Entertainment
Cursed

Here's The 1 Question Everyone's Asking After Watching 'Cursed' On Netflix

by Ani Bundel
Netflix

Netflix's Cursed takes the tale of King Arthur and flips it upside down. Instead of the story of a human who draws the sword from the stone and becomes king, it's the story of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, an enchantress who the sword names queen. The series has fun subverting expectations, taking a tale of Christianity's rise in England and turning it into the story of the Fey's last stand. But as the first season draws to a close, the show leaves fans with more questions than answers. So, will Cursed get a Season 2 on Netflix?

Warning: Spoilers for Cursed follow. Unlike Arthur does in the traditional legend, when the sword first chooses Nimue, she doubts whether she should take it up. The idea of leading her people to war and death does not sit well with her. Moreover, she's haunted by the idea of failure. Like all the best leaders, Nimue is not someone who seeks power and glory; she's someone who takes up the mantle because she has no choice, and understands the burden it represents.

But by the final episode, Nimue's mission looks hopeless. The Church has joined forces with the Viking's Ice King, and both have declared war on the Fey. Nimue is captured and would have been killed, but she is saved by The Widow, Morgana, who switches the sword of the Red Paladins' leader, Father Carden, with the Sword of Power. The sword flies into Nimue's hands, and she beheads Carden.

Netflix

With Carden dead, the Viking alliance collapses. A rebel faction, led by the Red Spear, comes to the aid of the Fey against the Ice King, who she calls a traitor. But even as Arthur makes a deal to help overthrow the Ice King if she helps save "his queen," Nimue finds herself confronted by Iris at the Rabbit Narrows. As Merlin collapses, dying, Nimue is shot with arrow after arrow protecting him. Nimue drops the sword and falls off the bridge, down the falls into the river below.

Merlin then takes up the sword himself and, with the weapon's magic, casts a powerful spell, murdering all the Red Paladins that come at him. As he and Morgana disappear in a strike of lightning, Nimues floats in the river, her fate uncertain.

Is this the end of the story? To continue would most likely put the series on track with the more familiar parts of the Arthurian legend. In the show's final moments, the Weeping Monk is revealed to be Lancelot, and Squirrel admits his real name is Percival, both of whom will become Knights of the Round Table. But fans hope to see Nimue revived, and her story — and the fight for the Fey's survival — to go on.

With such an open-ended season finale, it sure sounds like a Season 2 is in order for Cursed. Fans will have to stay tuned for Netflix's decision on that one.