Damien Episode 1.01 – The Beast Rises: Recap and Review with Spoilers
Matt Molgaard
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Episode 1.01, “The Beast Rises,” opens with a look at Damien, now all grown up, approaching a church. Upon his entering the structure, a gust of wind kills the flames of nearby candles. Damien collapses to his knees, staring at a statue of a crucified Jesus Christ. It seems Damien is unaware of who – or what – he is.
He demands to know, “What did I do to you?” Apparently Damien is oblivious to his purpose on earth, which obviously leads viewers to believe he has no recollection of his heinous acts as a child.
Rewind three days, traveling to Damascus, Syria, and we learn that Damien is a photographer. A treacherous scene unravels around the man as his camera continues to click. A squad of military personnel invade the small city, and the situation grows hairier by the second.
As Damien stands in the middle of a war zone, taking pictures, presumably to shed light on the tragedy that’s unfolding, he sees an elderly woman fall to the ground. He moves to pick her up, and we get our first hint at the supernatural. “Damien, I love you. It’s all for you,” the woman says as her eyes roll into the back of her head. A moment later, and she’s stoned, before completely disappearing. During (and because of) the exchange, we see a few flashbacks, occurrences from the original film that started it all. It’s a nice touch and a great way to create the connective point between this contemporary tale and the classic film for those who may not have seen The Omen in recent years.
Thus far “Damien” looks and feels entirely different from any of the franchise films of the past. That’s an atypical but very successful approach. The show holds the attention, and that attention isn’t wavering; it’s only birthing more compelling questions. And the casting of Damien – Bradley James – is genius. The anti-Christ should be disarming, and regardless of whether the man knows who he is or not, he’s got our defenses lowered. A good-looking, mature individual… sounds like the perfect setup to pull the rug from beneath our feet.
Damien soon begins hunting for the woman who made contact with him earlier. The man was a bit caught off guard by the whole ordeal, and he’s determined to find some answers. Why did she know him? How did she know him?
Soon Damien meets Ann Rutledge (Barbara Hershey), and she knows more about Damien Thorn than Damien Thorn does. The questions continue to mount for our focal player (who’s growing increasingly confused and aggravated), as this woman is mysterious and cryptic in her dialogue. Villainess? Ally? We’re sure to find out soon enough.
Damien meets up with fellow reporter Kelly (Tiffany Hines), with whom he had a prior romantic relationship, who begins to break down biblical facts that are somehow directly tied to Damien. Is Kelly spelling out “anti-Christ” for Damien? Not just yet, but the two are diligent in exploring his past, of which he recalls very, very little. But the deeper the conversation gets, the closer Damien gets to piecing the puzzle together properly. As of now, however, Damien still isn’t sure of his destiny, but he does know he’s seeing some gruesome images – images that might reveal his true identity.
After a commercial break Damien and Kelly get back together. Kelly’s been doing her homework, and neither of these two believe the string of deaths that occurred in Damien’s presence as a boy are simple coincident. There’s something dark enshrouding him, and all parties are beginning to recognize such a fact.
We get a look at Damien’s hounds from Hell, and they put an end to one professor who knows Damien better than – perhaps – anyone else. He’s dog chow long before he can disclose all the knowledge he has of Damien. Meanwhile, Damien is realizing that his place on this world is unlike any others, and he makes an immediate motion to push those close to him as far as possible for fear of them being hurt.
Thus far, Damien looks like an awfully nice guy. Who woulda thunk he’s actually the anti-Christ?
**MAJOR SPOILERS**
The climax of the episode draws near, and what Damien feared is already coming true: More people are dying. This time it’s Kelly, the one person who seemed entirely dedicated to helping the titular character solve his own riddle. The death comes as quite the surprise, as it seemed Kelly was being groomed to portray a solid sidekick of sorts.
Bad prediction on this spectator’s part.
**END MAJOR SPOILERS**
By the time the credits roll, we see two men of the cloth locate and wield a strange dagger of some sort, both declaring the fact that they’ve waited too long to turn to the weapon, obviously implying that it may be the one thing capable of bringing Damien’s existence to an end. Meanwhile, Damien is still outlined as a victim of evil circumstance. He still looks like a protagonist as opposed to an antagonist, and that gives way to one insanely important question: What could possibly happen to force Damien to the dark side, and will his pleas to God serve any productive purpose? Can the inevitable shift be avoided?
One episode in, and “Damien” is wicked enthralling. We’ve got characters to invest in, mysteries that deserve answers, and finally, in the last seconds of the pilot, some beginning of an understanding from Damien, as he all but curses the Lord’s statue before touching it and bringing it crashing to the ground in a thick plume of rock powder. Damien knows who he is. He’s discovered the mark of the beast on his scalp, and now we can only ponder how he’ll manage to deal with such a horrifying reality.
Stay tuned for our recap/review of next week’s Episode 1.02, “Second Death.”
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Episode 1
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