And furthermore! (Sorry, have to dash to work NOW!!!)
The issue of punishment. I think the first change to these laws that Arthur will make on becoming king is to let the punishment fit the crime. As he argued so cogently on Gwen's behalf, they should consider the nature of the act and the intent behind it before passing judgement.
For serious crimes and serious intent, I suspect that he'll make great use of 'banishment on pain of death', and will be prepared to back it up with force. Because... and here's another point Uther himself might make... how do you restrain a powerful sorcerer? Especially if you're not prepared to use magic yourself. They'll break out. So maybe just killing them there and then (which, as you say, Merlin does too) is the only real way to stop them. Arthur's only other option would be to make Merlin his magical gaoler, and have him restrain the evil sorcerers somehow. Maybe Merlin would do that - he threatened the dragon with the idea that he'd see to it he's never freed - but I wouldn't like to watch.
I am a complete and utter pacfist, and against the death penalty in Real Life, but I think the way the show is set up, Uther isn't always wrong. He doesn't do things the way I would do them. But his actions make sense within the context he is given, especially as he's crushed his own finer feelings over the past 20 years as well as everyone else's. And all of that is very interesting to me.
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The issue of punishment. I think the first change to these laws that Arthur will make on becoming king is to let the punishment fit the crime. As he argued so cogently on Gwen's behalf, they should consider the nature of the act and the intent behind it before passing judgement.
For serious crimes and serious intent, I suspect that he'll make great use of 'banishment on pain of death', and will be prepared to back it up with force. Because... and here's another point Uther himself might make... how do you restrain a powerful sorcerer? Especially if you're not prepared to use magic yourself. They'll break out. So maybe just killing them there and then (which, as you say, Merlin does too) is the only real way to stop them. Arthur's only other option would be to make Merlin his magical gaoler, and have him restrain the evil sorcerers somehow. Maybe Merlin would do that - he threatened the dragon with the idea that he'd see to it he's never freed - but I wouldn't like to watch.
I am a complete and utter pacfist, and against the death penalty in Real Life, but I think the way the show is set up, Uther isn't always wrong. He doesn't do things the way I would do them. But his actions make sense within the context he is given, especially as he's crushed his own finer feelings over the past 20 years as well as everyone else's. And all of that is very interesting to me.