Cursed - Season 1
By Quinn Marcus
Cursed
(2020)
Age: 14+
80/100: Sweet
NOTE: There are 10 episodes in this series, I have based my review off of the four I have watched. My review will be tweaked as I continue to watch the show.
Cursed was created by Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler and is based upon the New York Times bestselling novel also written by Thomas Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Miller. You can call it a prequel to the Arthurian legend, but it’s a unique twist on the story we grew up hearing--The story of Arthur, and the knights of the round table. This retelling is about teen sorceress Nimue and her quest with mercenary/swordsman Arthur to bring the sword of power to Merlin the magician in an attempt to save her kind, the Fey from the Red Paladins. Sounds gripping, doesn’t it? But enough with the exposition, let’s get right into it. For starters, was it faithful to the book? I would say maybe it was a tad too faithful. However, it’s clear that the right people were hired to express what Frank Miller’s drawings would look and feel like on screen. Which brings me to my next point, the visuals are outstanding. The whole world was brought to life by spellbinding effects and awesome set designs. Then again, some scenes look too much like a set, such as a wolf scene from episode one, but even that can’t take you out of the world you are pulled into. This authenticity showed real commitment from the costume, makeup, set, and hair designers, giving the audience an escape from reality.
Although the story wasn’t established as well as it was in the book. It’s truly hard to adapt a graphic novel to the screen, I think Thomas Wheeler and the team have done a bang-up job of that. One thing I noticed was that all of the male characters were like pawns compared to the strong and empowering female characters. For example, I was way more invested in Nimue’s story than in Arthur’s. In fact, for the episodes that I’ve watched, Arthur is pretty much just there. I do love the choice of him being African American, it was a bold, ignore the trolls type of decision. In Merlin’s case, I got some grittier Jack Sparrow vibes from him, but there’s just not enough of him in the show… yet! Every scene he’s in, he’s drinking or running away from something. I will say that there are scenes that I love from him such as the scene at the end of episode 2 between “the widow” and him which gave me goosebumps. But his character isn’t defined enough through episode 4. I hope to see more substance from Arthur and Merlin’s storylines later. Then again, it’s not every day you see a show with an extraordinary female lead like Nimue which is why this show is mainly directed towards teen girls looking for empowerment.
The script has some nitpicks and logical issues here and there, but overall I thought it was very smart, strong, and included well-scripted moments of humor. There were four directors for Cursed, Jon East, and Daniel Nethheim who did three episodes each and Zetna Fuentes and Sarah O’Gorman who did two episodes each. So far, the best-handled episode I’ve seen is the pilot. The pilot is often the hardest episode to do, and yet it was the best for me. It was exciting, interesting, and set up the world well. The director of this one was Zetna Fuentes, director of multiple episodes of Bosch, Jessica Jones, and Grey’s Anatomy. I have to congratulate her on a job well done. She also did the second episode which was not as strong for me but explored Nimue’s character more. In my opinion, my least favorite episode, the fourth one was still well done but felt like it was caught in limbo, and was a little slow. But there was still an epic water fight scene towards the end.
The cast including Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why), Devon Terrell (Barry), and Gustaf Skarsgård (Vikings) all did a great job portraying their characters. Even if Gustaf and Devon’s characters haven’t fully developed yet, they still seemed committed. As for Langford, she’s the real powerhouse of the cast. She is emotional, and had strong chemistry with Devon Terrell. However, their character’s so-called romance is much better in the book, so far. I feel almost no romantic tension between Nimue and Arthur even though they work well together. The first episode built a promising relationship, but then they spent the next few episodes either apart or arguing.
Is it for kids? Definitely not. There is a ton of blood and some very gory/violent scenes. Fey are burned at the stake, people are stabbed and shown dead. Nimue kills and hurts people with her uncontrollable powers. There is not a lot of sex, some flirting and a bit of kissing. Besides that, Nimue is a powerful female character who stands up for others and is very independent. While it is perhaps much tamer than shows like The Witcher I highly recommend this for teens and up.
Overall, I see a ton of potential in this bloody, flawed, yet well made and acted fantasy series. I can’t wait to see more.
Should you Binge it, Browse it or Skip it?