However, James wouldn’t necessarily label Season 4, with the betrayals of Morgana and the almost-death of the sorceress, as “dark.”
“The word ‘darker’ and ‘darkness’ gets flung about because it’s a good media tag, it makes people go, ‘Oh, darker!’” he said. “But what that means to me is that it’s grown up: the characters have grown up, the audience has grown up, the show has grown up.”
James also praised Merlin’s fans, specifically American devotees he met while at Comic-Con International 2011, telling Spinoff he had nothing but admiration for those who wear their love on their sleeves.
“My experience was purely from Comic-Con last year and seeing a lot of very passionate people — who I have respect for, because I think in England there’s a touch of cynicism from people when it comes to fandom, whereas here there’s no fear in taking that fandom seriously,” James said. “In England there would be people you wouldn’t expect who like the show and you find out there’s a whole range of people who like the show, but there’s a kind of reservedness; you don’t want to be too expressive about it.”
On the other hand, in America, “I’ve had people walk up in the street who I wouldn’t naturally place them as fans of Merlin and they go, ‘Oh, my God, I love the show!’” he added. “I think that’s been something that’s quite satisfying about doing the show that it affects so many different people.”
James said he think the key to the legend’s universal appeal lay in the principles Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table promote.
“He’s a man of such great honor that I think a lot of people have respect for that because it’s difficult to find people like that. Arthur as a figure is someone who is reference throughout history; numerous kings of England have tried to recreate that camaraderie between Arthur and his knights with their own setups,” he said. “It’s difficult to be honorable all the time and do things for the greater good. When you witness someone genuinely try to do that I think it can be quite inspiring. … It’s not just England or Britain or what have you, it relates to the human race.”
When asked what he’ll carry with him from the show’s interpretation of the legend, James chuckled and said the answer is simple: friendship.
“For me personally, the arrival of the knights has been fantastic because the camaraderie has come through that has been huge. I would say those are my favorite moments, when I’m hanging out with the knights and someone’s making a joke or [Gwaine actor] Eoin [Macken] is saying something stupid,” James concluded. “Those are the good times I’ll take with me; I’ll remember those moments of proverbially sitting around the campfire, having a joke.”
The fifth season of Merlin premieres Jan. 4 in the United States on Syfy.
