warrior nunthe fantasy action drama based on the comics by Ben Dunn and created for the small screen by Simon Berry (Van Helsing), debuted in 2020 to a strong fan response, but little else, perhaps consumed by the funnel cloud of content generated by the global pandemic. But now he’s back, and with renewed life much like the possessor of the sacred halo Ava, its main character risen from the dead played by the formidable Alba Baptista, who in real life may or may not be dating Chris Evans, the sexiest man alive recently crowned by People.
WARRIOR NUN SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening shot: So what brought us here? Well, Ava Silva (Alba Baptista) will tell you all about it. “First I was dead. Swear to God. Then I got tricked. And then the devil kicked my ass. A few months have passed since the events of warrior nun Season 1, and Ava floats peacefully in a pool. She learned to swim, just like JC (Emilio Sakraya) encouraged her to do. But all is not well in the Order of the Cruciform Sword, or for that matter in the world at large.
The essential: Like season 2 of warrior nun opens, there’s a lot of lasting trauma because of what happened in the first season finale. When Ava and her comrades battling the OCS nuns, a group including Beatrice (Kristina Tonteri-Young), “Shotgun” Mary (Toya Turner), and Camila (Olivia Delcan), faced off against the angel and/or demon Adriel (William Miller) During a battle in the Vatican, the violence revealed Father Vincent (Tristan Ullloa) as an agent of the villain, the new Holy Father Francisco Duretti (Joaquim de Almeida) as having his own agenda, the portal builds by Jillian Salvius (Thekla Reuten) as being a lingering mystery, and Sister Lilith (Lorena Andrea) as possessing dimension-shifting abilities. Ava and Beatrice keep a low profile, working in a small bar in Switzerland. But fanaticism for Adriel spreads and they hold out hope that Mary hasn’t been lost to their enemy’s minions.
At a convent in Spain, Camila gives a TikTok tutorial to a group of nuns on Hoang Read’s “The Magic Bomb” before consulting with OCS superion mother (Sylvia De Fanti), who is in contact with Ava and Beatrice as well. than Duretti. In Portugal, Vincent stumbles drunk when Lilith appears out of nowhere, ready to kill him, but he holds back his killing blow, crying that Mary is alive. And Jillian sits with the gate, which activates every few hours but doesn’t fully open, preventing her from going through and trying to locate her son Michael (Lope Haydn Evans). Is the halo embedded in Ava’s back the key to fully powering the portal and revealing a multidimensional universe?
Maybe, but Ava has water walking training and impulses to work out. She blames herself for Adriel’s growing powers, for what she believes to be Mary’s disappearance. And she wants to go on the offensive, but Béatrice preaches caution. There are still larger forces at work, forces that reach the Holy See, are able to attack the Superion convent in Spain and send goons after Ava, Beatrice and their new allies in Swiss. The Order of the Cross Sword is scattered. But there is a reckoning to come.
What shows will this remind you of? Ava’s chosen status that spans the centuries will forever connect her character to buffy the vampire slayer. And there are thematic and visual nods to the Marvel Cinematic Universe here, with Adriel’s public emergence resembling the sequel to “The Blip” and on-screen titles resembling the MCU. But in its warm small-screen world building, warrior nunthe most contemporary travel companion of Wynonna Earpwhich remains in limbo after four well-received seasons at Syfy.
Our opinion : The scope of warrior nun is ambitious and disconcerting. In its first episode alone, the series leaps from the mountains of Switzerland to a former convent in Spain, across the Iberian Peninsula to Italy and the seat of Catholic power in the Vatican, and all the way to Portugal, where henchmen seemingly under the control of an otherworldly being attacks a nun whose own powers are informed by the volatility of an unseen dimension. It’s the sort of globetrotting and world-building that’s common in big-budget superhero movies, but that doesn’t mean these productions always succeed. warrior nun not only presents it all with a kind of breathless excitement. He feels ready to immediately dive into the action that helped define his first season.
It helps immensely that Alba Baptista has grown more confident in the role of Ava, the former quadriplegic blessed with ancient supernatural powers via the sacred and sometimes glowing halo embedded into her back. She’s engaged from the first scene, delivering her lines in at least three languages and switching easily between the light-hearted and sometimes sweary jokes of Gen Z and the heavier implications of what she and her fellow nuns face. Indeed, Ava and Beatrice’s attempts at stealth last less than half an hour before they are locked in a street fight in a Swiss alley as their compatriots are massacred a few hundred miles away. warrior nun it feels like he’s chomping at the bit to get Ava back into a hot war with Adriel, and it’s sure to continue to push the pulse of the series even as it ends with side stories about the Pope’s plans. for the OCS and maybe a romance for its main character. There’s a lot to follow in warrior nun. But it is more than worth the effort.
Sex and skin: Nothing in the first episode, anyway. There’s a strong sense that Ava is flirting with Miguel (Jack Mullarkey), one of her dealers who poses as a bulwark against Adriel’s “crypto-fascist religious formation.”
Farewell shot: Sister Lilith is in a delicate situation. Deceived by Vincent and mobbed by henchmen, she goes into kill mode, deploying her flame claws and dimension-shifting abilities to absolutely destroy seven or eight attackers. Did these rubes really think guns and mean looks were enough to stop this lady?
Sleeping Star: Joaquim de Almeida turns 65 this year, but he somehow looks exactly like the suave, unscrupulous villains he made his name playing in 1990s movies like Clear and present danger and Desperado. And in warrior nunas cardinal-turned-pope Francisco Duretti, de Almeida can eat a ton of scenery and deliver funny lines like “If he goes on physical attacks, I’ll unleash the full power of the OCS.”
The most pilot line: “It’s all my fault,” Ava laments to Beatrice in a moment of calm. “Adriel released. The Firstborn are gaining ground. (FBCs are what Adriel supporters call themselves.) “Mary lost,” Ava continues. “Vincent used me. He manipulated me because I was naive, because I was stupid. I have to fix this.
Our call: SPREAD IT. warrior nun feels revived and re-energized as he begins the second season no one was originally sure he would receive. There’s a lot to sort out, like Adriel’s true bloodline and who will survive the continued bloodshed. But as Ava, Alba Baptista is ready to lead the charge.
Johnny Loftus is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicagoland. Her work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glenganges
