If you go with a minimal change approach to time manipulations, it makes sense that things would remain identifiably similar in places.

A fairly easy way to interpret the new material is that it's the echo of the original event. Some particulars are part of Merlin's story and couldn't be excised, so they show up, but that version of Camelot isn't as glorious as the removed version and plays out in some significantly different ways. (I'm torn between Merlin ascending ANYWAY as a fact imprinted on the universe or it being quite possible to prevent it because that's not entirely the...