Page vs Screen: Cursed

Born in the Dawn - To pass in the Twilight

As I write this, I'm still hesitating between writing a single post about the Thomas Wheeler (author) & Frank Miller (illustrator) book Cursed and the corresponding Netflix series, or keeping page and screen separate. Even with the series - cover each episode as I have done for other series? Or because it's Netflix and I marathoned through it treat it as a single 10h film? So many decisions... I guess I'll just have to start writing and we'll see what comes out of it.

Cursed is a feminist retelling of the Arthurian myth, written by Thomas Wheeler and illustrated by Frank Miller. It's a young adult fantasy novel that reframes the Arthurian legends by telling them through the character of Nimue, famously known as the Lady of the Lake in the traditional versions (sometimes an ally of Arthur's, others the keeper of Excalibur, and in yet others a protégé of Merlin's who steals his magic and leaves him trapped in a tree). In Cursed she is a young Fey woman (the Fey are various clans of humanoid beings with a connection to the spirit world that probably inhabited Britain before humans came, and have been slowly being pushed out of their lands by humans, more recently persecuted by  fanatics called Red Paladins sent by the Church), whose mother Lenore is the Arch-Druid and healer of her Sky-Folk clan. The story begins as their village is attacked by Red Paladins, and Lenore entrusts Nimue with a powerful sword and asks her to deliver it to Merlin.

Since books have trailers now (?!), here's a look at the book and show trailers:

 

I thought it would be interesting to contrast the book and the show, as they were pretty much created at the same time (Wheeler and Miller hadn't even finished writing it when Netflix optioned it for a series adaptation, and the book hadn't been released yet while the show was filming) and Wheeler is showrunner of the Netflix series. Well, book 1 and season 1 (in case others come out in time).

Obviously spoilers for both book and TV show below! (and potentially for a follow up book if they pick up some of the threads from the show that weren't in the book)

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

Where to start... Based on the trailers (and the fact that it's Arthurian-related!), I had been really looking forward to seeing The Kid Who Would Be King last winter, except it came and went in the cinema so fast I missed out on my chance. And now I'm kind of glad I didn't see it because owww... I don't know if it was because I wasn't in the right mind frame when I watched it last night (and half asleep), or I've finally outgrown kids' movies (boo!) or it's just not that good? I will say that the lead kids themselves were pretty good with their roles, and fit well together as duos and then the team. Particularly Louis Ashbourne Serkis, whose Alex is a fitting stand in for a young King Arthur.

For me the reference points from previous Arthurian tales for this movie are clearly T.H. White's The Once and Future King, or for the kids watching but who haven't read it Disney's The Sword in the Stone, and also the film A Kid in King Arthur's Court (for the mix of medieval and modern warfare tactics, but in the present instead of the past). You could imagine it as a centuries-later sequel to the animated film. It even starts out with an animated retelling of the main points of the Arthurian legend - with an added level of fantasy with a stronger and more evil sorceress Morgana who swears to return to claim the land once Arthur is gone and no longer remembered and basically the world has gone to shit (wars, famine, greed etc. in abundance - so basically present day).

Obviously, spoilers below!

Attempting a "historical" King Arthur in the movies (2004)

Here's a movie I remember being excited about when it was announced (King Arthur on the big screen? yay! Digging into possible historical basis? cool!), and then being a bit puzzled with it when it came out. Not quite convinced by it as "King Arthur", but having enjoyed it as a film nonetheless, in great part thanks to its excellent actors (who sadly had to work with some clunky dialogue at times *shudder*).

* Sidebar: next time someone wants a "historical" King Arthur... just go straight to the excellent "The Warlord Chronicles" by Bernard Cornwell and adapt those! *

Diving into it now, because I was looking for something to pop into the dvd player that I hadn't seen in ages, and felt in the mood for some swordplay and horseback riding. 😉

So let's take a closer look at King Arthur (2004; note: "Director's Edition", and I don't remember enough of the cinematic to point out the differences), directed by Antoine Fuqua, screenplay by David Franzoni and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (which explains quite a bit... *sigh*) and starring Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd and Keira Knightley (in her first post-Pirates movie I believe; curiously before this she'd done a Robin Hood movie for Disney called Princess of Thieves which I guess I'll have to watch at some point for this blog!).

Need I say it? SPOILER ALERT for a 2004 movie!

Who is this King Arthur?

Artorius (Arthur) Castus. A half-Roman / half-British (mother) commander of the troops guarding Hadrian's Wall (like his father before him), leader of a unit of Sarmatian knights who serve Rome fro 15 years. A name apparently already well-known throughout the island (Guinevere tells him "My father told me great tales of you (...) Fairy tales. The kind you hear about people so brave, so selfless, that they can't be real. Arthur and his knights. A leader both Briton and Roman."). He's a devout Christian, a student of Pelagius (who is now deemed a heretic by Rome) who believes men have free will and thus are free to choose their own destiny/fate. When he learns that Pelagius is dead and his teachings of equality among men are deemed heretical by Rome, his faith in Rome is shaken (Alecto "the Rome you believe in does not exist except in your dreams").

Clive Owen does an excellent job of bringing to life a man who is dedicated to his cause (Rome, his men), tired of waging battle and longing for a peaceful life in Rome, who slowly begins to understand himself better as he is forced to confront certain truths about Rome and faces the prospect of the land he has dedicated his life to protecting simply being abandoned to its fate during the Saxon invasion.

Tragic Merlin on Once Upon a Time

Every version of the Arthurian Legend has its own version of each of the legendary figures, and Once Upon a Time is no different. After several episodes in which we've gotten to know these versions of Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, in episodes 505 & 507 we finally learn Merlin's story.

Warning: Spoilers for Season 5 of Once Upon a Time from here on out!

Camelot meets Storybrooke in Season 5a of Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time started out based on the characters in the fairy tale of Snow White, then episode by episode expanded the cast to include other stories, sometimes even letting us visit those other lands. But through the first four seasons to only reference to Camelot was in passing, a land of legend mentioned by an exiled Lancelot when he meets Snow White and Prince Charming in the Enchanted Forest. That ends now as a magical twister drops Grannie's dinner and our heroes in the Kingdom of Camelot!

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for season 5a of Once Upon a Time.

The first half of season 5 of OUAT takes place between Camelot and Storybrooke, with the Camelot stories taking place 6 weeks before the "present time" in Storybrooke. I won't go into all the story details of each episode, since the point of this blog isn't OUAT. We'll just look into our favorite Arthurian characters and see what they're like in their fairytale world, and how they adapt to our modern world.

In Camelot

First off, this Camelot is definitely a fairytale-medieval version of Camelot! Gorgeous castle with turrets and pennants etc, you can definitely see the Disney influence. They of course throw a gorgeous ball (to welcome our heroes to their land, and to celebrate Merlin's prophesied imminent release from the tree).

Lancelot returns to Once Upon a Time!

We met Lancelot in the s2 episode "Lady of the Lake". A knight who exiled himself from Camelot for the love of a woman, and who helped out Snow and Charming in the past, and who was apparently killed by Cora (Regina's very evil mother, the Queen of Hearts). Episode 503 "The Siege Perilous" references this when Arthur and Charming talk of the Round Table.

"This is the Siege Perilous, reserved for the knight with the purest heart. The one destined to carry out the most sacred quests. It belonged to a man I trusted more than a brother, but he betrayed me. It's been vacant since."

When Charming tells Arthur that he and Snow met him once, Arthur seems genuinely happy to hear of him and asks how he is. And truly downcast when Charming tells him that he died.

"Lancelot failed to resits temptation but he was a good knight. He tortured himself for his sins more than I would have done and I wished him happy, just not with my wife."

But Snow sees Lancelot at the end of the episode! He warns Snow that the Dark One is not the only villain in Camelot.

"There is a terrible villain in Camelot. (...) Arthur. Trust me, Camelot is not the place it seems."

And with that cryptic beginning, Lancelot is BACK! And definitely not dead. ;o)

Excalibur on OUAT

Once Upon A Time may be centred on Snow White, Prince Charming, their daughter Emma, her son Henry and the Evil Queen (who is Henry's adopted mother), but it's also a mix of characters from other fairy tales and legends. Just in this episode we have Rumplestiltskin (also one of the regulars), Belle (from Beauty and the Beast, the Beast being Rumple), Captain Hook and Peter Pan (Pan's the evil one)! We've already had one foray into Arthurian lore with the season 2 episode "The Lady of the Lake" in which we met Lancelot. Now it's time for another key Arthurian element to come into play: Excalibur! :o)

Note: spoilers abound for this (and previous) episodes of Once Upon a Time.

SG-1: Camelot

Season 9 finale! Which of course will end on a cliffhanger... *sigh* :p

Walter Bishop Meurig

So while the rest of their allies (Tokra, Jaffa, Asgard) are searching for the new "supergate" the Ori will use to invade our galazy, SG-1 heads to the planet whose coordinates they discovered via the phase-shifting device in Arthur's Mantle. They're hoping to discover the anti-Ori weapon Merlin had created. They arrive in a small medieval town and are greeted by Meurig (John Noble!!!), the local Governor, who welcomes them "to Camelot (!). Past and future home of Arthur and his knights." :o)

The town is awaiting the return of Arthur and his knights who set off on a quest to find the Sangraal (a.k.a. Holy Grail). They believe that he will return once someone succeeds in pulling the sword from the stone... because yes! There is a sword in a stone in the centre of Camelot!!! :o)

"Only he who is pure of heart and true of spirit can pull the sword from the stone."