‘The Curse’ Has the Cringiest Scene on TV Right Now

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Curse.

The Big Picture

• The sex scene in The Curse is cringe-worthy, uncomfortable, and up close, giving viewers no escape.
• The scene reveals the strained relationship dynamic between Whitney and Asher, showcasing their ambivalence and submissiveness.
• The show uses the scene as a comedic and brave character reveal, pushing boundaries and leaving a lasting impression.

The Curse, starring Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone as Whitney and Asher Siegel, is one hilarious cringe moment after another. But none may be more cringe than the bizarre sex scene that occurs between the pair and their rubber friend “Steven” during the series’ inaugural episode. Many shows use the implication of sex and post-coital consequences to deliver the comedy, but not here. This one is up and in your face and profoundly uncomfortable. The scene carries on, unbroken, for quite some time as the two reenact a bizarre cuckolding fantasy that straddles the fence between pathetic and erotic in equal measures. The voyeuristic nature of the camera work gives the viewer courtside seats to the event without the possibility of escape, save for the pause button.

Typically, a show will focus on the complications that arise from sex, but here, it is the sex itself that is the complication. This scene in The Curse is a keen and uncomfortable insight into the couple’s strained relationship dynamic. Whitney’s ambivalence toward her husband is palpable, while Asher’s submissiveness and complacency contorts faces with bemused disgust. The scene is a hilarious and brave stab at a character reveal that has not been seen on TV before, and, depending on your proclivities, hopefully not again.

Emma Stone & Nathan Fielder Are the Perfect Cringe Couple in ‘The Curse’

In The Curse, Whitney and Asher are deeply concerned about being perceived as good people despite their obvious personality flaws and unexamined consciousness. Whitney is the daughter of slumlords, a legacy she can’t seem to shake as a reporter drags her over the coals in an interview about the couple’s property development company. Whitney’s shame deeply haunts her, prompting her husband, Asher, to defend her against the reporter’s aggressive questions. While Asher’s outbursts are understandable, they are without teeth, undermining his ability to assert his masculinity and be taken seriously by his wife. All she cares about is their image. Shortly afterward, Whitney berates Asher, demanding that he trade sensitive information about his time working for a corrupt casino for the interview footage. Whitney is primarily concerned about how the couple will be perceived and fails to recognize Asher’s attempt to protect her. The damning footage reveals that they are, in fact, just like everyone else; conflicted and ashamed of who they are to some degree and more like Whitney’s parents than she would like to imagine.

Meanwhile, Asher is a weak-willed and insecure man, a strange and awkward character in this wild series. He seems permanently uncomfortable, quiet, and unassuming, a perfect bore. He reluctantly participates in the problematic HGTV show Flipanthropy, where their gentrification is humorously green-washed by net-zero carbon-mirrored homes and the relocation of the pueblo-affected residents. All, of course, on camera, undercutting their virtue signals by insincere gestures to provide coffee shop jobs for the pueblo’s dispossessed. Asher’s insecurity is revealed in a hilarious dinner scene with Whitney’s parents when Asher’s micropenis is put on full display, reflected back at him in a bathroom mirror and reminding him of his shortcomings. In Whitney’s father’s garden, where the two have an honest-to-goodness dick-measuring contest, the two discuss Asher’s insecurity while eating urine-soaked tomatoes. Asher is embarrassed that his father-in-law is so knowledgeable about his sexual dysfunction that Whitney and Asher argue about it in the car.

The subtext of this issue is that Whitney does not respect her husband. She loves him, that is not in doubt, but her constant nit-picking, insincerity, and passive narcissism prevent her from being honest with her husband, appearing ambivalent and indifferent toward him. It is almost as if Asher is a redundant fixture in Whitney’s life whose measure of value to her depends on his ability to feed Whitney’s sense of self-image. Asher seems almost useless as his presence is immaterial, leaving some room for Whitney to doubt Asher’s ability to be a good father and her inability to care for anything other than herself. The couple’s incongruous self-image and obsession with perception over reality drive the conflict between this cute but strange husband and wife.

What Happens in ‘The Curse’s Most Cringey Scene?

When the couple returns home, Asher again attempts to reassert his masculinity as he bemoans a chickenless chicken penne. His desire to be taken seriously by his wife and seen as a man is palpable as he stocks the fridge in affable detachment. Asher is trying to show his wife that he can take care of business, which is admirable because he loves her. At the same time, Whitney watches him in amusement in a beautifully framed shot where her affectionate eyeballing is reflected in a mirror. It’s a cute moment between the two begging for a resolution from their earlier fight while driving home. What follows next is the most cringe-worthy scene on television to date, and a display of the most bizarre makeup sex one has the fortune (or misfortune) of sitting through.

The scene ends with the couple smiling at each other, then immediately cuts to a horror show of a sex scene, with a reclined Whitney and a Smeagol-like Asher pleasing his wife with a giant purple marital aid named Stanley. The two are fully clothed, a testament to their awkward lack of intimacy. Whitney and Asher keep their eyes closed, detached from each other, wrapped up in their self-indulgent hedonism. They communicate through Stanley as if Asher is only observing rather than participating in the act. It is profoundly strange and challenging to watch.

And although it’s wrong to kink shame, the psychology of this scene is just too delicious to ignore. The camera hovers over Whitney, pushing Asher out of frame. Whitney is in her world, and Asher is a grunting troll on its periphery until the camera pulls back. He seems like a third wheel, an extra accessory to her and Stevens’ lovemaking. Asher’s eyes are cast downward, needing permission to look at his wife, taking his orders from a dildo, and giving Whitney the psychological separation she needs from her husband to enjoy herself. The two are so close and yet so very far apart. Then they finish, and the whole thing ends just as abruptly as it started. This scene is perfect because it exposes the entirety of the relationship dynamic in something hilarious and sort of gross.

‘The Curse’ Works Because of Stone and Fielder’s Performances

There is an old comedy formula: take a bad situation and make it worse. The idea is that doubling down on a character’s suffering is a way to up the stakes of any given conflict, providing an opportunity for comedy. The philosophy behind this scene is more or less the same. Take something painfully awkward, like the everyday struggles of a marriage, and make it more awkward by putting their sex life front and center. The scene’s cinematography is voyeuristic; it is an unblinking eye. The camera takes you to the bedside of the unsettling pair, making audiences privy to some of the weirdest makeup sex ever scripted. The length of the scene and intensity are uncomfortable enough, but the time the show spends setting up the relationship dynamics pushes it over the top. The lack of intimacy between the couple negatively reflects the audience’s intimacy with Whitney and Asher. This is far too intimate and too much information for anyone to know about any couple. This is what makes the scene so cringe-worthy: the confluence of bizarre sexual behavior and marital dysfunction.

Comedies don’t shy away from sex, but they rarely show it. It is usually the aftermath of a sexual encounter that provides the conflict for the comedy. Characters might be full of regret or pulled into a weird relationship, or it might be a beautiful moment of reconciliation between a couple. It’s an excellent conflict generator. Still, sex scenes are never really used to reveal something about the characters, making this one unique. The scene is an answer to a question that nobody asks but is undoubtedly thinking about: what does sex between these two weirdos look like? There it is in all its sweaty, detached, impersonal, yet too personal glory.

Pilot episodes of a show are in a difficult spot where they have to reveal as much as they can about character relationships to set up further episodes, which can take a lot of time. Add to that the necessity of having the episode stand on its own merits and making a big enough impact to convince an audience to invest their time in a series. This scene is a perfect vehicle to tell audiences everything they need to know about the marriage dynamic of the show’s main characters. It is so utterly shocking that no one could forget it, enticing people to tune in next week to continue their journey down the rabbit hole.

The Curse makes a big impression by cutting to the heart of Whitney and Asher’s strange love in a sex scene that is truly remarkable, both for its daring display of sexuality but also for Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder’s performance. The commitment to the roles in the scene is certainly obvious as it fluctuates between hilarious character revelation and post-modern fantasy. One thing is for certain: The Curse has found a hilarious new use for the increasingly unpopular story device of the sex scene, although it might best be viewed by peeking through your own fingers.

The Curse is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+