Leon is the Round Table Member Most Likely to Sympathize with Magic: Hypothesis and Supporting Evidence

by the_bi_ballerina

Summary:

Of the members of the Round Table who are not already aware of Merlin's magic, I assert that Sir Leon would be the most likely to react well to a reveal of Merlin's magic. This meta details my supporting evidence for this assertion. For the sake of comparison, this work includes a section for each other relevant character, delineating the factors which are likely to affect their sympathy for magic (and Merlin, in particular).

Notes:

Thank you to Glon_Morski for beta-reading this! Thank you to the Land of Myth Discord server for the conversation that inspired this.

Chapter 1: Hypothesis and Notes

Hypothesis

Of the members of the original Round Table who are not already aware of Merlin's magic, I propose that Sir Leon would be the most likely to react well to a reveal of Merlin's magic.

Note on Timing

Note that this hypothesis specifically applies to a time period after the end of season 3, but before season 4, episode 10, "A Herald of the New Age" (the episode where Elyan is possessed by the spirit of a Druid child). I do think the dynamics could change after that episode, particularly for Elyan.

The Candidates

The characters I will focus on are the original Round Table members who don't know about Merlin's magic: Arthur, Gwen, Leon, Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival. I will not be discussing the members who already do know about Merlin’s magic: Gaius, Lancelot, and Merlin himself. However, they may still be brought up as factors in the other character’s opinions.

Chapter 2: Arthur and Gwen

Arthur

Arthur’s opinion on magic could be a whole separate essay, which others have already written in multiple forms, so I won't go too far into the reasons why Arthur is not at the top of this list. In particular, I will recommend "A Data Driven Look at Arthur Pendragon's Experiences With and Attitude Towards Magic" by anarchycox and thenerdyindividual, and note that while the authors do point out some instances in which Arthur has learned to be more accepting, these occasions all take place after the time period on which I’ve focused this analysis.

I will specify that both Arthur's anti-magic views and his personal trust in Merlin would contribute to his reaction. Arthur's distrust of magic is never really in question, though the intensity does fluctuate over the course of the show. Once Arthur becomes King, he is the only person on this list that actually could defend magic without serious concerns about breaking the law. That's not to say that doing so would be without political and personal consequences; it would just be much less risk for him than for anyone else. So the fact that he doesn't do so is extremely indicative, as is his initial canon reaction to the magic reveal during the finale of the show.

Gwen

Gwen’s opinion on magic is a bit tricky to pin down. She grew up in Camelot and would not remember a time before the Purge, which is likely to bias her against magic. Despite this, I don't think we can say for sure that she harbors strong anti-magic feelings in earlier seasons. The vulnerability of her early social standing means that her actions and statements have to be taken with a grain of salt, in both directions. It wouldn't have been very safe for Gwen to speak in support of magic when she was a servant, so I don't think it's fair to assume she is anti-magic based on lack of evidence. On the other hand, we shouldn't read too much magic sympathy in her initial participation in concealing and protecting Mordred in the first season, because she was following the lead of Arthur and Morgana, who she didn't really have the power to oppose.

Gwen's father's life is once saved by magic, so that might mean something to her, but that same action also nearly leads to her execution. She is accused of magic multiple times, which might make her more sympathetic to the cause, but could also breed resentment. Significantly, her father is killed due to association with sorcerers, and while Uther's anti-magic stance is primarily to blame, I'm not sure she wouldn't also blame magic in some ways. Especially since she does stand by Arthur after that, which is no minor decision, given the great difficulty she has to overcome to actually be with Arthur later on.

Regardless of Gwen's early feelings on magic, Morgana's betrayal would have inevitably influenced her opinion in later seasons. Outside of Gaius and Merlin, Gwen was the first to notice Morgana's ill-intentions, the first individual victim of Morgana's active intent to harm them, and the person who interacted most closely with Morgana as she turned from them. I can't see Gwen having much trust in magic after that. Later, when Gwen is the second-highest authority in the kingdom, she still doesn't indicate much sympathy for magic, which is telling.

Regarding her personal relationships, Gwen was friends with Merlin before anyone else on this list. (Arthur technically met him first, but those early encounters weren't exactly amicable.) While this does give her more reason to trust his intentions, she also had a trusting relationship with Morgana that was already well-established in the first episode, so she may not place much value on this. This friendship also gives her more reason to feel betrayed. Especially since, from Gwen's perspective, Merlin is a peer who would have had the most similar experience to her with regards to Morgana's betrayal. That's something they went through together, so Merlin also having magic would most likely feel very personal to her.

It would be remiss not to acknowledge that Gwen is the only candidate besides Arthur for whom we have technically seen a canon reaction to Merlin's magic, albeit in a somewhat ambiguous manner. In contrast to Arthur, her reaction is immediately positive. However, it would be short-sighted to extrapolate her positive reaction during the finale to other times or scenarios. That reaction is specifically to learning that the mysterious sorcerer who vanquished an entire enemy army is actually someone that she knows and whose motivations she can more easily predict, and that her badly wounded husband and king is with someone exceedingly powerful who might be able to save him. A magic reveal in a different situation, especially one without such immediate existing proof of Merlin's loyalty to Camelot, probably would not go as well. Not to mention that canon never actually shows us Gwen speaking about the magic to Merlin himself. That being said, her reaction suggests that, given her long-term trust in Gaius, knowing about his support of Merlin would affect her opinion.

Chapter 3: The "Common" Knights of the Round Table

The "Common" Knights (Except Lancelot)

Those that were knighted at the end of Season 3 chose to become knights much more recently and later in life than Leon. They made a choice to do so, knowing Camelot's active anti-magic stance. It's possible Percival wasn't aware of the extent of the anti-magic laws (although I find it unlikely Lancelot wouldn't have mentioned it to him), but the others had all been to Camelot before. They know knights are responsible for enforcing the law. If any of them had any pro-magic or even relatively neutral views, they would have had to reconcile that with a lifetime of enforcing death on people they didn't necessarily think deserve it. You can't become a loyal knight of Camelot without participating in the persecution of sorcerers. The situation is different for Lancelot, who actually has a magic-user to take his cues from, and is shown to be willing to legally commit treason even when he doesn't want to be disloyal in spirit. He has reason to see the new position as an opportunity to protect someone with magic, and being open about his sympathies could potentially put Merlin at risk. For elaboration on that concept, I recommend panharmonium’s meta on Lancelot’s support for magic. The rest of the knights don't have that knowledge, but they aren't shown to have any issues being knighted. Presumably, if they didn't want to be complicit in anti-magic efforts, they still could have chosen to support Arthur in that battle without actually being knighted. That wouldn't necessarily be a simple decision, because they would be turning down a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and material security, but I don't think it would have been impossible.

Elyan

Elyan grew up in Camelot and would not remember a time before the Purge, biasing him against magic. You could also make the same arguments with Elyan as with Gwen regarding resentment to magic due to the death of their father. With the added element that Elyan didn't have a positive relationship with their father when he died, so Elyan would be more likely to actually blame their father for getting mixed up with sorcerers in the first place. Elyan also does seem to have done alright in the time between his return to Camelot and Morgana's takeover, so knighthood wasn't his only option (though he may have felt it was a better position to protect his sister), yet he still accepted.

Note that Elyan's views on magic are likely different after the incident in “A Herald of the New Age”, in which he was possessed by the spirit of the murdered Druid child. Thus this section, in particular, might not apply outside of the specified time period.

Gwaine

Gwaine does not have the bias of growing up in Camelot, but it's a reasonable possibility that many other kingdoms were anti-magic as well. (I actually think it's extremely likely, but that's a separate essay.) Gwaine is the least likely of the new knights to want the life of a knight. He may consider Arthur to be an exception to his distaste for royalty, but Uther certainly isn't, and Uther is still king when Gwaine agrees to be knighted. Gwaine has hidden his noble heritage even when it would have afforded him safety and privilege, so I don't think simple self-interest would have been enough for him to accept knighthood. We see in his first episode that he is willing to speak out against wrongs to the king himself, at the expense of his own interest. So I can't believe that Gwaine would agree to become a Knight of Camelot if he had any doubts that it was the right thing to do, and even if he did have doubts, he wouldn't leave them unvoiced. Additionally, Gwaine did say some things that indicated a fairly negative stance on magic over the course of the show. For specifics, I highly recommend reading panharmonium's meta about Gwaine's stance on magic, which also expands on the knights' complicity in anti-magic persecution.

I also think Gwaine, in particular, would feel betrayed personally regarding Merlin. During their first encounter, Gwaine indicates that Merlin is the first person to ever want him as more than a temporary friend. We never see Gwaine admit his noble heritage to anyone other than Merlin. Even as their friendship fades in later seasons, Gwaine still seems to feel some remnants of a special obligation to Merlin, such as when he supports Merlin in "The Secret Sharer" (season 4, episode 7) and when he accompanies Merlin to the crystal cave in part 1 of "The Diamond of the Day" (season 5, episode 12). So Merlin having such a major secret for the entire time they'd known each other would probably feel like a betrayal, even if Gwaine could look past the magic itself.

Percival

I think Percival is less likely to be anti-magic than Arthur, Gwaine, Elyan, and Gwen. While he does make the same choice as Elyan and Gwaine when he becomes a Knight of Camelot, he does not have the same alternatives available to him as the other two, nor does he have the motivation to refuse that Gwaine might have. Additionally, given that knighthood is something that Lancelot so clearly desires, Percival has strong motivation to accept due to his friendship with and loyalty to Lancelot, even if he doesn't fully agree with Camelot's anti-magic stance.

However, we do not see Percival indicate any sympathy to magic in his time as a knight. Also, Percival's family being murdered by Cenred, an active ally of sorcerers, probably biased him against magic.

Regardless of his personal feelings on magic, if a magic reveal happened while Lancelot was still alive, I do think Percival's trust in Lancelot would cause him to be more accepting than he would be otherwise. Especially if he comes to understand that Lancelot already knew about Merlin's magic when he took Percival along to help in the battle against Cenred.

Chapter 4: Leon

Leon

Leon was raised in Camelot, so that does bias him against magic. It's possible he is slightly older than the others, but he probably still doesn't remember the time pre-Purge. And he has been a knight long enough that he has actively fought magic and likely lost friends to it.

But while Leon is a knight of Camelot, he didn't choose to become one anytime recently. Given that he took the traditional path to knighthood, he probably went through years of training, working as a squire, etc. He would have had to decide on that path when he was quite young, and probably not yet at the age where he would be willing to question the ideology he was raised with. Given noble family hierarchy, it may have been more his family's decision than his own. Even if it wasn't, he's probably a younger son in a noble household, and knighthood would have been a fairly typical path for him, rather than the major decision and upheaval it was in the new knights' lives. Unlike the others, Leon hasn't actively chosen to uphold the anti-magic law as an adult, and from my understanding, there wasn't much option to quit for medieval knights, not without becoming a deserter. Therefore, he is not making the same level of active choice to partake in anti-magic persecution that the others do.

Also, Leon's greater time as a knight also means he has had much longer to witness and potentially regret his part in the injustices inflicted upon the magic community, especially against people he perceives as less dangerous (such as Druids and children). If you think about the Druid camp raid that Arthur confesses to in "A Herald of the New Age", it is quite possible that Leon was also around at this time and witnessed similar atrocities. The show seems to indicate that the earlier years of the Purge included more intense, frequent, and widespread violence against magic-users (which is fairly logical, given that after twenty years, most surviving magic-users would be well-hidden or have fled, and studying magic would be extremely unappealing for anyone that hasn't already shown an innate ability or is already a criminal). Leon is the only person besides Arthur that would have participated in that era firsthand (though Gwen and Elyan might have witnessed it to some extent).

Finally, Leon's life is saved by the Druids at the end of season 3. Leon speaks in their defense to Uther, knowing that they used, at the very least, a magical object to save him (although he doesn't seem to be sure whether they actively cast any spells on him). Contrast this with Gwaine, who watches Arthur physically threaten a Druid child, doesn't say anything, and backs up the action by drawing his own sword when other Druids approach (although that could be chalked up to feeling threatened in an already tense situation). In fact, I think Arthur is the only other person on this list that speaks in defense of the Druids. That is very telling! Even if Leon hasn't always been sympathetic to magic, his hostility towards it has likely softened over time, particularly after this incident.

To be clear, I don't think Leon would necessarily have a positive reaction to a reveal of Merlin's magic. That would depend on the scenario. I just think that his personal opinion would be the most sympathetic of the listed candidates.

Note on Opinion vs. Action

Leon's personal opinion of the matter doesn't necessarily equate to his actions. Sympathy to magic would not outweigh his loyalty to Arthur, and I don't think he is likely to disobey orders. If someone had to directly defy Arthur in order to protect Merlin, Leon would probably not be the ideal candidate. However, I do think he might be willing to speak in defense of Merlin.

Notes:

I wrote this accidentally. I mentioned this long-held belief of mine in a conversation in the server. Honestly, I was just intending to elaborate a bit, and then suddenly I had over 2,500 words written. Why can I do that yet can’t seem to write when I want to work on any of my long-term works-in-progress?

Come join the Land of Myth Discord server to participate in discussions like the one that inspired this meta essay!