History Characters / MerlinMainCast

* BrokenHero: Been through a lot of pain and misery yet still remains rather positive and optimistic regardless. Not to mention that Merlin is always kind to everyone, even those who are mean to him or don't treat him nicely.

* LastOfHisKind: Merlin's father is revealed to be the Last of the Dragon-Lords, Mages who possessed the ability to command and bend Dragons to their will. Upon his father's death, Merlin inherited the gift and the responsibility of being the Last Dragon-Lord.

* OddFriendship: With Merlin of course. They have different backgrounds, personalities and outlooks, yet they are extremely close and attached to one another. This is because ultimately, Merlin and Arthur's destinies are intertwined.

* ScrewDestiny: He wants to prevent the whole 'Mordred killing Arthur' thing.

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: His actions against [[spoiler:Mordred and Morgana]], at the guiding of the Dragon, are significant factors in driving both to become the very evil the Dragon predicted in the first place.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Only for Merlin himself, though.
* WhiteMagic: The type of magic that Merlin practices.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: Merlin uses his magic to do chores, and occassionally humiliate Arthur when he's getting on his nerves.

* WouldHitAGirl: He's never actually ''hit'' a girl - but he's dropped a chandelier on one, blown up at least two more, electrocuted a third with a lightening bolt, poisoned Morgana before later causing a roof to collapse over her head and then throwing a snake at her, and hurled Morgause into a pillar so hard that she was left disfigured and dying slowly over the course of the following year.

* InnocentBlueEyes: Matching his HairOfGoldHeartOfGold, fitting [[KnightInShiningArmor the honourable, chivalric Once and Future King]].

* TheNotLoveInterest: To Merlin, who will go to extreme lengths for him not only because he is prophesized to be the Once and Future King who will bring back magic but also because he has become a friend.

* WellDoneSonGuy

* SuperpowerLottery: It's al

* SwissCheeseSecurity: In the beginning of season two, Merlin had to distract the guards in order to sneak down into the Dragon's cave. Perhaps understandably, the show doesn't bother with that anymore.
* SwordAndSorcery: Merlin with Arthur, although throughout the series, Arthur doesn't know it.

* TakeMeInstead: In 1x13, Arthur is bitten by a Questing Beast. This leads to Merlin negotiating his life for Arthur's, only to discover that his mother Hunith becomes grievously ill instead. Anticipating Merlin's sacrifice, Gaius goes to barter his life for Hunith's, only for Merlin to offer up his own instead. [[BalancingDeathsBook The whole thing is resolved when Nimueh is struck by lightning, thus maintaining the balance of life and death]].

* TechnicalPacifist: Merlin is faced with violence all of the time. He has the ability to beat up people as much as he wants with the use of his powers. However, when it came to defeating the villain and his arch-enemy, Morgana, he decided to save her instead of kill her.

* TookALevelInBadass: Never too noticeably, but when you go from breaking a chandelier to summoning a god, you can tell he's leveled up.
** Merlin himself goes from moving things with his mind and no magical training at all to earning the title of "most powerful sorcerer ever" throughout the series. Morgana is the only one who poses any threat to him, and he takes her down with one shot in the Grand Finale. Oh, and remember how he got stuck in the crystal cave and missed Camlann in the original legends? In this version, he not only shows up to Camlann, but he curbstomps the entire Saxon army by making it rain lightning on the enemy troops. [[spoiler: Too late for Arthur, unfortunately.]]

* WaifProphet: GenderFlip. Appears physically weak and fragile, but is the most powerful and strongest of all the characters.

** Merlin takes Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake for safe-keeping, but what about Mordred's sword? That was also forged in the dragon's breath, and perhaps filled with dark magic, making it potentially even more dangerous in the wrong hands than Excalibur.

* ApologisesALot: Merlin always apologizes in contrast to Arthur, who rarely, if ever, apologizes for anything.

* BadassAbnormal: Merlin has got special powers.
* BadassAdorable: Merlin may look cute and dorky, but he can kick anyone's ass (or better yet, kill anyone) in an instant without hesitation.
* BadassBookworm: Merlin is incredibly smart, intelligent and book smart.
* BadassNickname: In a sense, "Emrys". The Druids hold this name in reverence, and it strikes fear into Morgana's heart every time she hears it.
* BadassBoast: Gives quite a few when he's [[BadassBystander forced to act]].
--> '''Merlin''': I am the ''last'' Dragon-Lord...
* FutureBadass: According to the Dragons and the Druids, the arrival of "Emrys" has long been prophecised.

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Sort of played with in Merlin's case. Merlin's destiny is to protect Prince Arthur and guide him to the throne of king.
** He is also destined to become the greatest sorcerer ever and also, the most powerful sorcerer in the world.
** Merlin is destined to use his abilities and powers to free the magical people and revive the Old Religion to coexist with the New Religion.
** He is destined to stand at King Arthur's side as a partner, as he reunites all the kingdoms of the land back into Albion, which would call forth an era of both peace and prosperity.

* BirdsOfAFeather: Merlin is almost heart-breakingly intrigued at the thought that Morgana might have magic too.

** Although in the later episodes, Arthur seems to be realizing how clever/talented Merlin is, but is extra mean to hide his fondness of his servant.
** In fact, as far as the magical side of the series goes, Gaius is the brains and Merlin is the brawn — Gaius knows just about everything there is to know about everything but doesn't like to use magic, while Merlin, the most powerful warlock of all time, manages to consistently not know anything about the evil magic of the episode until Gaius does the research for him. Granted, Gaius is his mentor, so it's sort of in the job description.

* BroughtDownToNormal: In 5x12, Merlin has lost his powers briefly.
* BroughtDownToBadass: Even without his abilities, Morgana is unwilling to fight him, he manages to wound her.
* BullyingADragon: When he is in his Dragoon disguise, the knights attack him even when they know that he is a sorcerer. This trope is also played quite literally: as a Dragon Lord, Merlin is the one doing the bullying towards Dragons and Wyverns.

* ChekhovsGun: Merlin makes a promise to the Dragon that one day he'll free him from his chains.

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: When Arthur is trying to draw Excalibur, Merlin says that he needs to truly believe he can in order to do it. Subverted since Merlin was just trying to boost Arthur's confidence: once Arthur is sold on Merlin's story, Merlin covertly uses magic to make the task extremely easy for Arthur, thus reinforcing the idea he was trying to instill.

** And the shapeshifting magic used by the bad guys in "Gwaine."

* ContinuityNod: Merlin performs magic in front of Lancelot, recalling the fact that he knows about Merlin's abilities. This becomes even more important in season three.
* CourtMage: What Merlin is meant to be in the future.

* CourtMage: Subverted. He takes care of magical threats, negotiates with other magic users, and if magic is needed he provides it. But no one aside from Gaius and Lancelot know this is the case.

* CrazyPrepared: Half the spells are so tailored to the situation that either Merlin is making them up as he goes or he really does learn spells just in case he wants a magnetic sword, he needs to drop bed covers on someone, or he needs to throw a bench.
* CursedWithAwesome: Merlin is blessed and born with a variety of different powers due to being a warlock.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Happens frequently with Merlin: [[MeetCute every time he first meets a woman]], he's momentarily dumbfounded by their beauty. However, when things get serious, he plays the [[NotDistractedByTheSexy reverse trope]]. In [[MerlinS02E09TheLadyOfTheLake The Lady of the Lake]], after Freya goes back to her human form for the last time, she's completely naked. The moment Merlin realizes this he takes off his jacket and covers her without even trying to sneak a glance. Happens again in [[MerlinS04E11TheHuntersHeart The Hunter's Heart]], when he finds Gwen injured in the forest. She's wearing something that looks like a harem woman outfit, but he's focused on healing her.

* {{Dojikko}}: [[GenderFlip Gender-flipped]]. Merlin can be rather clumsy at times.

* [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette Eerie Pale Skinned Brunet]]: Merlin has a very pale complexion with very dark brown hair.

** More a case of UnskilledButStrong. Merlin possesses a great deal of raw, instinctive power, but lacks training, enabling his [[WeakButSkilled less powerful but experienced opponents]] to gain the upper hand. Best demonstrated when fighting Nimueh: Merlin tries an incantation, and she laughs it off and sticks a fireball in his chest. Then Merlin gets [[BerserkButton ripshit pissed]] and [[spoilers: blows her into Ludicrous Gibs through sheer willpower]].

* ForGreatJustice: Merlin is often seen scheming politically for the greater good.

* GenreSavvy: Merlin has his moments. When they decide to go find the Cup of Life and put it in Camelot's vaults, ([[CardboardPrison which are broken into practically every four episodes]]), and Arthur and Merlin are going through the forest, Merlin has this to say to [[GenreBlind Arthur]].
* GoalInLife: To reinstate magic in the kingdom and to protect Arthur long enough for him to fulfil his destiny (and by proxy, protect Arthur's family members, particularly his father and his wife).

** Our favourite sweet, gentle, friendly Merlin carefully and deliberately murders Arthur's Evil Uncle Agravaine in cold blood. Okay, Agravaine had just drawn a knife on him, but a) Merlin could have easily dealt with the knife without harming the man holding it, and b) Agravaine had just discovered Merlin's secret, and Colin Morgan's performance makes it very clear that Agravaine wasn't leaving that cave alive.

* HeroicSacrifice: Plenty of times for various characters over the series. Especially Arthur.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Merlin constantly saves others without asking for anything in return. He is selfless and humble.

* HumbleHero: Is a highly powerful warlock who saves lives all of the time, yet Merlin doesn't yearn for power. Instead, he would rather be a servant boy than to be the most powerful being ever.

* [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight "I Know You're In There Somewhere" Fight]]: Merlin tries this on [[spoiler:Morgana]] in 3x02. [[spoiler:It doesn't work.]]

* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Although the trope does apply to Arthur, it applies to Merlin so much more. Merlin has to keep his abilities a secret within a land that condemns magic and views magic as evil. At times, Merlin feels like an outsider and an alien.

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Merlin has gone from no magical training at all (the only thing he can do is telekinesis), to causing earthquakes, summoning gods, commanding freakin' '''dragons''' to do whatever he wants, and in the finale, [[spoiler: he beats the entire Saxon army, a dragon, and a High Priestess almost casually with lots and lots of lightning.]]

** Although it's hinted that Taliesin might. Though it might be his close proximity to the crystal caves, he also makes several pointed remarks about time and memory that suggest he's intimately aware of the future.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Colin Morgan. In the episode Lancelot & Guinevere, his Irish accent slips through a bit in this line:
-->'''Merlin:''' Is it really that hard to admit you like her?

* PerpetualPoverty: Merlin is far from rich and financially, he and his mother struggled.

** Alternately, you could say Merlin is notable for averting this, since all the other inherit magic users need training to get control of it, whereas Merlin was able to move objects at will even before he could talk.

* PragmaticHero: Merlin poisons the innocent Morgana to save the good future he works for. Gaius encourages him on this way, and they both end up talking about how hard making difficult choices can be, but how it becomes necessary. Morgana is later characterized by her lack of planning and impulsivity, which cause her to go to great length either to make something way too extreme happen, either to prevent one of this situations realize, until the season 4 premiere, in which she accepts to do an enormous sacrifice.

* ShortWimpyAndBrunet: In contrast to Arthur, who is HotBlooded. But subverted in a way. Although Merlin may look wimpy and weak physically, he is actually much more powerful than Arthur because he is a warlock with special abilities.

* SuperpowerLottery: Merlin is born with many various powers and abilities. His abilities are endless due tot he fact that he is the most powerful warlock ever.

* PapaWolf: A non-parental example, but he is ''fiercely'' protective of Arthur and Gwen.

* PlayingWithFire: As with BlowYouAway, Merlin's elemental powers are usually based in fire or air.

* TheSmartGuy: He's definitely this (especially when compared to Arthur), as he is one of the wisest characters. From the cast's commentaries, [[ColinMorgan the actor]] is described to be this in RealLife, as well.

![[spoiler:King]] Arthur Pendragon (Bradley James)

* MemeticBadass: Merlin (Emrys) is this to the Druids.

* {{Protectorate}}: Of Camelot. Especially Arthur.

* MrFanservice: Is the first one on the show to get a ShirtlessScene. When they figured out that the fangirls really went for his Adorkable nature, it turned into fanservice.

* DisappearedDad: [[spoiler:Until 2x13. Then, he died.]]