Ok, Dominion, they say third time’s the charm, but this is looking more and more like a missed opportunity to me.
This episode played like the second one, with the exact same high points – the development of both humanity’s savior, runaway Alex Lannen (Christopher Egan), getting to know more of his back story, and the Archangel Michael (Tom Wisdom), who, upon learning of Alex’s departure from Vega, follows him in order to explain a few things about the past, and why he shouldn’t be resentful of his formerly missing and now dead father, Jeep (Langley Kirkwood) – and the exact same low ones, like very poor action scenes and lots and lots of intrigue between different characters that in the end do not seem to serve the purpose of advancing the plot a great deal.
This is a third episode. Only the third, true, but also already the third, and not only are things moving slowly or with no big surprises – it seems as if the writers had planted too many seeds with maybe more characters and subplots than the story really requires to move forward at a faster, more decisive pace – but also the promise of the 90 minute pilot seems to fade away.
Having many things going on at the same time isn’t necessarily a bad thing, don’t take me wrong, as any other way a story may feel too linear and holding no questions or long-term mysteries, which are an intrinsic part of episodic storytelling.
The problem we are facing with Dominion is that the pilot set a high note where maybe a lower one was expected, and then, after that eventful start – the presentation of the new way humanity has found to coexist with the angel hordes of Archangel Gabriel (Carl Beukes) trying to extinguish the human race, the inherent hierarchies now existing in these new cast systems, lots of character’s introductions, each one with their own secret agenda, and finally, the revelation of who the savior was, some decent fighting, and including what felt like an important death – the different subplots are moving along, but save for the parts where we take a look at the journey Alex is travelling, I have a hard time understanding why I had to care about things like even more in-fighting between the Consul members (they don’t get along well, we got that) or the relationship with the kingdom of Helena, where David Whele (Anthony Head) is maneuvering to get a hold of Helena’s air force in order to succeed against the coming battle with Gabriel’s forces. And if he’s been going at it for three episodes, shouldn’t that subplot feel very relevant? Well, sometimes it does, and sometimes it just misses, falling flat.
And sure, there are interesting developments on other main characters, such as General Edward Riesen (Alan Dale), who is having an affair with a secluded woman who is more vampire than human, without anyone knowing. Also his daughter, Claire Riesen (Roxanne McKee), in order to gain rights for the lower classes of Vega, agreeds to marry William Whele (Luke Allen-Gale). Or so does she tell William, because if it happened, it was off-panel, in a strange choice for such a high-impact moment on so many characters, and on the story.
However, and even if the series clearly made an effort to look a bit gore, showcasing the bloody violence and total disregard for human life that Gabriel’s angels and himself have, the action department is not only sorely lacking because of the few scenes we get, but because every important fight looks like a big missed opportunity thanks to the poor effects. CG or not, I don’t care, but please do it right, make it believable.
And if Gabriel, in one of the more sadistic scenes, wants to kill an angel to punish another one for attacking Michael, with this last one’s sword, why can’t that scene be properly executed? That type of things is what might drive the viewer out of the series.
And it is a pity, because the good stuff, when it comes, is really interesting. But that’s not enough.
Now one of the most important characters lies at death’s door, let’s see if the writers manage to use that to get some much needed traction, or fail in the attempt.
Let’s wish for the best.