What Exactly Was the Curse?
In episode four, we get to see what happened when Rachel’s mom married her dad, thanks to an old home video. The pair apparently weren’t soulmates, so her mom died horribly after tying the knot, but not before having a terrible premonition about Rachel’s wedding. Her dad was then compelled to save Rachel by cutting her out of her mom’s belly, while a young Jules Cunningham (Nicky’s brother) watched from under the bed, smothering his screams. “Tell her it’s real,” her mom had begged a traumatized Jules before fading away.
Rachel’s dad later confronts her, telling her she will die if she marries Nicky. A broken man, he has kept any warnings of the family curse to himself until now, so Rachel has been unaware of her predicament, but those warnings have indeed been passed down from generation to generation until Rachel came along.
Rachel goes back to the bar to squeeze more info from The Witness (Zlatko Buric) whom she had stabbed earlier, but then spotted in her parents’ wedding video. The Witness appears to be immortal—he hasn’t aged a day. He tells her about the curse, which dates back to his great-great-great-grandparents’ time. His great-great-great-grandfather had died in a hunting accident, and his great (x3) grandmother made a bargain with death. He would bring her groom back to life, but only if she believed he was her soulmate. Her children were afflicted with the same challenge, a curse that would extend through the bloodline from the original union, forever: marry your soulmate or pay death what he is owed.
The Witness eventually met a woman called Marianne and fell in love. On the day of the wedding, a mysterious man told him he must marry his soulmate by sundown, or die. After hearing this, The Witness admits he took the cowardly way out and left Marianne at the altar. As a result, the curse spread to Marianne and her new husband, Rachel’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas. That’s how Rachel’s family became cursed. The only way she could have escaped the curse was to never get engaged in the first place, which is the route some of her ancestors took when they found out about it.
Why Didn’t Rachel Die from the Curse?
Rachel appears to be screwed as the wedding ceremony nears. She didn’t really want to marry Nicky when she accepted his proposal; she kind of agreed to it just to make him happy. Not only that, she’s decided to throw caution to the wind and reject the ritual love potion that will ensure she and Nicky are indeed soulmates. Yet she approaches the altar truly believing that she and Nicky will work out, even as Nicky’s belief in marriage crumbles after hearing about his parents’ flawed relationship. Unfortunately, Nicky’s newfound cold feet about marrying Rachel mean the wedding is abandoned, and his family begin to die horribly.
Rachel also appears to die from the curse after Nicky tries to put the ring on her finger and complete the ceremony to save his family, finally believing the curse is real. Since she no longer feels they’re soulmates, Rachel haemorrhages and falls in the snow, covered in blood. After some time, though, she is revealed to be fine. Rachel picks herself up, finds a note next to The Witness’s body that says “Your turn,” and drives away.
