‘Cursed’ has a number of amazing twists in its first season, including that Igraine is actually Morgana. HL spoke with Shalom Brune-Franklin about the finale, Morgana’s complex relationship with Arthur, and more.
For Shalom Brune-Franklin, getting the role of Morgana was a dream come true. For Cursed to have a different take on the character made the opportunity even sweeter. When we’re first introduced to Morgana in the Netflix series, she goes by Igraine. She soon reveals her true identity. “When I was auditioning, the role was obviously Morgana,” Shalom told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “There’s been Katie McGrath in Merlin. This is an epic character. There was obviously Excalibur with Helen Mirren. I was actually really surprised by the scenes. I was like, she seems really nice. She’s really sweet. Who is this woman? Obviously, it’s a very different take. She’s not bad in our series. She’s lovely. From the get-go, I knew what I was getting myself into, and I was really excited about it. One of the audition scenes was actually the scene where she reveals her true identity, so very quickly I understood what the Igraine thing was as well.”
By the end of the season, Morgana and Merlin have crossed paths. In the legend, the powerful enchantress becomes Merlin’s apprentice. At first, Morgana and Merlin don’t get along in Cursed, and Shalom is anxious to see how their relationship evolves after the finale. Morgana and Merlin disappear after Nimue is seemingly killed by Iris.
Shalom Brune-Franklin stars as Morgana in ‘Cursed.’ (Netflix)
“I’m really interested to see where it goes,” she continued. “If it goes anywhere, you never know. I can’t help but think that it is the start of something because we do end up together. We go off somewhere together, which looks epic by the way. Obviously, it didn’t look like that when we filmed it. I was so overwhelmed when I watched that because we just had no idea how that was going to play out because you’re acting on this amazing bridge, but when Gustaf [Skarsgård] is just swinging a sword in the air speaking gibberish you’re hoping this pays off.”
Shalom is fascinated by the “really interesting dynamic” between Morgana and Merlin. “I’m interested to see where it goes because Merlin is like the ultimate wizard of the time that she’s living in. She’s always thought that he’s just a story,” Shalom said. “So this could be like a huge opportunity for her to finally get what she wants. It could go so many ways.”
Gustaf Skarsgård plays Merlin. (Netflix)
In the show, Morgana is very much in love with Celia, who sadly dies in a fire. Morgana doesn’t have much time to mourn, but Shalom doesn’t think Morgana has fully processed losing her love. “I think that’s very similar to real life,” Shalom told HollywoodLife. “I don’t know if there’s a part of me that kind of thinks that do we ever really truly process death?
