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Once Upon a Time - Merlin Timeline inconsistency?


In the Once Upon a Time episode Nimue, we are told that Merlin received his magic "a thousand years before the age of Arthur" roughly 1500 years before the present. (as per Wiki and during opening scene of Merlin in the desert)



"1,000 years earlier before "the age of Arthur" (1,500 years before the Present Day), Merlin and a friend were trekking through the desert desperate for water. ... 500 years later, Merlin is at a village where his apprentice informs him of a woman who escaped a burning village. Merlin encounters the person, and introduced herself as Nimue.




Then according to the ABC Hulu site, Merlin supposedly meets Nimue "200 years ago".



"A thousand years before the age of Arthur, Merlin traversed the desert where he was permitted to drink from the Holy Grail. This turn of events is what gave him magic. Two hundred years ago, a beautiful woman’s village was burned down by a masked man, Vortigan. She was the sole survivor. Her name is Nimue. Merlin fell in love with her... "



It is also during this scene which opens as "a few years later" after the previous "200 years ago" meeting with Nimue for the first time that Merlin re-affirms in the dialog that "500 years ago" is when he received his magic.


However 200 years before the present plus 500 years before that don't add up to 1500 years ago which is supposedly when Merlin received his magic.


Am I missing something here? Or is this simply an inconsistency/writer error?




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