonlords are all male...

Merlin tells Borden that dragons should be free as they belong to no man, but are, rather, “for the benefit of all”. What does that mean? If they belong to no man and are truly free, they shouldn’t exist for anyone’s benefit, least of all a human’s. But, of course, they aren’t free. Kilgharrah even says that being a Dragonlord is a “gift”, which is rather gross. Of course, at the time, he had been trying to guilt Merlin into finding the last dragon egg for him. He reminded Merlin of his “duties” as Dragonlord and that his father had died for Kilgharrah (because Kilgharrah had decided to attack people...).

Ashkanar was apparently a wise man who guarded the dragon egg for over 400 years. Did he know Aithusa would be used for evil? The druids spoke of the legend of Ashkanar, but neither them nor Gaius apparently knew Aithusa’s fate. Did Kilgharrah know? His parting words to Merlin are rather ironic:

A white dragon is, indeed, a rare thing...and fitting. For in the dragon tongue, you named him after the light of the sun. No dragon birth is without meaning. Sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time I believe it is clear. The white dragon bodes well for Albion, for you and Arthur, and for the land that you will build together.

Yet again, Merlin dooms Arthur. Indeed, he should rejoice that he’s brought Arthur one step closer to his death.

Aithusa’s birth was beautiful, though. It brought tears to my eyes. The score was so beautiful in that scene. But I wonder, as a Dragonlord, why Merlin didn’t think it was his responsibility to take care of Aithusa? He probably trusted Kilgharrah to do it, and perhaps believed Aithusa should live freely without his interference, but he didn’t even ask Kilgharrah how Aithusa was? Wasn’t that irresponsible?

Also, I can forgive Arthur’s fear of dragons. He knows nothing of them, but one did kill his people and nearly destroy Camelot... Why wouldn’t he want them dead? As far as he knows, they’re mindless beasts.

But what I can’t forgive Arthur or the other Knights for is bullying Merlin. They thought it was funny to eat all the food he cooked and make him do the dishes? It’s like they were having fun making Merlin their housewife, like it was “funny” to see a man behaving that way. How is starving Merlin funny in the slightest? Did they believe Merlin had already eaten? Just, why would they bully him like that? They thanked him for the food, but wouldn’t let him have any.

Poor Merlin deserved better, as always. It’s not just Arthur anymore, the knights treat him like he’s “only” a servant too, though they listen to him more often than Arthur does.

Speaking of Arthur, his trust in Merlin is touching. He caught Merlin going through his stuff but didn’t assume he was stealing anything. Of course he didn’t, but that means he believed in Merlin’s explanation that he was searching for woodworm. Scenes like this make me understand why Arthur believes Merlin’s an idiot, and why Merlin believes Arthur’s a clotpole.

Also, Merlin chose the most humiliating way to steal the keys to the vault from Arthur. Honestly, well done, Merlin.

#bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #kilgharrah #aithusa #gaius #the knights of the round table #uther #aithusa commentary #aithusa episode

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