Cursed: Die Auserwählte

I am guessing most of the 1 star reviews are from people that watched only 1 episode, the show gets better as it goes and is a decent distraction.

I'm not sure what this TV series is trying to be.

On the one hand it has a lot of semi OK CGI gore and some pretty dark moments, and the acting is decent.

For some reason though, it occasionally flicks to some light hearted teen story line. The story itself seems to be all over the place, the lead female character seems to jump between some sort of badass that can control the elements when angry to a weepy powerless girl.

By the second episode I just turned it off, frankly, the story line was not engaging at all, which is pretty disappointing given the wealth of source material available.

The TV series really doesn't know what it wants to be, its seems they aimed for the middle line of the Witcher and Merlin yet failed to deliver on either.

There was a lot of promise here. Just having Floki (Skarsgard from Vikings) play a version of Merlin you have not seen before ... well as they say in Greece, that is all the money. Which is high praise, in case it does not translate as well as I think it does.

Having said that, the show is not just about Merlin. We do have more of the Arthurian legend ... well retold! You have people/names that you probably recognize ... but you will not really recognize the side of them as they are portrayed here. Unfortunately a lot of times the show remains bland and a bit vague in certain respects. And while it does not seem to hold back any punches ... it does resolve and use a lot of cliches. Which is a shame all things considering.

What is a shame for sure, especially for those amongst you who actually loved this way more than I ultimately did (and I wanted to love it more): there will be no season 2. And with so many characters future being ... not fully told or resolved ... you might not be too happy about the cliffhangers and the open questions this leaves you with.

That being said, it does have really good production values and it does look good (and is quite violent, more than some may like I reckon). Acting is good and if the "woke" and inclusive mentality of it all does not bother you, you will have a lot to discover.

This show is obviously not trying to be one thing, or retell a story you know. It is trying to invent something new and create its own universe, albeit derived from existing material. I guess they made a mistake by borrowing familiar names. If everyone had been called something different I don't see how most of these negative reviews would be valid. I think it's good enough to keep watching, though it didn't hook me at first. If you go in with an open mindset and remember the show is trying to be playful with its namesakes and not butcher them, you might enjoy it.

I tried, I really did. But something's missing. My feeling is the actors' performances. But I don't understand why, because they are, generally, great actors. Still, the dullness and lack of spark were disappointing.