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Merlin
Portrayed by Sam Neill
Dubbed by Michel Papineschi (European French)
A powerful wizard created by Mab but spends his life fighting against her.
- Badass Longcoat: Trades in a blue cloak and a star spangled pointy hat for this look with a bit of Forest Ranger thrown in.
- Court Mage: Merlin serves as this first unwillingly to Vortigern and then by his own choice to first Uther and then his son Arthur.
- Happily Adopted: Merlin by Ambrosia. He loves her like she was his mother.
- Magic Knight: Unique to Arthurian retellings Merlin also wields Excalibur for a portion of the story in this version.
- Merlin and Nimue: Odd for a story all about Merlin, this series almost averts it in that they are genuinely in love AND it's her that gets trapped in a magical cave, not him.
- Unreliable Narrator: Frik calls him on the fact that his version of events doesn't line up with his memory of what happened and Merlin cops to it claiming people wouldn't believe the story if he told it truthfully.
Queen Mab
Portrayed by Miranda Richardson
A pagan goddess who is desperately fighting against the rise of Christianity
- Affably Evil: She treats Merlin like a son who's disappointed her rather than an enemy, even when she's arranging for his girlfriend to be sacrificed to a dragon.
- Big Bad: The unquestionable main villain, over even characters like Morgan le Fay and Mordred who would usually play this role in Arthur stories.
- Cain and Abel: The Cain to the Lady of the Lake's Abel.
- Canon Foreigner: The character of Queen Mab appears in some Shakespearean era English folk tales/poems but has never been associated with the Arthurian cycle.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Genuinely loves Mordred, Merlin too to some extent, she thinks of both of them as her "sons" with Mordred as the loyal one and Merlin as the rebel. Also she has a very polite respectful attitude towards Nimue, akin to a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Queen of the "old ways" and the primary antagonist.
- It Only Works Once: Her biggest mistake when it came to handling Merlin was allowing him to be raised by a human without bothering to interact with him, thus ensuring he won't be in a hurry to do her bidding when his magic manifests. She displays her ability to learn from her mistakes by doing the exact opposite with Mordred, visiting and spoiling him regularly throughout his adolescence, thus gaining his affection and ensuring he will eagerly go along with her plans.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Repeatedly in the story she fails to use her magic to save someone from dying, gets called out for it and happily admits she could have saved them if she wanted to but chose not to. Then when Mordred is dying she realizes her powers have diminished too far and she no longer has the power to save him even though she wants to.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Mab defends herself this way. "With evil all around me, I can do nothing but evil, to survive."
- Villainous Breakdown: Mordred's death causes her to completely flip out.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Doesn't consider herself evil, feels she she is fighting for her people and her way of life.
Nimue
Portrayed by Isabella Rossellini
A highborn lady who falls for Merlin, and becomes entangled in his battle with Queen Mab.
- Adaptational Heroism: Like her counterpart the Lady of the Lake most of her misdeeds have been glossed over. Here she is genuinely in love with Merlin, not just using him for power, and while she does intend to trap him like in the myths it's here intention to be trapped with him and in the end she bears the brunt of this gambit not him.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted, she suffers disfiguring burns after her failed sacrifice to the Great Dragon, and it is only through Merlin's magic that her beauty is restored.
- Decomposite Character: Here she is a separate individual from the Lady of the Lake.
- Merlin and Nimue: Played with and inverted. She is not the same character as the Lady in the Lake, and she is the one trapped in a cave, NOT Merlin.
Frik
Portrayed by Martin Short
Mab's gnome aide-de-camp who specializes in illusionary shapeshifting.
- Brought Down to Normal: After he turns on Mab, she takes away his magic as a punishment.
- Canon Foreigner: A completely original character with no counterpart in Arthurian Mythology.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Part of the reason he begins to turn on Mab. She is willing to do anything, no matter how horrible, to bring about the return of paganism in Britain. He is genuinely disgusted when she brings about the suicide of Lancelot's wife, and turns on her for real when she murders Morgan le Fay, whom he'd grown to love.
- Heel–Face Turn: Turns against Mab after she kills Morgan.
Ambrosia
Portrayed by Billie Whitelaw
Merlin's guardian and a former worshipper of Mab's.
- Deadpan Snarker: Always has a quip for everyone no matter whether you are human, fairies or a goddess.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Is constantly hurling verbal jabs at Mab despite her being a goddess, it ends up biting her in the end.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The 'jerk' part is downplayed but she is a very stern, brash woman who presents a rough exterior but she is at heart loving and kind and adores Merlin who she raises as a son.
- Mama Bear: Threatens to disembowel Mab, a GODDESS, if she hurts Merlin.
- Nay-Theist: Well aware the old gods, the fey and other beings are real. Doesn't care and thinks they should get the hell out of her hut.
Morgan le Fay
Portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter
Arthur's older half-sister who conspires against him with Mab and Frik.
- Adaptational Wimp: No more the powerful sorceress from Arthurian Myth here she is a superficial young woman who acts as Mab's pawn. The only magic she has access to are gifts that Mab and Frik shower on her and Mordred, other than somewhat inexplicably being able to see through the illusion Merlin placed on Uther to make him look like Cornwall when she was a child.
- Cassandra Truth: Was unable to stop Uther from raping her mother despite seeing through his illusion.
- Composite Character: Par for the course with Arthurian adaptations, the character called Morgan le Fay is made the mother of Mordred, whereas in the legendary cycles, Mordred's mother was Morgause, one of Igraine's two other daughters by the Duke of Cornwall.
- The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: When Frik tells Mab that rubbing Elaine's nose in Guinevere and Lancelot's affair was unworthy behavior, Mordred asks Morgan what "unworthy" means and Morgan finds that she's forgotten.
- Death by Adaptation: In traditional Arthurian myth Morgan outlives most of the other characters, including Arthur. She is usually last seen as being one of the women to carry Arthur's body back to Avalon.
- Demoted to Extra: Morgan le Fay is quite often the Big Bad of Arthurian Legend or at least the Friendly Enemy. However you cut it she's a major part of the story in every aspect. Here she is nothing but a maiden manipulated by Queen Mab to be a broodmare and killed off when she had served her purpose.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When Merlin pityingly says that her new beauty is only an illusion, Morgan points out that beauty is always just illusory, which is perfectly true.
- Tragic Villain: It's hard not to pity her, even if she is largely responsible for Mordred's depravity. Her father was murdered by Uther, whom Merlin helped to rape her mother, and she spent much of her life as a sad, frumpy orphan. Finally, Mab uses her as a broodmare to birth Mordred, and is then murders her when she tries to raise Mordred herself instead of handing him over to Mab.
King Vortigern
Portrayed by Rutger Hauer
A murderous rival to Uther's rule.
- Bullying a Dragon: Vortigern has no fear of Merlin and Mab, treating the one with casual, indifferent brutality and the other with blunt and audacious arrogance.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: As fearsome a fighter as he is, he is handily dispatched by Merlin's magic.
- Evil Wears Black: His armor is black, and he wears a long black cape.
- Fatal Flaw: Pride. He's an absolutely fearless king, but believes in nothing other than himself. Mab even gives him a magical trinket to aid him in his Final Battle, but he's too proud to rely on her power.Mab: Ah, Vortigern, it's your pride. Your pride condemns you.Merlin: Only one tear was shed for Vortigern, and his pride had cast it away. He paid for it with his life.
- Hate Sink: There are absolutely no redeeming qualities to him, he's known for just randomly killing his own people and rules through fear and blackmail, perfectly aware that he can't earn his subjects' loyalty on his own.
- Hero Killer: Kills Nimue's father, the Lord Ardent, during the battle with Uther.
- Old Soldier: Despite being in his 50's, he's still a capable warrior.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: He is the High King of the Britons, and a fearless and audacious battle commander.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: As evil as he is, he does lead his armies from the front.
Mordred
Portrayed by Jason Done
Morgan and Arthur's illegitimate son, his birth was engineered by Mab to give her her own Champion, like Arthur is to Merlin.
- Axe-Crazy: He's a sadistic killer who revels in the suffering he causes. He becomes a literal example of this when he starts hacking away at enemy troops with a battle-axe during the Battle of Camlann, laughing all the while.
- The Dragon: He's Mab's most powerful and loyal enforcer.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He is very close to Mab, affectionately calling her "Auntie", and he is more than happy to go along with her plans.
- Evil Counterpart: He's basically what Merlin would have become if Mab had actually bothered to participate in his upbringing and ensure his birth mother would not meddle with her plans (at least not until it was too late). His relationship with her is even a dark mirror of Merlin's relationship with Ambrosia, right down to the "Auntie" nickname.
- Evil Wears Black: Often wears black clothing, though unlike Vortigern, his armor isn't black.
- Faux Affably Evil: He'll smile and joke while torturing and murdering innocents.
- Hate Sink: If anything, he's even worse than Vortigern. He's a sadistic sociopath who wants to conquer Britain, practices archery on his castle's servants, and laughs when Mab murders his mother in front of him.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Or at least he would be if he weren't also Obviously Evil with the all black getup, the greasy hair and constantly alternating between a sinister smirk and a sinister scowl.
- Psychopathic Manchild: It's hard to put an age to Mordred, since Rapid Aging is in effect and the actor was well into his twenties, but Mordred acts like a petulant twelve-year-old even after growing into physical maturity. His offscreen sojourn in the fae world seems to shear him of it, or at least teaches him to bottle it up; he reappears in Camelot with far greater cunning and presence than he displayed under his babying family's wing.
- Nephewism: Openly prefers his "Auntie Mab" to his own mother.
- Smug Snake: He is the smarmiest, most arrogant little bastard in the entire mini-series. You wonder how he gets through the day without getting punched.
- The Sociopath: Outwardly a handsome and charismatic young man, he is inwardly a callous, sadistic hothead who wants to conquer Britain and take the throne for himself. When Queen Mab murders his mother Morgan in front of him, he laughs and compliments Mab on her cleverness. That being said, his bond with Mab suggests that he is capable of bonding with others, but is incredibly selective about it.
- Super-Strength: Claims to have the strength of ten men, he shows it on a few occasions.
- William Telling: His first scene as an adult shows him practicing archery on his castle servants for fun.
- Villain Has a Point: All of his claims about Guinevere and Lancelot are objectively true. The problem is he's making them out of a spiteful desire to destabilize his father's kingdom so he can take it for himself.
King Arthur
Portrayed by Paul Curran
The son of Uther and the Lady Igraine, conceived with Merlin's help to bring about a "Good King".
- The Ace: Merlin builds him up to be this. He comes very close. He wins nearly every battle he's in (except the last one), many through peaceful means and avoids the madness and selfishness of his father and grandfather.
- Big Good: The main force for peace and justice throughout the films.
- Broken Ace: Played with. Merlin certainly makes him feel like one after he sleeps with Morgan and Mab claims he's "cursed". Mordred also turns his people against him through exaggerating perceived slights he's committed.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: He is the High King of the Britons, and manages to outfight Mordred, a magically-enhanced Super-Soldier.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: It's King Arthur we're talking about. Adventure and heroism are par for the course.
The Lady of the Lake
Portrayed by Miranda Richardson
A fae/goddess like her sister Mab, she gifts Merlin with Excalibur.
- Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed as the original character in the Legends was mostly good but still all the unsavory things the Lady of the Lake is supposed to do like seduce Merlin and manipulate mortals for her own amusement are excised, leaving her a rather saintly guardian angel figure.
- Decomposite Character: Here a different character than Nimue.
- Power Floats: When she appears above the water, she always hovers over it, never seen touching the ground.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Gee, Lady couldn't you have just said "He's a young boy and his name is Galahad"?!? It would've saved Merlin and Arthur a lot of trouble.
The Rock of Ages
Portrayed by James Earl Jones
A magical being/deity like Mab and her sister.
- Adaptational Badass: Remember the sword in the stone? This god-like being was that plain piece of rock that you never saw again after the little blond boy got the sword.
- Ascended Extra: This god-like being who doesn't fear even the Big Bad (in fact they're basically childhood friends) is this tale's version of the stone the sword gets yanked out of!
Guinevere
Portrayed by Lena Headey
Queen of Camelot, Arthur's wife and Lancelot's lover.
- Arranged Marriage: Her wedding to Arthur was this, though it's at least implied they both at least tried to work on the romance in the beginning at least but his Grail Quest killed that for her.
- The Heretic: Given a Burn the Witch! style punishment for her adultery since the person she cheated on is head of state thus making it treason.
- The High Queen: Of Camelot.
Lancelot
Portrayed by Jeremy Sheffield
A knight found by Merlin to guard Camelot while Arthur quests for the Holy Grail
- Mr. Fanservice: Mab plays this up by magically stoking Guinevere's lust for him upon first seeing his face.
- Prophecy Twist: Merlin went to Joyous Gard looking for the best and purest of all knights after being told by the Lady of the Lake that he'd find him there. Everyone thought it was Lancelot. She was actually referring to Lancelot's son, Galahad.
- Starcrossed Lovers: Falls in love with Guinevere despite being both married and sworn to serve Guinevere's husband. Shows remorse when his wife Elaine dies of a "broken heart" but it doesn't end the affair.
Elaine and Galahad
Portrayed by Janine Eser and Justin Girdler
The wife and son of Lancelot he left on Joyous Gard to serve Arthur.
- Adaptational Heroism: Here Elaine is married to Lancelot whereas in the myths she rapes him via mystical potion.
- Composite Character: This Elaine is a mix of two of the many Elaines from Arthurian Mythology: Elaine of Corbenic, the mother of Galahad, and Elaine of Astolat AKA the Lady of Shalott (with her death scene being a recreation of John William Waterhouse's famous painting The Lady of Shalott.)
- Demoted to Extra: Galahad's role is reduced to a brief scene as a child. Here he doesn't become a knight till after Arthur dies and his part in the Grail Quest is relegated to an off-screen narration at the story's end.
King Uther
Portrayed by Mark Jax
Arthur's father and his predecessor as Merlin's champion.
- Broken Ace: Merlin chose him to fight Vortigern as he saw a vision implying his victory and he seemed (compared to Vortigern at least) like a good man. Then he becomes obsessed with Igrain and destroys his kingdom with a needless war against his own allies to obtain her and forces Merlin to help him rape her to end the conflict. He eventually goes mad and kills himself.
- Karma Houdini: Played with. He never really gets comeuppance for killing Cornwall, starting a needless war and raping Igraine but his life after that does go downhill pretty spectacularly. He loses his son and eventually goes mad, killing himself and his death is portrayed as being little more than an annoyance to those closest to him who care more about the vacant seat then mourning.
- Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Presents himself as a pious benevolent counterpart to Vortigern's ruthless ways but proves himself to be just as much of a self-serving monster.
