AIBU to think "Merlin" is a pile of sexist shite...

[Lessthanaballpark]

and to think that the trope of the "power-crazed manipulative enchantress VS benevolent male leader " is a pretty common one?

Off the top of my head I can think of "Simba's pride", "Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Working Girl" where the female leaders are depicted as being scheming, vengeful and authoritarian in constrast to the male leader who is rational and democratic.

In fact I can't think of any where the reverse is shown. Help me think of one please!

Merlin's kind of cheezy tv, really, there are plenty of these kinds of tropes that just get recycled again and again.

I don't think I entirely agree though that there aren't a fair number of evil male sorcerers in stories and on tv.

I agree your general point but this is based on very very old stories and she wasn't very nice in those so it's a bit different maybe?

Have you seen the film with Helen mirren I like that a lot.

Alanarthnatarct... No idea what she's actually saying but I say it to the kids and wiggle me fingers at them scarily sometimes.

They haven't seen it so they have no idea what's going on. But they think I'm slightly bonkers so that's not s problem

Unless- the story changed over the years to make the women evil etc as has happened so much through history...

Aha! Bastards. I take it back. This happens over and over. They did it with the Bible FFS. Men

Should probably namalt...

'
Morgan le Fay (/ˈmɔːrɡən lə ˈfeɪ/, meaning "Morgan the Fairy"), alternatively known as Morgan[n]a, Morgain[a/e], Morg[a]ne, Morgant[e], Morge[i]n, and Morgue[in] among other names and spellings (Welsh: Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, Cornish: Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful enchantress in the Arthurian legend. Early appearances of Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a goddess, a fay, a witch, or a sorceress, generally benevolent and related to King Arthur as his magical saviour and protector. Her prominence increased over time, as did her moral ambivalence, and in some texts there is an evolutionary transformation of her to an antagonist, particularly as portrayed in cyclical prose such as the Lancelot-Grail and the Post-Vulgate Cycle. '