Bromance showdown: Frodo/Sam vs Merlin/Arthur

...or ship showdown, if your mind works like mine does.

A few months back, when I was selling books at Emerald City Comic Con, I had a poster on my table, a collage of pictures representing many of my fandoms, as a conversation starter. Two of the fandoms were Lord of the Rings and BBC’s Merlin. (The others, if you’re curious, were the Monkees, Our Flag Means Death, The Untamed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Studio Ghibli in general, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books.)

I started tallying which fandom caught people’s eye—which one they spoke of when they came up to the table. The winner by a sliver was Merlin.

I doubt this is because it’s actually the best known of the bunch. It’s more that it was the one that left the deepest wounds. (Spoiler: the ending sucks! We all hate it!) Fans would catch sight of Colin Morgan and Bradley James in the picture on the poster, clap a hand to their heart with an indrawn breath of pain, and softly wail, “Merlin!” Then together we’d commiserate about our shared agony.

The pic from my poster: Bradley James and Colin Morgan in BBC’s Merlin

If you haven’t seen Merlin: for anyone who’s a fan of canonical Arthuriana, I’ll warn you that it strays pretty far from that. It makes Merlin the same age as Arthur, for one thing; and gives their relationship notably romantic vibes, for another. (Despite keeping it plausibly deniable as a bromance, and keeping Arthur’s marriage to Gwen, and all that.) It’s one of those deeply cheesy but sincerely endearing TV shows the ’00s did so well, the stylistic successor of shows like Buffy and Xena. And due to those vibrant vibes, it’s incredibly shippable. (Over 39,000 Merlin/Arthur fanfics exist at Archive of Our Own, as of this writing.)

In fact, when I first finished the series, many years back, I remarked to various people that, by the end of Merlin, Arthur and Merlin “out-Frodo-and-Sam Frodo and Sam.” But maybe it’s a tie, to be fair. My mind wouldn’t rest until I delineated the items on the bromance checklist that both pairs seem to be using as their guidebook. So here’s that comparison! (The part below was originally posted almost nine years ago on LiveJournal.)

Master and servant situation: check!

Master Frodo and Samwise; Prince Arthur and manservant Merlin

Save each other’s lives a whole bunch of times (bonus points if you get soaked): check!

Frodo saves Sam from the water; Merlin saves Arthur from the water

Also make verbal promises about continuing to save each other’s lives: check!

Sam: “I made a promise, Mr. Frodo.” Merlin: “And I swear I will protect you or die at your side.”

Wear armor together even if that isn’t usually your thing: check!

Frodo and Sam in Orc armor; Merlin and Arthur in chainmail

Play with ropes together: check!

Frodo with a rope; Merlin with a rope

Occasionally fall under evil magic influence and try to kill your bro: check!

Frodo threatens Sam with Sting; Merlin makes sinister plans with a crossbow

Carry each other in case of unconsciousness: check!

Sam carrying Frodo; Arthur carrying Merlin

Come around to seeing servant’s mighty worth even if you devalued him or took him for granted at first: check!

Frodo: “Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam.” Arthur: “Everything you’ve done, I know now. For me. For Camelot. For the kingdom you helped me build. Thank you.”

Hold your bro tenderly at the end and make us all cry: check!

Frodo kisses Sam goodbye; Merlin cradles Arthur on their last day together

Tearfully see him off on a boat headed for magical lands: check!

Frodo boards the ship at the Grey Havens; Merlin sends Arthur off to Avalon

Yeah. I guess it’s a tie.

I will go down with these ships. Bromances. Things.

P.S. If you need a version of BBC’s Merlin with a MUCH happier ending…I filed off the serial numbers and wrote that! See Sage and King.