Although the Dragon can appear callous, such as when he ordered Merlin not to help Morgana and Mordred, he has shown a certain compassion at times, such as when he apologized for his inability to help Merlin save Gaius from the Witchfinder. Most of his inaction appears to be dictated by his concern about the future; he even sided with Merlin in freeing Uther from a troll's enchantment, despite the old magical ties between the two races. He has also demonstrated a sense of humor, initially laughing upon learning of Uther and Arthur's magically induced love for the ladies Catrina and Vivian respectively.
Merlin (also known as The Adventures of Merlin) is a British fantasy-adventure drama television programme, loosely based on the Arthurian legends regarding the close relations of Merlin and King Arthur. Created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy for the BBC, it was broadcast for five series on BBC One between 20 September 2008 and 24 December 2012. The programme starred Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Richard Wilson, Anthony Head, and John Hurt.
The programme is a reimagining of the legend, in which young warlock Merlin is sent to the kingdom of Camelot by his mother because of his "special gift". After saving Prince Arthur's life in the first episode, he becomes Arthur's manservant. Merlin soon learns that the reason for his gift is to protect Arthur, but Merlin must hide his powers because magic was banned in Camelot by Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, and those caught practising it are executed. Over the years and after several adventures together, Merlin and Arthur become trusted friends and companions, with the former doing his best to influence the latter into becoming the king he is destined to be.
OVERVIEW of the SERIES
Merlin (Colin Morgan) is a young, powerful warlock who arrives in the kingdom of Camelot after his mother arranges for him to stay with the court physician, Gaius (Richard Wilson). He discovers that the king, Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head), outlawed magic twenty years earlier in an event known as the Great Purge and imprisoned the last dragon, Kilgharrah (voice of John Hurt), in the caves beneath the castle. After hearing a mysterious voice inside his head, Merlin makes his way to the cavern beneath the keep to find that he was hearing the dragon's voice. The Great Dragon tells Merlin that he has an important destiny: to protect Uther's only son, Prince Arthur (Bradley James), who will return magic to Camelot and unite the land of Albion.
When Merlin meets Arthur, Merlin considers him to be an arrogant bully, and Arthur, likewise, is less than impressed with Merlin. After saving the prince's life, Merlin is appointed as his personal manservant. The two experience many adventures, over the course of which they come to respect and trust one another. But when Uther's actions eventually cause his ward, Morgana (Katie McGrath), to turn against Camelot and pursue a path of evil, Merlin and Arthur must join forces with friends, old and new, to protect their home and secure their destinies.
GREAT DRAGON
The Great Dragon, also known as Kilgharrah, the last of his kind after Uther destroys all of his kin and makes an example of him by imprisoning him in a vast cave beneath the castle. The Great Dragon gives Merlin advice and forges the sword of Excalibur in his breath for Arthur, but persistently demands his freedom in return. Merlin eventually releases him, unwittingly unleashing a full-on assault on Camelot by the dragon, seeking revenge for his murdered kin. However, Merlin learns from his father that he is descended from a long line of dragonlords, and is able to use that power to control the Great Dragon. Subsequently, Merlin and the dragon become close friends with the dragon often helping Merlin when needed.
The Great Dragon (voiced by John Hurt), also known as Kilgharrah, is a legendary dragon that was imprisoned in Series One and Series Two in the caves by King Uther Pendragon. Twenty years prior to the events of the series, Uther had outlawed magic and killed every dragon (in Camelot) but one, whom he spared to serve as an example. Upon arriving at Camelot, Merlin is haunted by a voice and finds the source to be the Great Dragon. The mysterious creature becomes Merlin's mentor in magic, telling him he is destined to be Arthur's protector as he unites the land of Albion. In the finale of the first series, the Great Dragon told Merlin that he was mainly thinking of his own freedom when on the occasions he helped Merlin, but because the Dragon's machinations nearly killed Merlin's mother, Merlin vows that it will never be freed. Merlin turned his back on the Dragon, but was later forced to return for aid in stopping the spirit of an ancient sorcerer. In exchange for teaching Merlin a powerful spell, the Dragon forces Merlin to promise that he will one day be freed. This crisis also revealed that Gaius was aware of Merlin's visits to the Dragon.
Although the Dragon can appear callous, such as when he ordered Merlin not to help Morgana and Mordred, he has shown a certain compassion at times, such as when he apologised for his inability to help Merlin save Gaius from the Witchfinder. Most of his inaction appears to be dictated by his concern about the future; he even sided with Merlin in freeing Uther from a troll's enchantment, despite the old magical ties between the two races. He has also demonstrated a sense of humor, initially laughing upon learning of Uther and Arthur's magically induced love for the ladies Catrina and Vivian respectively.
Upon gaining access to a prophetic crystal, Merlin sees a future where the Dragon will destroy Camelot once he is freed; although Gaius assures him that it may be one of many, Merlin is clearly haunted by the possibility of this coming to pass. However, when a sickness renders Camelot asleep in the face of an attack by the deadly Knights of Medhir, the dragon forces Merlin's hand by demanding he honour his promise in exchange for knowledge. Merlin then uses his magic in combination with a sword of Medhir to break the chains holding him beneath Camelot. As Merlin looks on hopefully, the Great Dragon flew in an obvious rage, subsequently attacking Camelot at night for the next three days in revenge.
With no other way to save the kingdom – conventional weapons and Merlin's magic prove useless – Uther agrees with Gaius's suggestion that they call on the aid of the presumed-dead last dragonlord, Balinor, and Merlin learns this man was his father. According to Balinor, the Great Dragon was known to all Dragonlords as Kilgharrah. After inheriting Balinor's power upon his father's death, Merlin was able to command the Dragon and, it is implied, gained the necessary magic to hurt him, but, instead of killing him, Merlin ordered the Dragon to leave Camelot. Noting that Merlin's clemency reflected what he would become in future, the Dragon agreed, speculating that his and Merlin's paths will cross again.
The Dragon returns at the beginning of the third series, saving a chained Merlin from several Serkets summoned by Morgause (Merlin's magic was ineffective against the chains). After helping Merlin recover, the Dragon consoled him about Morgana's defection. The Dragon subsequently flew Merlin back to the outskirts of Camelot. Although the Dragon returned when Merlin asked him how to cure Morgana after she sustained a fatal head injury, he made it clear that he disapproved of Merlin's decision, informing Merlin that this 'abuse' of his power would not be without consequences and all the evil Morgana did in the future would be his own fault. Despite the harsh nature of this meeting, in their next encounter, when Merlin sought advice about a young boy planning to use magic against Uther in a dangerous tournament, the Dragon showed sympathy for Merlin, reflecting that seeing another of their kind die was always hard, but recognised that Merlin could not allow Uther to die at the hands of magic due to the impact it would have on Arthur. When Morgana unleashed an immortal army on Camelot, Merlin asked the Dragon to take him to the Lake of Avalon to recover Excalibur to use it against the army, and the Dragon assured Merlin that he would always aid him despite his apparent distaste at being used as a 'horse'. He advises Merlin to keep Excalibur out of the hands of evil once he has retrieved it. Merlin consequently places it inside a stone.
He returns at the beginning of the fourth season to help Merlin fight the Dorocha spirits released by Morgana. He then shows huge respect to Lancelot, telling him that he will be the greatest of all Camelot's knights. Shortly afterwards, Lancelot willingly gives up his life to end the threat of the Dorocha. When the mysterious hunter Julius Borden returned to Camelot to search for a dragon's egg, the Dragon warns Merlin to save it before Borden does any harm. Merlin eventually saves the egg and hatches it, naming the new dragon Aithusa. When Morgana takes over Camelot with the warlord Helios, Merlin, Arthur, Gwen and two smugglers (Tristan and Isolde) are attacked by Agravaine and his army in Ealdor. Hopelessly outnumbered, Merlin calls the Dragon who attacks Agravaine and his soldiers. After killing Agravaine, Merlin visits the Dragon for help in assisting Arthur (devastated after the betrayal of Agravaine) in proving to himself that he can be the king that Camelot so desperately needs. Kilgharrah says that the destiny of Albion and Arthur lies only in Merlin's hands, inspiring him to have Arthur draw Excalibur from the stone.
In the fifth series, Merlin only calls on the Great Dragon as a last resort, as Morgana relies on trickery as much as magic in her plots against Camelot. When he summons Kilgharrah in the tenth episode, the dragon appears visibly injured as he helps Merlin evade Morgana. When questioned, he explains his time is drawing to a close. In the final episode, he helps Merlin one last time by flying Merlin and Arthur to the isles of Avalon and confirms Arthur is dead. To Merlin, Kilgharrah says that "in Albion's (United Kingdom) greatest need Arthur will rise again to fulfil his destiny", then Kilgharrah flies off and is not seen again.
The character is original to the television series, not existing in any previous Arthurian legend, although several tales exist of Merlin associating with dragons, particularly Dinas Emrys. Also, a clearly different 'Great Dragon' appears in the 1998 film, Merlin, to whom Nimueh is almost sacrificed.
Information pulled from Wikipedia: Merlin (2008 TV series) and List of Merlin Characters
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