Should "Merlin" be 더 많이 about Merlin? 

Uh-oh. Methinks there are some points made here that are going to irk some folks.

My opinion is that I do want to see Merlin shine and to do so on his own. I think I agree with a lot that was said in both the pro and con sections, and especially on the pros. I love the M/A friendship as much as the next person, but in all honesty these two have had tons of screentime together and the focus has definitely been more on the friendship than the romance, no matter how much complaining we may be hearing about that. Seeing Merlin out there doing his own thing, not just joined at the hip with Arthur, but focusing on all his relationships, and Albion as a whole would hold true to the title and subtitle. "The destiny of a young KINGDOM rests on the shoulders of a young man, his name is 'Merlin'" So every part of the story about that kingdom is important, and how that young man relates to it and the people involved. The king, the queen, the knights are all important to the legend and the show gives us its take on the legend as a whole, so in that way I agree with the cons part of the article.

Being upset over the fact that he is still a servant is missing the point of what he's destined to do. Up until now he's been able to do what he has done for the future of Albion because of that "lowly" status. Because he's been Arthur's personal servant, he has been able to be pretty much there where Arthur is, where the action is. Arthur's just been getting to the point where he's set up as a king. He's married with the queen of legend. It's all important and Merlin has been very much in the mix, as it should be. Now he can continue to have an impact, but in this show's telling of the story perhaps he can do more in his capacity as a servant. Does that make sense?

Whatever. My interest is rapidly waning with this fandom in general that seems to have garnered the biggest moron faction in the history of fantasy.

This is why sometimes I get annoyed by Merlin fans. They're hate for Gwen and Arthur's relationship has made them become so involve in what Arthur and Gwen are not doing, they don't see all the progress merlin has made.
Merlin
killed a poweful sorceress
became a dragonlord
save arthur numerous times
Keeps helping A/G relationship
took down morgana (twice)
Killed Agravaine
Merlin has done so much, heck there is more development in his relationship with Arthur than Gwen's. Gwen is barely in most of the episodes
They need to be complaining about how many episodes have focused on Morgana and her overratedness. God, I am so tired of hearing them squawk.

Actually, though, while much of the fandom you're referring to is whining like no tomorrow about all this, my main point is the article itself. I think some good points are being made on both the for and against sides and I rather like what Cultbox is doing here. So no matter how you look at it, I agree that Merlin should be the focus of attention in one sense, but that the other great characters and other aspects of the legend shouldn't be sacrificed for that.

And all this can be accomplished still with him as a servant. Some of the greatest heroes of all time achieved their greatness while in a status that humankind thinks of as lowly. Sometimes they never made headlines either, like many a mother.

Well said Nanna!

I counter this. I want him to move up. He merits it.

For me, it's not his social status that's the issue, it's the fact that with the amount of screentime that he and his relationship with Arthur gets, his character hasn't really developed and his most important relationship hasn't gotten anywhere. In my opinion, his character is way too revolved around Arthur's character. They need to focus more on his relationship with characters other than Arthur. And we need to actually see him working on his magic and fulfilling his other destiny of becoming the greatest warlock. They also need to move his relationship with Arthur forward. Honestly, I was just about over them in S4. It's like they're constantly doing the same things over and over again. Even their conversations were starting to sound the same.

Off course, Arwen haters will blame A/G for the lack of Merlin's development but we all know that's not the case. Look at the amount of screentime that A/G gets per episode compared to Merlin/Arthur and just about all the other relationships on the show. The thing is that Arwen is a relationship that has moved forward and evolved despite the lack of screentime. It also doesn't help Merlin's development that just about all the other characters on the show revolve around Arthur and are used to push his storyline. Merlin needs a season like Arthur had in S4 where it was his character and his relationship with others that was driving the storyline.

Anyway, there are plenty of shows with titular characters that still manage to have multiple relationships and storylines and still keep it about the title character. The Last Airbender and Legend Korra are fine examples of that. Instead of blaming Arwen, maybe that faction of the fandom should be pointing the finger at themselves for the wasted screentime that was used on pratfalls and slash-bait to appease them. Because those scenes really didn't help to make the show more about Merlin.

^THIS! Preach Bonnie One! PREACH!

^"Arwen is a relationship that has moved forward and evolved despite the lack of screen time." Bingo. If J&J could see how important it is to "move forward" in all relationships, we all would be more content with all of the relationships in this show, even if the direction wasn't exactly what we individually might hope for. "Moving forward" is the natural path of humanity. Yes, civilizations can spin in circles, but individual relationships do not, or they die. Actually, that is true of civilizations, as well.

I think most of you(us, I guess, now that I've jumped aboard this bandwagon) are honestly too cerebral for TPTB in the case of Merlin. We love the sacrificial nature of Arthur's and Guinevere's relationship, for which we WILL NOT apologize, but we also see the potential for a story about humanity/society at large. Imperfect individuals in individual relationships, based on character and trust, not status, which bolster the awakening of a new golden age. One of the greatest potentials of this show, in my opinion, would be to make people think about how every person has talents, gifts, or characteristics to contibute to their community, regardless of station. But instead TPTB spend too much time on the same antics, which are entertaining once, perhaps, but not in endless cycles(Please, pants on, Arthur, unless Gwen is involved!). I really dislike wasted potential. Ugh.

The focus has always been on Merlin, he's in every episode (hence the name) he has helped, saved, killed, advised and befriended everyone he comes into contact with including a dragon and camelot and not just once, so the article I agree with some and disagree with some, but I agree with EP I also would like to see him move up, the other thing I would like to see is the depth of his powers (magic)which looks like happening this season. As for the small immature Merlin fandom all I can say is Bradley & Angel have done a brilliant job for these fans to only focus on two people especially Angel when out of 4 seasons, they have only had about an hour or a couple of hours dedicated to them, so kudos to Bradley & Angel.

Stella and Bonnie. Wow. How beautifully expressed, young ladies. Loved every word.
Thanks, Jen. Our comments overlapped but I like what you said about our dear couple.

I'm still sorting through the whole servant vs.necessity to move up. I want that eventually of course but still think he can be the hero even without the promotion. Probably one of those things we're not all going to always agree on.

If 44 years on this planet makes me young, I'll be your best friend, Humble One.

Stella, honey, it's all relative. To this mom and grandmom, you are young, girlie.

HQ, I'm new to the conversation on this site, but I've noticed you have a broad scope of acceptance. Perhaps, like me, you would personally love to see the friendships between Merlin and, well, everyone else, be honest and open. This is the goal of living with integrity, after all, and its obvious you embody that in real life. You are also, however, in real life a truly humble person, and you've said yourself that you understand that there exist unsung heroes in the real world every day. If such a person CHOOSES to remain unsung, it is a beautiful testament to his or her servant leadership. But choosing to act in humility is very different from feeling forced to deceive those closest to you out of self-preservation. I really wannt the reveal for that reason alone.

Wow, Stella. Putting it like that, how can I disagree? Oh, I want the reveal, I want the reveal!!! The sooner the better. So what we're saying here then is that once his magic is revealed, his status as a servant would necessarily change and he'd either be killed, kicked out, or relegated to a position of some kind of status. So thinking about it that way, I certainly do want the latter. Also, I REALLY don't want this lying and deceit on his part to continue.

So I guess deep down, I really want Merlin to move up too. Well, unfortunately, from what I'm hearing there is going to be no reveal early on in the season at least, so we're going to continue with the deceit, etc. But I'm still hoping to see him branch out and affect the destiny of this great kingdom even more this year than ever. I'm looking forward to seeing his struggles with choosing the right path with his powers and all that good stuff.

Thanks for that, hon. The whole idea of him not CHOOSING to remain unsung and doing it out of self-preservation is an important point here, so yes.

well, I too agree with everyone, but peronally, I think that Merlin will need a buffer between he and Arthur, so I feel Guin should know 1st along with Gwaine to soften the blow to Arthur when he finds out since he believes that magic is bad. I agree with Atoz55 the focus has always been on Merlin, without him nothing would have gotten this far if it was not for him our favorite couple would not have gotten together and "so on and so on and shooby dooby do da ooh shasta"...lol Well, lets see what season 5 has in store. I did give my opinion on the website.