manzanasverdes asked: my main thing with the magic reveal thing, is mostly about duties and roles, as in, once merlin's magic is out there (which it doesn't need to be, it might actually cheapen things, bbc merlin being what it is), what would he DO? many people write/draw/expect him to become 'court warlock/whatever' but what would such a position entail? as you say, merlin's role is murky enough as it is, we don't need more conveniently unexplained reasons for him to be where the action is.

Yes, yes, yes. 

What would Merlin DO as Head Warlock in Charge?This is a really good question. Because Arthur is written as this warrior/explorer king (who can’t be bothered to actually rule Camelot because he’s too busy warring and exploring) who gets out of repeated scrapes because his plucky, magical manservant steps in and quietly saves him over and over and over again. THAT is BBC Merlin. And if the writers are going to pull Merlin out of the closet, then they’ll need to figure out how to revamp this dynamic, which has defined the show from the start. And I guess that could be interesting…but I just don’t think they’re all that keen on this idea. TV and film narrative is dominated by a logic of repetition: If something works, you stick with it. Rinse and repeat.  The showrunners have had a lot of success with their current model, so why would they change it?

I think, more than anything, most fans are clamoring for a reveal so that Merlin can finally be recognized for all that he’s done for Camelot. There’s also a fair bit of resentment there for others—Gwen, Gwaine, Elyan, but mostly Gwen—who have moved into court positions while Merlin continues on as Arthur’s loyal servant. I get it (to a certain degree). I do. But I think it’s possible to promote Merlin to some sort of leadership position while keeping his secret intact.