The season finale of The Curse delivers on a shocking ending, but the episode’s final twist may be too much for viewers.
*This review contains mild spoilers for the season finale (episode 10) of Showtime’s The Curse*
Almost two months ago, when The Curse’s first episode aired, absolutely nothing could have prepared me for where we would end up. At the start of the season finale, we have a few month time jump. Whitney (Emma Stone) and Asher’s (Nathan Fielder) show is completed and aired on HGTV-Go. Unfortunately, no one is really watching it, because it seems as if the series was just dumped on streaming with little to no promotion. All the tension between Whitney and Asher seems to have let off, and they are finally back to their happy and wealthy life.
As we have become too familiar with at this point in the series, the introductory scene is obscenely awkward. The Siegels make a guest video appearance on Rachel Ray to talk about their new show, but the interview does not go to plan. Rachel asks about their passive homes and questions if the sacrifice that these homeowners will have to make is worth it. Whitney is her usual charismatic self, but Asher has this deadpan smile just staring at the camera making the scene feel immensely awkward.
We move on to the Siegels’ home, where Asher has a present for Whitney. He gives her the news that he will allow Abshir (Barkhad Adbi), an Española local who lives on one of the properties that the couple purchased, and his family to stay in their house free of charge. This leads to one of the most powerful scenes in the whole season.
When the Siegels go tell Abshir the good news, he is extremely blunt with them almost immediately asking about if they are paying for the property taxes and when the official paperwork will be finalized. This scene is so fascinating because there are no respectability politics occurring between Abshir and the Siegels. During this scene, it could be interpreted as white people doing this nice deed as a final display of dominance over this person of color, but here, white people aren’t given the satisfaction of gratitude.
In another show, Abshir would come off as extremely grateful and in debt to the Siegels, even if it wasn’t authentic but, The Curse plays up on this tension in the season finale, which makes the audience dial in to see how Asher and Whitney will react. No one is disrespectful or gives anyone a reason to become negative, but the conversation seems one wrong look away from chaos. This is all due to the strength of Stone, Fielder, and Adbi, which gives a perfect conclusion to this particular story arc.
After this scene, there is a sudden and jarring plot twist that lingers for the rest of the episode. I would never want to take away the shock value for this twist, but what happens is something not even my wildest imagination could have conjured up. I wish I could say that this is a good thing given how unpredictable this season was overall, but this twist is so jarring that it took me out of the show.
The worst part about this episode’s second half is that almost nothing else happens besides the twist. The Curse has so much going on with different characters, and while the time jump makes a good enough reason for not wrapping up every plot line, it feels like there was so much untapped potential for a much more interpersonally chaotic finale. While I appreciate the ambition of the final moments of this season, it made a brilliant show end on a low note.
Overall, The Curse is an unforgettable show. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any piece of media that has made me this uncomfortable before, especially for this length of time. Emma Stone continues to prove that she is at her absolute best when the stories she’s a part of are unorthodox, and Nathan Fielder shows some compelling acting skills, which I would have never expected from him based on his past career. Given the ending, I’m not sure if there will even be a second season, but if there is one, I know I won’t be able to stop myself from watching.
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