Mark 10:45

Episode 5 of Warrior Nun Season 2 starts with Adriel admitting that he was in love with Areala. When he first came to Earth all those years ago, he built an inverted temple deep underground. He wanted to use the church to bring people a new power and truth – his truth. Areala asked God for help when Adriel started to grow unwieldy, and it came in the form of this Crown of Thorns. Areala took up the Crown and decided to try and stop Adriel but he was too strong. The entire OCS fought against him but although Areala was bested in combat, the Crown of Thorns was placed on his head and his temple became his tomb. Areala died to trap him. That could well mean that Ava is due on the same path and could lose her life as a result. The group reconvene with Jillian, who’s shocked to find Miguel is actually Michael – alive and well. He’s obviously aged quite considerably now, which is hardly surprising given what we know about this Arc. It’s been around 15 years for him and he’s still haunted by the ghosts of the past. Miguel thought he was going to find heaven but instead he wandered a desert, alone and scared, until he was brought before Reya, the angel’s master who healed him and trained him up ready to stop Adriel no matter what. That entity appears to be the same one that Jillian noticed on the footage last episode. When Miguel takes a look, he’s taken aback and staggers away from the monitor, doubting his plan. Superion receives a call from Duretti, who implores them to talk and discuss Adriel. She attends along with a whole bunch of other priests, where Duretti tells them all that a wolf walks among them, propped up and disguising itself as Adriel. As the group bicker and argue over the true nature of Adriel and God’s will, Superion has heard enough. She tells them this is much bigger than the church; Adriel poses a global disaster that could lead to death for millions. Unfortunately, this is a big ruse as a whole bunch of the bishops turn to praise Adriel and begin killing the “non-believers”, turning the room into a bloodbath. Mother Superion manages to best them all, while Duretti survives. They’re all possessed and chase them through the hallways. Yasmine ends up shot in the process. Adriel is a master manipulator and since the convent attack, Camila has been experiencing horrific visions and headaches. She’s also hearing voices too. The culprit happens to be a Divinium Cross that one of the sisters put into her neck, allowing Adriel to communicate with her. While Camila rejects the calling, Lilith embraces it with open arms. She allows Adriel to touch her face and channel some sort of spiritual energy into her, under the guise of seeing the true nature of reality, with demonic entities swarming all over the place. Vincent returns to Arq-Tech, where Kristian shows up out the shadows. After having his leg smashed to bits by Superion last episode, Kristian suggests they be patient, knowing that a reckoning is coming. After the bloodbath in the Conclave, that could be coming sooner rather than later. Superion contacts Camila and asks for her help, needing extraction. While they wait, twiddling their thumbs anxiously, Superion asks for Duretti’s help to stop Adriel before it’s too late. After revealing the truth about the Arq-Tech’s role in creating these plagues, Superion implores him to have faith. Speaking of faith, Jillian deduces that the energy source that’s powering Adriel could be directly linked to prayer. Specifically, she believes that Adriel discovered a way to tap into that impulse and convert it into energy. That explains why Kristian has built the cross and placed it in that chamber, making sure it serves as a conductive infrastructure. The crosses are being used to re-direct the energy directly into powering these plagues. After escaping, the Order start to regroup while Duretti offers himself willingly to Adriel, determined to try and outsmart him. At the same time, Lilith embraces what Adriel claims is her calling, allowing wings to protrude from her back and the darkness to consume her.

The Episode Review

Adriel’s influence is everywhere and it would seem now that he’s using the power of prayer to corrupt and distort people to his will. That’s not good news and doubly so as it seems Arq-Tech are actually behind the technology to help him amplify his efforts. It’s now clear that Adriel is well and truly manipulating Lilith and determined to craft her into a demonic vision of her own. That’s obviously not good news for anyone but even more so for Ava and the others, who are probably going to have to face their own sister at some point in the future. Warrior Nun has been a decent watch and although there are a couple of cheesy and contrived moments, it’s an enjoyable teen drama all the same.