After much anticipation, Netflix finally dropped its stylized adaptation of the Arthurian-ish
graphic novel Cursed, from legendary Dark Knight creator Frank Miller and his writing
partner Tom Wheeler. The first 10 episodes of this magical drama follow Nimue, the famous
Lady of the Lake, destined to present Arthur with the legendary sword Excalibur, which
he will use to unite the British Kingdoms.
At least, that's how it's supposed to go.
But by taking the spotlight away from Arthur and Camelot and fixing it firmly on Nimue
and the sword, season 1 of Cursed charts a very different narrative course than we've
come to expect from a typical Arthurian tale.
"But I claim it as the sword of the first queen!"
"The Fey Queen!"
The series, like the graphic novel that came before, is only an Arthurian story in the
most nominal sense. All the familiar names and elements are there Nimue, Arthur, Ygraine,
Morgana, Merlin, King Uther, Excalibur but they've been completely mixed up, jumbled,
and radically reimagined.
All the alterations to the accepted mythology may be true to Miller and Wheeler's source
material, but that doesn't make some of the series' plot movements any less confusing
for fans of Arthurian romance. If the season 1 finale proved anything, it's that Cursed
is not your granddaddy's Once and Future King.
For those viewers still trying to make heads or tails of Nimue's last stand on episode
10, here's a breakdown of everything that happened on the dramatic final hour of Cursed.
Be warned: spoilers ahead.
Episode 10 begins with a pleasant moment for our heroine the calm before the storm. She
awakens in the arms of her young lover, Arthur. The two have finally consummated their season-long
flirtation, and just in time, since Nimue has agreed to turn herself in to the detestable
King Uther in exchange for the safety of her people. She is still the Queen of the Fey
for at least one more day and she's going to make it count.
Outside the city wherein Nimue and Arthur organize the terms of their surrender, King
Uther and the Red Paladins, led by the sadistic Father Carden, wait impatiently for the Fey
to throw in the towel. They have the occupied city surrounded and overwhelmed, and have
only offered terms to Nimue to avoid a lengthy siege. But there is dissension within the
enemy ranks. Whereas Uther only wants to get his grubby little hands on Excalibur, Carden's
Paladins maintain a zealous hatred of the Fey, and would like to see every last one
of them exterminated. Carden proposes a fanciful, public execution of Nimue, which Uther declines.
"Burning this terrorist would surely have the same demoralizing effect."
Uther discovers his spine just in time to stand up to Carden and avoid making Nimue
a martyr. The squirrely King of the Britons has already poisoned his mother to death,
an act of savagery that he follows by ordering his men to run Merlin through, as well. All
that, after Merlin finally told Uther he was proud of him. Without any adults in the room
to advise him, Uther agrees to let the Fey escape north by ship, unharmed, as long as
Nimue turns herself in and surrenders the city. Nimue agrees, but not before secreting
Morgana out of the city with Excalibur to prevent the magical sword from falling into
nefarious hands.
The Fey folk head to the water, guided by Arthur. Once they get to the shore and see
the ships awaiting them, Arthur sends a message back to Nimue by hawk. This is the signal
that it's now okay for her to turn herself into King Uther. Obviously, the jealous king
is none too pleased that Nimue has found a loophole in their deal, and turned herself
in without Excalibur. As it turns out, Uther was planning to betray Nimue all along. He
contracted with a band of savage Norsemen to slaughter all the Fey on the shore before
they board their escape ships. We see this hopeless assault take place as Nimue is rendered
to Uther's custody.
Here's where things get bloody. Father Carden, who's held Gawain, the Green Knight, in custody
for some time now, finally does the deed and kills him. The revelation of his loss sends
Nimue into a rage, reawakening her powers. She makes a break from Uther's camp with the
injured Merlin in tow, but the religious zealots are hot on her heels, led by the assassin
Sister Iris, who is as creepy as she is deadly. Iris is highly motivated to kill Nimue, since
she's been told accomplishing that task will elevate her to true Red Paladin status.
Iris catches up to Nimue and Merlin, and feathers our heroine with arrows. Nimue falls from
the rock bridge where she made her last stand, and tumbles into the swirling water below.
Is she dead? It seems unlikely, but the episode ends before we find out definitively.
That's not all we have to digest while we're waiting for season 2, however. In what is
likely the biggest reveal of season 1, the series most interesting antagonist, the Weeping
Monk, who can track and slaughter Fey by scent, is revealed to be none other than Lancelot.
"Do you have a real name?"
"Lancelot."
Lancelot is, of course, destined to become Arthur's most powerful knight, as well as
his wife's boyfriend though so much has changed from the original mythology here that it's
impossible to foretell if any of this will go down as expected. The young Fey boy Squirrel,
who's been protected consistently by Lancelot, is revealed to be Percival, another one of
Arthur's famous Knights of the Round Table. And Gawain the dead Green Knight? He might
not be so dead, either. It all adds up to a lot of question marks heading into season
2.
All ten episodes of Cursed season 1 are currently streaming on Netflix.
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