#The biggest Arthurian character revelations in Netflix’s Cursed

Cursed introduces Arthurian characters in a surprising way

Cursed on Netflix is a new take on the Arthurian legend, and the way it introduces some famous Arthurian characters comes as a big surprise. Please note that this article will contain spoilers for all episodes of Cursed, so if you haven’t finished watching proceed at your own risk!

The Arthurian legend is no stranger to retellings and the latest one comes from Netflix. Cursed, based on the book by Frank Miller, asks the question: what if the sword chose a queen?

Focused on the young fey girl Nimue who is destined to become the tragic Lady of the Lake, Cursed follows her trials to save her people and wield the sword of power, better known as Excalibur. Nimue’s connection to the magic of the Hidden and her ability to control the sword of power make her a force to be reckoned with.

Many of the Arthurian characters are familiar to audiences due to the massive amount of retellings the myth has had. But Cursed does not always introduce the characters in the way you would expect. Many of them are introduced to the audiences under different identities.

The biggest Arthurian character revelations introduced in Cursed

From the start, the first character we are obviously introduced to is Nimue, our protagonist. She is destined to become the Lady of the Lake and give Excalibur to Arthur. Though as far as this tale goes, Nimue does a pretty good job of wielding Excalibur herself.

Then we meet Arthur himself, his identity is not hidden or secret but he’s not as we have come to know him. Arthur is a young sellsword and thief, not yet the honorable King we know he will one day become. Through his relationship with Nimue we see glimpses of the great man he will one day be. He is a great fighter and wants to find his honor, though he still has a ways to go.

You cannot have Arthur without Merlin and Merlin’s identity is never kept a secret from the audience. Though the famous wizard has lost his magic and may be a drunk, there is no doubt he is the Merlin of legend. In the final episode, he more than proves this after he grasps the sword of power and provides an awesome display of his power against the Red Paladins.

His interactions with Arthur are limited in the show, in favor of his deeper connection with Nimue, but given how the season ended it would not be surprising if Merlin decides to counsel Arthur as a way to honor Nimue.

Morgana, or Morgan Le Fay, is Arthur’s half-sister in the legends and in most versions she is depicted as quite antagonistic. In Cursed Nimue ends up at Yvoire Abbey and meets a woman who introduces herself as Sister Igraine. However, once Nimue earns her trust it is revealed that Sister Igraine is none other than Morgana herself and Igraine was the name of her grandmother. Morgana then leaves the abbey to join Nimue and become her ally.

However, Morgana’s ending leaves her fate in a potential season 2 quite up in the air as she has been touched by the Cailleach and is told she is destined to become the greatest sorceress of all time and in the end she kills the Widow and replaces her as the omen of death.

Uther Pendragon is the brutal king who is often depicted in legends as being Arthur’s father. In Cursed we do meet a King Uther, but he seemingly has no relation to Arthur. Instead, he is a king desperate to hold on to his power despite rumors that he is not legitimate. He has been guided by Merlin through the years and yearns for the sword of power to cement his claim to the throne since he does not have actual Pendragon blood.

Gawain is famous from tales of Gawain and the Green Knight and in Cursed he is referred to as Green Knight, though he is not the Green Knight in the legends. He is introduced as an older brother figure to Nimue and although initially antagonistic towards Arthur the two come to form a bond of respect. In the legends, Gawain is possibly one of the most well known Knights of the Round Table after Lancelot.

Squirrel is a young boy from Nimue’s village that Nimue is quite protective of. He is young but very brave and not only tries to fight against the Weeping Monk and the Red Paladins but also tries to fight alongside and protect Gawain and his people. He is later revealed to be Percival, also known as Sir Percival another of King Arthur’s legendary Knights of the Round Table.

The biggest revelation of all is the true identity of the Weeping Monk. In the final episodes, the Weeping Monk is revealed to not only be fey kind but he is revealed to be none other than Lancelot himself.

Though he fights against Arthur and the fey for most of the episodes, his allegiances turn towards the end and he rescues the young Squirrel/Percival and reveals his true identity. If there is a second season the most interesting plot will be whether the fey kind will ever accept the Weeping Monk and how he will one day become Arthur’s most famous Knight of the Round Table. After all, what is an Arthurian tale without Lancelot?

This leads us to Guinevere. Though I don’t believe she is ever named in the show many believe that the Viking captain Red Spear is Guinevere. It will certainly be a very interesting and different take on the character should there be a season 2. She is somewhat akin to Keira Knightley’s take on Guinevere in the 2004 King Arthur movie, a fierce warrior queen.

Did you enjoy Cursed? Which character revelation surprised you most and was there a character you wished had been included? Let us know!

Cursed is now available to stream on Netflix.