Michael: Watch the shadows, not the sun.
There is very little sun, and many, many shadows in the world of Dominion. Michael is right – the only way to survive is to watch those shadows and fight against them.
One problem with such a limited number of episodes (nine this summer; last night’s was number 5) is that it’s difficult to have a lot of storylines and be able to give them enough time to develop. This show is on the brink of having too many – it’s hard to see how some of the threads will wrap up or meld together in four more episodes. If a second season is announced, which of course the producers are hoping for, multiple storylines will be able to be carried forward to next season. While very interesting, where is the Arika/Helena thread going? Helena is the only area left with any kind of air force – will that come into play in the war against the angels? The Noma/Alex relationship that was revealed yesterday – why? Will Noma’s role grow in the next four episodes? And will it have an impact on Alex’s anger and sorrow over Claire’s betrayal (by becoming engaged to William Whele)?
And the details discussed at the enterdominion.com website add fuel. This background is fascinating, and fills in lots of holes about the show’s mythology, but leave the viewer with many more questions to be answered – how will Delphi figure in? Will it be a part of this season at all? Or “The Camp,” a loose grouping of lawless survivors? Producer Vaun Wilmott has hinted that the show has many directions to go in future seasons – if it gets there!
Listen to what the producers have to say about this week’s episode:
Last night’s live Tweeting by the cast and producers was lots of fun – viewers were asked to tweet pictures of themselves in the Dominion prayer pose, and several Dominion players did as well! Here’s Vaun Wilmott’s pose:
Roxanne McKee’s cute shot:
And Chris Egan:
In yesterday’s episode, shadows were cast over many of the relationships that have been introduced. Claire pushed Alex away in preparation for her wedding. David Whele’s blackmail attempt on Becca caused her to leave Michael and send the four-woman harem to Helena. General Reisen and Clementine, his eightball lover, split violently when he found her in Claire’s room (Clementine brings up a whole other discussion!), and he tells Michael not to capture her carefully, as the angel suggests, but to “bring her down.”
We saw some of the violence of the early attacks. In a flashback, we saw David Whele’s family attacked by the lower angels – his wife and a child killed, leaving David and William to survive. And at the engagement party, Claire says that she wishes her mother had lived to see this day – and the camera pans to a family portrait – her mother, we recognize, is Clementine! Do the angels inhabiting the bodies of the people they possess retain any memory of that person? It’s obvious that this is why the General was in love with Clementine – but when she is captured by Alex, she says she has a daughter and a family – is it Clementine talking, or Claire’s mother? Is there any way to get back the person whose body had been taken over?
And Alex, now in training with Michael, is starting to learn how to control his emotions and read his markings. In one session, he sees the murdered Bixby (who they believe died of her angel-inflicted injuries), and she tells him “don’t let them hurt anyone else.” He realizes now why he has to accept his fate as The Chosen One, to save the innocents from this holocaust.
Claire, attempting to save her father from David Whele’s manipulations, finds a Black Acolyte mask in Whele’s desk, and assumes that he is the traitor – and Whele, to his horror, quickly realizes who the mask really belongs to. Anthony Head, as David Whele, has been superb in this show, walking a fine line between consummate politician and slimy lion-feeding, self-serving baddie. I’m looking forward to how he handles this – and you can be sure that it won’t be straightforward, and his response will most likely be to figure out how he can benefit from William’s association with Gabriel!
One other actor who has totally inhabited his role is Tom Wisdom as Archangel Michael. I must confess, Wisdom’s voice is wonderful – that barely controlled baritone conveys the otherwordliness of his character. How he brings out Michael’s strength and threat, as well as his love for humanity, in a restrained, subtle, and very sexy performance, has created a large number of new fans. But is it just me, or was anyone else just a little freaked out seeing Michael fly in the opening scene? I don’t know what it was about that, but – and I mean this in the best way – it was wrong. Just wrong. I’ve seen all the superhero movies – I don’t know if it looks more oddly realistic or what, but those huge black wings just give me the creeps! Keep it up!
A note on next week: I will be in San Diego during ComicCon next Thursday, and threeifbyspace will cover the Dominion press and public panels. A review on next Thursday’s episode will probably not come out until Sunday or Monday, and we’ll give you all the ComicCon coverage – for Dominion and MANY other shows – in the coming weeks! If you have a question you would like us to ask at the press panel, leave a comment below and we’ll try to include it!
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I’ve been here a long time, happy to be Senior Editor. My kids are ok with me being a nerd (at least I think so, but they’ve left home, so, like, who knows). Hubby rolls his eyes. Covering Outlander and a variety of other current shows, movies and books.
