Alba Baptista Kicks Major Butt In Warrior Nun Season 2
Warrior Nun returns for season 2 as Ava (Alba Baptista) and the Order of the Cruciform Sword must find a way to defeat Adriel as he attempts to build his following into the dominant religion on the planet.
Based off the manga-style comic book series Warrior Nun Areala, the first season introduced us to a paraplegic teenage orphan who wakes from the dead possessing super powers as the chosen halo bearer for a secret sect of demon-hunting nuns. While the first season showed a lot of potential, it felt more like a prequel to what we would want to see in a season 2, which is a stronger sisterhood, a bigger threat, and the truth about where the divinium portal really leads to. And we get all that and more in the action-packed second season.
Alba Baptista remains a compelling and affecting actress who delivers a dynamic performance as Ava, who has grown significantly since the first season in both her powers and emotional depth. Instead of running away, which she often did in the first season, we see her embrace her new position and get to kick a lot of butt in some epic fight sequences. A huge highlight is the relationship between Ava and Beatrice (Kristina Tonteri-Young). The two start out as close friends and confidants, but their longing looks and magnetic chemistry has been evident from the beginning. You see truly beautiful moments between them that ultimately end in a passionate kiss as they confess their love for each other. The acceptance of their love is particularly exciting to see in a show centered around religion, which has notoriously not been accepting of LGBTQ+ groups. Warrior Nun doesn’t try to shy away from it and gives us the genuine and well-developed romantic love story between two women that we deserve.
The show also continues its exploration of what it means to be a person of faith, science vs religion, sacrifice, false messiahs, and the power of sisterhood and found family. There are intriguing parallels between Ava and Jesus himself as we see her resurrected in the first season and then gain the ability to walk on water, both wear and remove the Crown the Thorns which Jesus wore at his Crucifixtion, and bring someone back from the dead in season 2. We also see parallels between Ava and Mother Superion (Sylvia De Fanti), who was a former Warrior Nun that the halo rejected. While both try to work alone, their ultimate reasons why may be why Superion was booted. Ava has found a true love for her fellow sister warriors and wants to protect them, whereas Superion was arrogant in her usage of the halo.
Meanwhile Adriel, played by William Miller, manipulates people with fake miracles, fear, and horror to build his own religious following on Earth, even possessing his “followers” with demons. We learn that he is no angel, but instead a fugitive from the divinium realm. He escaped with the halo because Reya (Andrea Tivadar), who seems to be the equivalent of God, didn’t want to follow in his vision of leadership. In a blasphemous look at religion, he is using divine prayer to power the portal and make people believe he is God. His plan is to bring wraith demons over from the arc to enslave the planet and become God by imprisoning God. While Adriel did seem to be one step ahead of everyone at first, he got a bit too cocky and it didn’t work out in his favor. I also do wish they showed more of his plagues and how that effected the larger community as it felt limited in scope.
Diving deeper into that idea can really make your head spin when it comes to the religious foundation of the show. Much of what we know about the Catholic Church in this series has been built upon Adriel and the halo. Back in the first season, it was thought that the Pope and other higher ups were the real villains — keeping Adriel’s bones around so that demons could come to Earth — for their own selfish reasons of keeping faith and power to themselves. While that ended up not being the whole truth, it does make you question what it is the nuns are fighting for if everything they know and believe was ultimately inspired by Adriel and even prayers can power his evil plan.
The new season dives deeper into characters we know, including Mother Superion and her brief history as the Warrior Nun; Lilith (Lorena Andrea), who turns to Adriel as she struggles with her otherworldly transformation and immense jealousy of Ava; and Camila (Olivia Delcán), who forms an almost Harry Potter-like divinium-mind connection with Adriel that she uses to her advantage. We’re also introduced to new characters like Miguel (Jack Mullarkey), better known as season 1’s Michael, who has returned from the portal world to stop Adriel based on the instruction of Reya, and Yasmine (Meena Rayann), who is a refreshing new addition as an overeager ally who leads the sisters to the crown to defeat Adriel once and for all. The characters we follow are not just black-and-white, but have multiple layers to them. You did, however, feel the hole left from the missing Shotgun Mary. According to the creators, actress Toya Turner had personal obligations that prevented her from returning. But it seems they have kept an opening just in case she decides to return as they only ever say they “lost” Mary and there is no definitive proof she’s dead.
The series ends with Adriel finally being defeated, Ava getting sent through the portal to try to heal from a fatal wound, and Lilith telling Beatrice that a “Holy War” is on the horizon. This is where the series got a bit muddled. Now that Adriel is gone… how would this “Holy War” kick off? We’ve been introduced to this God-like figure in Reya, but she seemed to be on Ava’s side as she saves her and Beatrice at the last minute. It might’ve been helpful for the writers to set up something more substantial because the “Holy War” feels a bit vague at this point.
All in all, Warrior Nun takes season 2 to the next level as it expertly balances action, romance, sacrifice, and putting faith back in humanity.
Learn more about the lore of Warrior Nun, below:
