History YMMV / Merlin1998

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Shortly after Morgan le Fay dies, Mordred comments, “She sleeps alone, at last.”
** The second time we see Vortigern's castle under construction collapse:
--->'''Architect:''' The foundations are as strong as-!
--->*camera shifts to Vortigern's face, we hear the castle fall and see rocks tumble down the cliff in the background, and Vortigern's suppressed rage*
--->'''Vortigern:''' *DeathGlare* ...you were saying?

** This isn't the last time Lena Headey would play a [[GameOfThrones queen cheating on her husband with one of his knights]].

* CompleteMonster: While most of the villains have some redeeming traits, Vortigern goes all the way. In addition to being a tyrant and a power-hungry conquerer, he takes the daughter of one of his most loyal lords captive and threatens to kill her himself if her father doesn't behave, just because he doesn't trust anyone, and casually refers to having murdered men, women, and children just for mouthing off to him.
** Mordred is even worse. He injures or murders castle servants while practicing archery, shoots arrows at everyone in the room just because one of them commented that his performance was "less than perfect," acts disturbingly excited and pleased at the thought of Elaine's heartbreak, laughs at his own mother's death, starts a war and plunges Britain into chaos, etc. In the novelizations, his evil is stepped up a notch, and his motives border on ChaoticEvil OmnicidalManiac doing it ForTheEvulz.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Several. Just about every one is also a TearJerker, though.

** If forgetting Queen Mab is the only thing that can ultimately defeat her, then isn't Merlin shooting himself in the foot by spending the rest of his life telling stories about her?
*** Though it becomes FridgeBrilliance if you consider that the decline of the Old Ways and Mab's death in particular were very bittersweet for Merlin. He may be trying to keep them alive despite himself.

** So, [[spoiler: Gallahad]] was the real ChosenOne, instead of [[spoiler: [[TheUnchosenOne Lancelot]] ]]. So, a [[spoiler: 10-year-old boy]] was supposed to win the joust?

** Time can be rewritten. Presumably that was what he was aiming for.

* AlasPoorVillain: It's a bit hard not to feel for [[spoiler: Queen Mab as she fades from existence along with the last of the world's magic and the Old Ways, crying out for Merlin and Frik to look at her, rasping that she loves Merlin as a son while her voice grows increasingly thin and hoarse.]]

** Another occurs betweehn Morgan and Frik, after their magic has slipped away about are back to being homely:

*** Thought it becomes FridgeBrilliance if you consider that the decline of the Old Ways and Mab's death in particular were very bittersweet for Merlin. He may be trying to keep them alive despite himself.

** If changing form is just an illusion then [[spoiler: Merlin and Nimue will still be dead in a few years despite Merlin's apparent youthinization of them both at the end.]]

'''Morgana:''' Oh, yes. Beyond words. [dies]

** Another occurs betweehn Morgana and Frik, after their magic has slipped away about are back to being homely (paraphrased):
-->'''Morgana:''' Am I still beautiful? \\
'''Frik:''' Beyond words. Am I still beautiful? \\
'''Morgana:''' Beyond words. [dies]

* If forgetting Queen Mab is the only thing that can ultimately defeat her, then isn't Merlin shooting himself in the foot by spending the rest of his life telling stories about her?
** Thought it becomes FridgeBrilliance if you consider that the decline of the Old Ways and Mab's death in particular were very bittersweet for Merlin. He may be trying to keep them alive despite himself.
** In the novelizations, Merlin doesn't include Mab in any of his stories, instead attributing her deeds to Morgan le Fay or Mordred, and Frik does the same thing. This is implied to be the thing that Frik noted was "omitted" from Merlin's story at the end.
** Maybe he took a page from Terry Pratchett? When you tell stories about something, people ''know'' about them more, but ''believe'' about them less. Tell magical, fantastical stories about the FairFolk today: next stop, nursery wallpaper.
* So, [[spoiler: Gallahad]] was the real ChosenOne, instead of [[spoiler: [[TheUnchosenOne Lancelot]] ]]. So, a [[spoiler: 10-year-old boy]] was supposed to win the joust?
** Had Merlin known that [[spoiler: Galahad]] was TheChosenOne he wouldn't put a kid in a jousting match. Also, it's that he would be the perfect knight when he was grown up, not as a kid. It's not suggested that he has to win a jousting match anyway, just that he has to be a man of pure heart.
* If changing form is just an illusion then [[spoiler: Merlin and Nimue will still be dead in a few years despite Merlin's apparent youthinization of them both at the end.]]

* FridgeLogic: If forgetting Queen Mab is the only thing that can ultimately defeat her, then isn't Merlin shooting himself in the foot by spending the rest of his life telling stories about her?

* More FridgeLogic: So, [[spoiler: Gallahad]] was the real ChosenOne, instead of [[spoiler: [[TheUnchosenOne Lancelot]] ]]. So, a [[spoiler: 10-year-old boy]] was supposed to win the joust?
** However, had Merlin known that [[spoiler: Galahad]] was TheChosenOne he wouldn't put a kid in a jousting match. Also, it's that he would be the perfect knight when he was grown up, not as a kid. It's not suggested that he has to win a jousting match anyway, just that he has to be a man of pure heart.

** I roll my eyes at this one, since it makes no sense that had Merlin known that [[spoiler: Galahad]] was TheChosenOne that he'd put a kid in a jousting match. Also, it's that he would be the perfect knight when he was grown up, not as a kid. This isn't a case of FridgeLogic because it's not suggested that he has to win a jousting match anyway, just that he has to be a man of pure heart.

* More FridgeLogic: So, Gallahad was the real ChosenOne, instead of [[TheUnchosenOne Lancelot]]. So, a 10-year-old boy was supposed to win the joust?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / WellIntentionedExtremist: Queen Mab acted completely selflessly througout; her entire plot was an answer to the woman's prayer in the beginning, who cried "Queen Mab!" It was an ordinary British human who prayed for the Old Ways to come back.

* FridgeLogic: If forgetting Queen Mab is the only thing that can ultimately defeat her, then isn't Merlin shooting himself in the leg by spending the rest of his life telling stories about her?