History YMMV / Merlin1998

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Courtesy of Trevor Jones, also responsible for ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'', ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' and ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Courtesy of Trevor Jones, also responsible for ''Film/{{Excalibur}}''.

* {{Narm}}: Morgan le Fey's ElmuhFuddSyndwome works decently at first as part of her general insecurities in her appearance...except then she ''still has it'' after Frik's glamour spell. It's implied by [[spoiler: Her death]] that it was just a glamour like what Frik does. It didn't actually change her physically but was just an illusion, unlike Merlin's version which is more a time reversal.

* EvilIsSexy: Queen Mab. There's a bit of this InUniverse too with Morgan, who was sweet, sulky, and harmless as her homely self but selfish, vain, and ambitious once she's glamoured to be beautiful.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To John Boorman's ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'', with its focus on Excalibur, Merlin and mysticism; both draw on Malory's ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'' and generally hit the same story beats, but some like Morgana/Morgan Le Fay's seeing through Uther's disguise prior to his seduction/rape of Igraine, Uther wielding Excalibur prior to Arthur, a belligerent enemy lord convinced to recognise Arthur's kingship after Arthur hands Excalibur to him, a literal circle of people inspiring the construction of the Round Table, Morgana/Morgan Le Fay dying devoid of her beauty due to magic, Mordred's RapidAging and the exact way Arthur kills Mordred are specific to both. Trevor Jones composed the soundtrack to both productions, too.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Miranda Richardson's [[BreakoutVillain Queen Mab]] is a lot of people's favourite part of this miniseries, providing a powerful, compelling villain with a sympathetic motivation which she pursues through unscrupulous means.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / WellIntentionedExtremist:

* IronWoobie: Merlin himself.

** Headey isn't the only future ''Game of Thrones'' cast member to appear here. Roger Ashton-Griffiths, who plays Sir Boris, would go on to play Mace Tyrell; Creator/JosephMawle, who plays Benjen Stark, also has a tiny role as a villager.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Miranda Richardson's [[BreakoutVillain Queen Mab]] is a lot of people's favourite part of this miniseries, providing a powerful, compelling villain with a sympathetic motivation she pursues through unscrupulous means.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Guinevere is played by Creator/LenaHeadey, better known today for ''Film/ThreeHundred'', ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones''. Or, as some viewers may find it: "Hey, it's [[Series/GameOfThrones Cersei Lannister]]. She's queen, again. And unfaithful to her husband, again. With the best knight at court, again. And the king, of course, is unfaithful to her, again. And oh, look, everything's brought crashing down by the resultant psychopathic incest-baby...again."
** Headey isn't the only future ''Game of Thrones'' castmember to appear here. Roger Ashton-Griffiths who plays Sir Boris would go on to play Mace Tyrell.

* 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? 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.
*** 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.
*** There's also the fact that the stories would be telling people about Mab...but that she ''used'' to exist, and would include the ending in which she faded away. So even as they told people of Mab they'd be reinforcing the fact she is just a memory, a thing of the past.
** So, [[spoiler: Galahad]] 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 youthening of them both at the end.]]
*** It's only an illusion when the Fey do it. Merlin used a different kind of magic to do that. It's explained more in the novelization.
** If Frik can see so far into the future as to know about early modern French aristocrats, he should also foresee the inevitable triumph of Christianity in Europe.
*** Time can be rewritten. Presumably that was what he was aiming for. Remember that Vortigern heard a prophecy that Uther would conquer him, and his first reaction was to try to hear more about it, so he could figure out a way to defeat Uther, instead.
*** At one time Frik is shown writing fairy tales, so that Mab and he will be remembered. Mab is dismissive of this, but Frik seems to keep all options open. Perhaps he has seen the triumph of Christianity.

* MagnificentBitch: Queen Mab is a goddess suffering a decline in followers of the "Old Ways" that would entail her kind's demise. Unlike her sister Nimue who contented herself with letting destiny pass its course, Mab sought to survive at all costs. She conceived a half-human son, Merlin himself, to groom into a leader of the Old Ways. When he eventually rebukes Mab after her AccidentalMurder of Ambrosia, Mab manipulates Vortigen to be her new champion. When he is killed by Uther Pendragon, who later fathered King Arthur to lead a kingdom unfavorable to the Old Ways, Mab offers compassion to an ostracized Morgan, obtaining a contingency against Arthur. Mab later serves as a treacherous influence to Mordred, the result of Morgan and Arthur's tryst. Through him and an enchanted enclave keeping Merlin occupied, Mab indirectly succeeds in toppling the Pendragon kingdom from behind the scenes. Desperate to keep the Old Ways and thus herself alive, the devious and powerful Mab remained a step ahead of everyone for almost the entire miniseries.