Cursed’s first season begins with Katherine Langford’s one-day Lady of the Lake, Nimue, being sent on a quest to deliver a certain mythical sword to a certain medieval wizard. By the end of the season finale, she’s fully embraced her Fey magic to become a queen and wielder of the Sword of Power.
But after surviving being hunted by the Red Paladin — in the end, Nimue bloodily beheads their leader and saves her people — it’s young Sister Iris (Emily Coates) who delivers a seemingly fatal blow, striking Nimue down as she, Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård), and Morgana attempt to flee to safety.
Nimue, two arrows embedded in her, tumbles over the edge of a bridge into the waters below, as Merlin picks up her sword and, eyes aglow, unleashes his powers. Using it to summon lighting, Thor-style, Merlin and Morgana disappear to parts unknown. The season’s final shot is of a bleeding Nimue sinking to the bottom of…a lake, perhaps?
“It ends on a cliffhanger for a lot of the characters, figuratively and literally,” Langford tells Lauren Zima with a laugh, careful not to reveal anything more about their specific fates.
If that weren’t enough, a big reveal comes amid a seemingly innocuous conversation between Squirrel (Billy Jenkins) and The Weeping Monk (Daniel Sharman), the former revealing his real name is Percival, as the latter says, “A long time ago, my name was Lancelot.” (For those not versed in Arthurian lore, both are key members of the Knights of the Round Table.)
“It’s just the beginning,” Langford teases of where the story goes next. “We’ve only really seen the tip of the iceberg. These Arthurian legends are so grand, and in a way, it is just the start of very many journeys.”
