Arthur/Morgana
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Arthur/Morgana |
| Alternative name(s): | Morgana/Arthur, ArMor, Armor |
| Gender category: | Het |
| Fandom: | Merlin |
| Canonical?: | Semi-canon (reciprocated romantic feelings, no relationship) |
| Prevalence: | One of the more common het pairings |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Arthur/Morgana, also known as Armor or ArMor, is the het pairing of Arthur Pendragon and Morgana Pendragon in Merlin fandom.
Canon
This article or section needs expansion. |
Arthur is the only son and heir of King Uther Pendragon and his wife Igraine, whereas Morgana is legal daughter of sir Gorlois and Vivienne, secretly fathered by Uther himself. When Morgana was still a child, her Gorlois fell in battle. With Vivienne not present in picture from unknown reasons, Uther took Morgana to his seat in Camelot as his ward. He never disclosed to her nor Arthur they are siblings and two ultimately developed romantic feelings to each other.
Season 1
Arthur is dazed by Morgana's beauty in the very first episode, The Dragon's Call, when she appears on feast in red dress that uncovers arms. When he comes closer Morgana, Gwen says to Merlin she believes Morgana will be one day Arthur's Queen.
In 1x02, Arthur displayed jealousy when Valiant showed an interest in Morgana. Morgana on other hand gazes in longing way on Arthur and she is distreesed by magical visions in which she sees Arthur dying on Valiant's hands. When Valiant in reality tries to kill Arthur, Morgana saves her beloved by throwing sword to him. Morgana and Arthur go later on feast together, calling themselves "My lady, My champion". However, after she displays pride for 'saving her Prince', he is not willing to admit he would be dead without her. This causes fight between them and couple part their ways. In the video diaries for the season one dvds, the director is talking Bradley James through his performance for the episode and states "I've reinstated 'My lady. My champion' because I love the way that's starting. It gives you a moment at the head of the red carpet where the thought behind it is absolutely 'God, I love you...'" To which James replies "Yes!".
In 1x03 Morgana goes to Arthur to seek his help in helping Gwen. After she appeals to his men skills, he agrees.
In 1x04 Arthur is torn wheter to go for cure for poisoned Merlin, or stay in castle as his father commands him. Morgana argues arguing future king saving servant is something that people will admire in him. She also states sometimes people have to do what is right, no matter consequences. Inspired by her, Arthur goes on quest. After he comes back, she expresses her relief he returned safely.
In 1x05, Arthur expresses to Lancelot that he views Morgana as beautiful and gazes at her with admiration (she has the same dress as in epiosde 1), while she locks her eyes with him and she smiles to him seductively and touches her lips, while not breaking eye contact.
1x07 shows Morgana distressed by visions of woman called Sofia who drowns Arthur in water. Arthur suspects Morgana is jealous about him. When Morgana confronts Sofia, Sofia asks her if Arthur knows about Morgana's feelings for him. Ultimately, thanks to Morgana's warning, Merlin manages to save Arthur.
1x08 introduces boy called Mordred (who in Arthurian legends was son of Arthur and his sister and in modern retellings this sister is often identified with Morgana). Mordred is druid, hence Uther wants him dead. Morgana begs Arthur he would help to take boy out of Camelot. She asks the Prince he would do it "for her". Arthur ultimately does as she wishes.
When Arthur comes of age in 1x09, Morgana watches proud and happy as her beloved is named heir apparent of Camelot. When Arthur is suppose to fight Tristan, Morgana is distressed, She comes to Arthur's chamber in night and begs him not to fight. He appears to be pleased she worries for him but replies it is his duty to fight. Resigned Morgana leaves.
In 1x10 Morgana saves Arthur life by killing man who attacked him. She brings back fact they used to swordfight one another when they were younger. Morgana claims she used to beat Arthur, though he denies this.
In the episode 1x11, when Uther prepares to sentence Gwen's father Tom to death for supposed use of magic, Morgana appeals to Arthur that punishment is too harsh and visibly torn Prince ultimately takes her side. After Tom is killed, Morgana confronts Uther and is thronw into dungeon. Arthur pleads Morgana's case to Uther and secures her freedom. She tells him that he is a better man than his father and always was.
In season finale Morgana sees Arthur's being mortally wounded by beast in her nightmare. She runs out of castle to warn him, but he rejects her warning, not understanding her.
Season 2
Arthur becomes romantically entangled with Gwen and appears to move on from his past attraction to Morgana. Show seems to retcon his love life, by him declaring to Gwen he "never loved another" before her, which would mean whatever his feelings towards Morgana were, he was not in love with her, or at least his feelings were not as intense as towards his new partner.
Morgana is unaware of his affair and still tries to appeal to him like in season 1, whenever she needs help, thinking she still has influence over him as person to whom he has feelings for. Because it's no longer the case, Arthur not only does not listen but also openly mocks her in episode Witch's Awakening. Morgana also seems to move on from him, as she almost kisses Alvar in the same episode.
Saeson 3
It's revealed that Arthur and Morgana are in fact half-siblings.
In episode Arthur unaware of this fact, says "she's like sister to him", ignoring his attraction to her from season 1.
Fandom
The pairing gained some popularity in the early seasons when they were shown to have a close friendship because of their joint upbringing, and there was shown two are attracted to each other. This changed however, when Morgana learned she was Uther's daughter and she left Camelot, becoming the one of the main antagonists of the show. Still, some fans hoped for a reconciliation, which did not occur in canon.
Other fans were drawn to the pairing because of their antagonist relationship, and saw their interactions as UST, that could possibly lead to hatesex, and exploring other darker themes. This relationship is possibly one of the few examples of enemy het in a fandom.
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Art
- Arthur and Morgana by ghury13
- Here, Archived version by merthurology
- Fly Away. Little Bird, Archived version
- The Young Gods, Archived version
- Untitled, Archived version
- The limits between us, Archived version
Fanfiction
- The Price Of Pride by Anya2
- Future Fragments by emerald sorceress
- Fly Away, Little Bird by giselleslash
Graphics
- In Avalon, My Love manip by AluriasFox
- Arthur- Morgana manip by sashi8
Meta
- His Lady, Her Champion: An Arthur/Morgana Manifesto, Archived version by ship manifesto by jadehunter (2009)
Archives & Communities
- Morgana/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) tag at Archive of Our Own
- Arthur + Morgana at FanFiction.net
- Her Champion Livejournal community
- Arthur Morgana (defunct)
Links
- A Lady and Her Champion (defunct, archive link)
- Like Sexual Tension? So Do We - Arthur&Morgana, Archived version Tumblr
- Arthur & Morgana, Archived version Tumblr
- The Arthur and Morgana Postcard Campaign, Archived version
- Arthur and Morgana (defunct)
- But We Will Never Fold - Arthur&Morgana (defunct, archive link)