Review: Cursed finishes with a bang in Episodes 9 and 10

CURSED (L TO R) KATHERINE LANGFORD as NIMUE in episode 104 of CURSED Cr. Netflix © 2020

Cursed: Series Review

Up until the exciting finale, Cursed has paled next to other Arthurian tales, although there have been plenty of bright spots: Katherine Langford and Devon Terrell have great chemistry as Nimue and Arthur, and Gustaf Skarsgård’s scenery-chewing Merlin is an absolute delight to watch.

The final episode certainly leaves viewers with a lot to chew on. The fates of several characters hang in the balance, while the emergence of grimmer, more conflicted players like the Weeping Monk, Iris and Morgana promise darker and more complicated stories on the horizon. While the show’s cinematography has always been good, “The Sacrifice kicked everything up a notch, including the fight choreography and CGI effects.

It feels like the story Cursed was telling in its first season was a bit too thin to properly fill out 10 episodes. The lesser storylines often felt like they were dawdling, slowing down the pace of the series overall. Perhaps Cursed would have been better served if it were only 6 or 7 episodes, which would have allowed it to develop more narrative momentum and use the extra money to pump up earlier action set-pieces that come off as a little too small-scale for this kind of epic milieu.

Yet there’s always something wonderful and hopeful in tales of heroes, of good people fighting against evil and impossible odds, and Cursed has that sort of backbone. I hope it’s renewed for a second season; the last two episodes, especially the finale, suggest how much fun and emotion show is capable of delivering. It would be disappointing if we never learn what happens to Nimue in the depths below the waterfall, or whether Merlin is seduced by the Sword of Power, or experience the new adventures of Lancelot and Perceval.

Series Grade: B

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels