Why can't Merlin just do what he's told?

A few months ago I had lent my copy of Eclipse to a friend (yes, I might have jumped on the Twilight bandwagon) and I will probably never forget her phone call to me one night after reading a particular fight between Edward and Bella. I won't really go into what the fight was about because though I doubt there are more than a handful of people who haven't read the books, if you haven't I don't want to ruin anything. But the point is she called me livid demanding why Bella just couldn't do what she was told! My response, after the initial laughter, was because then Mrs. Stephanie Meyer would not have had such a compelling story to tell.

As I watched the first five episodes of Merlin, I find myself having the same thought. Why can't Merlin just do what he's told? But the difference was mine was not exasperated or annoyed as my friend with Bella but rather more just a mock echo and realization that our friend Merlin had disregarded a command or rule of some sort in every episode. I have no problem with this side of Merlin, he is always trying to act in the best interest of others in his own way. In actuality it is the same for many of the heroes in our modern stories, rebellion causes conflicts and conflicts create some magnificent stories. It can't be that we don't like social order, honestly I think that if society existed as an anarchy that we would be drawn to the characters trying to create social order. The charisma of a character that has to depend on themselves, go with their own moral compass, and work against the whole in their own way to achieve a better outcome is undeniably what we're drawn to in the likes of Merlin and Arthur.

In the fifth episode of Merlin enters Lancelot. Lancelot is the image that I think of when I see knights, I connect him to chivalry and loyalty almost automatically. The character of Lancelot is perfectly flawed and that just makes me love him more. Just for background, Lancelot is a knight of the Roundtable who is noted for his position as Arthur's most trusted knight and his affair with Arthur's wife. Lancelot is perfect as a knight, as a trusted and dependable friend of Arthur and then he has his one flaw, his betrayal of his friendship by having the affair. Now I know what you're thinking how can you like him after he stabs Arthur in the back like that, it's simple really. Lancelot's only flaw is his love, or some may say lust for the Queen but in every protrayal I have ever seen of him or read he does still care for the King and try to protect him. His flaw is emotional, and possibly uncontrollable. Yes, he shouldn't have acted on it but all our heroes need flaws and that just happens to be Lancelot's. I don't think he meant any harm, and I'm sure he would have liked not to have loved the Queen it would have made his life easier. None of this has happened yet on Merlin, the series may not run long enough for that part of the tale, but even in the introduction of Sir Lancelot his flawed perfection is demonstrated. Merlin's Lancelot remains true to his character, a man suited for codes and loyalty sometimes swayed by his emotions to do something dishonorable but in the end always trying to be better.

Today's muse danced around our heroes, what makes the characters friends in our memories instead of just another face or name. I know I might just have a tendency to love the trouble makers, but how can I not love those who have their own sense of direction and don't always follow the beaten path even if it gets them thrown in the dungeons a few times. It is important to note that my favorites, those trouble makers, are trying to be good like Merlin saving lives and Arthur trying to protect Merlin. There must be ups and downs, its hard to love someone who is good all the time or even bad all the time, change is what makes the story.