Warrior Nun: The Redemption of Father Vincent
Being the hero of your own story
[Warning: This essay contains spoilers for Warrior Nun seasons 1 and 2.]
We are each the heroes of our own stories.
It's human nature to want to do what we perceive as correct. There are very few people in the world who act nefariously because they revel in the idea of being evil. For the most part, humanity is made of individuals who want to help others. Who do what they do because they believe it's the right thing to do. Even if that viewpoint is self-serving or misguided, most people don't align themselves with the general consensus of "evil" because they want to be bad people. Usually, it's because they genuinely believe, in their own mind, that what they are doing will bring about a net benefit for themselves, those they care about, or the world at large. Sometimes what they do hurts others. Sometimes what they do hurts a lot of people. But, to them, what they are doing is the best course of action. To them, what they are doing is right.
Father Vincent from Warrior Nun is a character that embodies the idea of doing what you think is right, even at the cost of all you have ever known. Introduced in the show's first episode, Vincent acts as the leader of Spain's branch of the Order of the Cruciform Sword (OCS), watching over the nuns therein and instructing them on their best course of action to protect the world from the demonic forces of (what they believed at the time was) Hell. He is presented as a morally upstanding character, a force of immovable good within the series. When he learns that a random girl, Ava, now has the holy halo inside her—that she was brought back to life because of its powers—he outwardly claims that it has some sort of spiritual importance. That God Himself had chosen Ava for something bigger than they could understand at the present moment.
But what Vincent wasn't telling anyone was that he did understand. Because, throughout Warrior Nun Season 1, Vincent is manipulating everyone around him for the purpose of freeing Adriel from his prison beneath the Vatican.
There's still a lot of mystery behind how Vincent discovered Adriel's existence and what made him want to help the false prophet. But it's likely that his connection to Adriel is also tethered to his past. When Vincent was younger, he was a runner for cartels, soon becoming an enforcer. His time on the front lines of the underground drug market made him a hardened individual. However, at some point he realized that God was his true calling, and joined the OCS. Some time in between, however, he marked himself with many tattoos. Tattoos that, late into Season 2, are revealed to have divinium etched into them.
While the story isn't entirely clear, the clues offered to the audience paint a general picture of Vincent's past: Somehow, while working for the cartel, he became involved in Adriel and the OCS. Somehow, Adriel guided him to divinium that he tattooed on his body so he could communicate with the imprisoned angel. And, somehow, Adriel convinced Vincent to infiltrate the OCS, climb its ranks, and become a leader. So that, one day, when an opportunity to strike presented itself, Vincent would be able to take the halo and use it to free Adriel. The steps are still a mystery, one that could only be answered with future seasons of the show. But there is one clarity within this pieced-together backstory: Vincent's goal was to use a gullible-enough Halobearer to free Adriel and be seated at the right hand of a false Father.
The Season 1 finale reveals this twist, that Vincent was working for Adriel all along. That he was the one who killed Sister Shannon in hopes that the next Halobearer would be dim-witted enough to be tricked into freeing Adriel. Learning this, it becomes clear that Vincent's original plan was to use Lilith as his tool for freeing Adriel. Given her strict loyalty to the OCS coupled with a level of hot-headedness that could be easily manipulated at the time, Vincent likely believed Lilith would have enough faith in him and enough independence within herself to be manipulated into freeing Adriel. Perhaps he could have even focused on making it seem like she had freed him on her own, not only making her feel independent in the moment, but also demoralizing her enough to not try and fight back against Adriel once he'd been freed. Assuming, of course, that he didn't take the halo from her before escaping imprisonment.
Instead of having to rely on Lilith, though, a new opportunity fell into Vincent's lap: Ava. Someone outside the OCS wholly unfamiliar with their mythology and customs. Someone who could easily be manipulated into believing whatever he pushed her to believe. While he dressed up her training with the real beliefs of the OCS and words of encouragement, it appears that Vincent is a good enough judge of character to know what she would do. Upon leaving the OCS, Vincent has Mary track her down, but ensures that Ava would only come back to them of her own accord. His hands-off approach was used as a way to manipulate Ava's warring heart at the time. Should she go on the run and enjoy the newfound freedom of her legs and her life? Or should she return to the OCS and help people, as her uncontrollable love for others is screaming at her to do? Vincent learned enough about Ava from his short time with her to know she would choose to return.
Whether everything that happened was part of his plan or not, though, remains unclear. However, his continual manipulation of different situations throughout Season 1 shows just how adaptable Vincent is. To save face, he has to ensure that a shield with enough divinium to finish Dr. Salvius' Ark gets stolen by the OCS. Yet, later, he cuts a deal with Salvius to get the shield back into ArqTech's hands. Whether or not the plan succeeding and the shield being taken by the OCS was part of his plan is unclear. But his nuns did succeed, which meant he had to quickly shift his plans to ensure the shield remained with ArqTech. He also didn't know that Ava would go to ArqTech of her own accord to learn more about the halo from a scientific perspective. He likely didn't plan every little detail that happened after, which led to Adriel's freedom. But that wasn't the point.
Vincent understood how ever-changing his plan had to be for Adriel to go free. Pushing anyone in any direction with a direct hand could arouse suspicion. The last thing he needed was for anyone under his command or who acted as his ally to question his loyalty to the OCS. So, he truly had to rely on his faith for everything to fall into place. Despite using his position as a man of God to manipulate others, Vincent still required a level of true faith for his plan to free Adriel to work. Vincent’s faith is real. Irony comes in the form of the misplacement of said faith, as Adriel soon turned out to be more of a detriment to Vincent's own understanding of religion than a true messiah.
Because, unlike Adriel, Vincent genuinely believed that he was sent by God to do good in the world. When he refers to Adriel as, "my master" in the Season 1 finale, he does not address him with any religious reverence. Instead, he sees him as a physical being, a manifestation of his beliefs, but not the one true power that influences what he does. The way he speaks is worldly instead of otherworldly. To him, Adriel is a vessel that will bring a new level of religious fervor to the world, one that can repair any brokenness that he may see in it. But, because of his devout faith to God, I do believe that Vincent saw Adriel as a net good, not only for the truth of his faith, but also for the world as a whole. As seen throughout his development in Season 2, Vincent wasn't interested in being powerful. In having the world worship him alongside Adriel. He genuinely believed Adriel was going to save the world.
And he continued to justify this belief throughout the first half of Season 2.
Vincent remains loyal to Adriel in the first four episodes of the season. He uses Mary's old OCS device to find out where Ava and the others are, which helps Adriel set a trap for the team when they try to steal the Crown of Thorns in Season 2, Episode 3. His continued role as Adriel's right-hand man also assures that he will not be possessed by a wraith demon. Unlike many of Adriel's other devoted followers, Vincent is never subjected to possession. The fact that he doesn't need a demon inside him to see Adriel as a messiah underscores how his faith is truly unshakeable. While Adriel planned on the possession of others to ensure none in his flock would turn against him (or perhaps to protect the wraith demons from Reya), he doesn't subject Vincent to it. This shows that not only does Vincent have steadfast faith in his own beliefs, but that Adriel also believes that Vincent is on the same page as him.
However, while Vincent's faith is unmovable, his loyalty is not made of stone. All it takes it one of the worst nights of his life for him to reconsider his position by Adriel's side. This begins when he's somersaulted over a railing by Michael (Side note: How that didn't break his back is beyond me). He's later taken captive by Mother Superion, Camila, and Yasmine in a pastry van. Driven out into the darkness of an unknown locale, Superion belittles him for his choice of siding with Adriel. At first, it seems as though she will kill him. After all, his betrayal of the OCS led to Mary's presumed death, while also setting Adriel upon the world, demolishing religious faith while giving him the ability to rise to power. Vincent, then, appears to understand the circumstances. For him to die in this moment would be something that he, perhaps, deserves because of all the pain he's caused.
But then, a miracle. Mother Superion spares him. Despite effectively destroying the OCS by helping Adriel organize worldwide attacks on the organization. Even though he is ultimately responsible for Mary's death. And even with the plan he hatched with Adriel to take Ava and the Crown of Thorns. Despite everything he has done to make the OCS his enemy. Mother Superion spares him.
His brush with death has a clear and near-immediate impact on his psyche. While viewers don't see every detail of Vincent's thought process, it's clear from the way he's behaving in the following 2 episodes that something inside him has changed. While he hasn't yet decided to abandon Adriel's point of view, he begins to wonder if all of the pain that transpired leading up to this point was worth attaining his master's goals. While speaking to Christian in Season 2, Episode 5, there's a clear distinction in his words that illustrate how hard he's trying to hide the fact that he's just experienced a divine intervention more powerful than the plagues Adriel is controlling using ArqTech technology. Vincent has been given an opportunity to redeem himself, a second chance granted to him in a scenario that he surely shouldn't have made it out of alive. Let alone with just a broken leg.
His change in outlook is furthered by a conversation he holds with Adriel in Season 2, Episode 6. He begins to ask Adriel questions about what they are doing and how they are achieving it. He begins first by questioning Adriel about his status as a religious figure, telling him that he is "not God" while trying to understand why Adriel behaves like one. Vincent is wrestling with his faith, wanting to believe that Adriel's attempt at becoming a tangible prophet is for the betterment of humanity. And yet, when he hears what Adriel says about people being able to have God only a text away, it clearly rubs Vincent the wrong way. His faith has always been about the spiritual belief in a higher power. Yet seeing Adriel beginning to attain his goal of becoming a tangible prophet makes Vincent begin to question him. What Adriel is saying goes against the mysteries of faith, making it seem more like he's playing the role of a dictator rather than a God for someone to believe in.
Vincent's questions about God, however, are a symptom of his larger issue with the way Adriel and his congregation operate. He tells Adriel that it discomforts him that they are using violence and fear to push his message, asking why they didn't decide to pursue a more benevolent route. With a smile stretched across his face, Adriel tries to dissuade Vincent from his train of thought. He does this by implying that humanity in its current state isn't deserving of peace, especially when he tells Vincent what he believes people are most influenced by: Fear and money. This argument doesn't move Vincent, who seems to realize that Adriel's beliefs do not align with Vincent's faith. It's here we understand that, truly, Vincent believed that helping Adriel is what God would have wanted.
Vincent concludes his conversation with Adriel by asking him about something Adriel told him the night he was freed. Adriel, however, cannot recall what it was he said. This is in reference to a small scene in the Season 1 finale, where Adriel whispered something into Vincent's ear. Something that brings tears to his eyes and makes him take a short, shaky step back. Whatever it was, it seemed like it may have affirmed his faith in Adriel, despite happening as he was asking Adriel to spare Ava and the other nuns at the time. Whatever Adriel said, it was important enough to Vincent that it acted almost as a restoration of his faith. And yet, in his hour of deepest questioning, Adriel cannot recall the right words to say to Vincent to get him back on his side. They have dissipated, just as Vincent's faith has now that he realizes the limits of Adriel's powers.
This scene is not only an important moment in Vincent's journey of questioning his alliance with Adriel, but also one that reveals more about his character in general. Despite backstabbing the OCS and becoming a trusted ally within Adriel's circle, Vincent's faith has always been true. He's always believed that God had a plan, even when he was manipulating Ava to ensure her compliance with freeing Adriel. But, with the revelations he's had learning more about Adriel's plan while also being spared by their enemies, he begins to realize that his loyalty has been misplaced. He doesn't question his faith, because as a man of God, he truly believes that God's plan is the highest of all. But he does realize that Adriel was using his faith in God to his advantage. Manipulating it in order to get Vincent to support him, weaken the OCS, and promote his truth as even above that of God's.
While Adriel claims God to be a "human fairy tale," the conversation between him and Vincent gives Vincent no reason to trust him at his word. For Vincent, there has to be a higher power than Adriel out there, as it's the faith he's held near following his time in the cartels. Adriel's rejection of God as little more than a fairy tale accidentally unveils his true intentions to Vincent. He realizes that the purity of his faith has been twisted by Adriel, tricking him into siding with someone who truly doesn't believe in Vincent’s own ideals. It's why this moment is so important, as it illustrates the dichotomy between both characters. Adriel and his grounded yet hopeless view of humanity, seeing them as little more than tools who can only be controlled by negative emotions and monetary gain. Vincent and his intangible yet hopeful view of humanity, seeing them as capable of good and able to be influenced by peace and love. Two viewpoints that, it seems Vincent realizes, cannot coexist.
In the chaos that ensues at the end of Season 2, Episode 6, Vincent steals the Crown of Thorns from Ava. However, instead of deciding to give it back to the fragmented OCS or hand it off to Adriel, he keeps it for himself. Despite the importance of his recent conversation with Adriel, Vincent is still in the throes of his inner struggle to believe. This moment may not be good for the heroes of this story, but for Vincent, it defines how much he still wants to believe in Adriel, even if he now sees him for the false prophet he truly is. Vincent's faith has been toyed with by someone from a realm he can't fully understand. Now he has to wrestle with the consequences of those actions, which have come down on him like a ton of bricks. Or Mother Superion's wrath against his body.
Damaged physically and spiritually, Season 2, Episode 7 finds Vincent drinking in a barroom. Formerly established as a recovering alcoholic, Vincent has clearly downed a number of drinks by the time the focus returns to him. Lost, he's slipped off the wagon, no longer feeling like he's in control. His inability to stop himself from drinking reflects how the situation with Adriel has spiraled beyond his control. He feels like he is to blame for everything that transpired. And, to some degree, he is. If he hadn't tricked Ava and the rest of the OCS into going to the Vatican under the guise of burning Adriel's bones, the false prophet never would have escaped his imprisonment. The world wouldn't be under the threat of wraith demons possessing everyone. And he wouldn't have made an enemy of the numerous people that had once been his friends and confidants.
Father Vincent is to blame for Adriel's rise to power. But does that mean he shouldn't be forgiven?
What makes Vincent's story so interesting is that, despite the chaos, demons, and plagues Adriel releases into the world through his rise to power, he still holds out hope that Adriel is doing it all for the right reasons. Vincent genuinely believes that Adriel is part of a plan from God. He believes that Adriel is meant to instill good in the world. That the fake messiah's beliefs line up with his own. It's why he's been willing to work for him in spite of the fear and pain he's imbued in others. Because Vincent believed that somehow all of this was going to be made up for in the end. Somehow this path of suffering would lead to a more peaceful tomorrow.
But then the veil shifts. He sees the wizard behind the curtain. It was all sham.
Yes, Father Vincent is to blame for Adriel's rise to power. But that doesn't make him a villain like Adriel. He's a misguided man of God whose belief was taken advantage of by a being far more powerful—and thus, far more convincing—than Vincent could have ever known. It doesn't entirely justify what he did. But it does show that Vincent was never helping Adriel out of malice. He truly believed that what Adriel wanted would be a better world for humanity. But, in realizing how much pain he'd caused, and how much would be left to come—after seeing Pope Duretti burn to death with his own eyes—Vincent realized what he was doing did not align with his true beliefs. Vincent became lost. Stealing the Crown of Thorns for himself because he wasn't sure whose side he was really on. Stumbling into a barroom on his badly injured leg. And then stumbling away, a mixture of his leg and the alcohol making him unable to see the world right anymore, let alone go into it feeling like what he was doing was correct.
His moment of final change transpires when, beneath the shadow of a bridge, he sees graffiti of Ava lowering herself down toward Adriel in an attempt to place the Crown of Thorns on his head. Seeing the graffiti seems to give him the final push he needs. His fingers begin to burn, as Adriel's final plague takes hold of the world: Non-believers will burn in the sunlight. Vincent lowers his hand back into the shadows, the first act of a man who is now convinced of the beliefs he holds. Vincent's fingers burning means he is no longer under the control of Adriel. Instead of using his faith to do his former master's bidding, Vincent has decided that his faith is his alone to control. Not some entity from beyond Earth's boundaries. In that moment, Vincent decides that he will not choose to follow someone who abuses and belittles the faith he has in God for his own purposes. Vincent is now free of Adriel.
Which is when Ava shows up, giving him a chance to make amends. He does so, giving her the Crown and helping her use its power to learn how to defeat Adriel. Without Vincent's help, Adriel may not have been defeated, and despite sustaining losses, the OCS never would have been able to rebuild itself. Vincent decides, in that moment under the bridge with Ava, to embrace his true faith once more. While he'd always had faith in God's plans, Vincent had never employed it for anything other than freeing Adriel. Now realizing he'd been tricked, he decided to put his faith to use in a way that could save the world instead of inadvertently destroy it. He became a man free of his own vices, and his willingness to go along with something that no longer embodied his beliefs about the world.
Father Vincent's journey in Warrior Nun is one of belief, faith, and redemption. At first believing that Adriel was the next step in bringing the world closer to God, Vincent assisted the false fallen angel in gaining control throughout the world. He did this because he was guided by his faith in God, something Adriel took full advantage of by invoking religious associations with himself and what he did. This decision not only tricked Vincent, but thousands of Adriel's Firstborn Children, whose convictions regarding God were toyed with to make Adriel more powerful (and to harbor wraith demons to Earth). Upon learning his faith had been tampered with, Vincent's belief in Adriel faltered. Then forced to reconcile with his own decisions, he decides to help Ava and the rest of the OCS, redeeming himself not just in their eyes, but in his own as well.
What makes Vincent all the more compelling is how readily he was able to admit he was wrong by the end of Season 2. He realizes that hurting so many people the way Adriel has (and would have continued to) did not align with what Vincent saw as beneficial for the world. But he also understood the role he had to play in it as well, instead of doing something easy like lumping the blame entirely on Adriel. He knows a lot of what's transpired is on him. He wrestles with the understanding that he's not an innocent bystander in this situation. And then he rectifies what he's done by ensuring Adriel can bring no more harm to humanity. Or to the people he truly cares about that he so foolishly betrayed.
The hope within Vincent's story is another incredible display of how Warrior Nun never paints its antagonists as villains. There is always another side to the story, and always a justification for even the worst things characters seem to do. Vincent may have helped Adriel escape, and would have doomed the world. But he was doing it because he truly believed it was the right thing to do. Upon realizing it wasn't, he decided to help the OCS. Vincent is a character defined by his morality and faith in God, something he seems to decide will never be compromised again. It appears that his goal moving forward will be to forever ensure his faith remains steadfast and aligned with his values. Not the values of someone pretending to be a prophet.
Which makes Father Vincent a real hero.
***
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