Cursed flirts with its amazing potential in Episode 7, “Bring Us Good Ale”

While Nimue, Morgana and Kaze seek refuge in an ancient network of tunnels, Arthur and Gawain fend off a siege led by the Weeping Monk.

Cursed has been a mixed bag so far. The Nimue/Merlin storyline has struck gold, but most of the other storylines have suffered from neglect and lack of creativity.

Cursed corrects that problem to some extent in its seventh installment, “Bring Us Good Ale,” but overall this reimagining of the Arthurian legend is still dancing at the edge of the nest, unable to throw open its wings and soar.

A lot happens in this episode: Nimue, Morgana and Kaze (Adagu Ononogbo) arrive at the scene of an old Roman massacre and enter the nearby labyrinth of caverns, where they find a spider-like demon named the Cailleach. Arthur and Gawain end up in a burning Fay windmill surrounded by Red Paladins. Rugen, the Leper King, sends a mysterious assassin called the Fisherman/Pellam (Youssef Kerkour) after Merlin, and Pym (Lily Newmark) finds romance with the cute Viking Dof (Nikolaj Dencker-Schmidt) while offering raider advice to Captain Red Spear (Bella Dayne).

CURSED (L TO R) MATT STOKOE as GAWAIN THE GREEN NIGHT in episode 107 of CURSED Cr. DES WILLIE/Netflix © 2020

The story moves along at a good pace: Morgana is seduced and possessed by the powerful Cailleach through an undead version of her former lover, Celia. Arthur and Gawain finally form a heroic duo, Merlin collects an unknown boy and provides Cumber the Ice King with secrets of Uther Pendragon’s true identity, and Nimue embraces her leadership role and renames her blade the “sword of the first Queen.”

But Cursed is still beset by lazy failings: Nimue’s temporary “possession” where she hurls her sword into the abyss feels incredibly contrived, as does Morgana venturing into the cursed chasm without Nimue or Kaze; all that does is leave her vulnerable. Merlin somehow escapes from his chains (we don’t see how), the Fay windmill where Arthur and Gawain hide during the siege is so feeble that Squirrel can kick a hole in it, and Gawain is able to shove the mighty Weeping Monk into a schoolyard barrel roll. Ugh.

But there is good to be found in, “Bring Us Good Ale.” Morgana’s possession brings her a little closer to the fabulously dark Morgana of Arthurian legend, the sorceress better known as Morgan le Fay.

Now able to better control her powers, Nimue shows us her stuff in the rescue of Arthur and Gawain, but there are snakes in the Fay stronghold, namely Sister Iris and Morgana. The ancient Merlin continues to play kingmaker, manipulating many powerful secrets perhaps only he understands.

As Cursed progresses, we’re starting to see forms of the more traditional Arthurian characters emerging. If you know your Arthur, you could take an educated guess at which characters may be reworked versions of folks like Lancelot, Guinevere and Perceval.

As well as being showy and fun, Cursed is gradually tapping into the immense story potential we’ve been waiting for.

EPISODE RANKING: B+

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