Merlin! and thoughts about Uther and heroes

I didn't have much to do this evening so I've watched four episodes of Merlin. To quote chatona, it's "very pretty and witty and gay": even the dragon ships Arthur/Merlin. As long as I don't pay too much attention to little things like historical accuracy (windows! clothes! the castle! people reading all around!), I can watch it just fine. It's shiny and fantasy and man, Arthur sure is pretty.

I was very surprised to find myself liking Uther Pendragon, and not only because he's played by Giles Anthony Head. They do really clever things with him and I hope it's intentional. We're supposed to assume that he's evil-ish and the point of view of the show only strengthens that belief. The POV characters are Merlin, Arthur and the other young people who pretty much try to rebel against the older ones. Not always intentionally and not really in the sense of rebelling, but still. Uther is portrayed as a serious and occasinally somewhat ruthless man, and as the one who tries to stop the heroes from doing their heroic deeds.

The thing is, Uther is absolutely right. ( A few vaguely spoilery sentences. )

I hope that Uther doesn't turn out to be a complete bastard (only four episodes: he has plenty of time to start kicking puppies) because I really like the character. He's doing what I always think when the heroes are idiots and narrow-sighted: it just isn't right for the only prince/ss to run around challenging dangerous monsters. Fine, you may save a friend/innocent child/a small town, but what if you get killed? Who's going to inherit the throne then?

...Actually, I'm always annoyed when there's only one heir. Couldn't the parents have a spare child or two just in case? If I'll ever write a story using a royal hero, s/he'll damn well have several siblings.