Arthur

> "*I'll never be what my father hoped. I'll- I'll never be a true knight. But maybe somewhere I can find my honor. Maybe somewhere I can find... justice.*"
> ― Arthur to Nimue[source]
>
>

**Arthur** is a secondary protagonist in the Netflix series Cursed. He is originally a mercenary until he encounters Nimue and then goes on a journey of becoming an ally to the Fey.

## History

### Background

Arthur is originally a mercenary trying to pay off debts he inherited from his late father when he was twelve years old.

He has a younger sister named Morgana who was sent to a convent and forced to become a nun by their aunt, Marion, and her husband Lord Ector. Ector is one of the people Arthur owes money to due to his father's debts.

Arthur later meets Nimue and Pym while on their journey.

### Nimue

Nimue and Pym encounter Arthur singing a song in the town of Hawksbridge. They introduce themselves and he describes himself as being a knight. The group drinks at a pub and they end up getting into a dice game, but they are forced to flee when Nimue uses her magic powers before a man named Bors, stoking his anger. After they have fled, Arthur warns her to be careful of using magic, lest she attract the attention of the Red Paladins. He begins teaching her something of swordplay.

### Cursed

Following the destruction of her village, the village of the Sky Folk, Nimue is reunited with Arthur. She tells him of what happened and then Bors shows up trying to get revenge for what happened before with the dice game. She ends up using the Sword of Power given to her by her mother Lenore to cut off one of his hands and then she and Arthur flee. After they are safely away, Arthur tells Nimue that the sword is the kind of sword that could get her noticed and says that she could sell it for 50 gold, enough to purchase passage on a ship that would take her far away. She, however, tells him that she intends to follow what her mother told her, which was to take the sword to Merlin the magician. That evening, after Nimue falls asleep, Arthur sneaks her into a convent. There, he relieves her of the Sword of Power and asks a woman named Igraine to look after Nimue, telling her he's off to fulfill a dying wish before riding off with the sword on his back.

### Alone

Arthur travels to his home village of Gramaire and has a flashback of witnessing his father's death. He finds his Aunt Marion and asks her to get him an audience with his uncle, Lord Ector. Marion gives him a tunic once worn by her late son, Charles. Upon taking audience with Lord Ector, Arthur asks to enter the tournament, but Ector is scornful at first, saying he has plenty of men more worthy than honor. Arthur eventually brings him around and especially catches his interest upon showing him the Sword of Power. Ector is captivated, thinking that this is his chance to finally win the tournament. Arthur lies that the sword was simply given to him. However, Bors shows up and spoils the ruse. He explains that Arthur owes him money and then reveals that Arthur actually took the sword from Nimue. Arthur and Bors get into a fight and Arthur kills one of Bors's men, causing him to lose what remaining respect Ector had for him. Ector then has Arthur captured and the Sword taken from him.

### The Red Lake

Arthur manages to slip his captivity, but loses the Sword in the process. He is confronted by Nimue, who demands that he come with her to get it back. The two of them eventually discover the Sword of Power in a wagon, which has been left temporarily abandoned while a group of murderous Red Paladins bathes nearby. In a rage, Nimue begins slaughtering them, but is nearly overwhelmed by more Paladins until Arthur saves her. She gets angry at him, but he tells her that she needs his help. The two of them then travel through the woods, eventually arriving at Nemos, a Fey refuge.

### The Joining

Arthur tells Nimue that the villagers of Nemo don't like him, as he is "Man Blood." Morgana tells Nimue to claim her fate as the "Wolf-Blood Witch" and not be distracted by Arthur. Later, Nimue and Arthur relax at a hot springs. Nimue is reluctant to reveal her body to Arthur and the scars on it, but he tells her that everyone has scars, showing her some of his own. Later, prior to a ceremony called the Joining, Arthur tells Nimue that he'll never be what his father hoped, but he might find justice somewhere. He wants to leave, but Nimue tells him to stay and the two enjoy the ceremony of singing and dancing together. The ceremony is interrupted by the arrival of Gawain, the celebrated Green Knight, who turns out to be a childhood friend of Nimue. Arthur is wary of Gawain, believing him to be a potential romantic rival for Nimue.

### Festa and Moreii

As Nimue prepares to leave to meet with Merlin, Arthur offers his protection, but ends up getting into an argument with Gawain, who wants to go instead. Nimue ends the argument by choosing Kaze to protect her instead. Later, Arthur settles an argument between two villagers over food, attracting the attention of a Fey named Mogwan, who idolizes him and wishes to learn from him. Later, Arthur ends up joining Gawain in a party which is investigating the destruction of Fey food supplies. While Gawain and his lieutenant Bergerum go to check out a windmill, Arthur and Mogwan are left in the woods to go fetch water. Mogwan is then shot in the neck and killed by an arrow from the Weeping Monk, who then nocks another and sends it shooting towards Arthur.

### Bring Us In Good Ale

Arthur manages to avoid the Monk's arrow, but soon finds himself in dire combat with the Monk, a far superior swordsman. Gawain and Bergerum ride back and rescue Arthur and then all flee for the windmill, but Bergerum is shot down covering the escape of the other two. It later transpires that Bergerum is not dead and the Weeping Monk captures him and begins torturing him, trying to draw Gawain out. Gawain readies to leave the windmill, but Arthur pleads with him to stop, telling him that it would simply result in two deaths. When Gawain insists on leaving anyway, Arthur shoots Bergerum dead, then tells Gawain to honor Bergerum's memory by saving lives instead of wasting them.

The Weeping Monk and the Red Paladin forces start shooting arrows into the windmill in order to burn out Arthur, Gawain and the other Fey who have gathered there. Arthur and Gawain prepare to leave in a desperate last stand, hoping to cover the escape of the others. Before doing so, however, Arthur asks Gawain if he loves Nimue, saying that he has to know if he's fighting alongside a rival or a brother. Gawain tells Arthur that Nimue is like a little sister to him and the two ride out together. Before they are cut down, however, the fire burning the windmill is consumed by an unnatural tornado, summoned by an arriving Nimue, who had a vision of what was happening. The group then flees safely back to Nemos. There, Arthur witnesses along with everyone else when Nimue raises the Sword of Power and declares herself the Fey Queen by right of it.

### The Fey Queen

Arthur introduces Nimue to a woman named Druna, a friend of his who offers her ships which she can use to ferry away the Fey people. Nimue is wary of the offer, but decides to take it, since as the leader now, she has to try to save as many of her people as she can. However, with Red Paladin forces closing in, she is forced to hatch a daring plan for the Fey to take the city of Gramaire to use as a place of refuge until the ships arrive. After the Fey take the town, Arthur meets with his Aunt Marion and Uncle Ector, but Ector wants nothing to do with him, saying he will only speak with Nimue.

After Nimue's conversation with Ector goes sour and she takes the throne, she has a chat with Arthur in which they argue and he suggests that the corruption of the Sword of Power is getting to her. They talk again later and Nimue tells him that she is hearing the ghosts of the Red Paladins from the sword. They get to arguing again and he asks if it's her or the sword talking, saying that he can't tell anymore. She apologizes, saying that she's not feeling herself. She asks him to secure the ships, but a man enters, telling her that there are no ships. He shows her a severed head that was thrown over the walls and outside, a large force of Red Paladins approaches Gramaire.

### Poisons

Lord Ector suggests a conditional surrender to the Red Paladin forces, but Arthur will not countenance it. Lord Ector implies that the Fey have gone out of control, but after he leaves, Arthur tells Nimue that while there has been some restlessness, things aren't out of control yet. Later, Merlin shows up, asking that Nimue surrender to Cumber the Ice King. Arthur does not like the idea, and neither do Nimue or Morgana.

Arthur chats with Morgana, saying that he wanted to talk with her, as they're the only family they have. She tells him that she'd prefer to see her fighting with the Sword and die than turn herself over to anyone and he asks if there's anyone she trusts. Later, Arthur reports to Nimue about the actions of a group of Tusken Fey serving under Wroth, who killed a man for having a red cross painted on his door. She slices off one of the Tusk's hands with the Sword of Power for defying her orders to not harm any humans.

Nimue meets with Arthur, telling her that King Uther Pendragon has offered ships to the Fey in exchange for her surrender and she's accepted his offer. He tells her that she can't, that he won't let her, but she tells him that she must, and that he will live. The two then retire to bed and consummate their relationship.

### The Sacrifice

Nimue and Arthur awake and Nimue tells him that it was different from what she thought it would be. He asks her if it was a "good different." They chat for a while, but eventually Arthur has to leave to deal with Wroth, who has sworn a blood oath against Nimue.

Arthur goes to Wroth, telling him that it is not the time for the Fey to fighting among themselves. He tells Wroth that he can make the choice to be remembered for being wise. When it doesn't seem like Wroth will budge, he offers to have his own hands cut off to appease blood for blood, but Wroth stops his men before they can do so. Arthur reports that Wroth has agreed to fight alongside the Fey, although reluctantly.

Nimue shares a final kiss with Arthur before leaving. Arthur then joins the Fey who are fleeing to the ships, and aids them during the battle with Cumber the Ice King's forces. During the fight, he assists the Red Spear in killing one of her enemies, Dagmar.

## Personality

He is a charming mercenary and has a talent for singing.

## Relationships

#### Nimue

Nimue and Arthur have a brief attraction to one another earlier into the series which eventually blossoms in a romance in the later half. He tries to leave her because he doesn't want her to share his burdens (inherited debts) but eventually releases that his feelings for her are too great and the honorable thing to do is stay by her side and help the Fey.

#### Gawain

Arthur is originally jealous of Gawain because he thinks that he has a romantic interest in Nimue. They defend the Fey in the mill together and bond as "brothers at arms" through that experience.

#### Lord Ector

Ector is Arthur's uncle who he owes money to. In an attempt to reclaim his family's honor and fulfill his father's dying wish, he seeks out Ector and asks him to sponsor him as a champion for a tournament. Ector agrees but when it is revealed that Arthur lied to him, it ruins their relationship further.

#### Morgana

Morgana is Arthur's sister. After being saddled with his father's debts, Morgana had to be sent to a convent. She blames Arthur for allowing their uncle to send her away and throughout their time as advisor's to Nimue they often had a different opinion and approach to matters given their very different experiences in life.

#### Red Spear

The Red Spear and Arthur meet on the battlefield after Arthur saves her from an enemy raider.

## Appearances

Season One
* *Nimue*
* *Cursed*
* *Alone*
* *The Red Lake*
* *The Joining*
* *Festa and Moreii*
* *Bring Us In Good Ale*
* *The Fey Queen*
* *Poisons*
* *The Sacrifice*

## Memorable Quotes

"A brave fool is still a fool." -Worth, a Fey chief about Arthur

## Trivia

* His character is based loosely on the legend of King Arthur, a mythical king who led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
* Whereas Arthur has traditionally been featured as the lead character in retelling Arthurian legends, in *Cursed* he will take a backseat to the character of Nimue. Furthermore, this is said to be the first time that the character has been portrayed by a black actor.
* Arthur has far less of a role in the *Cursed* novel than in the television series. He never steals the Sword of Power from Nimue, the two never consummate their relationship, and he never joins Gawain in fighting against the Red Paladins.

## References

1. ↑ *Cursed* on Netflix
2. ↑ Law, Angela (June 24, 2020). Devon Terrell Played President Barack Obama Before Portraying Arthur on Netflix's Cursed. PopSugar. Retrieved on July 2, 2020.