Cursed (2020 TV series)

Last updated

Cursed
Cursed Title Card.png
Genre Fantasy drama
Created by
Based on
Cursed
by
  • Frank Miller
  • Tom Wheeler
Starring
Composer Jeff Russo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Frank Miller
  • Tom Wheeler
Producer Alex Boden
Production locationUnited Kingdom
Running time48–59 minutes
Production companies
  • Arcanum
  • Frank Miller Ink
Original release
Network Netflix
ReleaseJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)

Cursed is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on Netflix on July 17, 2020. It is based on the illustrated novel of the same name by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler. The set location of the series is the United Kingdom. In July 2021, the series was canceled after one season. [1]

Contents

Premise

Cursed is described as "a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend, told through the eyes of Nimue, a young heroine with a mysterious gift who is destined to become the powerful (and tragic) Lady of the Lake. After her mother's death, she finds an unexpected partner in Arthur, a young mercenary, in a quest to find Merlin and deliver an ancient sword to him. Over the course of her journey, Nimue will become a symbol of courage and rebellion against the terrifying Red Paladins, and their complicit King Uther." [2] The show is described as "a coming-of-age story whose themes are familiar to our own time: the obliteration of the natural world, religious terror, senseless war, and finding the courage to lead in the face of the impossible". [3]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Notable guests

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byTeleplay byOriginal release date [4]
1"Nimue" Zetna Fuentes Tom Wheeler July 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Nimue is Fey, living in a little village outside of Hawksbridge. Because of her magical abilities she is not well integrated. During a ritual she is chosen to be the new summoner. But, because Nimue is not interested she chooses to flee with her best friend Pym. As the boat she was planning to leave on has already left, they meet Arthur. After they enrage Bors, they are chased into a forest where they hide. Back in the village, the red paladins have already attacked and destroyed the village. Nimue's dying mother, Lenore gives her daughter a sword to bring to Merlin. As Nimue runs away she uses the sword to kill the wolves, who had followed her.
2"Cursed"Zetna FuentesTom WheelerJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
While Nimue is looking for Squirrel, she remembers, a demon attacked her when she was still a young fey and she defended herself with her summoning abilities. In the present she is assaulted by a red paladin, who she fights with the Hidden. Squirrel is kidnapped by the weeping Monk to bait Squirrel's friends and kills them. Father Carden finds the almost dead red paladin, which Nimue fought earlier and sends his sons to search for her. Meanwhile, Nimue sneaks into the city and meets Arthur. After they are recognized by Bors, they run away and hide. There, Nimue tells Arthur of her mission, to bring the sword to Merlin. Later, Arthur steals the sword to bring it to Merlin, while Nimue is sleeping in a safe spot. Rain turns to blood in King Uther's castle which results in Merlin fleeing from the King's rage. After fleeing from King Uther Merlin meets the Widow and asks her for an object to transport Fey Fire.
3"Alone"Daniel NettheimJanet LinJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Arthur rides to Gramaire to ask for an audience with his uncle. He wants support to join a tournament. After Arthur lies about the swords history, Bors arrives and uncovers the truth. Arthur is captured by red paladins, who take the sword. Meanwhile, Nimue wakes up in an abbey full of red paladins. A sister named Igraine cares for her. Sister Iris suspects Nimue to be a demon. Nimue, stating her name is Alice, becomes a sister herself and heals a deeply injured red paladin with fey medicine, one Nimue herself injured. The weeping monk smells that a Fey is present, so Father Carden lets all sisters group up. Nimue flees with help from Igraine who reveals that her real name is Morgana and that she is Merlin's sister. Igraine tells Nimue that Arthur probably went to Gramaire. Merlin gets the cursed object from the Widow and asks for an audience at Rugens.
4"The Red Lake"Daniel NettheimRachel ShukertJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Pym gets picked up by a fisherman. Arthur flees from the red paladins. Nimue is picked up by a Fey-smuggler, who drives her to Gramaire, where she again meets Arthur. Together they search for the sword. On their way they find the Fey-smuggler dead. Nearby is another wagon, in which Nimue finds the sword and uses it to arrange a massacre in a lake, where red paladins wash themselves, causing the lake to get red. Afterwards they follow signs in the trees to a safe city, named Nemos, where many Feys hide from the red paladins. Pym flees from the fisherman. Merlin talks to Rugen and steals some fey fire and runs away. Sister Iris burns down the abbey and flees.
5"The Joining"Daniel Nettheim Leila Gerstein July 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
The Ice King Cumber addresses a War against King Uther. Pym joins their opponents, the red Spear, as a healer. Merlin rides back to Uther and gets arrested. Sister Iris, now obsessed with killing Nimue, joins the Fey in Nemos. Morgana appears in Nemos and gets Nimue to write a letter to Merlin. The pope forces Father Carden to increase his efforts to kill the Wolf-Blood Witch. Merlin is about to be executed, but Nimue's letter saves him, as the letter tells that the Wolf-Blood Witch will bring him the sword. The leader of the fey arrives, the Green Knight, whom Nimue knows as Gawain. Squirrel also gets to Nemos. By a druid ritual, Merlin and Nimue talk to each other and Nimue realizes that he is her father.
6"Festa and Moreii"Jon EastWilliam WheelerJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Nimue rides with Kaze and Morgana to an old castle, named Festa and Moreii. The weeping Monk starts burning the feys fields, so Gawain creates a group to defend the last windmill. Arthur joins him, although they don't like each other. Merlin shows Nimue his past with Lenore. They first met, when Merlin had deep pain, so Lenore took out the sword out of him, causing him to lose his magic. After times of love, he is enraged and she asks him to leave. Merlin also shows Nimue, how to control her powers. Later, Nimue sees another memory of Merlin, in which he kills children, inducing Nimue wanting to leave. As knights of king Uther arrive, she flees with her allies, letting Merlin alone. Meanwhile, the weeping Monk attacks Arthur.
7"Bring Us In Good Ale"Jon EastTom WheelerJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Gawain saves Arthur and they entrench themselves in the mill. Rugen pays a bounty hunter to kill Merlin. Merlin demands a favor of an old friend. Nimue, Kaze and Morgana enter a cave, in which an old invisible witch, named Callieach dwells. After Nimue impulsively throws the sword in a canyon due to Merlin's warning that the sword will shape her for revenge and death just as it did him, Morgana searches for the sword and meets an obsessed dead Celia, who appears and speaks through the power of the Callieach and tries to convince Morgana to use the sword for herself. Pym offers the idea to attack the red paladins, but they are overrun as they overestimate themselves. The red paladins start burning the mill. Arthur and Gawain fight through some red paladins until they are saved by Nimue's magic which turns the Red Paladins on each other. Merlin leagues with Cumber by bringing him the midwife who assisted the Queen in swapping her stillborn child for a peasant child who became Uther Pendragon. Back in Nemos Nimue is celebrated and now known as the Queen of the Fey.
8"The Fey Queen"Jon EastRobbie ThompsonJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
The weeping Monk has found Nemos. Nimue and the Fey run away and attack Gramaire to take their resources and use the city to remain safe for a few days until the ships to flee arrive. Cumber spreads the information that he is the true heir of the crown, while rejecting the help from Father Carden and Merlin. The Queen Mother tells Uther of his true heritage. Merlin meets the Widow, who tells him that Nimue will die. Pym, now reunited with Nimue asks her to heal Dof, but he dies as she is weakened from taking Gramaire. Morgana sees the Widow taking the souls of the wounded Red Paladin due to being infected by Callieach and one of her spiders. On a rescue mission Gawain is injured by and kidnapped by the Weeping Monk. Nimue becomes more obsessed with the power of the sword and fights with Arthur about leaving Gramaire, but finally sees reason only to discover the ships are not coming. King Uther groups up with Father Carden and starts an attack on Gramaire.
9"Poisons"Sarah O'GormanTom WheelerJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
The bounty hunter dies while trying to kill Merlin, but manages to poison Merlin. Merlin flees to Nimue and tells her the Ice King's offer of safety in his dungeons if she surrenders the sword. Nimue grants him to live in Gramaire, but doesn't accept the offer. King Uther also sends a similar offer, but Nimue declines. Shortly after, King Uther poisons his mother with spiced wine as revenge for killing his birth mother in the same fashion. Gawain gets tortured by Brother Salt but does not speak. Gawain talks to the Weeping Monk and tells him that he knows he is Fey but will not betray a Fey brother to the Red Paladins and encourages him to join the Fey. Squirrel tries to save Gawain, but fails and is also captured. Nimue accepts another offer from Uther, in which he offers her ships in exchange for her. Nimue and Arthur sleep together as a goodbye. Cumber accepts Father Carden's offer to kill the Wolf-Blood Witch.
10"The Sacrifice"Sarah O'GormanTom WheelerJuly 17, 2020 (2020-07-17)
Consummating her relationship with Arthur, Nimue convinces him to lead the Fey should Uther betray them. Morgana confronts the Widow, who informs her she's been cursed by the Dark Gods. When her intentions are interrogated however, the Widow threatens Morgana's life and departs. Nimue later entrusts Morgana with the Sword and has her depart the city to keep it safe before receiving confirmation that the Fey have safely reached the harbour and handing herself over to Uther as payment. Arthur and the Fey are attacked by Cumber's army as they dock but repel the attack with the help of the Red Spear's army. Nimue demands Uther release Squirrel and Gawain in exchange for the Sword, but after finding Gawain dead, she lashes out, earning the Paladins's attention. The Weeping Monk rescues Squirrel, and takes down several Trinity Guards before fleeing together. Moments before the Paladins can execute Nimue, however, Morgana (having killed and become the Widow) rescues Nimue, giving her the Sword, so she can behead father Carden. Staving off the Paladins, Morgana leads Nimue to Merlin and the three flee Uther's camp, but Iris pursues and fires an arrow that sends Nimue into a cascading waterfall to her apparent death. Enraged, Merlin reclaims the Sword, with it his magic, decimating a large group of Paladins and escaping with Morgana. On the road, Squirrel reveals his full name is Percival and the Weeping Monk reveals his is Lancelot. Iris, who escaped Merlin's wrath with her face scarred from his lightning, receives her place in the Trinity for killing the Wolf-Blood Witch.

Production

Development

In 2018 it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The show is based on the novel of the same name by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler (Simon & Schuster 2019). In addition to creating the television adaptation, Miller and Wheeler were also expected to executive produce the series as well. [2] [5] [6] [7] In September 2018 it was announced that Zetna Fuentes is set to direct and serve as an executive producer for the first two episodes of the series. [3] On July 9, 2021, Netflix canceled the series after one season. [1]

Casting

In September 2018, Katherine Langford was cast in the series' lead role. [3] In March 2019, it was announced Devon Terrell, Gustaf Skarsgård, Peter Mullan, Lily Newmark, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Daniel Sharman, Sebastian Armesto, Emily Coates and Billy Jenkins had joined the cast. [8] Creator Frank Miller appears in a cameo.

Filming

In January 2019, set building began on disused Army land in Deepcut, England. This was expected to continue until March 2019, with filming then scheduled to start and continue until September 2019. [9]

Release

The series was released on Netflix on July 17, 2020. [4]

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes compiled 52 reviews, identified 67% of them as positive, and assessed an average rating of 6.06/10. The website's critics consensus states, "Cursed's first season isn't as subversive as its source material, but strong plotting and a heroic performance from Katherine Langford make for an enjoyable escape." [10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the show a score of 59 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [11] Lucy Mangan from The Guardian criticized the writing and the acting, but wrote that "at times during its 10 beautifully meaningless hours, it's great fun". [12] Huw Fullerton of Radio Times also opined about the "awkward performances and exposition" while saying that the series "never quite feels big enough to tell this epic story [...] but overall the storytelling does a good job of showcasing varied, interesting characters in a growing cycle of violence." [13] Kelly Lawler of USA Today reviewed the series in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, giving it an overall positive review, but stating that she was not sure whether it was good or simply "quarantine good". [14]

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References

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