What Warrior Nun Says About Religion [PART 1]
Introduction - Chapter 1
[Warning: This essay contains spoilers for Warrior Nun seasons 1 and 2.]
Warrior Nun is all about religion.
Religious themes come with the territory for a series like this. The entire story of Warrior Nun is built on Christian faith, establishing the existence of a secret order of nuns, the Order of the Cruciform Sword, who are sworn to protect the world from demonic threats. Threats that seem like they are less influenced by the ideas of demons as established in religious text, and more underscored by demonic presences wholly unknown to the general populous. Indeed, much of Warrior Nun’s exploration of the religious is original to the series itself. Anyone can study religions and grasp knowledge of how humanity thinks the spiritual realm behaves. But Warrior Nun takes things in a new direction by presenting religious figures and creatures as being born out of a misunderstood history. A history that has been obfuscated by the Church so much that, in modern times, what was once a cover story has now become a perception of genuine history. And, because of this, the plot of the show and its characters are driven in various ways that don’t mesh with the reality of how the religious elements of the world truly work—rather, how characters think they work.
In this multi-part essay, I want to analyze how Warrior Nun uses religion to blur the line between what is true in its universe, and what is falsified. I also want to discuss how the use of religion in the series aligns with the theme of “People twist religion into a tool for personal gain.” This is a theme that is prevalent throughout the show, and is present in the stories of many characters. One that may come to mind for fans is Adriel, who spends Season 2 presenting himself as a false messiah. But I want to explore this theme of religion being twisted into a tool for personal gain more broadly. While Adriel utilizes religion for manipulation, he only uses one element of religion to do so: Faith. But, when discussing “religion” in this essay series, I want it to encompass everything beyond faith as well. This includes history, iconography, and artifacts that can be tied to Christianity. Because looking at religion from these multiple lenses underscores how it can be employed in a variety of ways to help people in Warrior Nun get what they want.
This theme of twisting religion is, I believe, heavily tied to the religious history present throughout Warrior Nun. One key element that becomes clearer as the series unfolds is that the history of Christianity itself is filled with half-truths. For instance, there are writings about the OCS’ history that, while true, also omit critical information that recontextualizes key moments about how they were founded. There are also hidden agendas from other groups involved in the Church’s history, some of which prove vital to the story as it progresses. The twisting of religion is not only presented as the twisting of the Christian faith in Warrior Nun. It’s also the twisting of history into what Christianity becomes in the modern age. In this way, the series looks at Christianity through two particular lenses: Faith and history. Iconography and artifacts entwine with both, just as both lenses compliment one another throughout the show.
The purpose of this essay, then, is to explore the multiple ways religion in Warrior Nun is presented, twisted, and ultimately utilized in the story and by its characters in ways that show how history and faith can be manipulated. This comes in the form of both religious iconography and artifacts, but also in the ways history and faith themselves intertwine with each other. The messages Warrior Nun has about religion are complex. Though more often than not, the idea is that religion itself is not inherently good or evil, but instead can be one or the other depending on who’s in control of the narrative. This message is hardwired into many storylines throughout the series. However, to streamline the general thematic exploration of the series, this essay will be taking a look at the show from start to finish, analyzing the religious elements the series relies upon to expand on its religious themes as every episode plays out.
Themes that display the series’ memorable commentary about the nature of religion as a whole.
CHAPTER 1: In the Beginning
Warrior Nun immediately ties the sacred protection of religion to a holy object.
The beginning of the series shows nuns of the OCS—specifically Beatrice, Lilith, and Mary—carrying the original Warrior Nun, Sister Shannon, into a church morgue for protection. A group of unknown people are following them after a car bomb laced with divinium exploded, causing shrapnel of the holy substance to pierce through Shannon’s body. As is explained while inside the church, Shannon has special powers as the Warrior Nun due to an object in her back called the Halo. This Halo is established as a secret holy relic of a church, the name already implying its heavenly origins. Right away, the presence of both the Halo and divinium underscore how Christianity in Warrior Nun is heavily tied to ancient artifacts. While Christian artifacts do exist in real life, Warrior Nun creates new artifacts that can be utilized as weapons to fend off very tangible evil.
It’s why it becomes so important to hide the Halo as mysterious villains begin their hunt for it. Which prompts one of the nuns in the morgue to shove the Halo into the back of a dead girl. A dead girl named Ava Silva. The power of the Halo manages to resurrect her. But this isn’t just a reflection on the use of resurrection as a concept in the Bible (Jesus, Lazarus, etc.). It also connects resurrection to a tangible item. On a symbolic level, Ava getting brought back to life by a holy object reflects the tangible—or, real—nature of Christianity in Warrior Nun’s universe. The concept of resurrection not only exists, but is tied to a holy object. Something that has a physical form within reality, just like the villains the OCS has to contend with. This idea of religion being real is a foundational part of Warrior Nun’s themes, as it’s something that every character has to contend with in some capacity.
The first of to have to deal with this idea is Ava, who, upon resurrection, escapes the morgue. Running around the streets of Spain, she tries to get a better understanding of what’s happened to her. That is, until she’s hit by a bus, which sends her flying into a sports store. But she doesn’t break through it, nor is she badly injured. Instead, Ava accidentally uses the power of the Halo to teleport through the wall and crash-land in the store. Learning that she can now permanently walk again and that she has superpowers, Ava spends the rest of the night celebrating. The Halo is a life-changing object for her. And, whether she believes in God or not, its power has impacted the way she can interact with the world significantly. This adds to the notion of religion as a tangible force in Warrior Nun. It doesn’t really matter how much faith Ava has in religious ideas or the power of religious artifacts. The one implanted in her back simply works, whether she has any awareness or belief in it at all.
Ava’s journey in the rest of the series premiere has little to do with religious themes themselves. However, it does set up JC and his group, who have a vague connection to the religious themes of the series. JC and his friends are vagabonds, wandering from expensive house to expensive house and squatting in them, living like royalty until it’s time to move on. While Ava isn’t fully accepted by every member of the group right away, JC takes a liking to her immediately. He seems to enjoy that she is a mystery to him, someone new that he can convert to his way of life. Following a meeting between her, JC, and JC’s friends, Ava and JC wander away from the beach house to talk. It’s here Ava directly confronts him about his friends being “scam artists.” But JC doesn’t see it that way. He sees his group as “opportunists.” Ava ends up joining them, but cautions that she doesn’t have much life experience. Something JC says he can help her with by teaching her just how him and his group live.
The one thing I always found fascinating about JC is how many subtle religious parallels his character has. He’s the leader of a group of wanderers who takes from the rich in order to better their own lives. He’s welcoming to just about anyone, including Ava, no matter if their past is a mystery or not. His group also seems to believe in living in the moment, as the moments they live in are precious and should be cherished. Though atypical, one example of this is when they take Ava to a rave and take drugs together. To an extent, JC is Ava’s savior. The first person to show Ava what the world is like beyond her bed. He even has the right initials for religious analysis.
JC. Jesus Christ.
But digging into JC and his tentative connection to Warrior Nun’s religious themes will become clearer in later episodes. Because, from the time Ava wakes up in the morgue to when she goes to her rave with JC, the OCS is trying to find out what happened to the Halo after Sister Shannon’s death. This is when the nuns and Father Vincent enter the picture. Upon learning the Halo has seemingly resurrected Ava, Vincent goes to the orphanage where she used to reside. It’s here that Vincent learns of her situation. That Ava was paralyzed due to a car crash, staying at the orphanage for many years before dying in her sleep at 19 years old. He also learns Ava first arrived at the orphanage when she was 7 years old. The number itself doesn’t play any direct significance in the story, but it is a number often associated with God. This also means there were 12 years between Ava’s accident and her obtaining the Halo. 12 is a foundational number in the Bible, such as the 12 Apostles of Jesus. These seeds are important, as the Halo’s tangible resurrection of Ava coupled with the symbolic numerology surrounding how she got the Halo plays into Vincent’s own faith-based character.
But Vincent isn’t the only one heavily involved in hunting for Ava. Shotgun Mary—an associate of the Church and of the OCS—is called upon by Vincent to help him track Ava down. While Mary agrees to be part of the process, she’s also clearly more focused on learning who was behind Shannon’s death. The people who planted the divinium bomb that killed her were hired hands, meaning whoever truly wanted Shannon dead ensured their tracks were covered. Mary sets out on a mission to discover the truth, and to unearth the adversary that killed her friend. It’s clear right away that Mary operates differently from the nuns of the OCS. Her close friendship with Vincent is another factor of her character that makes her stand out. This establishes how, despite religion’s tangibility in Warrior Nun, the actual act of belief and contribution can be portrayed in different ways. Just because Mary is clearly unlike the nuns of the OCS doesn’t make her any less important to the group. Once again, seeds are being planted. This time, for the idea of how religion doesn’t need to follow a particular set of strict guidelines for everyone in this world.
In the meantime, other seeds were being planted regarding Ava’s connection to the tangibility of religion via the Halo. While at the rave with JC and his friends, Ava stumbles off to follow a mysterious trail of red mist at the party. It leads her to a massive red cloud, which looks at her, causing her to panic and run away. At first glance in Warrior Nun, only the holy religious elements, such as the Halo, were tangible. But here, Ava encounters the first Wraith Demon, a creature that feeds off negativity within the human soul. Both good and evil in religious terms have been established as real things in the world of Warrior Nun. While religion has its own level of reality and power in the real world, the confirmation of powerful holy relics and demons makes Ava’s world all the more religiously intuitive. It also means religion in the series isn’t just symbolic, but a true, physical part of the story. Making its presence as both a symbol and as something that will directly impact the characters all the more fascinating.
This is further played up in the show’s final scene with Father Vincent. The priest walks into a bar and orders a drink. However, he simply stares at it on account of his past alcoholism. He then begins to speak to the bartender, with his words boiling down to the notion of demonic presences being a true, established part of the world. This is intercut with a Tarask appearing in the church morgue Ava woke up in, searching for the Halo by tearing open Shannon’s back. While the scenes play out together, Vincent continues to speak about the true nature of spiritual evil in the world. He then posits something interesting. He says that the bartender will nod at what he has to say because he’s a man of God, and men of God are supposed to believe in demonic evil. But, if Vincent was not a priest, and instead a random stranger at the bar, the bartender would think he was insane.
The dichotomy here wraps a little bow on how religion in Warrior Nun works. The goods and evils of Christian faith are real in this universe. At least, from the perspective the Church presents at the start of the show. This means that, believed or not, the faith-based elements of Warrior Nun are an everyday part of its reality. The development here gives off the notion that “seeing is believing” when it comes to religion in this universe. Not everyone is going to be able to see a Wraith Demon or a Tarask. But that doesn’t negate the fact that both are real. However, the everyman isn’t going to care about what either a man of God or a madman believes. Because, for them, the thought of tangible religious dangers isn’t something they think about on a daily basis. The world of Warrior Nun is fraught with a religious split between those who don’t know the truth of the world and those who do. Or, at least, the version of the truth they were taught to believe. This opens the door for any average person to be manipulated into believing any number of things about religion, because nobody beyond the Church knows the full extent of evil that permeates the world.
Now, another important religious element of Warrior Nun is the titles of every episode of the series. For example, Season 1, Episode 1 is entitled, “Psalm 46:5.” This is a passage from the Bible, which reads “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early” (King James Version). The “her” mentioned in the passage is a river flowing through the city of God. In the context of Warrior Nun, “her” is clearly talking about Ava. God has found Ava though the Halo, which now helps her by making her stronger. “She shall not be moved,” however, could be interpreted in a different way from Psalm 46’s river. While the river in the Bible is unmoved from its faith in God, it seems Ava is unmoved from her belief in her second chance. Instead of trying to discover why she suddenly has unexplainable powers and has been given a new lease on life, she employs the Halo as a way to escape the world. She falls in league with JC almost immediately, deciding to keep her supernatural powers a secret because of reasons that are very much natural. Ava is intent on using the Halo not for its purpose of protecting the world, but instead to run away from everything. Something that becomes more prominent as the series continues, but which has its origins in her initial use of the holy object.
The importance of episode titles in Warrior Nun continues into Episode 2, titled “Proverbs 31:25.” This verse pertains to the nobility virtuous women, in particular highlighting how, “Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come” (King James Version). Once more, the passage correlates with Ava, who finds herself continuing to get used to life with JC and his group following her first Wraith Demon encounter. This involves the physical strength she now has, as well as how she will “rejoice” as she becomes more accustomed to her second chance. It also hints at her character development later, especially when it comes to honor and her ability to hone it with her newfound powers. For now, though, Ava is content with her rejoicing as a member of JC’s group, and the fact that her being able to walk was not a dream.
A few key moments transpire leading up to Ava, JC, and their group sneaking into a building owned by the scientific company ArqTech (whose ties to religion we’ll touch on in a moment). While trying to figure out how to work a shower, Ava is assisted by JC, who comments on a circular scar on her back. This scar was caused by the Halo, furthering the notion of religion as a tangible thing in the Warrior Nun world. But, beyond Ava and her getting to know JC better, the OCS is having an adventure of their own. Part of this is their attempt at locating Ava and the Halo, while another is Mary’s solo mission to uncover the truth behind Shannon’s death. It’s here the audience is introduced to Cardinal Duretti, who makes his way into the Cat’s Cradle where Spain’s OCS Chapter resides. When he first enters the building, many nuns make way for him, showcasing his power in the organization is higher than Father Vincent’s. However, he’s soon shows willingness to collaborate with Vincent to get the Halo back in the possession of the Church.
It’s here that Lilith’s role in the story gets carved out. Lilith is a hot-headed OCS nun, and the nun next in line to receive the Halo following Shannon. In his first meeting with Vincent, Duretti expresses his belief that Lilith has the qualities of a good leader, something the OCS needs from the next Warrior Nun. But these leadership qualities Duretti mentions aren’t the only reasons he has for qualifying Lilith deserving the Halo. He also explicitly mentions Lilith’s family supporting the Church for a thousand years, since the first Crusades. It appears Lilith’s seniority in the OCS may be influenced by familial ties instead of simply the leadership role Duretti wants to see her take. This creates the possibility that, despite her skills as an OCS nun, the true reason Lilith is set to take up the Halo is because of her family. That it has less to do with who she is, and more to do with her heritage. While Duretti’s statement is brief, it does conjure a question: Is this how every Warrior Nun throughout the years has been chosen? Based on how much their family line has supported the Church? If so, then it’s possible the Warrior Nun lineage itself is manipulated by the Church, not for the sake of just leadership quality, but also to appease families that have been loyal for hundreds of years.
But there is one caveat to this idea: The Halo appears to be “alive.”
After running Ava’s face through a database, Camila gets a match near a university. However, as the OCS members are preparing to leave, Beatrice realizes that Vincent has plans of his own. It’s strongly implied here that Vincent believes Ava was chosen by the Halo, and that none of this is a coincidence. That this is, somehow, the will of God. And yet there’s something about the conversation that hints at an idea that becomes prominent later. The Halo has a minds of its own. It’s not, perhaps, alive like a living thing would be. But based on it’s sudden ability to teleport Ava to safety and show her Wraith Demons, there seems to be some kind of quasi-consciousness associated with the object. However, much like Episode 1, Vincent’s conversation with Beatrice here is only sowing seeds for the future—and is something we’ll come back to further along in the essay.
For now, Ava, JC, and their friends manage to sneak into an event helmed by ArqTech founder Dr. Jillian Salvius. It’s during this event that characters from multiple storylines come together. However, one key element of this half of the episode is Salvius’ revelation that she is creating portals to an unknown place using quantum science and divinium harvested from religious artifacts. The power of religion in Warrior Nun is so great, that it even intersects with science. But Salvius is not utilizing divinium the way it’s expected to be employed. Divinium is later revealed to be used by the OCS primarily to destroy demons, defending the world using holy weaponry. Here, though, Salvius is clearly taking advantage of divinium’s properties in order to further a scientific experiment she doesn’t fully understand. Religious artifacts are being twisted into scientific research, with little regard to their religious importance.
This underscores how different viewpoints on religion and its importance throughout Warrior Nun makes characters approach it in various ways. For Salvius, religion is simply a tool for her to get what she wants via science. She recognizes the tangible power of religious artifacts in her world, but she doesn’t care for how the Church views them. This is made even clearer when Cardinal Duretti turns up at the event, seemingly to warn Salvius that she’s messing with powers beyond her understanding. As a woman of science, Salvius should care about this, no matter how farfetched she may think it. However, she doesn’t. Even though it hasn’t been spelled out just yet, it’s clear Salvius is twisting religious artifacts into science experiments for a reason. That she has her own agenda when it comes to religion’s importance in her research. Salvius is the first character to directly twist religion for her own means, something that continues to transpire in future episodes.
For now, though, the last remnants of religious themes in the episode come in the form of Ava’s exploration of ArqTech. While walking around the facility, she comes across a religious artifact that glows in response to the Halo being so close to it. While Ava doesn’t fully understand what’s going on just yet, the series is slowly building up to her discovery that religion is a very real force in the world she’s not yet aware of. Ava also runs across a child, later revealed to be Michael Salvius, and whose importance in the thematic attributes of religion we’ll put a pin in for right now. Because, as Ava continues her exploration of ArqTech, she soon finds herself ambushed and trapped by a Tarask. A monster that seems to be hunting her down, drawn to the power of the Halo emanating from her whenever she uses its powers.
As Ava cowers away from the Tarask, she is saved just in time by members of the OCS. They kill the beast, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger, as Beatrice tranquilizes Ava. Father Vincent finishes off the episode on an ominous note: “God has a plan for each of us.” The declaration feels like something a priest would say. But, as we now know, if Vincent wasn’t a priest, perhaps he would be considered a madman. The end result, then, is a final scene that feels predictive of what comes next: A world where religion is fully acknowledged as having a genuine impact on the world beyond just the idea of religion. Something instead that can truly be felt by everyone because, in the world of Warrior Nun, all of it is real.
These first two episodes are important when it comes to the show’s religious themes, as they plant many seeds for later while establishing religious ideas as real within the show’s universe. Because of the genuine, tangible powers associated with religious artifacts in particular, characters are able to manipulate religious objects for their personal gain. In Ava’s case, she doesn’t know about nor understand the true origin of the Halo, and thus unknowingly manipulates a religious artifact to her advantage by galavanting with JC and his friends. As for Salvius, she knowingly utilizes divinium in her quantum portal experimentation, showcasing how the physical properties of religious artifacts can be manipulated for personal benefit in Warrior Nun’s reality. Both Ava’s early use of the Halo and Salvius’ early research into quantum studies reveal how, because of the reality of religion in Warrior Nun, it can be twisted in various ways that are unique to the show’s world.
Something that becomes much clearer once Ava learns of her new responsibilities.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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