The penultimate episode brings the drama and blood for sure. It starts with Merlin frantically riding to reach Gramire when he gets shot in the chest by an arrow. The arrow came from the Fisherman that was hired by Rugen to kill him. As Merlin lays on the ground, he struggles to breathe. The Fisherman walks around him and tells him that the arrow was dipped in poison and that this was for father. As Fisherman is placing Merlin in a net for whatever he plans to do, Merlin pulls out the arrow and stabs him. As the two fight on the ground, Merlin stabs him again with the poisoned arrow and wraps the net around his neck, killing him. Merlin pulls himself to the fire and eats some coals to combat the poison. I’m not sure why, but it works.
Merlin does eventually arrive at Gramaire and tells Nimue of the deal he made with the Viking Lord Cumber. Nimue tells him no, but invites Merlin to stay the night as her guest. Later in the evening, she goes to check on him and notices he is injured. They have a very father-daughter type conversation as she breaks down a bit about the sword. Merlin wants to save her from having to have to go through all this. Merlin says a quote that really resonated with me, “Any fool can die. Living takes imagination.”
Iris is up to no good, surprise surprise. She is in a room rocking and calling herself a coward and saying, “kill her, Nimue, or I’ll burn you.” Then, she puts her arm over the flame of the candle, and it burns. As the camera pans away from her, you see the walls covered in crosses drawn with blood. She tries later to get into the castle, attempting to convince Pym to let her come help clean. Pym keeps saying no. Iris looks at Pym with disgust on her face, saying that she is one of them; she only passes as human. Pym tells her to piss off, and they part ways. But, if we have learned anything from Iris, she is set on her quest.
At Father Carden’s camp, Abbot Wicklow, who works for the pope, arrives saying that he is there to oversee everything. In the first meeting, you can tell there is no love lost between the two men of God. Abbot Wicklow also has a bit of an obsession to meet and see The Weeping Monk. Because that is not sketchy or showing off a secret agenda at all. The Weeping Monk comes back to camp with a battered Green Knight, with Squirrel watching from the tree lines. They have Gawain tied to a chair waiting in the torture area that they called the Kitchen, and Brother Salt is going to torture him for information. Gawain doesn’t say a thing. Not even that he knows that The Weeping Monk is Fey. That’s right; he is the last of the Ash Fey. The Weeping Monk leaves, and Squirrel comes in wanting to free Gawain, but he tells Squirrel just to run because his legs won’t work anymore. Brother Salt comes in and captures Squirrel. When Father Carden sees the young boy, he is perfectly alright with torturing him. The Weeping Monk speaks up, saying he is just a boy, not wanting to harm him. That earns him a smack on the face. Father Carden gets more good news from Eydis, Cumber’s first-born daughter, that he will side with him in killing the Fey Queen. Is Nimue walking into a bigger trap? Did Gawain get through to him?
You can see the shift in Morgana after getting the sight from the spiders in the cave. She tells Nimue that they should fight on and take Hawksbridge next, that with using The Hidden, the armies won’t stand a chance. When Arthur goes to see her, she panics when he first enters, wondering how long he was there and what he saw. Arthur tears up when talking about the past and when his sister was taken away. Morgana tells him that she doesn’t want to talk about it. She changes the subject, saying that she won’t let Nimue give up the sword. When they talk about trust, she replies trust is death. When Arthur asks if she trusts anyone, she remains silent as he leaves. Morgana pulls back the blanket, and it shows the dead dog from outside with the spider crawling over it.
King Uther has been acting very irrationally, causing issues with the agreement between them and the Red Paladins. Later, he joyfully goes to see her with two glasses of spiced wine to tell her what he did. His “mother” chastises him for messing up what she put in motion and takes a sip of the wine. King Uther starts telling the story about this young woman who died from drinking spiced wine, and her son was taken. His “mother” starts coughing and feels off, realizing what he has done. She falls to the ground and dies. King Uther takes a moment and cries over her body, calling for Borley.
Nimue tells Arthur that King Uther has offered ships for the Fey for her surrender. Arthur tells her no. She looks sadly at him and tells him she has already accepted the offer. Arthur gets teary, telling her that he doesn’t want to lose her. Nimue and Arthur are both teary-eyed about having to part ways and kiss. In the background of the scene, you can hear Katherine Langford’s song “I Could Be Your King” playing. You can listen to it here. The song plays as the two make love.
The episode definitely set up the final episode quite well. There were some storylines settled and more urgency added to others. One thing is for sure, everything is coming together to give one hell of a season finale.
Cursed is available now on Netflix.