ORBzine - Damien TV Review

• Bradley James ( Merlin ) as Damien Thorn
• Barbara Hershey as Ann Rutledge
• Omid Abtahi as Amani Golkar
• Megalyn Echikunwoke as Simone Baptiste
• David Meunier as Detective James Shay
• Robin Weigert as Sister Greta Fraueva (6 episodes, 2016)
• Melanie Scrofano as Veronica Selvaggio (6 episodes, 2016)

Season 1

Damien [Season 1, Episode 1] The Beast Rises
Shown 07 Mar 16

Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) is a war photographer in Syria. Supernatural things start to happen around him. It turns out that he has just turned thirty, and the ancient prophecy states his fate starts on his thirtieth birthday. Luckily he can get some exposition from Holling Manners ( Angel ).

Damien has flashbacks to his childhood, using clips of The Omen (1976) . This throws off the timeline a bit. Either he was born in the Seventies and this show is set in 2006, which makes no sense considering the scenes in Syria ... Or he was born in 1986, which pulls the original movie forward by a decade. Also, it ignores the events of the third movie although it does not seriously contradict the second one.

Damien has been raised as a human, like Adam in Good Omens , and has no loyalty to Lucifer. He even goes to a Christian Church - a Roman Catholic one, the default choice in movies - and begs the graven idol of Jesus for advice. Will Jehovah intervene, and lead Damien into a better life? If that were the case, the show would end on the very first episode. For the story to continue, the so-called side of Good must be incompetent.

So why was this promising show so short-lived? Well, a couple of very similar shows were released at the same time. The Exorcist was also based on a 1970s horror franchise, and that ran for two Seasons. Lucifer , concerning the Prince of Hell living in modern-day USA, ran for several Seasons and even came back from cancellation.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 2] Second Death
Shown 14 Mar 16

Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) attends the funeral of the first episode's sacrificial lamb. Simone Baptiste ( Megalyn Echikunwoke ) begins to realise that a lot of fatal accidents happen around him.

The so-called forces of Good are out to kill Damien before the prophecy comes true and he ends the world. They send a homeless-looking man who bears the tattoo of the Cruciform Sword from Indiana Jones and the Last crusade , and is armed with the last of the seven dagger from the original movie. The other side has an army of cultists, roving bands of devil-dogs, and can magically kill anyone who even suspects Damien's secret. Yes, it seems like Lucifer's team is stronger.

Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ) finally gives him some exposition. She has a room filled with props from the original film.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 3] The Deliverer
Shown 21 Mar 16

Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) calls on Herschell (Scott Wilson - The Walking Dead ) for advice.

Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ) has Veronica Selvaggio ( Melanie Scrofano ) keep an eye on Damien. After all, the Vatican wants to prevent the Second Coming of Christ so that they can control the power.

Detective James Shay (David Meunier) is the busiest cop in all of New York City. Somehow he investigates all three mysterious deaths linked to Damien. And somehow the devil-dogs are onto him. But are Lucifer's rottweilers bulletproof?

Damien [Season 1, Episode 4] The Number of a Man
Shown 28 Mar 16

Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ) has secured her position. Veronica Selvaggio ( Melanie Scrofano ) arranges a meet-cute with Damien's buddy.

Detective James Shay (David Meunier) calls Damien in for questioning. The cop chooses to threaten Damien with police brutality, something that is unlikely to endear him to the audience.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 5] Seven Curses
Shown 04 Apr 16

Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) visits the local VA hospital in the hope of meeting the shrink. The bad news is, the incompetent staff give him the run-around. The good news is that he bumps into a familiar face - the mother of the kid he rescued from the subway tracks.

Instead of helping out, all Damien does is take photos. Well, as a war photographer that is his job. But he draws the line at recording a suicide. When he gets curious and wanders into the basement, he discovers a series of surreal sights.

Megalyn breaks into Damien's workspace. Well, she had to be brought into the main storyline somehow.

In the Vatican, a nun named Sister Greta Fraueva ( Robin Weigert ) decides she has more wisdom than the Cardinals. After all, they are just a bunch of old men ... but she has heard rumours, so she believes herself to be correct.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 6] Temptress
Shown 11 Apr 16

Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) wakes up in a hospital bed. Simone Baptiste ( Megalyn Echikunwoke ) pays him a visit, and his Arab buddy has a discovery to share.

Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ) gets the blame for everything, even though she is the one who has been honest with Damien. He calls on Herschell (Scott Wilson - The Walking Dead ) for advice.

The creepiness factor gets ramped up a notch. An old woman with religious medallions and super-powered hearing eavesdrops on Damien's conversations. Later, a boiled egg gets peeled in a manner reminiscent of Angel Heart .

Damien [Season 1, Episode 7] Abattoir
Shown 18 Apr 16

Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) wakes up in a hospital bed. He calls on Herschell (Scott Wilson - The Walking Dead ), and accuses him of working with Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ). Yes, Damien instinctively trusts his own dream!

The Abattoir of the episode title is a secret slaughterhouse where the Satanists sacrifice animals.

Simone Baptiste ( Megalyn Echikunwoke ) meets Sister Greta Fraueva ( Robin Weigert ), the nun from a few episodes ago.

Detective James Shay (David Meunier) investigates Damien's school-friends. The schoolboy they describe is very different from the protagonist we have followed through this story. They claim he was a sadistic control freak, unlike what we have seen of him so far.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 8] Here Is Wisdom
Shown 25 Apr 16

Detective James Shay (David Meunier) investigates the murder that happened as a result of his interviews with Damien's school-friends. Although Damien has an alibi, the cop still tries to tie him into it. Typical Film Noir stuff.

Simone Baptiste ( Megalyn Echikunwoke ) and Sister Greta Fraueva ( Robin Weigert ) recover the assassin's dagger. Meanwhile, Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ) tries to destroy her own one.

Damien's buddy works out that his girlfriend Veronica Selvaggio ( Melanie Scrofano ) is working for the other side. This leads onto a few scenes without any male characters. Unfortunately this does not pass the Bechdel test, because they all talk about the main character - Damien!

Damien has to decide whether or not he has it in him to become a killer. The detective has no such qualms, and in fact is so kill-crazy that he will run out of suspects. This is a bad thing if he wants to find witnesses who can implicate Damien.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 9] The Devil You Know
Shown 02 May 16

Detective James Shay (David Meunier) is completely obsessed now.

Simone Baptiste ( Megalyn Echikunwoke ) and Veronica Selvaggio ( Melanie Scrofano ) are stuck with Sister Greta Fraueva ( Robin Weigert ).

Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ) wants to know where her daughter is.

This is the darkest episode so far. Although Damien is supposed to be unkillable, it seems that his killer does not need all seven daggers. Another character meets a fate straight out of The Evil Dead , although it is unclear whether God or Satan is supposed to be responsible.

Damien [Season 1, Episode 10] Ave Satani
Shown 09 May 16

Sister Greta Fraueva ( Robin Weigert ) is now in the hands of Ann Rutledge ( Barbara Hershey ).

Simone Baptiste ( Megalyn Echikunwoke ) and Damien Thorn (Bradley James - Merlin ) go on the run together. Both sides are hunting for them.

Damien

Damien [Season 1 , Episode 1 ]
Shown th May 2016

Reviewed in our special supplement

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