Dominion - General Discussion

[thuganomics85]

So, we get to see when Gabriel actually unleashed the eight-ball/lower angels on the world, which apparently was on Christmas Day 2016, after he and Michael bickered over getting "father" back at some bar.  This is why you shouldn't make important decisions after you've been drinking!  What was interesting and new to me at least, was that Noma use to be on Team Gabriel, and actually had sent Michael out on a wild goose chase when he wanted to look for Alex back then.  But it seems like her change of heart happens right after she hears that Gabriel planned on killing him.  I guess that explains why Darkness Michael thought Noma was going to kill Alex last week.

 

Gabriel's eight-ball army gets into some secret tunnels (I'm guessing that was Riesen's doing), and get it after a crazed William opens the gate for them.  That's not good.  But Alex has a plan, which seems to involve.... walking towards them.  Hmm...

 

Claire is OK, and off with Alex and Noma now, shooting eight-balls with ease.  Arika was planning on leaving, but now seems to have a change of heart.

 

David is forced to actually kill William this time, thanks to what he did to Vega.  If this is really it, it's kind of strange they even bother having William survive the desert, if he was just to die for good now.

 

Gabriel basically beats the shit out of Michael, until Michael informs him that old Lucifer might be still kicking around, so they're off to The Prophet's town now.

[Phantomizer]

Another intense episode. I'm glad they finally showed HOW the war started. That means they're in the year 2041-2042 since the war started in 2016. Noma must be pretty high up if she's able to just hang with Gabriel and Michael like that. Perhaps she was once Gabriel's' lover, which is why Gabriel's mind dreamed about her when he was in New Delphi.

What I dislike is that they totally forgot about Risen. Risen became a Dyad who's angel fully took over... and then he disappeared. I think I did see him in the preview for the finale. I assume he's leading the army against Vega.

Also, you can actually see the look in Noma's face when Alex and Claire were talking about their hypothetical future of going beyond the wall She looks devastated. I would be too after Alex gave her the "You're MY Nomes, forever" speech last week. She even said she swore an oath (to Micheal, I'm assuming) to protect Alex no matter what.

I'm also giddy about Lucifer and his return. Circling back to Malory, it all makes sense. I'm glad the writers left the idea of bringing him into the series next season. I feel if Dominion gets renewed (fingers crossed), the next season will be about rebuilding Vega and tackling Lucifer. 

Speaking of Archangels, did they explain what happened to Raphael? All I know is that she is Uriel's twin as Gabriel is Micheal's. I guess it's assumed that she died?

Edited September 25, 2015 by Phantomizer

[ZoqFotPik]

Raphael has been mentioned a few times, mostly in season 1, as being neutral in the M vs G war. As far as anyone seems to know, she is still alive.

Edited September 25, 2015 by ZoqFotPik

[Greta]

Another intense episode. I'm glad they finally showed HOW the war started. That means they're in the year 2041-2042 since the war started in 2016. Noma must be pretty high up if she's able to just hang with Gabriel and Michael like that. Perhaps she was once Gabriel's' lover, which is why Gabriel's mind dreamed about her when he was in New Delphi.

What I dislike is that they totally forgot about Risen. Risen became a Dyad who's angel fully took over... and then he disappeared. I think I did see him in the preview for the finale. I assume he's leading the army against Vega.

 

I've thought there was a past something between Gabriel and Noma since he grabbed that random eightball to make out with as soon as he found out Noma was at his front door last season.  That seems about his level of emotional maturity in dealing with a breakup.  I also thought the whole vibe in the first bar scene was that Noma had wing-texted her drunk boyfriend's brother to come talk him down. And I will eat up every second of exploring that relationship and her relationship with Michael as well as any other Noma scenes that don't involve her prostrating herself before the Chosen One.  She put her whole heart out there and he just smirked and accepted it like the last Diet Coke in the fridge. And Claire was just pathetic too (and a sad little mean girl to Noma) as soon as she was around Alex. Fuck you Alex Lannon. On second thought, ew- that's a whole 30 seconds of my time I'd never get back.

 

I thought the show was going to have Michael cure Gabriel with the power of brotherly loooooove, but I really enjoyed that they let it carry over into at least the next episode and that, true to character, Michael was absolutely awful at helping Gabriel in any way.  He focused on let's team up against the immediate bigger threat and AlexAlexAlex instead of even once apologizing or even saying he loved Gabriel. I enjoyed that the apocalypse began in a bar, that the Legion canon has been completely thrown out, and that Gabriel, despite being a complete nutter, has every reason to believe that he is doing exactly what God wanted. (Who gives a flamethrower to their mentally ill kid and then can plausibly claim they just wanted said kid to water the lawn?)

 

The SyFy Revelations story on Lucifer is fantastic- he loved humans and he and Gabriel were besties and Gabriel still feels guilty over what happened!  Meanwhile Michael can't even apologize to Noma for trying to kill her for no reason. Just kill all the humans and give me my soapy post-apocalyptic angel family drama.

 

Especially since they keep killing off the worthwhile humans. What a waste of William Whele.  Why bring him back? Just so David could kill him and be all sad about it?  FFS, he didn't even need to kill his obviously mentally ill son to stop him, just incapacitate him. It's just like Clementine last season, where Claire jumped a little too enthusiastically towards euthanasia as the only option. I feel like there was a lot more story that could be told with William, but they decided to keep David instead because he's ASH.

[Phantomizer]

I thought the show was going to have Michael cure Gabriel with the power of brotherly loooooove, but I really enjoyed that they let it carry over into at least the next episode and that, true to character, Michael was absolutely awful at helping Gabriel in any way.  He focused on let's team up against the immediate bigger threat and AlexAlexAlex instead of even once apologizing or even saying he loved Gabriel. I enjoyed that the apocalypse began in a bar, that the Legion canon has been completely thrown out, and that Gabriel, despite being a complete nutter, has every reason to believe that he is doing exactly what God wanted. (Who gives a flamethrower to their mentally ill kid and then can plausibly claim they just wanted said kid to water the lawn?)

 

The SyFy Revelations story on Lucifer is fantastic- he loved humans and he and Gabriel were besties and Gabriel still feels guilty over what happened!  Meanwhile Michael can't even apologize to Noma for trying to kill her for no reason. Just kill all the humans and give me my soapy post-apocalyptic angel family drama.

I noticed that too! Micheal didn't apologize at all for almost killing Noma! He just stood there and flew away. I'm surprised Claire and the other survivors didn't ask what happened to him.

Michael's just a man on a mission.

[Gudzilla]

I really want to see a Lucifer on this show.

 

Is there a reason Team Chosen One didn't shoot the 8 balls trying to break the fence before it was opened ?

 

Glad that Arika changed her mind, anything that keeps Shivani Ghai on my TV screen is good. 

[Greta]

I really want to see a Lucifer on this show.

 

Is there a reason Team Chosen One didn't shoot the 8 balls trying to break the fence before it was opened ?

 

Glad that Arika changed her mind, anything that keeps Shivani Ghai on my TV screen is good. 

Because the people on Team Chosen One have elected to follow Alex, surefire proof that they're not the crispiest French fries in the bag?  Vega is a collection of the dumbest people on earth. It's like the eigthballs passed them by for possession because even eightballs have standards about their bodily vessels.

 

I am dying to see Lucifer, especially with this new Promethus-type characterization.  I just live in hope that whoever cast Tom Wisdom and Carl Beukes picks out Lucifer's actor, not the one who picked out Chris Egan.

[Jul 68]

I think it's pretty obvious that they brought back William because he was SUPPOSED to be the Chosen One, but when he couldn't be found, because David saved him and spirited him away, Michael was forced to pick a new Chosen One. Who better than an untainted newborn?

Noma said that all the signs led to a house (could any higher angel have seen the signs?). Alex wasn't born yet.

They keep drilling that the Chosen One has the ability to save or destroy humanity. Who better for god to choose than the son of a televangelist (lol)? David and Gabriel turned him bad. Why else would Gabriel have been so keen to have Wiiliam as his accolyte? It was shown from S1 that William always felt the need to lead a flock. In the final scene of this episode, he was devastated by all of the sin in Vega that he couldn't heal. How prophetic for David to learn, too late, that his son was to be the saviour of humanity and his shitty parenting caused so much death.

Edited September 27, 2015 by Jul 68

[Jul 68]

William won't be dead for long. As I stated in my post in the Wrath episode thread, they've made it obvious that William was intended to be the Chosen One. Either god or Lucifer won't let his death stand.

[Greta]

I think it's pretty obvious that they brought back William because he was SUPPOSED to be the Chosen One, but when he couldn't be found, because David saved him and spirited him away, Michael was forced to pick a new Chosen One. Who better than an untainted newborn?

Noma said that all the signs led to a house (could any higher angel have seen the signs?). Alex wasn't born yet.

They keep drilling that the Chosen One has the ability to save or destroy humanity. Who better for god to choose than the son of a televangelist (lol)? David and Gabriel turned him bad. Why else would Gabriel have been so keen to have Wiiliam as his accolyte? It was shown from S1 that William always felt the need to lead a flock. In the final scene of this episode, he was devastated by all of the sin in Vega that he couldn't heal. How prophetic for David to learn, too late, that his son was to be the saviour of humanity and his shitty parenting caused so much death.

I so hope you're right in this and that William comes back.  Luke Allen-Gale is great and William has always been a far better character with more interesting relationships and places to go than the Blond Bland.

[Irishmaple]

Alex continues to just suck. He's sending relationship signals to Noma who tells him he's the man she loves and then, while she's standing right there, he flirts with Claire, who has apparently completely forgotten that she was falling for that guy who died of radiation poisoning for her. The show needs to get back to keeping those two characters far apart.

Carl Buekes is awesomely chewing the scenery this season. Tom Wisdom seems bored now.

[frenchtoast]

The 8-Ball Army breaches the walls of Vega at the same time, David makes one final sacrifice to secure his survival. Meanwhile, Gabriel forces Michael back to Mallory; Noma’s dark secret is revealed; Claire is desperate for closure; and Alex fights for control of the only home he has left.

[Greta]

Ugh, I'm simultaneously enthralled and disappointed. So much that was interesting felt unearned, especially Noma's re-winging o' treachery.  She needed to lose her wings a bit earlier in the season and really be shown to miss them for that to be truly effective.  When exactly did she have this change of heart? In mid-kneel?There was a second when Michael said "he's with...Noma!" (a classic amongst tropes) that I felt like we were going to be getting some reveal of a previous association with Lucifer, but we didn't even get anything that really explained her relationships to Michael and Gabriel previous to this.  Or theirs to her- why was she just hanging around during their brotherly drinking session? Why did she kill Furiad but stop Alex killing Gabriel?  Maybe shave 2 minutes off Claire's predictable dramatic!death to leave room for it? Or Alex's slightly less terrible than usual (but still cringy) eulogy to the Vegans for their erstwhile Pretty, Pretty Dictator? Or, for the love of all that is good and holy, just cutting that dreadful attempt at humor with the elevator scene?

 

Likewise, Gabriel's sudden case of the darkness-induced dying.  It works, but it should been introduced as at least mild twinges two episodes ago.  I did love that Michael promptly and without hesitation cashed in his one chip with Lucifer to save Gabriel.  The whole episode should have just been archangels fighting and flashbacking.

 

And ugh, ugh, ugh that it appears William is really most sincerely dead, especially when it looks like Gabriel would have a plausible reason to be hanging around Vega. I'm not sure what exactly that was supposed to do for David's story arc that actually getting a little attached to Zoe and/or Jasper only to lose them couldn't have done. I don't care about his upcoming alliance or whatever with Duma Riesen- who is coming across like Two-Face, and not the complicated Harvey Dent one, the Tommy Lee Jones one.  It seems like a dyad would more interesting if it was such a symbiotic relationship that it's almost like a third, new personality gradually developing.

 

We are apparently actually supposed to believe that Alex has a pure heart? Seriously? He "healed" a bunch of possessed humans (once he ran out of ammo) and then promptly set them to work... killing other possessed humans.  If the show had gone in the direction that Noma, who has been nothing but completely loyal and awesome all season, was the true pure heart that Lucifer wanted as a sacrifice it would have made much more sense.

[thuganomics85]

The hell?  I don't know what to make of most of what happened.  Claire's now dead.  William is officially dead.  David is now a prisoner of Duma Riesen.  Arika did end up fleeing back to Helena after-all.  And now Noma's suddenly evil?  Apparently, at some point, she made a deal with the devil/Lucifer in order to get her wings back?  Yeah, I got nothing.  Oh, and all of this is wrapped up with Julian returning and giving a big-ass monologue to the camera, about what I'm assuming is that he's part of Team Lucifer too.  So, so confused.

 

At least Gabriel is back, so maybe a potential next season will have plenty of Michael and Gabriel teaming up and kicking ass.

 

I guess with Claire gone, Alex now is officially going to be the new leader of some kind of Vega resistance, against Duma Riesen and his eight-balls.  Not exactly gripping stuff.

[Phantomizer]

I swear, there better be a third season or there will be no closure for me. At least with last season's finale, the ending was sorta left in the eyes of the viewer, in case of a them not getting renewed . Did Alex join Gabriel? Did Alex kill Gabriel, you decide.

 

I really thought Noma was going to stab Alex after kissing him and revealed she made a deal with Lucifer. Noma making a deal with the Devil makes for a good "OMG" moment, but story-wise, it makes little sense. Noma has been one of the most loyal through out the show. She was awesome, a savior and the rock Alex needed. Now all of a sudden she turns around and betrays both Micheal and Alex? There's just so many questions. When did she do this deal? She knew all along that Lucifer was alive? Are those loyal to Luficer given white wings? This is why I personally need a season 3. I hate having a story told and not having a good clean ending.
 

I do like the way Lucifer's body looks coming out of the water. Lucifer's soldier guy also has very nice teeth. Very white and clean.
 

RIP Claire. With her gone, who's next in line to lead Vega? Alex?
 

 

 

[Gudzilla]

 The whole episode should have just been archangels fighting and flashbacking.

Maybe even the whole series.

 

I will miss seeing Roxanne McKee on my TV screen.

[Greta]

Sometimes I think there's this really fantastic, beautifully conceptualized and realized show called Dominion but that about half of what airs is a mediocre fan fiction of that show with a self-insert Chosen Stu.  But I think that as I keep checking Twitter to see if it's been renewed because with all the gaps and problems in the storytelling I still really, really want to see what happens next, which is all I ask of a TV show.

 

That said, I still can't believe that the show that killed (in order) Bixby (a moppet but still a child!), Clementine, Becca, Furiad (still outraged over the loss of hotness and adorkability), Uriel (maybe), Gates, Clementine again, Daria (I think), William (whyyyyyyy?),most of the populations of Vega and New Delphi, and Claire spared mothereffing Pete.

[Rina99]

I didn't see a media thread, so I'm putting this here.  It's been canceled.

 

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/10/13/dominion-canceled-by-syfy-after-two-seasons/478569/

Edited October 13, 2015 by Rina99

[giovannif7]

Looks like 2 seasons is it - TVLine reports that SyFy has cancelled Dominion.

[Akhna]

Darn it. I'm so bummed it's been cancelled. I'm way behind, only about 5 episodes into the second season. Is it worth finishing or should I just give it up since it isn't coming back?

[Phantomizer]

Darn it. I'm so bummed it's been cancelled. I'm way behind, only about 5 episodes into the second season. Is it worth finishing or should I just give it up since it isn't coming back?

Ends in a cliffhanger. Your call.

[Akhna]

Thanks for replying, I appreciate it. I was afraid it would end in a cliffhanger, glad to know. 

[Greta]

I'm going to miss this show more than its actual execution in a lot of places deserved.  The marketing never matched up to the show, especially the season 2 promo picture/now DVD cover that makes the show look like 8(ball) Nation, which, whatever its flaws, Dominion definitely was not.  The emphasis on Twitter promotion rather then focusing on the overall quality of the show itself was a big mistake. There were such great characters, ideas and moments, and the directors created some really great imagery; I started watching because the first scene I saw was the first meeting between Michael and Gabriel by the ocean. But then there was such sloppiness and lack of logical follow-through in other aspects. I'm still trying to figure out who lost a bet and had to include that ridiculous scene of Gates throwing a slo-mo baseful to trigger an explosion and/or the Muzak elevator scene. The entire leaden Chosen One story should have been scrapped from jump because it would have been dull and overdone even if there was an actual actor in the role.

 

I hope Carl Beukes and Kim Engelbrecht get some U.S. exposure and other opportunities out of this show, because I really enjoyed watching both of them, as well as Tom Wisdom, Amy Bailey and Luke Allen-Gale.I would watch anything any of them appeared in. I'd probably also give at least a chance to Shivani Ghai's and probably Roxanne McKee's next projects.

 

I would also absolutely buy a novel or graphic novel continuation of this showverse, hopefully with a strong editorial hand to strengthen the stories and an abiding hatred of Chosen Ones and their bland tropes. Because I still want to see how

Lucifer

would fit into the angel family dynamics.

[Happytobehere]

Too bad on the cancellation. Had the show focused more on Michael and Gabriel and less on Alex, Claire, etc., it really could have worked.