Personality: Merlin is by design a very mysterious character and not much is revealed of his actual motives or background in the series. It is hinted on several occasions that he might in fact be rather a lot older than what he appears to be, an example of this being the fact that Igraine remarks that he has not aged a day since she last saw him, which was twenty years earlier. One is never given a proper perspective on just how old he is, but another hint given in canon leads me to believe that it’s not too far-fetched to imagine that he might be centuries old. He takes Arthur to a place where the “Sword of the Gods” is lodged between some rocks at the top of a waterfall, and apparently there is some sort of legend/prophecy connected to this sword that makes pulling it out a good “publicity stunt” in Arthur’s quest to get himself recognized as the true king.
Well, it is in fact suggested that Merlin might have been the one who put the sword there and spread the legend around.
Now I’m not saying one necessarily needs a hundred years or more to get a story to spread and take root and for the origins of it to get lost, but for it to gain enough significance to affect the opinion of a whole country in regards to their king? That might take some time in medieval Britain.
But anything of a more substantial nature when it comes to Merlin is hard to verify because the man is incredibly secretive and does everything he can to not share information about himself. Very probably it’s partly out of shame since he has done plenty of bad things in his long life. Canon examples being assisting Uther in the rape of Igraine (he changes Uther’s appearance so that he looks like her husband) and the accidental killing of a swordsmith and his daughter.
But apart from his rather obvious guilt and self-loathing, there is also a very calculating part of him who has his eyes firmly set on one goal. To create a kingdom of peace and hope. And with that goal in mind he’s probably aware that if anyone is to listen to him in matters of achieving that goal it might not be the best idea to reveal his many dark deeds. Better to be seen as questionable and at times suspicious than downright evil, which is a risk he might run if he revealed himself completely. At least that is what he seems to think, whether it’s true or not.
In Camelot canon, magic is a highly addictive and very dangerous thing. Using it leaves you feeling elated and powerful, but it also makes you sick and at times wounded. Canon shows the two magic users Morgan and Merlin getting suddenly appearing bruises, bleeding from nose and eyes, doubling over in pain, having fevers… Merlin has in the series sworn off magic (though he breaks that vow on several occasions) and mentions several times that magic costs, and that he considers the price too high to pay. Basically in matters of magic he is a recovering addict, and he doesn’t really have much support in this struggle because everyone around him thinks he should use his powers to help people around him, not understanding the price Merlin and to an extent the people around him might have to pay if he uses magic too much. He struggles every day with not using his powers, the temptation a constant in his life. He loves the power, and he fears it. He believes that it pulls him into the dark, that it calls to the fore all in him that is in opposition to the world he’s trying to build.
His ideals are definitely noble, and he does try to make sure that as few people as possible get hurt in the process of making them reality, but he has deliberately closed himself off emotionally and on a personal level doesn’t care much for most people. He mostly does this to protect others from himself, as he is convinced that anyone who is close to him will end up getting hurt. If nothing else the fact that when he touches people their secrets are sometimes revealed to him through visions only serves to create a greater barrier between him and others. Sometimes it is painful to know things, and most of us don’t want our secrets involuntarily revealed.
He sees the big picture but at times struggles with understanding individuals, which is often why his plans don’t always go as he wants them to however masterfully laid out they are. He is a very intelligent man and it does show that he is aware of being on another intellectual level than most people around him. To put it bluntly he can come off as being rather smug, sometimes annoyingly so.
However, in spite of all his emotional distance and his focus on what one might call the greater good, one can sometimes see glimpses of the man he perhaps was once, or the man he could have been. He is tender, good with children and has a good sense of humor that he enjoys sharing with those he likes. He rarely lets anyone close enough for much of that side to truly appear, but when it happens it tends to draw people in because he can be very charismatic, and there is an appeal in the possibility of revealing some of his mysteries.
He is a very convinced atheist and can sometimes be a bit dismissive of people’s faith, to the point where he seems to be almost a little angry with the concept of religion.
All things told he is an incredibly secretive idealist who wants to make the world a better place and is frustrated that the people in it insist on making it so difficult.
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Well, it is in fact suggested that Merlin might have been the one who put the sword there and spread the legend around.
Now I’m not saying one necessarily needs a hundred years or more to get a story to spread and take root and for the origins of it to get lost, but for it to gain enough significance to affect the opinion of a whole country in regards to their king? That might take some time in medieval Britain.
But anything of a more substantial nature when it comes to Merlin is hard to verify because the man is incredibly secretive and does everything he can to not share information about himself. Very probably it’s partly out of shame since he has done plenty of bad things in his long life. Canon examples being assisting Uther in the rape of Igraine (he changes Uther’s appearance so that he looks like her husband) and the accidental killing of a swordsmith and his daughter.
But apart from his rather obvious guilt and self-loathing, there is also a very calculating part of him who has his eyes firmly set on one goal. To create a kingdom of peace and hope. And with that goal in mind he’s probably aware that if anyone is to listen to him in matters of achieving that goal it might not be the best idea to reveal his many dark deeds. Better to be seen as questionable and at times suspicious than downright evil, which is a risk he might run if he revealed himself completely. At least that is what he seems to think, whether it’s true or not.
In Camelot canon, magic is a highly addictive and very dangerous thing. Using it leaves you feeling elated and powerful, but it also makes you sick and at times wounded. Canon shows the two magic users Morgan and Merlin getting suddenly appearing bruises, bleeding from nose and eyes, doubling over in pain, having fevers… Merlin has in the series sworn off magic (though he breaks that vow on several occasions) and mentions several times that magic costs, and that he considers the price too high to pay. Basically in matters of magic he is a recovering addict, and he doesn’t really have much support in this struggle because everyone around him thinks he should use his powers to help people around him, not understanding the price Merlin and to an extent the people around him might have to pay if he uses magic too much. He struggles every day with not using his powers, the temptation a constant in his life. He loves the power, and he fears it. He believes that it pulls him into the dark, that it calls to the fore all in him that is in opposition to the world he’s trying to build.
His ideals are definitely noble, and he does try to make sure that as few people as possible get hurt in the process of making them reality, but he has deliberately closed himself off emotionally and on a personal level doesn’t care much for most people. He mostly does this to protect others from himself, as he is convinced that anyone who is close to him will end up getting hurt. If nothing else the fact that when he touches people their secrets are sometimes revealed to him through visions only serves to create a greater barrier between him and others. Sometimes it is painful to know things, and most of us don’t want our secrets involuntarily revealed.
He sees the big picture but at times struggles with understanding individuals, which is often why his plans don’t always go as he wants them to however masterfully laid out they are.
He is a very intelligent man and it does show that he is aware of being on another intellectual level than most people around him. To put it bluntly he can come off as being rather smug, sometimes annoyingly so.
However, in spite of all his emotional distance and his focus on what one might call the greater good, one can sometimes see glimpses of the man he perhaps was once, or the man he could have been. He is tender, good with children and has a good sense of humor that he enjoys sharing with those he likes. He rarely lets anyone close enough for much of that side to truly appear, but when it happens it tends to draw people in because he can be very charismatic, and there is an appeal in the possibility of revealing some of his mysteries.
He is a very convinced atheist and can sometimes be a bit dismissive of people’s faith, to the point where he seems to be almost a little angry with the concept of religion.
All things told he is an incredibly secretive idealist who wants to make the world a better place and is frustrated that the people in it insist on making it so difficult.
First Person: Here
Third Person: Here