Cursed reorients the traditional Arthurian legend with more modern, YA sensibilities. It’s both a prequel and a reimagining, taking place during the reign of Uther Pendragon, as the future Lady of the Lake, Nimue (Katherine Langford) is sent on a quest to give the Sword of Power (Excalibur by another name) to the powerful sorcerer Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård). As she tries to find her footing and come to grips with her new responsibilities, she meets allies and foes alike, with several of them being reimaginings of classic Arthurian characters.
Adapted from a novel of the same name written by Thomas Wheeler and Frank Miller, the story straddles the line between reality and fantasy.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the story is supposed to take place. Traditional Arthurian tales are set during the fifth and sixth centuries, before Saxons conquered England. Here, however, the Crusades are mentioned in passing, and a flashback reveals a major character being present during the sack of Rome in the fifth century. Vikings, who didn’t discover England until the 8th century, are not only present in the story, but one of their leaders, Cumber the Ice King, is vying for Uther’s throne. Of course, the story never claimed to be historically accurate.
While Cursed has moments of ingenuity, it’s mostly waylaid by pacing problems. Although the story starts off strong with a group of militant priests called the Red Paladins slaughtering Nimue’s village, it takes a couple of episodes for Nimue to get her bearings and meet Merlin. It’s like the writers are moving the characters around various locations only to make sure they meet with certain characters. Nimue meets up with Arthur (Devon Terrell) in a town and later his sister Morgana at an abbey, while Merlin goes on a quest to steal Fey fire to melt the Sword of Power. There are detours that flesh out Arthur’s and Morgana’s story, and then the plot focuses on the story of the Fey resistance taking shape. We get introduced to more new characters and Nimue is thrust into a leadership role, which she seems to adapt to in record time.
Katherine Langford has to handle the difficult task of portraying a character that’s both strong and vulnerable.
While there’s a way to depict that kind of transition, as has been seen with Danaerys in Game of Thrones, it’s not handled well here. Furthermore, the romance between Nimue and Arthur seems toothless, despite common YA cliches such as Arthur becoming instantly jealous after he sees Nimue interact with an old friend.
It’s common for shows to flounder in their first seasons due to a lack of a distinct voice. It’s no different here: Cursed fluctuates between a Game of Thrones like fantasy epic and a YA story of a chosen one, complete with romance and forced leadership. The noticeably weak acting and one-note characterizations also do not help. Like The Witcher, Cursed’s first season is clunky but also full of promise. If it does get a second season, let’s hope it manages to rise above its trappings and deliver an engaging fantasy narrative.