Cursed Is Full Of Characters You Think You Know — Here’s Your Cheat Sheet

In Arthurian legends, King Arthur, Merlin the Magician, and other notorious characters interact with multiple, mystical figures during their adventures. One of these well-known figures who typically pops up is Nimue, Lady of the Lake. In Medieval literature, where she is always depicted as a cool, ethereal enchantress, Nimue is the woman who gives Arthur the Excalibur sword. But in Netflix’s fantasy series Cursed, Nimue, played by Katherine Langford, isn’t just a key footnote in Arthur and Merlin’s stories. The book-turned-series makes her the main character and has the Sword of Power choose her. 

The twist on the Arthurian legend is based on an illustrated, young adult book of the same name by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler, who are also co-creators of the series. Cursed depicts Nimue as a teenage member of the Fey clan with magical abilities. Throughout the first season, Nimue travels with the Sword of Power searching for Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård). She encounters multiple factions who want her and all Fey kind killed and reunites with allies who encourage her power rather than fear it. The series has some Game of Thrones elements, a sprinkle of Lord of Rings, and all the characters fans of Arthurian tales would expect to see.

Cursed also has plenty of twists and turns, which means that some classic characters have been totally revamped and some don't show up for ages. And as the double and triple crosses stack up throughout all 10 episodes, it might be hard to keep track of who you should be rooting for and what their motivations are. To help you out, we've broken it down to the basics — a cheat sheet, if you will.