TV review: Damien S1, episode 3 (The Deliverer)

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

PLOT: Damien (Bradley James) investigates what the BLEEP is going on around and within him further and we learn more about Ann Rutledge (Barbara Hershey) and the group that she's part of.

REVIEW: One thing I realized while clocking this third episode of DAMIEN is that the show doesn't have much "story" hence it's starting to stretch things out. At the core of it all DAMIEN is about a dude who realizes that he's the antichrist – some people worship him, others want him dead. You can could get at the bottom of that schtuff in 4 episodes tops but they got a whole season to fill in here so they are taking their sweet ass time to get there and I really felt it here as I was offered more of the same. That's not to say I didn't get some cheap kicks out of the episode. It rolled on fast, Bradley James got some really meaty moments to dig into (he had a monologue here about a horrific scenario he witnessed that kicked my ass left right and center – well played man) while Barbara Hershey got to show us further facets of her "totally out there" character.

I want Damien's jacket – that is all.

Lets have a moment of silence for Hershey's portrayal of Ann Rutledge please. —————- Thank you. What can I say?! Hershey is so all over this role that they should almost rename the show to Rutledge! Her relationship with Damien keeps bouncing all over the place and I found that highly compelling to watch. She's a mother figure, she's a worshiper, she wants to be a lover. She's all of it at all at the same time and man is she rocking it! That longing stare she's always putting out, her sexy yet menacing smile… Hershey is having a blast! For example, the bit when she left Damien's house and let out what seemed to be an orgasm that she couldn't hold in anymore had my jaw drop. What the f*ck was that?! Such a bold move… respect!

Ya see the show plays it real straight, dead serious for the most part, hence making Hershey's unhinged showcase stick out even more than it should! Her performance alone makes the show worth watching. Tag to all that, a cool and grisly kill that reminded me of THE OMEN 2 (which in my opinion must have been an inspiration for FINAL DESTINATION), some cool talk about "The Second Coming" (loving the religious layers of the show) and the mythology starting to expand (real slowly though) and you get a groovy watch!

Is it wrong that I want them to get it on?

My qualms with this episode were the same as the last two – Damien and Anne aside, everybody here was a paper cut-out, pawns  in what will hopefully be a more complex game down the road – not fleshed out characters. And yeah, some of the lines were bad. Nothing I couldn't live with though. Now I'm not sure if I'm going to continue to review the DAMIEN series at this stage as the interest seems to be low (how much traction this review gets wills define if I stop or not) but you bet your ass that I'll watch the show till the end of the season (I'm betting on the season ending with Damien embracing being the Anti-Christ)! And I may also re-visit THE OMEN 4 THE AWAKENING – never reviewed that one and I am in an OMEN mood now of late, so why the f*ck not!