First and foremost, all the villains seem to just not want to be persecuted. Nimueh being the prim example. This woman just wanted to make sure her kind could survive. The druids (considered evil in the show) they really aren't evil at all...they just want to survive. They didn't really fight when Uther's army came for them (when they had Morgana), they fled. Which brings me to the fact that even though the 'good guys' saw them fleeing--surrendering--they still attacked. They saw Morgana fleeing too...and not once did they consider that she wanted to stay with the druids. Yes the knights were just doing as they were instructed--hence why my finger remains pointed at the one and only Uther.
Stemming off of this is that most all of the villains simply wanted to ensure the survival of their kin. After all of the executions 'good guy', Uther ordered I think it's fair for them to do whatever it takes to save themselves. Yes Nimueh, Morgause, Morgana, etc wanted to kill Uther...that was their ultimate goal, but lets be real, he wanted to kill them first. Morgause was just a baby when she was smuggled out of Camelot for her own protection; what does this imply? It implies that Uther was willing to kill a baby simply because of its potential to do magic. What makes their actions villainous is that they caused so much collateral damage. But then again is it really collateral damage? The whole of Camelot wanted magic-users dead and were willing to turn their kind in. Uther pretty much brainwashed them into thinking so and/or threatened their lives if they did--again my finger is pointing at Uther as the true villain of the show. Nimueh specifically told Merlin that she just wanted to make sure her kind lives on. Morgause specifically states that she wanted change; that with the fall of Camelot she believe that a time in which magic-users could be at peace would come again.
Basically the villains went dark to survive. Because they really didn't have any other choice, aside from hiding like Merlin. But if they all stayed hidden, nothing would change. Basically, I think it's reasonable to say a lot of them went evil because they were afraid. Afraid of what would happen if they didn't use dark magic to protect themselves.
It became a case of destroy hoặc be destroyed.
And let's face it, they would have been destroyed. Uther chose to execute even the most innocent magic users--among those innocent magic users were children. Do I believe that if the sorcerers/sorceresses didn't fight back they'd be eliminated? Yes I do. Uther and his army managed to wipe out dragons--all except for the one. If they can wipe out mighty dragons, they can surly take down human magic-users. That in mind the very fact that Uther deliberately wiped out an entire species is evil on it's own.
So let's discuss his reasoning for banning magic; he hates it because it got his wife killed. Fair enough, but it was his own fault. It was his fault that his wife died. He sacrificed her to keep his bloodline alive. He didn't consider the negative outcomes before diving into magic and tampering with life and death (something that shouldn't be tampered with). And after this he began murdering and executing innocent people for his mistake. He essentially started killing people to be rid of his own guilt. Uther made it his goal to kill anyone using magic no matter who they were and how they used it, because he himself screwed up. And he didn't even have the balls to admit it to his son. He's hypocritical and a liar.
So how do I say that the other good guys are evil? Okay so it's mostly Uther but Gaius and Merlin have also done some questionable things. I tình yêu both characters and I'm not going to say they are evil evil evil! But they did make a big mistake where Morgana was concerned. Gaius should have just told her she had magic instead of keeping her in the dark. I never understood what they was supposed to accomplish hoặc prevent. Wouldn't it have saved a lot of heartbreak if he just let he know she had magic and chose to help her control it as he did with Merlin? And Merlin, he saw how she was suffering and he had a great many opportunities where he was alone with her to tell her he understood her because he had magic too. He had plenty of opportunities to comfort and reassure her, but for whatever reason he didn't. He chose to keep her in the dark too. Because of this they had a hand in helping her go dark, since she had no support and (apparently) no one who knew what she was going through.
Which leads me to my final point; pretty much all of the villains are villains of Uther's creation. They are people who would have never been evil had Uther not threatened their lives and everything they stood for. Let's start with the obvious one; Morgana. We saw her go from a kind and sweet girl to a dark cold-hearted woman. I strongly believe that the transition would not have happened had she not felt unloved and persecuted bởi her own father. For a while she didn't even realize that he was her actually father--he also didn't want to tell her she had a half-sister for that matter. Her own father made her feel like she would be killed. I'd be distraught too if my own dad wanted me dead. If I had no support from anyone in the same situation. And she didn't have control over her magic so the odds of getting caught and killed were much higher. With that in mind her fear of Uther killing her pushed her to try to kill him first. It's what had her inclined to run off with the druids. And is what made it so easy for Morgause to convince her to go completely dark and actively against the Pendragons. Morgause offered to teach her control and to understand what was happening to her as well as protection which is very appealing in comparison to what Uther offered. The fact that she was scared and already leaning towards hating Uther is what made her so easy to bait in. If Uther hadn't made her feel unloved (for who she was) and threatened, then she probably wouldn't have gone bad.
And that's just Morgana. Do bạn think Kilgharrah would have attacked Camelot if not provoked first? No. He clearly stated that "I'm going to take the only path left for the last of my kind." He really felt that there was nothing else for him to do but avenge his kind and ensure that he wouldn't be killed too. Uther had him imprisoned just for being a dragon.
How about Gilli? He entered that tournament ready to kill Arthur and/or Uther because his inability to hiển thị his skills made him feel weak and useless. He had so much talent but was forced to tuck it away and that drove him nuts, it ate away at him until he was willing to discard his moral values to hiển thị that he wasn't worthless and gain respect.It is also known that he like the other's resented Uther for hunting down his people and (if I remember right) killing his father. While Gilli was not portrayed as a villain, he'd have had every reason to be one. The funny thing is, Gilli is a protagonist that makes Uther look as bad as he is.
And then there's Morgause. On the surface it would seem that she had no reason do to the evil she did, but let's look a little deeper. First I'd like to re-visit the fact that she had to be smuggled out of Camelot as a baby. She couldn't even walk nor talk when Uther set out to have her killed. That on its own is a pretty solid reason to hate a man. On hàng đầu, đầu trang of that she very clearly loves Morgana as a sister; the fact that she was separated from her half-sister just because she was a baby with magical abilities is rather haunting. I'd be pretty pissed if I was unable to contact my sister for years and years. I'd be even thêm pissed if I found out that she didn't even know who I was! That said, Morgause didn't just harbor her own hatred. She hated Uther for what the damage he'd done her half-sister. She was angry on behalf of someone she cared about. It's like seeing your sibling get bullied...you want to help and bạn share the anger they feel. And thirdly Morgause is one of the high-priestesses. One of the last high-priestesses. That would essentially put her in the same 'kill hoặc be killed' position as Nimueh. She was just trying to preserve her kin and in the long-term trying to help it rise out of the ashes.
What I'm getting at with all of these people is that Uther essentially created/forced these people into doing bad things to protect themselves. It's one of those 'whose the real monster; Frankenstein hoặc the monster he created?' Uther is the root of pretty much all the evil in the hiển thị due to him executing people for a deed he had done. I don't think half of the baddies would be so evil if it weren't for the actions of one tyrant.
There are many sides to the story. Evil and good isn't black and white. Whether bạn agree hoặc disagree, Morgana, Morgause, Nimueh...they aren't the only ones guilty of doing bad deeds.
