History Merlin / TropesIToP

* LoveTriangle: Gwen, Arthur and Lancelot: TriangRelations Type 1.
** More like a Type 7, since they both like her, in addition to her liking them.

* PoisonousFriend: [[spoiler: Merlin, in a very literal sense.]]
** Also, [[spoiler:Morgana]], but [[ForegoneConclusion we all saw this coming.]]

* KillEmAll: The ending. Three main characters kick the bucket. In fact, given [[spoiler: that the very last scene [[DistantFinale shows a (VERY) old Merlin walking down a rural street in modern times]] every single person in the series, Gwen, the knights, and everyone else, have all been dead for centuries.]]

** There have been two Tristans on the show; Sir Tristan de Bois and Tristan (of Literature/TristanAndIsolde fame).

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

* NiceHat: The official servant's ceremonial clothes include a huge feathered monstrosity of a hat. Gwen even comments, "nice hat," in between giggles.

* TheLostWoods: Jam-packed with magical critters and evil bounty hunters lurking behind every tree.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters

* LikeASonToMe: Gaius sees Merlin more of a son [[spoiler: than his nephew]].

** Bradley James' (Arthur's) shirt collar becomes progressively more open with each episode. Episode one? Could barely see his clavicle. Episode 9? A good third of his (admittedly quite nice) chest is exposed. The first episode of series 2 is reliably following this pattern, with ''multiple'' shots of Arthur bare-chested and then the [[FanService bath scene]].

* MoralDissonance:
** Arthur in 3x12, when he threatens to kill an innocent druid boy who's obviously scared out of his wits unless he answers his questions, and then continues to hold a sword to the kid's throat long after it's clear that he's no threat and the Druids intend to give him what he came for anyway. Seriously, the kid's what, ten? Not cool, buddy. Merlin calls him out on it. And as [[spoiler: these are Druids and he's the son of a magic-hating king, he might have felt the need to make an example.]]
** Merlin and Morgana have a huge MirrorCharacter thing going on. Anything she's done, he's done as well. Attempt to murder an innocent to prevent a prophecy, take away free will, betray a close friend, the works. [[note]] Although it's not really a double standard, as Merlin spends a long time angsting over these decisions, and Morgana is positively gleeful to do them whenever she has the chance.[[/note]]
** When given the opportunity to prevent Morgana from assassinating Uther, Merlin is conflicted (since Uther is a tyrant and assassinating him is pretty justifiable), but ultimately decides that he would be a "murderer" if he didn't do everything he could to save him. However, he casually kills Mooks and [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman sapient, named non-human villains]] on a regular basis, despite knowing a harmless sleep spell.

** Some fans would say also Merlin and Gwen, who have teamed up on more than one occasion to investigate the fantastical mysteries in Camelot, earning them the FanNickname of "Camelot's Detective Agency."

* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Gaius insists on this to Merlin when forced to romance a troll.
** Don't forget [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship Gwen and Morgana]].

* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Guinevere (light) and Morgana (dark), somewhat ironically considering the actresses, who are mixed-race and uber-pale, respectively. The trope is somewhat played with, considering Guinevere is aligned more with love and romance, whilst in the later seasons, Morgana is practically {{asexual}}.

* MadonnaWhoreComplex: Inverted. It is the unambiguously moral ''Guinevere'' who is linked with love and sex (desired by both Arthur and Lancelot) whilst the more dubiously good Morgana becomes more {{asexual}} as the show goes on--she begins as a flirty and good female version of TheCharmer, but loses all interest in men by series 3, at which point she's a WickedWitch. Even more interestingly, Morgana's evil plan to discredit Guinevere revolves around making Arthur believe that she's cheating on him with Lancelot. Morgana initially dresses more revealingly, and then during her descent into darkness she comes to wear long-sleeves exclusively, while Gwen goes from modest servant dresses to fancy, low-cut gowns.

** Merlin gets a few of these through the series when a SadisticChoice backfires on him. Healing Gwen's father from a plague leads to Gwen getting accused of witchcraft and nearly executed. Trying to stop Morgana from leaving the castle in the third season leads to her falling and nearly dying, and Merlin can't live with the guilt of that and heals her - despite her already having completed a FaceHeelTurn making her decidedly TheVillain. Attempting to heal a dying Uther with magic inadvertently leads to his death and Arthur becoming more hardened against magic than ever. His attempts to kill off Mordred to protect Arthur from him lead to his sabotaging any attempt at legalizing magic and simply alienates Mordred further. Each time, Merlin realizes the magnitude of the mistake after it's too late or nearly too late to fix it.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo / KillTheOnesYouLove / ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:Merlin poisons Morgana -- who was unaware that she was the vessel of the Knights of Medhir -- because [[IDidWhatIHadToDo he did what he had to do]] in order to save Camelot, but at the price of killing his friend and someone he cared about. Many fans, while praising the acting of Colin and Katie, did not agree with Merlin's actions.]]

** Take everything you thought you knew about Arthurian Legend and throw it out the window. Arthur is a Prince right from the start, there's a dragon under the castle, Merlin is Arthur's servant who is around his age rather than much older, magic is outlawed, Morgana is not a villain, Gwen is dark-skinned... then again, the [[KingArthur Arthurian Mythos]] has been doing this with every iteration of King Arthur since before the written word, so it's tradition.

* KingArthur: Or rather Prince Arthur.
** [[spoiler: As of 4x03, King Arthur.]]

** Merlin and Morgana have a huge NotSoDifferent thing going on. Anything she's done, he's done as well. Attempt to murder an innocent to prevent a prophecy, take away free will, betray a close friend, the works. [[note]] Although it's not really a double standard, as Merlin spends a long time angsting over these decisions, and Morgana is positively gleeful to do them whenever she has the chance.[[/note]]

* NotSoDifferent: Said almost word by word by Agravaine to Merlin. They're both close to Arthur and both betray his trust one way or another.

* MakeWayForTheNewVillains: The final season implies, then outright states, that Morgana spent quite some time cruelly imprisoned by a brutal warlord who is an obvious {{Expy}} of [[UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler historical Dracula]]. Her cause and sanity is vastly worse off in a way that [[spoiler:she never really recovers from]], and the show goes out of its way to establish him as a KnightOfCerebus who is '''much''' more dangerous, clever and brutal than she ever was. [[Spoiler:Only to [[SubvertedTrope kill him off]] in the only episode he actually appears in.]]

** [[spoiler:As of ''Aithusa'', Kilgarrah is no longer the Last Dragon]].

** For all the abuse Arthur heaps on Merlin, [[OnceAnEpisode once or twice an episode]] he shows genuine care and concern for Merlin, whether in smaller ways such as downplaying the size of a rodent when Merlin seems terrified or trying to cheer Merlin up when he's upset; or larger ways such as defying his father to save Merlin's life, breaking the law so Merlin can see an imprisoned Gaius, or sending an entire patrol out to search for Merlin when he goes missing. Doubles as AwwTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther.