Netflix’s Cursed has sparked plenty of conversation since debuting on the streaming platform last week, ranging from the need for more stories told from different perspectives to the show’s similarities with series like Game of Thrones and Xena: Warrior Princess.
If there’s one thing all discussions seem to come back to, though, it’s that Cursed flips the Arthurian legend by focusing on the women, most of whom are usually background players in shows and movies centered on the tale of King Arthur.
That’s what drew Katherine Langford, who plays our leading lady Nimue, to the series in the first place. Speaking with The A.V. Club, Langford stressed how rare it is to find a role that unravels a heroine’s journey, and does so well — especially in the context of an old story like this one.
“The Arthurian legends in general are these incredible legends that are kind of ingrained into all of us, and that we’re all so familiar with,” Langford said. “But often when we think of the Arthurian legends, you know, we think of the male characters like Arthur and Merlin and the Knights of the Roundtable. And I think what was really interesting to me is that we very seldom if ever dive into the stories of the female characters, particularly one of the most prolific characters and one of the most iconic characters, which is the Lady of the Lake.”
Cursed does a solid job of bringing those kinds of characters to the forefront, with Arthurian figures like Morgana also playing big roles. “It was a story that I just immediately gravitated to,” Langford added, “not just because of the Arthurian legend, not just because it was a new perspective, but also I think it’s really important to tell the story of heroines, and the true story of the heroine and all of those obstacles that are specific to a woman’s journey. And those roles as a woman are far and few between, so it was something that I just knew I had to be a part of.”
Part of what’s so interesting about Nimue’s character is that she quickly becomes a leader on the same level as Merlin and Arthur, gaining the respect of both characters and her other male peers, but she does so through empathy much of the time. Langford attributed her magnetism to the things she’s had to endure, emphasizing that Nimue wants to protect others so they won’t struggle the way she had to.
“To me, it’s kind of that thing of, people who have gone through so much adversity, they’re even more compassionate because they don’t want other people to go through that because they know how it feels. And so I think a lot of her empathy and a lot of the bravery and things that she does, which, maybe for some other individual would sound, you know, crazy, for her, I think it just comes from a deep place of empathy and a deep place of caring.”
It’s certainly a new way of looking at bravery in Arthurian lore, and something that would be nice to see more of. There’s no word on whether Cursed will be returning for a second season, but more episodes would enable the series to tell more heroine’s stories, and it’s hard not to be onboard for that.
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