My Thoughts on Netflix's Cursed

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about season one of the Cursed Netflix show. In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted the trailer below:

I’ve seen a lot of hate for this show since its release a few weeks ago, and while I can understand the criticisms, I truly think people expected way more of this show than what was promised. Some people seem to think it should’ve been on the level of Game of Thrones or The Witcher, and that baffles me. So, just so we’re all on the same page, this show falls somewhere between The Swords of Shannara show and The Witcher. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not bad either.

Okay, now that I’ve said that, I’ll get into my own personal thoughts. First of all, there’s a lot of action. Which is cool. Swords are always a good thing in fantasy shows; however, sometimes this action was off put by the mediocre CGI. The fake blood sprays and CGI wolves were cringey. I did love the transition scenes, though. They were pretty.

My major complaint with Cursed is how it butchered the typical Arthurian story. Some parts were fine, like Merlin, Percival, and Lancelot’s journeys, but others, like Uther, Gawain, and Arthur mostly had me scratching my head at the writing choices. Uther is supposed to be Arthur’s father in the myth, so why is Arthur a cutthroat in this show? Morgana’s storyline had me conflicted. I liked some aspects, such as her romantic relationship and her dark origins, but the Igraine bit is confusing. Igraine is supposed to be Uther’s wife in the myth, so why is Morgana being called Igraine, supposedly her grandmother’s name? Does that mean Morgana and her brother, Arthur, are actually Pendragons in Cursed? Will they find out at some point? Like I said, head-scratching.

Moving on from the mythology, I will say that Nimue is an enjoyable main character once you get past the first couple of episodes. She makes many mistakes, but she’s consistent in her goal of saving her people, the Fey. The Fey are actually a really cool addition to this storyline. Sometimes it seems like Arthurian retellings skip over the fairy aspect of the myth, so it was interesting to see that twist, in addition to just have a retelling that focuses on a female character. Also, the sword of power (Excalibur? It’s never called that, so maybe it’s not actually Excalibur? But it probably is.) plotline is fun. Instead of focusing on Arthur finding the sword and freeing it from stone, this retelling focuses on its origins and its “curse.” A cool twist, in my opinion.

I did enjoy the ending to this first season. There was a cliffhanger, but it’s one that I hope really delves into the Lady of the Lake myth. Like the fairies, the Lady of the Lake is another element that rarely gets screen time. Instead, most television and film retellings focus on the male protagonists, Merlin and Arthur. I will mention, though, that there’s criticism going around about how there have been other, better female-centered stories written by female authors that could’ve been adapted instead of Cursed. I can’t say too much because I haven’t read Cursed or the other books, but I will mention that the author probably wrote Cursed as a partnership with Netflix, so it wasn’t a true adaptation; it seems like more of a “fleshing out of the screenplay to make a full-length book” situation.

Overall, it’s a fun show that takes many liberties with the myth. If you don’t take it too seriously, you’ll enjoy it for what it is.