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* BreakupBreakout: All of the cast has done pretty well in the years following the show's ending, though the most recognizable stars are Asa Butterfield (who played young Mordred) who has since starred in Hollywood films such as ''Film/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas'', ''Film/EndersGame'', and ''Film/MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren'', and Tom Hopper (who played Percival) who went on to projects such as ''Series/BlackSails'' and ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy''.
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* Stories of the legendary KingArthur usually place the day in which he pulls the sword from the stone as December 25th. [[{{Recap/MerlinS04E13TheSwordInTheStonePartII}} The episode]] in which this version of Arthur pulls the sword from the stone first aired on Christmas Eve, 2011. (Though if you're an international viewer, there's a good chance that you watched it on Christmas Day).

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* Stories of the legendary KingArthur Myth/KingArthur usually place the day in which he pulls the sword from the stone as December 25th. [[{{Recap/MerlinS04E13TheSwordInTheStonePartII}} The episode]] in which this version of Arthur pulls the sword from the stone first aired on Christmas Eve, 2011. (Though if you're an international viewer, there's a good chance that you watched it on Christmas Day).
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* RomanceOnTheSet: Bradley James and Georgia King (Princess Elena) started dating after ''The Changeling''. Hilariously ironic given that their characters mutually agreed to call off their ArrangedMarriage after coming clean with the fact that they definitely don't love each other. Apparently the actors felt a bit differently.

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* RomanceOnTheSet: Bradley James and Georgia King Creator/GeorgiaKing (Princess Elena) started dating after ''The Changeling''. Hilariously ironic given that their characters mutually agreed to call off their ArrangedMarriage after coming clean with the fact that they definitely don't love each other. Apparently the actors felt a bit differently.
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* RetroactiveRecognition: Cenred is [[Series/Lucifer2016 Lucifer]].
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* AluminumChristmasTrees: The legends of Merlin are younger than the legends of King Arthur. If they two lived at the same time, it would have been when Arthur was an extraordinarily old man and Merlin was just a boy. So the age difference of the characters is, if anything, not wide enough.



* GeniusBonus:
** Aconite, the poison Merlin uses to try and kill Arthur, also has medicinal applications so there's a good reason for Gaius to have some.
** Also, Geoffrey of Mounmouth is the court historian. In real life, Geoffrey of Mounmouth was a record keeper- why does this mean anything? He's one of the early sources for the King Arthur Mythos.
** In ''The Hunter's Heart'', Gwen is transformed into a fallow deer. Fallow doe was a medieval term for young woman.



** The choice of who would play Arthur was between Bradley James and Ben Mansfield. Ultimately they went with Bradley.
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* RetroactiveRecognition: Cenred is [[Series/Lucifer2016 Lucifer]].
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** The reason Bradley stopped updating his Website/{{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].

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** The reason Bradley stopped updating his Website/{{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] Twitter. The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].
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* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Agravaine is pure black-haired, cloak-swirling evil. The man who plays him, Creator/NathanielParker, is [[{{Corpsing}} an inveterate giggler]] and the nicest bloke you could ever hope to meet. Even the fans who ''loathe'' Agravaine find themselves charmed by Nat Parker.
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* AluminumChristmasTrees: The legends of Merlin are younger than the legends of King Arthur. If they two lived at the same time, it would have been when Arthur was an extraordinarily old man and Merlin was just a boy. So the age difference of the characters is, if anything, not wide enough.

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** Creator/MattSmith [[https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-09-21/matt-smith-was-nearly-cast-in-merlin-instead-of-doctor-who-heres-why-he-didnt-get-the-part/#r3z-addoor was almost cast as Merlin]], while Creator/KarenGillan was up for Guinevere.
* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
** The reason Bradley stopped updating his Website/{{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].
** When it was announced that Bradley James and Creator/AngelCoulby would be be starring in a photo-shoot together for ''The Lady'' magazine (to supplement the Colin/Katie shoot of a few months ago), Colin/Bradley fans flooded the organiser's Twitter with [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6nzrgKFdF1rwbpu4o1_1280.png rude demands about how they'd rather have Colin than Angel]]. The organiser's [[http://oi45.tinypic.com/r0pbeo.jpg evident disgust]] in her reply would indicate that they've effectively killed any chance they might have had in convincing her to do a Bradley/Colin shoot.



* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
** The reason Bradley stopped updating his Website/{{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].
** When it was announced that Bradley James and Creator/AngelCoulby would be be starring in a photo-shoot together for ''The Lady'' magazine (to supplement the Colin/Katie shoot of a few months ago), Colin/Bradley fans flooded the organiser's Twitter with [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6nzrgKFdF1rwbpu4o1_1280.png rude demands about how they'd rather have Colin than Angel]]. The organiser's [[http://oi45.tinypic.com/r0pbeo.jpg evident disgust]] in her reply would indicate that they've effectively killed any chance they might have had in convincing her to do a Bradley/Colin shoot.

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* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
** The reason Bradley stopped updating his Website/{{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].
** When it was announced that Bradley James and Creator/AngelCoulby would be be starring in a photo-shoot together for ''The Lady'' magazine (to supplement the Colin/Katie shoot of a few months ago), Colin/Bradley fans flooded the organiser's Twitter with [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6nzrgKFdF1rwbpu4o1_1280.png rude demands about how they'd rather have Colin than Angel]]. The organiser's [[http://oi45.tinypic.com/r0pbeo.jpg evident disgust]] in her reply would indicate that they've effectively killed any chance they might have had in convincing her to do a Bradley/Colin shoot.
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* TheWikiRule: [[http://merlin.wikia.com/wiki/Merlin_Wiki The Merlin Wiki]].
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* KatieMcGrath and Emilia Fox also played sisters in the TV movie ''The Queen''. (Not to be muddled up with the film version of ''Film/TheQueen.'')

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* KatieMcGrath Creator/KatieMcGrath and Emilia Fox also played sisters in the TV movie ''The Queen''. (Not to be muddled up with the film version of ''Film/TheQueen.'')
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* ActingForTwo: Creator/EveMyles in "The Dragon's Call" playing both Lady Helen and Mary Collins.
** Also Colin Morgan has portrayed a total of ''three'' different characters including standard Merlin, Dragoon/Emrys, and Dolma. How he manages to pull off making all three different characters with different quirks is amazing.
* BillingDisplacement: Angel Coulby is credited before Bradley James in the opening credits; a little strange considering Arthur is the show's {{Deuteragonist}}. Speculation is that Angel went first because she was the most established cast member at the inception of the show, or that the names are simply in alphabetic order after Colin Morgan.
** In the episode ''Another's Sorrow'' James Fox is ranked before Janet Montgomery, even though Montgomery is in nearly every scene of the episode and Fox's role barely constitutes a cameo.


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* OutOfOrder: 3X08 ("The Eye of the Phoenix") and 3X10 ("Queen of Hearts") were switched around in order to boost ratings, which did some pretty serious continuity damage to Morgana and Guinevere's relationship. And ironically, "Queen of Hearts" ended up being the highest rated episode thus far.
** 2x07 ("The Witchfinder") was originally meant to be 2x04, but was pushed back.

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* PlayingAgainstType: Emilia Fox usually played doe-eyed Woobies in period dramas, or else a forensic doctor on the show ''Silent Witness''. A LadyOfBlackMagic like Morgause was quite different for her.
* RomanceOnTheSet: Bradley James and Georgia King (Princess Elena) started dating after ''The Changeling''. Hilariously ironic given that their characters mutually agreed to call off their ArrangedMarriage after coming clean with the fact that they definitely don't love each other. Apparently the actors felt a bit differently. There is also plenty of speculation surrounding Creator/AngelCoulby and Rupert Young (Sir Leon), considering their closeness on-set and their tendency to do a lot of publicity together.

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* PlayingAgainstType: PlayingAgainstType:
**
Emilia Fox usually played doe-eyed Woobies in period dramas, or else a forensic doctor on the show ''Silent Witness''. A LadyOfBlackMagic like Morgause was quite different for her.
** Charlene [=McKenna=], who plays Lamia, was best known for her role as a HardDrinkingPartyGirl on ''{{Series/Raw}}'' or else other GenkiGirl roles. Seeing her as such a dark villain is extremely different.
* RomanceOnTheSet: Bradley James and Georgia King (Princess Elena) started dating after ''The Changeling''. Hilariously ironic given that their characters mutually agreed to call off their ArrangedMarriage after coming clean with the fact that they definitely don't love each other. Apparently the actors felt a bit differently. There is also plenty of speculation surrounding Creator/AngelCoulby and Rupert Young (Sir Leon), considering their closeness on-set and their tendency to do a lot of publicity together.



* StarMakingRole: Creator/KatieMcGrath has had lots of success thanks to the show - leading to high profile gigs such as ''{{Series/Dracula}}'', ''Film/JurassicWorld'' and ''{{Series/Supergirl 2015}}''.



* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The choice of who would play Arthur was between Bradley James and Ben Mansfield. Ultimately they went with Bradley.

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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: WhatCouldHaveBeen:
**
The choice of who would play Arthur was between Bradley James and Ben Mansfield. Ultimately they went with Bradley.Bradley.
** Sir Leon was intended as a one-episode character. He proved popular with fans, and was featured more often. He became a series regular in Season 4.

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* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings: The reason Bradley stopped updating his {{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].

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* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings: WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
**
The reason Bradley stopped updating his {{Twitter}} Website/{{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].

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* AbilityOverAppearance: Given the time-period and the fact that Guinevere means "white" or "fair one", there were some raised eyebrows over mixed-race Creator/AngelCoulby getting the part of the future queen. The producers said that they had looked at hundreds of potential Guineveres, but Creator/AngelCoulby was the only one that could nail the quirky, clumsy servant girl, but also "bring the queen" when the occasion called for it.

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* AbilityOverAppearance: AbilityOverAppearance:
**
Given the time-period and the fact that Guinevere means "white" or "fair one", there were some raised eyebrows over mixed-race Creator/AngelCoulby getting the part of the future queen. The producers said that they had looked at hundreds of potential Guineveres, but Creator/AngelCoulby was the only one that could nail the quirky, clumsy servant girl, but also "bring the queen" when the occasion called for it.
** Producers liked Katie [=McGrath=]'s audition but were hesitant to cast her due to the Irish accent. But since Colin Morgan was able to do an English accent, this allowed them to cast Katie and have her use her natural Irish accent.



* FakeBrit: [[KatieMcGrath Katie [=McGrath=]]] is from Dublin, Ireland in real life. Unlike Colin Morgan, who is also Irish, she mostly [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent keeps her Irish accent.]]
* GeniusBonus: Aconite, the poison Merlin uses to try and kill Arthur, also has medicinal applications so there's a good reason for Gaius to have some.

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* DyeingForYourArt: Katie [=McGrath=] is naturally blonde. She dyed her hair brown and "stays out of the sun" to play Morgana.
* FakeBrit: [[KatieMcGrath Colin Morgan is Northern Irish and affects an English accent for Merlin. Katie [=McGrath=]]] is from Dublin, Ireland in real life. Unlike Colin Morgan, who is also Irish, [=McGrath=] as well to a smaller extent, as she mostly [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent keeps her own Irish accent.]]
accent - and neither of her parents ever appear on the show, so one could assume they were Irish too.
* GeniusBonus: GeniusBonus:
**
Aconite, the poison Merlin uses to try and kill Arthur, also has medicinal applications so there's a good reason for Gaius to have some.


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* PlayingAgainstType: Emilia Fox usually played doe-eyed Woobies in period dramas, or else a forensic doctor on the show ''Silent Witness''. A LadyOfBlackMagic like Morgause was quite different for her.


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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The choice of who would play Arthur was between Bradley James and Ben Mansfield. Ultimately they went with Bradley.
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* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired on NBC during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferred to fellow [=NBCUniversal=] networkCreator/{{Syfy}}, where it faired much better than it did on broadcast TV. It stayed there for the rest of its run.

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* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired on NBC during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferred to fellow [=NBCUniversal=] networkCreator/{{Syfy}}, [=NBCUniversal-owned=] network Creator/{{Syfy}}, where it faired much better than it did on broadcast TV. It stayed there for the rest of its run.

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* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired on NBC during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferrred to the SyFy Channel where it faired much better than it did on Broadcast TV and it stayed there for the rest of it's run.

to:

* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired on NBC during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferrred transferred to the SyFy Channel fellow [=NBCUniversal=] networkCreator/{{Syfy}}, where it faired much better than it did on Broadcast TV and it broadcast TV. It stayed there for the rest of it's its run.
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Hey Its That Guy and Hey Its That Voice examples are being cut per TRS.


* HeyItsThatGuy:
** There are plenty of familiar faces among the cast, most obviously [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer King Giles]], but a huge amount of actors have also featured in ''Series/DoctorWho'' before or since featuring in ''Merlin''. To date:
*** Merlin is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight Jethro Cane]].
*** King Uther [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion eats small children]].
*** Gaius is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild Doctor Constantine]].
*** Gwen is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace best friends with Madame de Pompadour!]]
*** Queen Annis is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars Adelaide Brooke]].
*** Nimueh is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E15PlanetOfTheDead Lady Christina de Souza]].
*** The Gleeman is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii Lucius Petrus Dextrus]].
*** Lady Vivian is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter The Doctor's Daughter]].
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter The same episode]] featured Will (Merlin's old friend) as Cline.
*** Lady Catrina is [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride The Racnoss]].
*** Gaius's old girlfriend is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E2ToothAndClaw Queen Victoria!]]
*** Harmless "Sir" William is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E6TheVampiresOfVenice a vampire]].
*** Aglain is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary Doctor Moon]].
*** Lady Helen is Gwen Cooper from ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''.
*** Cenred [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords helped out Martha during the Missing Year]].
*** Isolde is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E4DaleksInManhattan Tallulah "with three L's and a H!"]]
*** According to the Doctor, Percival [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour has to clean his internet history]].
*** Mary the tavern-keeper is also a [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor waitress at a tavern]] that Vincent van Gogh visits.
*** The voice of the goblin was provided by [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship Rory's dad]].
*** Osgar is also the nasty landlord in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E9NightTerrors Night Terrors]]''.
*** Ruadan is [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS33E8ColdWar}} Captain Zhukov]].
*** Grettir the Bridge-Keeper is [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver}} Porridge]], a.k.a [[spoiler:The Emperor]].
*** The Fisher King is also [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent}} The President of Gallifrey]].
*** And the Dragon (or at least Creator/JohnHurt) is the War Doctor.

** There's also plenty of crossover between ''Merlin'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones'' including:
*** Hengist/Jeor Mormont (Creator/JamesCosmo)
*** Alvarr/Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle)
*** Kara/Roslin Frey (Alexandra Dowling)
*** Cedric/Orell (Creator/MackenzieCrook)
*** Will/Gendry (Joe Dempsie)
*** Ruadan/Davros Seaworth (Creator/LiamCunningham)
*** Aredian/Tywin Lannister (Creator/CharlesDance)
*** The Fisher King/Maester Luwin (Creator/DonaldSumpter)
*** King Bayard/Blackfish Tully (Clive Russell)
*** King Odin/Ser Amory Lorch (Fintan Mckeown)
*** Tyr Seward/Samwell Tarly (John Bradley)
*** Jarl/Dagmer Cleftjaw (Creator/RalphIneson)

** Then there's:
** Creator/AlexanderSiddig: Kanen, ep 1x10 (Dr. Julian Bashir from Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine and Philip Burton from Series/{{Primeval}}.)
** Uther [[RepoTheGeneticOpera kills people for their organs]].
** The guy who played Alvarr played Jesus in an adaptation of the Passion a few years ago...
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrqHKKjm7Z0 "Have you heard about our John? He's a gay man now!"]]
** [[Series/{{Heroes}} Issac Mendez]] is Lancelot.
** Morgause is [[Series/SilentWitness a forensic pathologist]] and [[Film/PrideAndPrejudice Georgiana Darcy]].
** The leader of Merlin's home village (at least, before he gets shot) is ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'''s ButtMonkey.
** The man who became the host for Cornelius Sigan's spirit seems to have [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean no problem with his wooden eye this time around]].
** [[Series/{{Rome}} Pompey]] moonlights as a Sidhe.
** Merlin's childhood friend in episode 1x10 is ''Series/{{Skins}}'' stoner Chris.
*** And also the illegitimate son of [[Series/GameOfThrones Robert Baratheon]].
** In Episode 1x10, Matthew is [[Series/{{Sherlock}} Anderson]].
** [[Film/HarryPotter Dudley]] is sure a skilled wizard, better warn Vernon!
** Mordred is [[Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas Bruno]].
*** And the adult Mordred is [[Series/TheConfessionsOfDorianGray Dorian Gray]]!
** "Courage, Film/{{Willow}}! Oh, look, It's [[{{Pun}} Strength and Magic]] as well!" (Hint: it refers to the eponymous hero of a certain [[Film/{{Willow}} movie]], not the character from ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}''!)
** [[TheInspectorLynleyMysteries Inspector Lynley]] is joining the cast as Arthur's uncle Agravaine!
** And so is [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Gaius]]. A ''different'' Gaius.
** Before being Elena´s nanny, Grunhilda had a position as [[Film/HarryPotter Herbology professor Sprout]].
** Freya is too much into that whole [[RomeoandJuliet Star-Crossed Lovers]] thing.
** [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Ragetti]] is after Merlin's job, and ends up being possessed by Cornelius Sigan.
** Court Historian Geoffrey of Mounmouth is [[GrangeHill "Bullet" Baxter]] the sadistic P.E. Teacher.
** [[{{Series/Sherlock}} The cabbie]] sure has expanded his murder business, hasn't he? Maybe if he'd used a poisoned pill, Uther wouldn't have had time to sword-fight him into submission.
** [[Film/HarryPotter Madame Pomfrey]] controls the gate to the Spirit World.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Creator/JohnHurt voicing a dragon. How cool is that?
** [[Film/HarryPotter Arthur Weasley]] was the voice of the goblin.
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** Merlin's childhood friend in episode 1x10 is {{Skins}} stoner Chris.

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** Merlin's childhood friend in episode 1x10 is {{Skins}} ''Series/{{Skins}}'' stoner Chris.
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*** The Fisher King is also [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent "Hell Bent"}} The President of Gallifrey]].

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*** The Fisher King is also [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent "Hell Bent"}} [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent}} The President of Gallifrey]].
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*** The Fisher King is also [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent The President]].
*** And the Dragon (or at least Creator/JohnHurt).

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*** The Fisher King is also [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent "Hell Bent"}} The President]].
President of Gallifrey]].
*** And the Dragon (or at least Creator/JohnHurt).
Creator/JohnHurt) is the War Doctor.
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*** The Fisher King is also [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent The President]].
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*** And the adult Mordred is [[Series/TheConfessionsOfDorianGray Dorian Gray]]!
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* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferrred to the SyFy Channel where it faired much better than it did on Broadcast TV and it stayed there for the rest of it's run.

to:

* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired on NBC during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferrred to the SyFy Channel where it faired much better than it did on Broadcast TV and it stayed there for the rest of it's run.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* ChannelHop: In the USA, the first season aired during the Summer of 2009. From the second series onwards it was transferrred to the SyFy Channel where it faired much better than it did on Broadcast TV and it stayed there for the rest of it's run.
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** And so is [[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined Gaius]]. A ''different'' Gaius.

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** And so is [[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Gaius]]. A ''different'' Gaius.



* James Callis, who is best known for playing Gaius Baltar on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', not only played opposite a character called Gaius on ''Merlin'', but rode a horse called Galactico.

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* James Callis, who is best known for playing Gaius Baltar on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', Galactica|2003}}'', not only played opposite a character called Gaius on ''Merlin'', but rode a horse called Galactico.
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*** Hengist/Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo)

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*** Hengist/Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo)(Creator/JamesCosmo)



*** Cedric/Orell (Mackenzie Crook)

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*** Cedric/Orell (Mackenzie Crook)(Creator/MackenzieCrook)



** Alexander Siddig: Kanen, ep 1x10 (Dr. Julian Bashir from Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine and Philip Burton from Series/{{Primeval}}.)

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** Alexander Siddig: Creator/AlexanderSiddig: Kanen, ep 1x10 (Dr. Julian Bashir from Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine and Philip Burton from Series/{{Primeval}}.)
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** There are plenty of familiar faces among the cast, most obviously [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer King Giles]], but a huge amount of actors have also featured in ''Series/DoctorWho'' before or since featuring in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''. To date:

to:

** There are plenty of familiar faces among the cast, most obviously [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer King Giles]], but a huge amount of actors have also featured in ''Series/DoctorWho'' before or since featuring in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''.''Merlin''. To date:



** There's also plenty of crossover between ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones'' including:

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** There's also plenty of crossover between ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' ''Merlin'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones'' including:



* James Callis, who is best known for playing Gaius Baltar on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', not only played opposite a character called Gaius on ''Series/{{Merlin}}'', but rode a horse called Galactico.

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* James Callis, who is best known for playing Gaius Baltar on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', not only played opposite a character called Gaius on ''Series/{{Merlin}}'', ''Merlin'', but rode a horse called Galactico.



* Creator/AngelCoulby and Creator/AnthonyHead have featured together in three projects: ''Film/ImagineMeAndYou'', ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' and ''Series/DancingOnTheEdge''. They barely/don't interact in any of them.
** Make that four. They were in ''Manchild'' together, and actually do share a scene in which they briefly bond over a shared favorite movie -- and this was three years before they were in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''!

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* Creator/AngelCoulby and Creator/AnthonyHead have featured together in three projects: ''Film/ImagineMeAndYou'', ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' ''Merlin'' and ''Series/DancingOnTheEdge''. They barely/don't interact in any of them.
** Make that four. They were in ''Manchild'' together, and actually do share a scene in which they briefly bond over a shared favorite movie -- and this was three years before they were in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''!''Merlin''!



* If you're a fan of ''Literature/MissMarple'', then the ITV adaptations starring Geraldine [=McEwan=]/Julia [=McKenzie=] is a line-up of familiar ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' faces, including Morgause ("The Moving Finger"), Nimueh ("By the Pricking of My Thumbs"), Valiant ("Nemesis"), Lady Vivian ("Why Didn't They Ask Evans?"), Lady Catrina ("Sleeping Murder"), the Gleeman ("Sleeping Murder"), Edwin Muirden ("Ordeal By Innocence"), and the Witchfinder ("By the Pricking of My Thumbs").

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* If you're a fan of ''Literature/MissMarple'', then the ITV adaptations starring Geraldine [=McEwan=]/Julia [=McKenzie=] is a line-up of familiar ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' ''Merlin'' faces, including Morgause ("The Moving Finger"), Nimueh ("By the Pricking of My Thumbs"), Valiant ("Nemesis"), Lady Vivian ("Why Didn't They Ask Evans?"), Lady Catrina ("Sleeping Murder"), the Gleeman ("Sleeping Murder"), Edwin Muirden ("Ordeal By Innocence"), and the Witchfinder ("By the Pricking of My Thumbs").
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!!Trivia Tropes

* AbilityOverAppearance: Given the time-period and the fact that Guinevere means "white" or "fair one", there were some raised eyebrows over mixed-race Creator/AngelCoulby getting the part of the future queen. The producers said that they had looked at hundreds of potential Guineveres, but Creator/AngelCoulby was the only one that could nail the quirky, clumsy servant girl, but also "bring the queen" when the occasion called for it.
* DeletedRole: Creator/EmiliaFox as Morgause was all set to return after her death (at the start of season four) in order to appear to Morgana in a vision and give her the coin that she later uses to resurrect Lancelot. The scene was cut and never released on [=DVD=], though there are some promotional shots out there.
* FakeBrit: [[KatieMcGrath Katie [=McGrath=]]] is from Dublin, Ireland in real life. Unlike Colin Morgan, who is also Irish, she mostly [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent keeps her Irish accent.]]
* GeniusBonus: Aconite, the poison Merlin uses to try and kill Arthur, also has medicinal applications so there's a good reason for Gaius to have some.
** Also, Geoffrey of Mounmouth is the court historian. In real life, Geoffrey of Mounmouth was a record keeper- why does this mean anything? He's one of the early sources for the King Arthur Mythos.
** In ''The Hunter's Heart'', Gwen is transformed into a fallow deer. Fallow doe was a medieval term for young woman.
* HideYourPregnancy: Emilia Fox was pregnant for most of season 3; it was hidden with her tunics but not always entirely successfully.
* HeyItsThatGuy:
** There are plenty of familiar faces among the cast, most obviously [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer King Giles]], but a huge amount of actors have also featured in ''Series/DoctorWho'' before or since featuring in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''. To date:
*** Merlin is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight Jethro Cane]].
*** King Uther [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion eats small children]].
*** Gaius is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild Doctor Constantine]].
*** Gwen is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace best friends with Madame de Pompadour!]]
*** Queen Annis is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars Adelaide Brooke]].
*** Nimueh is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E15PlanetOfTheDead Lady Christina de Souza]].
*** The Gleeman is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii Lucius Petrus Dextrus]].
*** Lady Vivian is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter The Doctor's Daughter]].
*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter The same episode]] featured Will (Merlin's old friend) as Cline.
*** Lady Catrina is [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride The Racnoss]].
*** Gaius's old girlfriend is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E2ToothAndClaw Queen Victoria!]]
*** Harmless "Sir" William is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E6TheVampiresOfVenice a vampire]].
*** Aglain is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary Doctor Moon]].
*** Lady Helen is Gwen Cooper from ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''.
*** Cenred [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords helped out Martha during the Missing Year]].
*** Isolde is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E4DaleksInManhattan Tallulah "with three L's and a H!"]]
*** According to the Doctor, Percival [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour has to clean his internet history]].
*** Mary the tavern-keeper is also a [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor waitress at a tavern]] that Vincent van Gogh visits.
*** The voice of the goblin was provided by [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship Rory's dad]].
*** Osgar is also the nasty landlord in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E9NightTerrors Night Terrors]]''.
*** Ruadan is [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS33E8ColdWar}} Captain Zhukov]].
*** Grettir the Bridge-Keeper is [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver}} Porridge]], a.k.a [[spoiler:The Emperor]].
*** And the Dragon (or at least Creator/JohnHurt).

** There's also plenty of crossover between ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones'' including:
*** Hengist/Jeor Mormont (James Cosmo)
*** Alvarr/Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle)
*** Kara/Roslin Frey (Alexandra Dowling)
*** Cedric/Orell (Mackenzie Crook)
*** Will/Gendry (Joe Dempsie)
*** Ruadan/Davros Seaworth (Creator/LiamCunningham)
*** Aredian/Tywin Lannister (Creator/CharlesDance)
*** The Fisher King/Maester Luwin (Creator/DonaldSumpter)
*** King Bayard/Blackfish Tully (Clive Russell)
*** King Odin/Ser Amory Lorch (Fintan Mckeown)
*** Tyr Seward/Samwell Tarly (John Bradley)
*** Jarl/Dagmer Cleftjaw (Creator/RalphIneson)

** Then there's:
** Alexander Siddig: Kanen, ep 1x10 (Dr. Julian Bashir from Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine and Philip Burton from Series/{{Primeval}}.)
** Uther [[RepoTheGeneticOpera kills people for their organs]].
** The guy who played Alvarr played Jesus in an adaptation of the Passion a few years ago...
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrqHKKjm7Z0 "Have you heard about our John? He's a gay man now!"]]
** [[Series/{{Heroes}} Issac Mendez]] is Lancelot.
** Morgause is [[Series/SilentWitness a forensic pathologist]] and [[Film/PrideAndPrejudice Georgiana Darcy]].
** The leader of Merlin's home village (at least, before he gets shot) is ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'''s ButtMonkey.
** The man who became the host for Cornelius Sigan's spirit seems to have [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean no problem with his wooden eye this time around]].
** [[Series/{{Rome}} Pompey]] moonlights as a Sidhe.
** Merlin's childhood friend in episode 1x10 is {{Skins}} stoner Chris.
*** And also the illegitimate son of [[Series/GameOfThrones Robert Baratheon]].
** In Episode 1x10, Matthew is [[Series/{{Sherlock}} Anderson]].
** [[Film/HarryPotter Dudley]] is sure a skilled wizard, better warn Vernon!
** Mordred is [[Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas Bruno]].
** "Courage, Film/{{Willow}}! Oh, look, It's [[{{Pun}} Strength and Magic]] as well!" (Hint: it refers to the eponymous hero of a certain [[Film/{{Willow}} movie]], not the character from ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}''!)
** [[TheInspectorLynleyMysteries Inspector Lynley]] is joining the cast as Arthur's uncle Agravaine!
** And so is [[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined Gaius]]. A ''different'' Gaius.
** Before being Elena´s nanny, Grunhilda had a position as [[Film/HarryPotter Herbology professor Sprout]].
** Freya is too much into that whole [[RomeoandJuliet Star-Crossed Lovers]] thing.
** [[PiratesOfTheCaribbean Ragetti]] is after Merlin's job, and ends up being possessed by Cornelius Sigan.
** Court Historian Geoffrey of Mounmouth is [[GrangeHill "Bullet" Baxter]] the sadistic P.E. Teacher.
** [[{{Series/Sherlock}} The cabbie]] sure has expanded his murder business, hasn't he? Maybe if he'd used a poisoned pill, Uther wouldn't have had time to sword-fight him into submission.
** [[Film/HarryPotter Madame Pomfrey]] controls the gate to the Spirit World.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Creator/JohnHurt voicing a dragon. How cool is that?
** [[Film/HarryPotter Arthur Weasley]] was the voice of the goblin.
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Agravaine is pure black-haired, cloak-swirling evil. The man who plays him, Creator/NathanielParker, is [[{{Corpsing}} an inveterate giggler]] and the nicest bloke you could ever hope to meet. Even the fans who ''loathe'' Agravaine find themselves charmed by Nat Parker.
* RomanceOnTheSet: Bradley James and Georgia King (Princess Elena) started dating after ''The Changeling''. Hilariously ironic given that their characters mutually agreed to call off their ArrangedMarriage after coming clean with the fact that they definitely don't love each other. Apparently the actors felt a bit differently. There is also plenty of speculation surrounding Creator/AngelCoulby and Rupert Young (Sir Leon), considering their closeness on-set and their tendency to do a lot of publicity together.
* ShrugOfGod: Good luck getting a clear answer on how exactly Merlin and Gaius are related. According to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt2npJPDSso&playnext=1&list=PL186B53CA68C875F2&feature=results_video Richard Wilson]], Merlin's mother Hunith is Gaius's step-sister, sister-in-law and/or his [[ChildhoodFriends Childhood Friend]]. Elsewhere, the creators have said that he is Merlin's uncle - though ''haven't'' said whether this makes him a brother to Hunith or to Balinor. It's never been spelt out in the show itself.
* SoMyKidsCanWatch: Creator/NathanielParker (Agravaine) apparently joined the cast because his children were fans of the show.
* TrollingCreator: The more fans complain about Arthur being conveniently knocked out, the more it happens on show. It's gone from only happening a couple of times per season to a OnceAnEpisode occurrence, and has even extended to Merlin once.
** Likewise, constantly teasing TheReveal, [[TheUnreveal only to back out at the last second.]]
** Julian Murphy's DVDCommentary for the final episode. Good lord. Depending on who you talk to, he either confirmed Merlin/Arthur as canon or obnoxiously queerbaited for forty-five minutes. If you open up a discussion on the matter, be prepared for a FlameWar.
* WordOfSaintPaul:
** In interviews Creator/KatieMcGrath was pretty adamant that Aithusa was female, though the only mention of the White Dragon's gender was when it was first introduced, when Kilgarrah refers to it as "he."
** Eoin Macken, who plays Gwaine, has mentioned that his character wouldn't react much if he discovered Merlin had magic. Given his gratitude towards the Euchdag and the fact that he only seems to truly hate sorcerers who commit crimes, this agrees with canon so far. Bradley James has also said that Arthur has reached the point where he's ready to learn about Merlin.
* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings: The reason Bradley stopped updating his {{Twitter}} account (it's still there but is no longer being updated by him personally), as [[FanDumb "fans" started attacking his girlfriend on Twitter.]] The girlfriend in question, Georgia King, also closed down her Twitter account at the same time. [[http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/2012/01/01/actress-georgia-king-closes-twitter-account-after-being-targeted-by-jealous-fans-86908-23670909/ The whole thing warranted at least one newspaper to run with the story]].
** When it was announced that Bradley James and Creator/AngelCoulby would be be starring in a photo-shoot together for ''The Lady'' magazine (to supplement the Colin/Katie shoot of a few months ago), Colin/Bradley fans flooded the organiser's Twitter with [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6nzrgKFdF1rwbpu4o1_1280.png rude demands about how they'd rather have Colin than Angel]]. The organiser's [[http://oi45.tinypic.com/r0pbeo.jpg evident disgust]] in her reply would indicate that they've effectively killed any chance they might have had in convincing her to do a Bradley/Colin shoot.

! General Trivia
* James Callis, who is best known for playing Gaius Baltar on ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', not only played opposite a character called Gaius on ''Series/{{Merlin}}'', but rode a horse called Galactico.
* KatieMcGrath and Emilia Fox also played sisters in the TV movie ''The Queen''. (Not to be muddled up with the film version of ''Film/TheQueen.'')
* Uther's forehead scar is made by applying makeup to a natural crease in Anthony Head's forehead-the crease is prominent in most of his Buffy photos.
* Stories of the legendary KingArthur usually place the day in which he pulls the sword from the stone as December 25th. [[{{Recap/MerlinS04E13TheSwordInTheStonePartII}} The episode]] in which this version of Arthur pulls the sword from the stone first aired on Christmas Eve, 2011. (Though if you're an international viewer, there's a good chance that you watched it on Christmas Day).
* Creator/AngelCoulby and Creator/AnthonyHead have featured together in three projects: ''Film/ImagineMeAndYou'', ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' and ''Series/DancingOnTheEdge''. They barely/don't interact in any of them.
** Make that four. They were in ''Manchild'' together, and actually do share a scene in which they briefly bond over a shared favorite movie -- and this was three years before they were in ''Series/{{Merlin}}''!
* Creator/AngelCoulby and Janet Montgomery (Guinevere and Mithian) never interacted during the episode in which they both appeared, however, they are going to share several scenes in the upcoming drama ''Series/DancingOnTheEdge''.
** Though Bradley James and Janet Montgomery also featured together in ''Series/DisConnected'', along with Hunith, Sophia the Sidhe, and Sir Owaine.
* If you're a fan of ''Literature/MissMarple'', then the ITV adaptations starring Geraldine [=McEwan=]/Julia [=McKenzie=] is a line-up of familiar ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' faces, including Morgause ("The Moving Finger"), Nimueh ("By the Pricking of My Thumbs"), Valiant ("Nemesis"), Lady Vivian ("Why Didn't They Ask Evans?"), Lady Catrina ("Sleeping Murder"), the Gleeman ("Sleeping Murder"), Edwin Muirden ("Ordeal By Innocence"), and the Witchfinder ("By the Pricking of My Thumbs").
** And from ''Series/{{Poirot}}'' we have the Callieach ("Five Little Pigs"), Queen Annis ("The Mystery of the Blue Train"), Enmyria ("At Bertram's Hotel"), Edwin Muirden (again) and Princess Elena ("Halloween Party").
* Emilia Fox (Morgause) is the RealLife niece of James Fox (King Rodor).

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